TJ owners thinking of a 4" lift or more

SSWaters

SSWaters

Old Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2005
Location
Kannapolis
If you just got'ta have 4" of lift or more, PLEASE buy a nice kit with the upper and lower arms that are longer and adjustable. Do not cheap out and do the 4" suspension kits with lower fixed arms. Do not buy a 4" or more suspension kit if you can't afford to do the SYE or other upgrades with it. Not trying to be a "know it all" but trying to save you some heartache and or buyers remorse.

Save up and do it right, I've gott'n sucked into fixing 4 of these lately with half crap lifts on them.

I'd rather see you do a 2" suspension kit and 1 or 2" body lift than run into all the issues you'll have installing a cheap 4" suspension kit.

I know I'll get slammed with people saying they have no issues with it - but keep driving it - you will.

Also, on a side note. For the TJ the Teraflex Shift Linkage Kit is beefy and fairly priced, I did have to cut and lengthen the threaded rod on one install though, it had big skid spacers on it.
 
I concur.

The lift companies should do a better job of warning the customers of vibes rather than "may cause vibes". Unfortunately if they package their kit with a SYE and a CV d-shaft the kit would be too pricey for most.
 
I agree,

Lets look at this way, If you want to run larger than a 3 inch lift (Which needs a SYE) Than your wanting to run larger than 35s, Which will kill the D35 any ways, So if your not running 37s or larger, Keep the lift under 4 inches. If you are than you need to swap the rear axle and an SYE should be part of that under taking IMO.

Low is the new thing anyways.


I am running a 3 inch with a 1 inch BL on 35s with little to no rubbing. (I do have a SYE)
 
when i first bought my lift i didnt know anything about the SYE or t-case drop or any of that... now that i know more about it i had to go back and spend twice the money to upgrade all my control arms and SYE and driveshafts. do it right the first time may take more money at first but you will be better off in the long run... wish i had done that
 
wrangler00---did you put the transfer case drop in with your 4" RC kit? I had the same kit on my old TJ and had vibes until I put the t-case drop on. Then all was fine. I also only wheeled the TJ lightly with the RC so for extreme stuff I am not expert.

Right now, I'm trying to learn from what I did on the TJ and do more and more research before I lift the JK. I lifted the TJ because I got a great deal on the kit and didn't do a whole lot of research before I put it on.
 
ive put several RC lift kits on and i havent had any "bad vibes". I would call any of them back and let you take a ride in them. If u are building a trail rig i wouldnt do a cheap 4" kit but if u want a nice dd then there is nothing wrong with the RC. You need a tc drop on all 4" lifts unless u have a sye kit
 
hell Scott, I had to drop TC on my buddies 04 Jeep with a 2" lift.
I concur. The driveshaft was kinked bad in the rear just from the 2".
Had to get castor bolts, and drop the TC and replace the steering stab before we finally also found the trackbar had a bad bushing.

big thanks to greg slade and marsfab for the help.
 
pookie said:
wrangler00---did you put the transfer case drop in with your 4" RC kit? I had the same kit on my old TJ and had vibes until I put the t-case drop on. Then all was fine. I also only wheeled the TJ lightly with the RC so for extreme stuff I am not expert.
Right now, I'm trying to learn from what I did on the TJ and do more and more research before I lift the JK. I lifted the TJ because I got a great deal on the kit and didn't do a whole lot of research before I put it on.
Click to expand...

He has the drop kit on it.

He just needs to do the SYE and quit whining.
 
The ones I've messed with all had drop kits on the case. I'm just saying save up and do it right if you want an all 4" suspension lift. The ones with the fixed lower arms I swear it looks like the wheelbase was shortened by 2" looking at it from the side.

These jeeps have been daily drivers, some off road miles with high mileage, always have the same complaints;
driveshaft vibrations, quirky steering all over the road, death wobble, floppy ride, torn & cracked lower control arm brackets.

And believe me, I've got shake for sure in my jeep.
 
91oneton said:
ive put several RC lift kits on and i havent had any "bad vibes". I would call any of them back and let you take a ride in them. If u are building a trail rig i wouldnt do a cheap 4" kit but if u want a nice dd then there is nothing wrong with the RC. You need a tc drop on all 4" lifts unless u have a sye kit
Click to expand...

My TJ was one of them, RC 4" lift, transfer case drop, no sye

after most lifts people dont take the time to take it and have it professionally aligned

after my lift was installed, alignment was done, I could drive it with one finger down the interstate doing 75mph, absolutely no vibes
 
I agree on the alignment issue also, the ones I've worked I've had to adjust toe and roll the axle up or down (depending on where I found it or what position it got whacked into) to find a happy medium.
 
The adjustable control arms are the biggest thing, the t-case drop cures the vibe in alot of TJ's, yet not all. I've put on several of the cheap RC kits with the adjustable arms and had no issues. Have only done one fixed arm kit, on an XJ, and it sucked from both the installation view, and as far as the ride and drive, and looking like poo...
 
ive got a 4 in re lift on my tj with no t-case drop nor sye on it but i ve got an engine lift and adj arms and mine donsnt vib one bit and ive got 35 ??? crazy
 
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