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Help a broke teen lift his 2006 Wrangler

7K views 78 replies 30 participants last post by  pakman55 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Lift Advice Needed for an 18 year old.

Alright. So this is my story. I had a car and I wanted a different one. I've never done incredibly well in school, so my parents decided to motivate me and told me if I got straight A's they'd match the value of my car after I sold it, giving me a 14k allowance. I wanted to buy an older lifted Jeep, but my parents bought one from their friend who owns a small exotic car dealership and used his auction license to get me a car. I wasn't thrilled because they spent 15k on it and went over my allowance so I wouldn't be able to lift it. My mom knew I was angry they bought me a jeep before consulting me about it and told me that I could use the 1.4k in savings bonds I have that are about to mature to buy a lift and tires. When my dad found out he said no, we just spent 15k on a car you aren't using those bonds for tires when you have perfectly good ones and you shouldn't lift a vehicle because they weren't designed to be driven like that and it will only screw things up. I decided instead of being mad about it I'm just going to do it like any other person would do it and just save the money for one. After my next paycheck I will have about $500 and I'm deciding how I want to lift my jeep. I can get the tires cheap from a friend who owns a tire shop so I'm going to pick out my lift kit first. I'm thinking of two ways:

1. There are body lifts on craigslist in my area for TJ's selling for $100 for 2". I can buy one of those and spend $300 on the 2.5" Progressive Coil kit from Rough country and still have $100 to go towards the tires.

2. I can do the 4" ZJ/CV junk yard homebrew lift kit for probably $70 and then spend $150 on some midrange/average shocks and keep the rest of the money for the lift and tires.

The pros and cons:
I don't go offroading ever really. I basically just want the lift for a nicer look and to be able to drive over parking blocks and stuff easily. If I do the 4" ZJ/CV lift, I will have more suspension lift, letting me drive over bigger parking blocks and up small walls (lol), but it is probably going to be a really rough ride and may not be good for my TJ. If I go the RC+BL route, I'm spending more money for less suspension, but it will probably be a smoother ride. I'd also run the risk of a 2" BL failing in some freakish accident.

What would you do if it was your money and you were a broke college student?
 
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#36 ·
The lift aint the problem... with a I4 I wouldn't get huge tires that's all. So as long as you are staying on a tight budget, huge tires are not an option anyway. Had a buddy with 33's on his I-4, it was ok... but wouldn't go any bigger.
That's my opinion.
 
#39 ·
im pretty new around here but i am very well versed in the whole jeep world......my advice to you would be to rid yourself of the idea to lift that thing unless you are going to spend 1k or more.......the kit you are buying will be incomplete and will cause premature wear on all of your driveline and steering components......i have said this on another thread but i will say it again that the rancho 2.5 rock crawler kit is the most complete and best driving kit i have ever used/installed......just to lay it out ive put on about 40 lift kits and 6 on my on jeeps. my advice is to not do what all of us did and look for the economical way to lift the jeep but save your money.......do some more research and buy a kit that will last for years and will function with what you will want to do in the future
-jake
ps get rid of the d35 and at least throw an 8.8 in there or a d44 if you can find one.......the d35 is gonna come apart......if you listen to any of the advice i have put on this thread listen to this: "Dont ever put any money into a d35, including lockers, axles, gears, etc." it is the biggest excuse for a rear axle ever put in a jeep
 
#40 ·
Why is the RC 2.5 kit crap? I've been hearing nothing but good things about it. It comes with a tc drop and a "steering stabilizer" as well to correct the steering. If I went with that and a 2" body lift and bmml to correct the pinion angles and help with the driveshaft angles I don't know what I'd be missing (that other kits come with vs. buying everything myself). I will have to regear though. Do you have any other information about the 8.8? My mom's friend is the manager of a ford dealership (and he drives a hummer, lol), do you think he could hook it up or is that something I'd have to go to a pick n pull for?
 
#41 ·
well first everyone is bashin' everyone hahaha
i bought my own jeep at 17 for 2900
shit barley ran. all i can say is make the plan thing that worked for me. i have "the list" in my garage and all the prices for what i want.

No my jeep looks good runs great>

As for lift the cheap way is body lift.
i dont think you have leaf springs so look at the lifts everywhere you go
4wheelparts.com is a good one. but go talk to someone at a jeep place too.

other than that be happy.... which im sure you are.....with what you got
like someone already said
you got a jeep be happy
 
#43 ·
also in agreement.........i would run a body lift......i did in fact and ran33 boggers with that body lift back when my jeep was shiny new and nice looking
 
#45 ·
you might be okay with 33 with 3.07 for the road. I have 3.73s and 35s and for the road i get even better mpg since now instead of me revving to 2.5k at 60 mph, i am now at 1700 rpm. The little loss of power doesnt bug me because if i want to overtake, or accelerate quickly, i just run it on a lower gear.

On average regearing would cost 500 an axle and you DO need both unless you never shift to 4 wd again.
 
#49 ·
3.73s... but it really depends on your commute and your driving style. I accelerate slower, and keep it pretty constant speed which is why my mpg went up however if you accelerate to get to the next red light first and stop and then repeat to the next light again, it will be worse for you and you will not see gains, you will see drop in mpg from what you're getting now.
 
#65 ·
If you only want it for looks, and you don't care about flex, off roading, gas milage, or anything else but the looks, you can buy a budget 2in coil spacer with shocks and a 3in body lift and fit 35in tires.

I would never do this to my jeep and never suggest anyone do this if they plan on doing anything other than driving on pavement. If your sure your not going to beat this thing up then your axles will be fine with 35s. If you off road a Jeep with stock axles and 35in tires you will wreck your axles. Just know if you run 35s your jeep will get horrible gas mileage with the stock gears and it will be much slower and your going to hate it.

If you were going to take this jeep off road, I would suggest driving on your current tires until you kill them, by the time there gone you will have enough money saved up to buy a 4in suspension lift and 33in tires and some decent wheels.

Nobody here is going to like it that you take a $15,000 Jeep and do a half assed lift job on it. Your resale value will suck and I think your really missing out on off roading, have you ever gone?
 
#67 ·
in all honestly just get a budget boost dude. im in the same boat college, broke a $hit, and make about 70 bucks a week after gas and hardee's tis like $40. ive got this gig converting vhs to dvd for old people and im going to make about $200. When it's over im getting my 2 inch BB and it will be worth every penny
 
#68 ·
Personaly dude. my grandmother bought me my TJ and i couldent be any more thankful. she bought it for me close to a month ago and i still thank her twice a day for it its an 02 APEX eddition it was lifted with all the other beels and wistles when i got it but personaly i think you should leave it the way it is.. i wish my jeep was stock because it makes it easyer to work on. jeeps are already a deep pocket on gas and if you just want a lift to drive over parking blocks your basicley just lifting it to get yourself a reckless driving ticket. lifting is strictley good for off road use. on road its a pain. it makes the MPG even worse. The thing dances on you more easly than it does stock. lift's are expensive and could make more things prone to breaking if not done right. and you dont want your jee being called (and excuse my language) and abacrombie faggiot jeep) basicley meaning you lifted your jeep to look cool but dont even intend to use if for what its realy ment for. same meaning as a ricer almost. Drive your jeep and have fun with it dont go pushing your limmit's with it because thats how youngster's end up with the rubber off the road. plus jeeps are also very capable vehicals stock.

Not to mention what the guy above me said is right. i have 33's on mine with a 5 speed and my jeep struggels to hold 75MPH in 4th gear i rareley ever see 5th.
 
#69 ·
You just answered a 2 year old question. I think his lift is on already.:doh:
 
#78 ·
I just installed the rough country 3.25" lift (That lift is the 2.5" progressive coil lift and a .75" spacer lift). The lift cost me $175 off craigslist but off rough country its around $380. Ive got 31" BFG A/T tires and I think it looks great. I would recommend a decent lift when you do it just so you dont look back and regret your decision later.
 
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