'17 JKU 3.5" lift question

Mud-Daddy

Mud-Daddy

New member
So, I'm going to lift my JKU Manual Trans with a 3.5" JKS J Konnect Lift with the additional add of the JKS adj rear trackbar. Looking at 1310 RC drive shafts and 4.56 regear. Going to mount 35" tires on her also.

My question is this..

If I lift it 3.5" will I need anything else besides the kit, drive shafts and gears? (Besides my superchips calibrater!!)

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Mud-Daddy said:
So, I'm going to lift my JKU Manual Trans with a 3.5" JKS J Konnect Lift with the additional add of the JKS adj rear trackbar. Looking at 1310 RC drive shafts and 4.56 regear. Going to mount 35" tires on her also.

My question is this..

If I lift it 3.5" will I need anything else besides the kit, drive shafts and gears? (Besides my superchips calibrater!!)

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Click to expand...

First off, I would not recommend 1310 shafts. The one u-joint that you have on your JK is a 1330 and a 1310 is weaker. Instead, just buy the front shaft as that's the one that will fail prematurely and get that as a 1350. Being that you have a JKU, just run your rear until it needs to be replaced and that should be a LONG time. Also, if your kit doesn't come with them, you will NEED adjustable rear upper control arms to set your pinion angle.

Second, 3.5" is a lot of lift and if your kit doesn't already come with adjustable arms, front lowers would be nice to have to add in some caster. Also, at this height, a drag link flip/front track bar relocation kit would be nice to have as well.
 
wayoflife said:
First off, I would not recommend 1310 shafts. The one u-joint that you have on your JK is a 1330 and a 1310 is weaker. Instead, just buy the front shaft as that's the one that will fail prematurely and get that as a 1350. Being that you have a JKU, just run your rear until it needs to be replaced and that should be a LONG time. Also, if your kit doesn't come with them, you will NEED adjustable rear upper control arms to set your pinion angle.

Second, 3.5" is a lot of lift and if your kit doesn't already come with adjustable arms, front lowers would be nice to have to add in some caster. Also, at this height, a drag link flip/front track bar relocation kit would be nice to have as well.
Click to expand...

This for sure^^^^^
Maybe adjustable front sway bar links. JKS makes good ones.


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wayoflife said:
First off, I would not recommend 1310 shafts. The one u-joint that you have on your JK is a 1330 and a 1310 is weaker. Instead, just buy the front shaft as that's the one that will fail prematurely and get that as a 1350. Being that you have a JKU, just run your rear until it needs to be replaced and that should be a LONG time. Also, if your kit doesn't come with them, you will NEED adjustable rear upper control arms to set your pinion angle.

Second, 3.5" is a lot of lift and if your kit doesn't already come with adjustable arms, front lowers would be nice to have to add in some caster. Also, at this height, a drag link flip/front track bar relocation kit would be nice to have as well.
Click to expand...

So.. the JKS kit I'm looking at comes with:

Fixed length front/rear lowers, not adjustable.

It does have the drag link flip kit in it. I know that parralel drag/track bar is crucial for sterring.

But, if you guys think i need to have adjustable arms.. i might be better off getting the kit that doesn't have the arms and getting separate adjustable arms.

Or do you suggest not even going 3.5"? I decided to go 3.5" so that I would definitely have the clearance on the 35s.

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I had my mind set on this JKS lift for a long time before I finally decided that I wanted all eight adjustable control arms. I ended out buying a 3.5” kit with eight adjustable arms, front and rear adjustable track bars and longer front and rear sway bar end links (and shocks and springs and brackets and brake lines and stuff of course). I have adjusted my control arms a few times to dial in pinion angle, recenter my axle in the wheel well, push my front axle forward to lengthen my wheelbase a little, pull my rear forward to stop my rear springs from rubbing the track bar. I’m glad that I got the adjustables.

This WAYALIFE page is Really helpful with stuff like this: https://wayalife.com/showthread.php...s-Every-Newbie-has-about-the-Jeep-JK-Wrangler

Also, I would definitely not go lower than 3.5 inches. Gotta leave the door open for those 37s when it comes time for new axles and regear.
 
Also check out this thread before you regear:

“Recommend re-gearing for 35" tires for JK Sport”


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Just my 2 cents on the subject. 3.5" on 35s may be a little tall but if you keep stock fenders it will look pretty good. I agree with the 1350 DS and keep the stock rear DS. not sure why people buy the 1310 that is weaker than stock other than price I guess. With the control arms I'm sure their fixed length will get ya close enough for caster in the front but the rear lowers are only going to set your axle back in the wheel well and won't really help you set your rear pinion angle. (I personally on 2 builds now 1 4dr 3.5" RK lift and my current 2dr 2.5" lift, ended up with stock lowers and currie uppers for the rear set up). In regards to the gears I may recommend 4.88s as a better fit for the 35s rather than 4.56s unless you do a lot of highway driving.

And sounds like the DL flip raised TB bracket are already in the kit so your good there.

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desertrunner said:
Just my 2 cents on the subject. 3.5" on 35s may be a little tall but if you keep stock fenders it will look pretty good. I agree with the 1350 DS and keep the stock rear DS. not sure why people buy the 1310 that is weaker than stock other than price I guess. With the control arms I'm sure their fixed length will get ya close enough for caster in the front but the rear lowers are only going to set your axle back in the wheel well and won't really help you set your rear pinion angle. (I personally on 2 builds now 1 4dr 3.5" RK lift and my current 2dr 2.5" lift, ended up with stock lowers and currie uppers for the rear set up). In regards to the gears I may recommend 4.88s as a better fit for the 35s rather than 4.56s unless you do a lot of highway driving.

And sounds like the DL flip raised TB bracket are already in the kit so your good there.

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Thats the thing with the gears.. I have to have a daily driver and in the SE US, theres not a lot of MiDwest style crawling.

I figured 4.56 would be a good compromise.

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Mud-Daddy said:
Thats the thing with the gears.. I have to have a daily driver and in the SE US, theres not a lot of MiDwest style crawling.

I figured 4.56 would be a good compromise.

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Yeah unfortunately it's a bit subjective and I live in Montana with mountain roads but I had 4.88s installed on my 12' 2dr 6 speed while running 33s and 37s. They were too much for 33s and they feel not quite enough for 37s. Based on my experience with those 2 tire sizes I would go 4.56 for 33s, 4.88 for 35s, and 5.13 for 37s.

Either way 4.56s will be better than stock haha

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desertrunner said:
Yeah unfortunately it's a bit subjective and I live in Montana with mountain roads but I had 4.88s installed on my 12' 2dr 6 speed while running 33s and 37s. They were too much for 33s and they feel not quite enough for 37s. Based on my experience with those 2 tire sizes I would go 4.56 for 33s, 4.88 for 35s, and 5.13 for 37s.

Either way 4.56s will be better than stock haha

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Yeah, 4.56 has to be better than 3.21.. what was Jeep thinking? Lol

My dodge ram had a 3.93 for gods sake.. lol

So, I did some looking..

Tom Woods makes a nice 1350 front DS that replaces the flanges.

Rubicon Express sells their superflex upper arms at a decent price too.. i found them for 207 ea set.. are they a good brand?

I wanna build it right the first time, buuut I still like sleeping in the same bed with the wife!

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Mud-Daddy said:
Yeah, 4.56 has to be better than 3.21.. what was Jeep thinking? Lol

My dodge ram had a 3.93 for gods sake.. lol

So, I did some looking..

Tom Woods makes a nice 1350 front DS that replaces the flanges.

Rubicon Express sells their superflex upper arms at a decent price too.. i found them for 207 ea set.. are they a good brand?

I wanna build it right the first time, buuut I still like sleeping in the same bed with the wife!

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Click to expand...

Woods DS are good and so are Adams, but a lot of us have had the best luck having a local shop custom build them for us. That way the length is exactly correct to your Jeep and the cost is usually the same.

Rubicon Express is built in China and the quality is such. Evo, Currie, and Synergy all make quality arms here in the states. It’s Fourth of July after all!


2015 JKUR AEV JK350
1985 Jeep Scrambler
 
Adjustable front lower control arms, 1350 front drive shaft. Keep all the rear arms and driveshaft stock. Raised track bar brackets front and rear and keep factory track bars. Front drag link flip. 3" EVO plush ride springs. Rancho adjustable shocks or better if you have the budget. Whatever sway bar disconnects you like. Take the money you just saved and use it for the gears and an air locker for the rear. You'll be very happy for a looong time and it will ride and drive great!


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Mud-Daddy said:
Yeah, 4.56 has to be better than 3.21.. what was Jeep thinking? Lol

My dodge ram had a 3.93 for gods sake.. lol

So, I did some looking..

Tom Woods makes a nice 1350 front DS that replaces the flanges.

Rubicon Express sells their superflex upper arms at a decent price too.. i found them for 207 ea set.. are they a good brand?

I wanna build it right the first time, buuut I still like sleeping in the same bed with the wife!

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Click to expand...

4.56 or 4.88

Nothing wrong with Tom Woods at all.

I really like Synergy Arms. Adjustable without removing a bolt which is really nice.




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Mud-Daddy said:
I just looked at those core 4x4 arms..

They have JJs on one end and rubber on the other for their stage 2 arms.. I like that setup.

I am now all jacked on my plan.. lol.. i have to re-look at everything now.

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You are also getting input from a few different people and experience from multiple builds. My current build is all sorts of Frankenstein because of experience I have had in the past. Just in my current 2dr build I have Evo front and OME rear springs, rancho shocks, Adams DS, rancho brake lines, mix of Evo and currie control arms, Evo sway bar links, JKS rear track bar, Exodus aluminum steering.
Most of my stuff is Evo and overall I could have done it with a kit but I pieced mine all together based on what I needed at the time. Sometimes the best way to learn what works and what doesn't is buy a kit, install it, and go from there. But I would not set your expectations to buy 1 kit and be completely done as every build is different and will need tweaks

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desertrunner said:
You are also getting input from a few different people and experience from multiple builds. My current build is all sorts of Frankenstein because of experience I have had in the past. Just in my current 2dr build I have Evo front and OME rear springs, rancho shocks, Adams DS, rancho brake lines, mix of Evo and currie control arms, Evo sway bar links, JKS rear track bar, Exodus aluminum steering.
Most of my stuff is Evo and overall I could have done it with a kit but I pieced mine all together based on what I needed at the time. Sometimes the best way to learn what works and what doesn't is buy a kit, install it, and go from there. But I would not set your expectations to buy 1 kit and be completely done as every build is different and will need tweaks

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Click to expand...

I absolutely agree.. that’s what I did and now I wish I would have pieced it together. Use the advice and save money.


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desertrunner said:
You are also getting input from a few different people and experience from multiple builds. My current build is all sorts of Frankenstein because of experience I have had in the past. Just in my current 2dr build I have Evo front and OME rear springs, rancho shocks, Adams DS, rancho brake lines, mix of Evo and currie control arms, Evo sway bar links, JKS rear track bar, Exodus aluminum steering.
Most of my stuff is Evo and overall I could have done it with a kit but I pieced mine all together based on what I needed at the time. Sometimes the best way to learn what works and what doesn't is buy a kit, install it, and go from there. But I would not set your expectations to buy 1 kit and be completely done as every build is different and will need tweaks

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Click to expand...
I really do appreciate all the advice from you all..

There ended up being a lot more factors involved with this than I had originally thought. I would have been terribly pissed if I had say.. broken my front DS on a trail.. lol. This jeep thing is way more complicated than lifting my trucks in the past.

I'm also a firm believer in making sure you do it right.. if not, then it just costs more later.

Weighing all the options now and I have tons of sticky notes everywhere from looking at all the different available pieces.

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Once you understand what each component does it's pretty easy to piece it together. For the most part highlights for a 3.5" lift would be

Front lower control arms for caster
Front drive shaft preferably 1350
Drag link flip (RHD drag link if buying stock style)
Raised front trackbar bracket (stock trackbar should work just fine with the bracket)
Front Brake lines, sway bar links, coils shocks, bump stops.

Rear upper arms to set pinion angle.
Rear lowers IF your axle is really far forward but you shouldn't need them.
4dr stock rear driveshaft should work.
Either an adjustable rear track bar OR a raised track bar bracket to center the axle.
Rear brake lines, sway bar links, coils, shocks, bump stops.

I think that should cover it

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