[jeeps&comics]

Hey guys, Im new here. I am pretty young (18), and just bought my first car ever, and it's a 1994 Jeep Wrangler. I've always wanted a Jeep for as long as I can remember, and now i have one!

...as you can tell im very excited...

anywho, my first post is a question that should be a pretty easy answer to, but you guys are the experts, so we'll see.

I want to raise my jeep up (at least a 3" or 4" lift), but dont know if i need a suspension or body lift. Now being a college student, suspension lifts are kind of expensive, but i am willing to shell out if it's worth it. But I won't be doin too much off roading (hardly any at all, here and there maybe), and was wondering what you guys would do. I really like how the Jeep's look with a body lift and bigger tires, but I dont know if a suspension lift is necessary for having a Jeep mainly as a driving vehicle, and not a Offroading Beast. Thanks guys

-Carlos

 

[Grandpa Jeeper]

If you are 18 and in college and don't intend to use it off roading, then the experts you want to ask are the college chicks you are looking to impress. The body lift at 4" is excessive and a 4" suspension lift is expensive because of the changes in your drive line angles.

Good luck with the girls!

 

[mrbigjeep]

i'd say do a 2" suspension of some sort and a 1" BL. you will get 3 inches of lift, won't mess up driveline angles, and it looks and performs well too...plus its cheap and a 1" BL looks fine.

 

[jeeps&comics]

If you are 18 and in college and don't intend to use it off roading, then the experts you want to ask are the college chicks you are looking to impress. The body lift at 4" is excessive and a 4" suspension lift is expensive because of the changes in your drive line angles.

Good luck with the girls!

yeah, thats what i figured. I was thinking along the lines of maybe a 1 or 2" body lift, and maybe a 2" suspension lift. and yeah, i hope the girls like it too, but if they dont, i do, so thats all that matters... haha

thanks for the info tho

 

[jeeps&comics]

i'd say do a 2" suspension of some sort and a 1" BL. you will get 3 inches of lift, won't mess up driveline angles, and it looks and performs well too...plus its cheap and a 1" BL looks fine.

yeah, maybe i'll do that. so if i do a 2" suspension and 1" body, you say i wont have to change driving angles, and it will be good for just driving. does it stiffen up the ride any? i mean i dont really care, but the passengers might...

 

[Triple88a]

i hope the girls like it too, but if they dont, i do, so thats all that matters

I just came out of a 3 year relationship.. the jeep was pretty high on the list. I know people will flame me but your jeep is not much fun without someone by your side, I know i miss her which ruins the will to do stuff for my Jeep. I installed a BL on my rig a week or two ago but i just didnt feel the same. I have no choise but to get over it but for me it's not that easy.

As for recomendations go.. id add a 2-3" suspension lift and ~1-1.5"BL..

BL is cheaper so if you want to grow up a bit now, get the bl first and then get the suspension lift.

 

[jeeps&comics]

I just came out of a 3 year relationship.. the jeep was pretty high on the list. I know people will flame me but your jeep is not much fun without someone by your side, I know i miss her which ruins the will to do stuff for my Jeep. I installed a BL on my rig a week or two ago but i just didnt feel the same. I have no choise but to get over it but for me it's not that easy.

As for recomendations go.. id add a 2-3" suspension lift and ~1-1.5"BL..

BL is cheaper so if you want to grow up a bit now, get the bl first and then get the suspension lift.

im sorry to hear that... yeah, im thinking about doing a 3" suspension and a 1" body. But if i have to change the driving angles with a 3" suspension, i dunno, i might just do a 2".

 

[jeeps&comics]

so after thinking it over, i think im going to go with a 3.5" suspension lift, see how that turns out, and then if need be (most likely not) get a 1" body lift. now what did you guys mean by changing the drive angles? and other than the suspension kit, shocks, and drop pitman arm, what else would i need for this installation. once again im new to this, and any info is greatly appreciated

 

[Triple88a]

now what did you guys mean by changing the drive angles?

as you put bigger lift the angle of the driveshaft increases which causes vibrations because now instead of having small angle you have bigger angle so the joints must now bend more..

The the best fix for that is installing a cv and sye kit which lowers the angle and removes the vibes..

The cheaper route is just dropping down the tranny a bit by lowering the tranny skid which is done by putting few washers between the skid and the frame that it bolts on into.

For lower lifts people also install motor mount lifts which instead of dropping the tranny lifts up the engine so it lowers the angles.

I believe your 3.5" kit will arrive with a tranny drop spacers.

(my info is specifically about TJs so there might be a minor difference for YJs)

 

[jeeps&comics]

as you put bigger lift the angle of the driveshaft increases which causes vibrations because now instead of having small angle you have bigger angle so the joints must now bend more..

The the best fix for that is installing a cv and sye kit which lowers the angle and removes the vibes..

The cheaper route is just dropping down the tranny a bit by lowering the tranny skid which is done by putting few washers between the skid and the frame that it bolts on into.

For lower lifts people also install motor mount lifts which instead of dropping the tranny lifts up the engine so it lowers the angles.

I believe your 3.5" kit will arrive with a tranny drop spacers.

(my info is specifically about TJs so there might be a minor difference for YJs)

oh ok, yeah it does come with the transfer drop case is what they call it. but ive never heard of a cv and sye kit... ill look it up. thanks again

 

[mrbigjeep]

2" suspension with tcase drop...shouldn't have any vibes...

and a 1" BL...and you could do a MML with it if you do have vibes...and you should be able to clear some 32's.

any more suspension lift and your pushin it...but you may get lucky and not get any vibes with a bigger lift

 

[jeeps&comics]

2" suspension with tcase drop...shouldn't have any vibes...

and a 1" BL...and you could do a MML with it if you do have vibes...and you should be able to clear some 32's.

any more suspension lift and your pushin it...but you may get lucky and not get any vibes with a bigger lift

what about a 2.5" suspension with tcase drop? and whats an MML? haha sorry, im new....

 

[Triple88a]

oh ok, yeah it does come with the transfer drop case is what they call it. but ive never heard of a cv and sye kit... ill look it up. thanks again

I dont know if YJs have that (i'm pretty sure they do thats why i'm posting) but for TJs when you get a bigger lift +~3.5-4 you have to drop the tranny or add a longer drive shaft (CV) and a Slip Yoke Eliminator (SYE) otherwise you run the risk of jamming or pulling out the stock driveshaft in ur tranny or something of that sort. The other thing is vibrations.. the longer driveshaft and less angle fixes that perfectly.

 

[Odd is he]

Remember.... "lift it, fat chicks can't jump"

I'd put a 4" suspension with some 33X12.50 tires on it

My YJ is 94 also (3.5 EMU lift with 33x12.5's)

Here's some inspiration

 

[jeeps&comics]

ok. so i think i decided maybe a 2.5" suspension with 1" body lift. i think that would look ok, because i am looking to run probably 32" tires, and i dont want the lift to be too high with smaller tires, because it would look funny to me.

this brings me to my NEXT question (sorry guys, im a newb..), what size rear gears come with a stock 94 yj? and if after lifting it and running a bigger tire, would i have to change out those rear gears? what about with a 33" tire, would i have to change out the gears then? thanks again for the info guys.

oh and odd is he, thats a nice lookin jeep man, i hope to get mine looking like that in the future. so those are 33" tires with a 3.5" lift? do you think 32" tires would look ok with a 3.5" lift? thanks

 

[crafty]

What engine do you have? Also, you can't fit 33's unless you have 4" of total lift unless you want to trim some tub and switch to TJ flares in the rear. How many people do you think buy a jeep and think they won't be offroading it alot? Once you do it becomes an addiction. Don't say you were never warned and welcome to the insanity

 

[jeeps&comics]

What engine do you have? Also, you can't fit 33's unless you have 4" of total lift unless you want to trim some tub and switch to TJ flares in the rear. How many people do you think buy a jeep and think they won't be offroading it alot? Once you do it becomes an addiction. Don't say you were never warned and welcome to the insanity

haha thanks. sorry, that was a typo on my part. i meant a 2 -2.5" suspension lift with a 2" body lift. It's a 4.0 liter high output in line 6. yeah, im sure that once i go off-roading once, it will be a continuous thing...haha thanks for the warning though

 

[Triple88a]

^ Auto or manual tranny? It should say the gears you have on the differential tag (looks like a military neck tag with big hole on one side).. usually its placed hanging by one of the bolts.. usually left side of the differential cover. Its should be stamped ~3.07 or 3.73 or something like that.

 

[4.0l sahara]

Look at the rear axle and there should be a tag that says 3.07 or 3.73. Also look and see if the rear axle has a rubber or metal plug in it. If it's rubber it's a dana 35 if it's metal it's a dana 44.The dana 44 is stronger than a 35. If you have a 35 I wouldn't go over a 33" tire.

 

[jeeps&comics]

its a manual, and i'll check out that tag tomorrow... so either way, with a 32-33" tire, i wouldnt need to change those gear's out? i wouldn't be going any bigger than a 33