Lift Concerns/Questions

Ghost7

Ghost7

New member
Let me start by saying that I love my Witch (what can I say I'm an old school kind of old guy; every vehicle that I have ever owned had a name).

I took a trip the first few weeks that I had her to Va Beach and I loved every minute of the 7 hour drive. Cruise was set between 75 and 80 and she handled like a dream. I was pleasantly surprised by 26.2 mpg out of my little 2.0.

In all honesty I will never take her hard off-roading; she is my daily driver and hauls the boy and his bass drum to practice and football games. I will occasionally be on wood trails and have a plan to hit Daytona and New Smyrna Beaches in the near future.

That being said I want to lift her. I want a bolder stance and I absolutely hate the factory rake that they put on these things. I have talked with my local shop and also gotten feedback on the JL forums. I think I am going to go with a Teraflex 2.5" lift and 5100 Bilstein shocks with Mopar LCA's from the lift kit: https://www.allmoparparts.com/sku/68322798aa.html

The shop tech says that the Teraflex will give me a ride very similar to my factory Sahara handling with the benefit of removing the rake and giving me about 3" to 3.5" of lift when finished?

The local shop says I will need an alignment when it is all installed and the forums say I won't have anything to align? I am confused on this point. I was told I would need to adjust my drag link to re-center the steering wheel. I have looked for videos on how to do this but I haven't come up with anything.

I plan on new wheels and moving up from the 33's to 35's this winter or in the spring.

Will I need to do anything else to her? I don't think that I will need to re-gear with the 35's? I believe I have 3.45 gears based off of the copy of the original window sticker.

Is this something a newbie should tackle or should I fork up the cash and have the shop install it for me? I have a lot of auto shop work in my past and seemed to always be turning wrenches through out the 80's and early 90's. I put a hitch receiver and wiring harness on a few weekends ago; it took about 2 hours and felt good to do. I have never done any suspension work.
 
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VIDEO : JL JOURNAL - Dynatrac EnduroSport 2" Lift Kit INSTALLATION​

VIDEO : JL JOURNAL - Dynatrac EnduroSport 2" Lift Kit INSTALLATION

As some of you may know, Cindy and I were lucky enough to test out the all new Dynatrac EnduroSport 2" Lift a few months back and based on it, we were able to establish that it's a great kit. It offers a smooth ride, is super stable and while it may not be the tallest lift in the world, it...
www.wayalife.com www.wayalife.com

Check out the above video. My understanding is the JL does not require as much lift as the JK did to fit larger tires and look nice as well as perform well. Eddie’s Jeep looks great and we know he wheels them.
 
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I had looked up Teraflex for reviews and didn't see a lot of negative feedback on it. What is wrong with their kits? Unfortunately I have been out of the loop for a long time and I am not sure what brands are good anymore.

Here is the one I was looking at: https://www.quadratec.com/p/teraflex/2-5-inch-coil-spring-lift-kit-jeep-wrangler-jl-and-unlimited-jl My local shop is a Quadratec dealer so they order mostly from them.

Evo has a similar lift listed from Morris but I don't think that my shop gets from them: https://www.morris4x4center.com/evo...ift-kit-stage-1-up-to-37-tires-no-shocks.html

If I install it doesn't matter. If I have them do it I don't think they will do parts I purchased somewhere else.

Do I need/want the LCA's for it?

I'm sorry about all of the questions. I want to do a decent job of it and not have to replace it down the road.
 
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Ghost7 said:
I had looked up Teraflex for reviews and didn't see a lot of negative feedback on it. What is wrong with their kits? Unfortunately I have been out of the loop for a long time and I am not sure what brands are good anymore.
Click to expand...

Teraflex - Bad rep for a reason or isolated cases?

Since I joined up the forum, I scrolled a lot trough subjects and encountered many memes, opinions and quite frankly bad rep revolving around Teraflex's products. Are those comments & post isolated cases troughout Teraflex products or are they really not that great? Teraflex puts out a lot of...
www.wayalife.com www.wayalife.com
 
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As previously mentioned do some solid research and purchase a quality lift like one posted above. If you can turn wrenches and follow directions you should have no trouble installing it yourself, saving yourself a decent amount of cash, and learning your jeep. Additionally shops will sell you what they sell because there is a higher profit margin. A reputable shop will install what ever the customer wants, but steer you in a direction of better quality or something which fits your needs and not over build it to make more money. In regards to the alignment no you won't need one and unless you get adjustable control arms and track bar as there will be nothing to adjust besides the drag link to center your steering wheel. Just a waste of $125. If your shop is telling you you'll need an aliment I'd go elsewhere. There a ton of great info here and people are more than willing to help out.
 
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Evo has this on description for their kits: " 4 Door Sport and Sahara Models will see slightly higher increases over stock and will match overall lift height of a Rubicon Model." There is about a two inch difference between my Sahara and my friends Rubicon. She is 39" to the fender and I am 37": I may not have took into account the higher fenders on the Rubi's? Does this mean I won't get a full 2.5 on mine?
 
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Ghost7 said:
Evo has this on description for their kits: " 4 Door Sport and Sahara Models will see slightly higher increases over stock and will match overall lift height of a Rubicon Model." There is about a two inch difference between my Sahara and my friends Rubicon. She is 39" to the fender and I am 37": I may not have took into account the higher fenders on the Rubi's? Does this mean I won't get a full 2.5 on mine?
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You also have to account for the fact Rubicon models have high clearance fenders. I believe they are positioned 1" higher than the other the fenders on the other models.
 
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RCC said:
1633782581250.png
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This looks great!!

This is the stance that I am hoping to get after a lift.

Here are more of my newbie questions: sorry!

Looking at the Evo kits: will this one give me what I'm looking for? https://www.morris4x4center.com/evo...ift-kit-stage-1-up-to-37-tires-no-shocks.html I'm still worried that it says on the website that I will be "slightly" higher than stock? I'm not sure why they are writing a 2.5" lift that way?

1. Are the longer Mopar LCA's in the front a good idea?
2. From what I have read I should be good with my current gearing and 35's?

Thank you!
 
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I think the JL Rubicon looks awesome from the factory.. the high fenders, better bumpers and 35’s... it just looks more aggressive than any other model. And being that you aren’t going to wheel it.... How about trying to find some JL take off fenders, springs, bumpers and maybe throw in a spacer up front to level her out.
 
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I'm sorry to be a bother again but I have more questions: it's tough getting old.

I have unfortunately come to the conclusion that I can do the lift myself but between work, marching band activities and house renovations I will end up having it sitting in a corner of my shop collecting dust for the foreseeable future. I did some checking on the first shop that I found and there were some ok reviews and a lot of unhappy customers.

Due to the feedback on the first shop I looked around and I found another shop that is also "local" that will do the installation on my lift ( https://www.facebook.com/krawlworks/ ). They are recommending a Skyjacker 2.5 lift for my needs: https://www.extremeterrain.com/skyj...el-lift-kit-w-black-max-shocks-2018-jl-4.html

I don't know anything about these lifts. There are a few videos with installs and a couple of reviews but nothing that is really helpful. There are a lot of good reviews on the supplier sites but when I asked about it in the JL forums I received only two responses and both were negative.

I have realized my dreams of venturing off into the wilds and doing crazy things with my Witch are never going to materialize. I just need to get her up higher and remove the ridiculous factory rake that is on her. The shop owner claims that the dual rate springs are going to give me the lift that I desire and slightly improve the road handling. He also says that it will be capable for ventures out into the woods for hunting and fishing trips.

I'm actually in information overload as far as researching the different lifts and trying to find a helpful, quality shop that will do the installation for me. I don't want to make a mistake and end up with something that drives on the road like my old YJ did. I love this vehicle: (I haven't honestly said that since I bought my '72 Roadrunner back in "82) I am just worried that I will put something on her that will negatively effect the ride and handling performance.
 
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Ghost7 said:
I'm sorry to be a bother again but I have more questions: it's tough getting old.

I have unfortunately come to the conclusion that I can do the lift myself but between work, marching band activities and house renovations I will end up having it sitting in a corner of my shop collecting dust for the foreseeable future. I did some checking on the first shop that I found and there were some ok reviews and a lot of unhappy customers.

Due to the feedback on the first shop I looked around and I found another shop that is also "local" that will do the installation on my lift ( https://www.facebook.com/krawlworks/ ). They are recommending a Skyjacker 2.5 lift for my needs: https://www.extremeterrain.com/skyj...el-lift-kit-w-black-max-shocks-2018-jl-4.html

I don't know anything about these lifts. There are a few videos with installs and a couple of reviews but nothing that is really helpful. There are a lot of good reviews on the supplier sites but when I asked about it in the JL forums I received only two responses and both were negative.

I have realized my dreams of venturing off into the wilds and doing crazy things with my Witch are never going to materialize. I just need to get her up higher and remove the ridiculous factory rake that is on her. The shop owner claims that the dual rate springs are going to give me the lift that I desire and slightly improve the road handling. He also says that it will be capable for ventures out into the woods for hunting and fishing trips.

I'm actually in information overload as far as researching the different lifts and trying to find a helpful, quality shop that will do the installation for me. I don't want to make a mistake and end up with something that drives on the road like my old YJ did. I love this vehicle: (I haven't honestly said that since I bought my '72 Roadrunner back in "82) I am just worried that I will put something on her that will negatively effect the ride and handling performance.
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I wouldn't buy from Extreme Terrain for sure. Have you looked at Rancho reviews at all? I have their leveling kit on my JT and have had it a fair amount of time. I'm happy enough with the ride that I will likely go with their 3.5 inch kit once I build it bigger, and we will likely put the same kit on my wife's JL when the time comes.
 
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I just used the Extreme Terrain link to show the kit. It was the first one that came up with that part number.

I have not looked at any of the Rancho products. I am not sure why the shop recommended the Skyjacker lift.
 
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Ghost7 said:
I just used the Extreme Terrain link to show the kit. It was the first one that came up with that part number.

I have not looked at any of the Rancho products. I am not sure why the shop recommended the Skyjacker lift.
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Shops typically recommend what they have in stock and or can make the most profit on. Either way, it's always about making the sale and not necessarily your best interest.
 
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Ghost7 said:
I'm sorry to be a bother again but I have more questions: it's tough getting old.

I have unfortunately come to the conclusion that I can do the lift myself but between work, marching band activities and house renovations I will end up having it sitting in a corner of my shop collecting dust for the foreseeable future. I did some checking on the first shop that I found and there were some ok reviews and a lot of unhappy customers.

Due to the feedback on the first shop I looked around and I found another shop that is also "local" that will do the installation on my lift ( https://www.facebook.com/krawlworks/ ). They are recommending a Skyjacker 2.5 lift for my needs: https://www.extremeterrain.com/skyj...el-lift-kit-w-black-max-shocks-2018-jl-4.html

I don't know anything about these lifts. There are a few videos with installs and a couple of reviews but nothing that is really helpful. There are a lot of good reviews on the supplier sites but when I asked about it in the JL forums I received only two responses and both were negative.

I have realized my dreams of venturing off into the wilds and doing crazy things with my Witch are never going to materialize. I just need to get her up higher and remove the ridiculous factory rake that is on her. The shop owner claims that the dual rate springs are going to give me the lift that I desire and slightly improve the road handling. He also says that it will be capable for ventures out into the woods for hunting and fishing trips.

I'm actually in information overload as far as researching the different lifts and trying to find a helpful, quality shop that will do the installation for me. I don't want to make a mistake and end up with something that drives on the road like my old YJ did. I love this vehicle: (I haven't honestly said that since I bought my '72 Roadrunner back in "82) I am just worried that I will put something on her that will negatively effect the ride and handling performance.
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Seriously, I have never heard anything good about Skyjacker except maybe that their products are cheap. As far as Extreme terrain I made the mistake of ordering from them several years ago - long story short they fucked up and it took a couple months to straighten out. Never again will buy from them.

There are some good suggestions above. A leveling kit would take care of the rake. You can probably run 35s as is if you don't wheel hard with the sway bar disconnected. Also, as suggested look into Rancho products.

Take your time deciding what you really want and go in prepared mentally and financially for what it is going to take.
 
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I touched base with the new shop today. He says that Rancho gives a rough road ride and that I should look at the Teraflex or Rock Krawler and see what I like best. I know to stay away from the TF and I am not sure about the RK. I actually can't find just a small lift in them. Most are with control arms and are move advanced systems.

I have to say my level of frustration in myself for not being able to decide on a lift is very high at the present time. I have done them on trucks in the past and never thought twice. I suppose I am being given too many choices and "ride quality" is subjective to what each individual thinks it is.

I watched Eddie's video on the Rancho kit and to me it looks good and his review seems positive.

I never thought that making a decision to lift this a few inches and level it out would be such a cluster.

Thank you all for the input!
 
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