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3 inch body lift Pros and Cons

53K views 26 replies 12 participants last post by  Scout 
#1 ·
Ok. I'm getting ready to put a 3 inch body lift on my 98 TJ. I plan to later on put a 4 inch suspension lift on as well. Is this a good idea? Will it work? or will I walk more than drive? Any ideas, answers, guesses?
 
#2 ·
Not on a SWB vehicle - 1.25" BL tops. The 3" causes t-case shifter problems (especially if you do a t-case drop), air conditioner line problems, wiring harnesses start making tighter turns meaning they break faster - and most importantly; fatigues already barely 'acceptable' body mounts to the point that they will start to rattle, squeek, then click, and then finally fail MUCH sooner than normal. What do you need 7" of lift for anyways?
 
#3 ·
JeepCrawler98 said:
Not on a SWB vehicle - 1.25" BL tops. The 3" causes t-case shifter problems (especially if you do a t-case drop), air conditioner line problems, wiring harnesses start making tighter turns meaning they break faster - and most importantly; fatigues already barely 'acceptable' body mounts to the point that they will start to rattle, squeek, then click, and then finally fail MUCH sooner than normal. What do you need 7" of lift for anyways?
and ontop of all that they just look stupid...

:flipoff:

:D
 
#4 ·
They look silly running around with that much of the frame exposed. The body lift does nothing to get things up from the ground, other then the body of your jeep. You need the frame and axles further up from the ground.

Save your money, and get a suspension lift from the get go.
We put a Rubicon Express 3.5 Super Flex kit on our Rubi for $1000.00. That included shocks. If you want to know where I got the kit, pm me here, or I will post it later on.

Here is a pic of our Rubi and X. They both have the same lift kit installed.




Then put a 1 inch body lift if you want too.

Navy-Jeepster
 
#5 ·
Everyone has there opinions on the BLs. The shifter linkage is an easy correction with the t-case mounted shifter linkage. I run mud and trails but i dont do rock crawling so the fatigue in the body mounts doesnt concern me. As far as the lookin stupid thing its all in the eye of the beholder and what you do to correct the gaps. Bumpers, side armor whatever you want to do. If you want to do it ide say go for it. Im runnin 3+4 and 36s at the moment and coulnt be happier with it. No problems at all other then im prolly goin to get a SYE soon to bring my skidplate back up in position for more under clearance. I run some serious bogs so its important following guys on 40+ into their ruts.





And if you want the pros about it. The Jeep is a hundred times easier to clean, service and work on. I run a 3" on my truck as well and wouldnt do without it.
 
#6 ·
its always a different opinion for each person...you should do whatever u think is best...but i personally wouldn't run one over an inch or 2 at the VERY MOST...but thats just me...some people like them...like the guy above me...he loves his and it seems to work well for him
 
#8 ·
Im suprised no one said anything about the quality of the ride. I had 3inch body and 6 inch suspension on my dodge ram. Absolute crap!!!!! Good luck trying to control that thing on the freeway. They look cool but not practical for a daily driver. Look at all these guys who have sweet ass rides and wheel the hell out of them. They dont have 7inches of lift on their jeeps. I feel jeeps where made for trail riding not mudding. If you want to mud buy a truck. Jeeps are supposed to be nimble and can crawl over just about anything. I guess it depends on what you use it for. This is just my opinion and i dont mean to offend anyone.
 
#10 ·
Lot of good comments. I am still going to go with the 3 inch body lift tho. I already planned on putting in diamond plate to cover up the back as well as side steps. I'm also planning on putting in a nice brush guard on the front. However now I am thinking that maybe 4 inches isn't going to be enough. I may go with a 6 inch suspension lift. As far as the looks. I have no plans on entering any beauty contests. Besides I'm purty enough as it is. LOL. As to why do this. I say why not. The place where I go 4 wheelin here is all dirt no rocks. I don't drive it everyday and when I do its usually about 10 miles. It is my only vehicle. As far as I'm conscerned I wouldn't drive anything else. I can't put the lift on today tho. I have to replace the transfer case mode switch. So that I can properly adjust the linkage when I put the lift in. The old one quit working on me sometime after the hurricanes. Stay tuned I will post more questions. Thanks to all.
 
#11 ·
What size tires are you planning to run with 9" of lift? I would hope some 40's that would look good. Also what long arm suspension are you considering?
 
#13 ·
If you haven't yet installed that 3" body lift, I'll chime in as another advising against it. They're a PITA to install and get everything like shifters, fuel filler hoses, radiator, etc. set up properly and I personally believe they can cause significant frame damage in a minor fender bender due to the increased leverage the body gets over the frame.
 
#14 ·
4Jeepn said:
What size tires are you planning to run with 9" of lift? I would hope some 40's that would look good. Also what long arm suspension are you considering?
Some 40" MT/Rs or IROKs would be nice - that is of course after you swap out your axles to something that can handle a tire of that size, and stretch your wheelbase to something around 106"
 
#17 ·
JeepCrawler98 said:
Some 40" MT/Rs or IROKs would be nice - that is of course after you swap out your axles to something that can handle a tire of that size, and stretch your wheelbase to something around 106"
You know, I think 42", would be better with that much lift you still going to have a lot of space above the tire and it just looks so blah... and by the time he airs down it would be closer to 40's so maybe that would be better.
 
#18 ·
Looks like I'm going to change my mind on the 3 inch body lift. I just got an email reply from jeep jamboree. The limit the lift to 6 inches with a maximum of 37 inch tires. So I I am going to go with a 6 inch suspension lift and a 1 inch body lift. They said in the email that I should be ok with a 7 inch lift like that. I made a copy of the email so when I go to the next event they have I can show them the email if they have any problems with the amount of lift. Now I just need to get a 6 inch lift. I was looking at one on ebay. Its made by Rough Country. It comes with
Front and Rear Coil Springs
Front and Rear Upper and Lower Adjustable Control Arms
Front Adjustable track bar
Rear Track Bar Drop Bracket
Power Steering Pitman Arm
Stainless Steel Brake Hoses
Front and Rear Sway Bar Quick disconnects
4 heckethorn 8000 series shocks with black boots
or for an extra 24.00 9000 series nitrogen shocks
instructions and necessary hardware.
also available for 400.00 I can get the fox racing shox
also available for 500.00 is a slip yoke eliminator and cv driveshaft.
also is a big bore steering stabalizer for 29.00 extra
They also have differant color boots for 10.00 for all 4.
All in the same auction.
Is there anything else I will need? Besides more insurance.
 
#20 ·
At this point couple question for you: What axles do you have, and what tire size do you want to run?
 
#23 ·
texasTJ4X4Nut said:
37 or 36 tires. currently have stock axles. Will have to change those out as well as the gears. I won't be putting in the lift until I have everything to put in at once. as in Lift, tires, axles, diff. gears. Gunna take a few months before I do it all.
based on that figure spending about 10k for what you want.
 
#24 ·
Currently I have the stock D30/35c combo on 33" TSLs; I plan on building up a couple of Rubicon Dana 44s with all kinds of goodies to handle 37"s, though I will be running 35"s with those for a while. I would advise something beefier for you since you have a 6 cylinder - look into some Dana 60's for those 37"s
 
#25 ·
Man, I've been watching this thread very close...I'm sure glad you're leaning away from that 3" BL.

If you're looking at the Rough Country I'm a firm believer that it is the best bang for your buck when it comes to a Jeep lift kit. If you look on-line Rockcrawler.com has a really good write-up on the 6" Rough Country system. Their write-up was one of the main reasons why I went with them.

Big Spring? I'm in Midland...
 
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