[thetanman43]

Please pardon my rookieness! I have a '97 wrangler with 31" tires. I'm looking into doing a 2" budget boost but I have some questions.

1. I have heard that with winches, new bumpers, etc sagging the front end down, the best way to level the front is to insert a spacer to bump up the front. Can this be done with a budget boost spacer already there?

2. Do I have to replace the factory shocks? I have heard that the bolts snap off really easily and with the lack of my mechanical inclinations, that could be a problem for me.

3. Couldn't find a review for the Rubicon Express 2" budget boost with twin tube shocks. Any opinions?

Thanks for any help!

 

[AzTJ]

Being that it's a '97 the stock springs have sagged, and probably to the point that spacers might bring you back to original height. What I would suggest is getting some new springs that are already 2" taller than stock. This will give you the lift that you want. Then with the addition of bumpers and a winch, you can add spacers as needed to level it back out. As far as the shocks go, yes, new ones would be needed. Some budget kits come with extenders to make the stock shocks work, but really are not the best method. Proper length shocks are best.

 

[Hendy]

1. Any accessories in the front will sag it, you could go with a 2.5" spacer in the front and 2" spacer in the rear. Add in a 1" BL and a motor mount lift to keep your drive line angles good to go.

2. You can run your stock shocks until they need to be replaced and then get new ones rated up to a 4" lift. This will give you an advantage when the "I want it taller" bug kicks in and it will.

3. There are probably people on here who are running that set up, I bet they will chime in with their opinions once they read this thread.

 

[thetanman43]

Being that it's a '97 the stock springs have sagged, and probably to the point that spacers might bring you back to original height. What I would suggest is getting some new springs that are already 2" taller than stock. This will give you the lift that you want. Then with the addition of bumpers and a winch, you can add spacers as needed to level it back out.

Do you know of any cheap spring kits? The only one I've seen is an OME which was pretty pricey. As a high school student almost all of my moneys have been spent on the actual jeep itself, so I'm critically rationing my remaining funds on uprades. So a budget boost works well for me.

 

[Neil F.]

If you really do not have the money for new springs, hit the for sale section here and the other Jeep foruns. There are people selling/giving stock springs away. You should be able to find some lower mileage ones cheap.

You can look at the Rough Country 2.5 spring lift. It is about the lowest cost lift out there and is not much more that a BB.