What lift should I do?

[MuddinYJ88]

Hi im looking for a lift on my 88 YJ, 2.5L, my tires will be 35''s and geared 4.88. I need some input on lifts. I am on a tight budget as of now but im not gonna go cheap and buy a crappy lift. just the best bang for the buck. as we all know in a jeep it will be put to the test So my options are the 6" monolinear skyjacker rockready, the 4" rough country and 2" body, the rubicon express, or another option not listed? Please any input would be greatly appreciated. This site has some awesome adviced from fellow jeepers!!!

 

[GaryMB]

Power on the 2.5?

For that amount of lift, I would suggest doing a spring over lift with Rubicon Express 1.5" SOA springs. It's the best leaf spring lift you can do without going elliptical. Just be sure to install at least one good traction bar in the rear (Sam's heavy duty off-road traction bar would do the trick). Also, only 35's? I bet you could fit 36's under there and still flex. Unless you are planning to run full-width axles, though, I might try to talk you out of such a high lift...

 

[MuddinYJ88]

WIN A JEEP!

Ya i am running stock axles as of now. Is there a better way than a 6" suspension kit?

 

[yjdave]

RE: Optional extras/pressies for my jeep

RE 4.5"-BL as needed

 

[TwistedCU]

Rubicon Express Extreme Duty 4.5" YJ kit. Put on some TJ flares or do a 1" body lift and you'll clear the 35's just fine.

Comparing the Skyjacker 6" and RC 4" isn't exactly apples and oranges... were you really asking if you should spend the money for a good kit? I'd answer yes.

 

[Junkpile]

Step down to the plain old Skyjacker 4" and run some TJ flares with a little shackle lift, then add BL if needed.

Skyjacker, Rubicon Express, or BDS would be my choices(in that order) for a leaf spring Jeep lift. That's just my preference though. Different people look for different qualities in a lift. I'm just learning about the BDS stuff, but it seems nice for the prices I've seen.

 

[Junkpile]

And body lifts don't suck.....that's just something that the "cool" Jeepers like to say. A BL is a wonderful item for getting that last bit of tire clearance, or allowing you room to raise underbody components.

Other than the way you think it looks, has anyone come up with a real reason why BLs suck? Please share.

 

[DRAPER]

4X4 Controller?

I have a friend who put a three in. body lift on a yoda and lost conrtol in the snow, hit a ditch at about 20 mph and his cab shifted about four inches. but I have no problem with them I think this was a freak accident.

 

[OutOfStep]

RE: Interiors thru the years.

Body lifts suck because they don't cost 10K, once they come out with a turned billet platinum body lift thats been polished by gold wool then they'll be cool, and every uber rig will have one.

With the shifting on the yota is probably more due to size of the body lift. The 1" kits are great, anything over 2" is pushing it, i've seen several 3" lifts shift slightly while wheeling.

 

[redrooster]

Body lifts suck because they look ghetto fabulous, increase body roll due to a higher center of gravity on the tub, are prone to break loose under impact because of the long bolts required and let's not forget there's nothing better than stacking a body lift spacer on top of a factory body mount for that custom look.
With that said, I just put an 1.5" BL on my CJ last weekend...





(only because I had to to fit the Chevy 5.3)

 

[OutOfStep]

RE: H1 put to good use?

Where did you find a 1.5"? I've been looking for a 1.25" or 1.5" to make installing a belly-up easier and can't seem to find any.

 

[Junkpile]

I never said there wasn't any possible negatives of running a BL, but looking out of fashion is about the biggest one. The reason people dislike BLs is 90% because of how they look, nothing more.

Body roll? Have any of you looked at half of the suspension setups running the trails these days? I don't even want to hear about body roll :lol:

 

[currupt4130]

body lifts are good for that extra inch of clearance, notice i said inch, 2 and three inches can be a bad thing. i was at tellico and a guy i was with (scrambler on 37's 3" soa 3"BL, [i know, but he didnt want to cut any body to keep from rubbing]) got up pretty steep and his whole body shifted back and his radiator and fan got to know each other well. i have an inch just because my drivetrain is tucked up 2 inches and tahts the only way the body will sit on there. ive noticed that my body has shifted though, i need to do a good high speed reverse brake squeal.

that said, stay away from the 6"mono leaf. rubicon express 4" and a inch body lift with tj flares with net you plenty of room for 35's. or soa on stock springs will do just as well. be warned, an soa isnt something to just jump head first into

 

[hoobness]

RE: Jeep Interior lining. Looking for a decent product?

SOA, I have a 4" rubicon lift, its nice, but you dont get the ride or articulation that an SOA will give. Plus the SOA is prob cheaper, even though it will take more planning and fabrication on your part. Not a slap on like the lift kits are.

I regret my 4" lift, i would love to ditch teh arched springs in favor of the SOA.

 

[redrooster]

RE: caster probs from 1" shackle lift?

Where did you find a 1.5"? I've been looking for a 1.25" or 1.5" to make installing a belly-up easier and can't seem to find any.

Carefully cut 3" BL blocks in half with a band saw.

....And yes the main reason that I don't like BL's is because they look ugly. Since I just replaced the frame, I will raise my rear bumper and rock sliders to compensate for the normal gap left by the body lift.

 

[Junkpile]

RE: Paragon Monthly Ride (Oct 1,2)

Carefully cut 3" BL blocks in half with a band saw.

Yep. If you know someone who works at a machine shop you could have them part them off in a lathe to any length you want. You can cut a 2" down, but a 3" is enough for two Jeeps, if you know a buddy who needs one too.

Redrooster, I can look past all of the downsides to a BL simply because of the same reason you will be sporting one, it's just the easiest way to solve several clearance issues you might run into.
If you want to talk about some funky BLs, there was company up around Mud4feet that specialized in monster body lifts years ago. They even advertised in offroad magazines for awhile. They could fit 44s under an 88+ IFS Chevy by using their BL and fender cutting!