[jerry94129]

hey
I just bought a 1997 wrangler and was wondering how to lift the jeep. Can I just put bigger shocks in for an extra inch or two, or do I have to install a whole kit? Please help? And how hard is the installation for the kit and how high can I go before I need to change the drive shaft and other stuff?

Jerry

 

[4Jeepn]

Jerry,

You can do a number of different things to lift the TJ, however adding larger shocks shocks will not lift the jeep.

If your looking for a small lift a budget boost lift,refered to as a BB, which is a rubber spacer that go's on top of the coil, and replaces your current shocks is a great way to go. Most times this will not cause any drive shaft issue. As for the install, you would need basic tools, floor jacks, etc. Give us an idea of why you want the lift and what your plans are for the jeep and I am sure you will get some idea's from the group on here.

 

[jeeptales]

I remember

Jerry,

4Jeepn is right that is a start.

How big do you want to go?

For me it started with used set of 4 1/2" Rubicon Express Springs the only cost me $75.00 what a deal! Then I needed RS9000X Shocks to improve the ride. But; how could I do Shocks and not add a Rancho Steering Stabilizer too (did you know you can add in cabin shock tuning with this set up? Don’t forget the drop pitman arm…

Then you will notice the driveline vibration so call Rubicon Express and get the front and rear adjustable control arms to right the driveline angle.

From there you will need to find spacers to lower your transfer case skid plate if you need more clearance for the control arms. I found spacers 6 but since I have an automatic Rubicon I needed 8. But that cost too much ground clearance so you might want to do a belly up lift too, to get a better break over angle.

Now your Jeep will look goofy so you will need bigger tiers I went from the Stock 245 Goodyear MTRs to new 285 MTRs but I gave some serious thought to doing some 315s but then I would have needed a 1” body lift.

Perhaps a long arm kit might have been better…and so on…and so on

The acronym J.E.E.P. stands for “Just Empty Every Pocket”. But that’s okay I’d do it all over again. I have more in mods on my 2003 Rubi than I spent on my first CJ driving it off the showroom floor yeas ago.

It will be worth every penny have fun I’ll check in on you after your first Jeep Jamboree in your new toy. Be sure that if you don’t own a PDA get one so you can start your new Jeep Wish List.

 

[1BLKJP]

Hmmmm, so how do you lift a jeep? Well first get two of your biggest friends and have all of you get behind the back of the jeep. Then bend down and (remember to "lift" with your legs not your back) lift. HA, yeah I am that bored at the office.

Don't really have much to add that the other two guys haven't already said. But odds are you won't regret what you do. Personally with my first build I went from no lift and 31's to 6" Long Arm and 35's. I just couldn't see spending the money two or three times. So I just waited a little longer and did it all at once.

 

[odanny]

I lifted one myself, a '97 as well. Myself and a friend had some real trouble at times, as neither of us had ever done such a thing before, and we worked pretty hard on it for two days straight. There are a few things that know now that I did not know then that would have been helpful (this was my experience, yours might be different, but the information will prove helpful if you decide to go with a lift:

1) Buy an adjustable front track bar. Otherwise you have to measure and drill a new hole to reposition your front track bar, alot easier to just replace it with an adjustable.

2) Get front strut compressors, and before you put in the new rear coil springs install your rear track bar FIRST. I had the springs in (which was enough of a pain with compressing them to get them in) and I never thought we would get the rear track bar hooked up again! Probably would have been easier had the springs not already been in.

Spray the front shock mounts bolts throughly with PB Blaster well in advance, I had to literally break off both nuts on the front shocks to remove them. A real pain, and it was one of the first things I did when starting, so I was already pissed off from the very beginning.

 

[Dl19752]

I added a Rusty's 2" lift to my sons 97'. It included shocks and springs. It's a little bit of a Paine compressing the springs to fit in to the space but in theory could be done in a driveway. We used a lift and I'm glad we did! 31's fit great with stock rims. No other modifications are needed.

 

[IslandTJ]

Wow 10 years...