[montgoss]

I'm picking up a 97 tj 2.5 manual, stock

What do I need to get in order to run 33s bfg m/t.

I'm not doing extreme wheeling, getting in some mud along with some beach and mountain trips.

so what lift will I need(no body lifts)
steering stabilizers.. should I re gear?
what ever info you can add

also i know theres alot of threads already but feel free to post pics of what your talking about

thanks everyone

 

[Gumpy2030]

There are a million threads out there covering this exact information. I would do a search and find out as much as you can from those and then start asking specific questions you didn't understand from your searches. Good luck.

 

[Phrankoff]

truth be told it can be done a lot of different ways.
my first question is why no body lift?
it can easily be achieved at a low cost with a 2" spacer budget boost and a 1.25 body lift.
body lifts are ok if they are under 2". They won't hurt.

otherwise spend more cash and get a 2.5" coil spring lift with an additional budget boost.

my advice: lighten up to body lifts.

If its going to be purely for a look and just to drive around...get the budget boost and body lift.

if you want to go offroad, get the suspension lift

 

[montgoss]

I personally don't have a problem with body lifts but I've read alot of threads and people have really negative opinions about them...

and thanks for actually answering the question,

 

[dan188]

I ran a 2 inch budget boost (spring spacers) and a 1 inch body lift for while and I liked it... The only change I made was switching to an OME 2 inch spring lift to get rid of the spacers since my stock springs were sagging. If you do a spring spacer lift and a 1 inch body lift you are looking at $100 in parts and then add longer shocks, middle of the road shocks are around $70 per shock, so now you have the lift you need for a total of $$380, and I am being conservative. i'm sure you can find the stuff cheaper.

 

[Phrankoff]

No problem

But yeah body lifts catch a lot of bad mouthing IF they're over 2".
Most people will agree, even if they don't want to use them, that 1.25 body lift is OK and even very much suggested in certain setups. Yours would be one of them.

The reason BLs catch a lot of flack is 2 and 3" lifts. Many people believe they are ugly to begin with and they raise your COG or center of gravity. Along with higher lifts you can add to potential transfer case problems and such.

Depending on your financial situation and what you want to do, ON or OFF road Jeep or BOTH... we can help you make a decision on what type of lift combo.

For your specific situation aka not wheeling heavily, you should consider these three options:
1.) 2" Budget boost with a 1.25 body lift - $250ish
2.) 4 Wheel Customs Rubicon 2.25" Budget Boost + 1.25 BL - $175 without the shocks
3.) Rough Country 2.5" lift kit - $300

You can do more research on this site and look at other peoples setups. There are a lot of ways to do it. You need to pick what kind of lift and how much you want to spend

EDIT: I should add I agree with the above poster- you should replace the shocks. IT isn't 100% necessary but you WILL find yourself replacing them down the road. Either because the shocks will be crappy from age or something bad happens as a result of not upgrading them with the lift

 

[s3nt3nc3d]

A good perk of adding a body lift along with a small suspension/coil spacer lift is instead of lowering your t-case skid in order to prevent vibes, you can install a 1" body lift and a 1" motor mount lift (which will also prevent you from relocating your fan shroud) and that should prevent vibes without reducing the ground clearance of your tcase skid.

To run 33's...you'll want around 3.5-4" of lift (preferably 4" for full flex). If it were me I'd run a 2.5-3" suspension lift and a 1.25" body lift (and a 1" MML).

You'll also probably need new wheels with the proper backspacing. You'll probably want to regear...especially with a 4 banger, that loss of power to the wheels will be much more noticeable.

Depending on what rear axle you have, you may want to beef that up some as well... I think the Dana 35 can handle up to a 33" tire without too many issues though.

 

[jameslee97206]

I have a tj with a 4 banger. I have 31 inch mt's on it and it is very slow...I get passed by semi trucks uphill. I would re gear if you want 33's

 

[RSC17]

i have a yj 4 banger running 33's and i have no problem with acceleration or maintaining speed. it doesn't really like hills too much but nothing a downshift can't fix.

 

[Wrangler1212]

Montgoss-
I've ran a 3in BL for a long time and am probably one of the few advocates for them. I'd be glad to sort out the myths and truths if you wanted to send me a message. A lot of the negative stuff about BLs is just Bull and band wagon pressure. Im speaking from experience and not "he said/she said"...

 

[MoA]

I personally don't have a problem with body lifts but I've read alot of threads and people have really negative opinions about them...

and thanks for actually answering the question,

uhm.. anything over an inch yes.. people have bad opinions on them.. i NEVER wanted one.. but then after lifting my jeep first.. i decided to add the jks 1.25'' bl with the 1'' mml.. you just have to make sure your getting a GOOD body lift and not some crappy one thats really stiff plastic (hince most prefer the jks bl)

the mml covered the minor shimmy i had from the 2'' lift.. and i was able to run 33s perfectly on my lift with the added lift from the bl..

depends on what you want..

1) 2'' bb with 1-1.25''
2) jks acos front and rear with same 1-125" bl
3) an actualy 3.5-4'' lift (which will run more money and sometimes take more parts)

i love my acos.. and recommend them to be honest.. 400 for all 4.. and you can adjust them from 1.25'' of minimum lift to 3.5-3.75'' maximum lift (the fronts and rears lift to different heights) and you can always adjust them to compensate for a hardtop, heavier bumpers and armor, ect..

at around 2'' of lift i would look into a good set of shocks also..

and as far as regearing.. see how YOU like your jeep with the bigger tires before stepping into regearing.. i waited almost a year before i stepped up from 3.07s to 3.73s.. but i also did a complete front and rear axle swap.. for 1300 i went from a lp30 and d35 to a hp 30 and d44, and also went up 2 gear ratios.. just to regear my old axles the cheapest shop in town wanted 700 per axle (NOT INCLUDING GEARS)

i could go on and on about how to do this and that to a jeep to fit 33s.. every jeeper has something different in mind.. it depends on what YOU want and how much $$ you wanna throw into it.. do it right the first time and be done with it tho..

steering stabilizers.. imo are a waste.. ive NEVER had any problem with my stock one.. my ex and her dad both had procomp ones.. (cheap i know) and id stick to stock over something like that any day.. now if something were to go wrong with the stock one.. then upgrade.. but not for 33s

 

[UnlimitedLJ04]

theres two commons ways to run 33s:
1. 4" lift
2. 1.25" Body Lift + 2.5" lift, with at least 1" bumpstop extensions front and rear.

 

[MoA]

heres some pics.. i do run 2'' coils in the front which have sagged quite a bit to about an 1'' and my acos is set at 1.5'' in the front.. 1.25'' in the back with stock coils (my d44 lifted the rear up a lil for some reason) and my jeep sets pretty level.. i do have a i6 in it tho

 

[MoA]

theres two commons ways to run 33s:
1. 4" lift
2. 1.25" Body Lift + 2.5" lift, with at least 1" bumpstop extensions front and rear.

hah bumpstops :9lame:

just kidding.. i run acos so i dunno.. but i dont have a problem

 

[UnlimitedLJ04]

hah bumpstops :9lame:

just kidding.. i run acos so i dunno.. but i dont have a problem

and whats the extended length of your shocks? do you run an aftermarket diff cover?

ACOS act like bumpstop extensions in themselves, since the rubber end is damn stiff. But the bad news is, if you haven't added bumpstop, but you've extended the threads to lift the Jeep, you've just eliminated a good amount of space the springs have to compress, and you can damage them.

 

[MoA]

and whats the extended length of your shocks? do you run an aftermarket diff cover?

ACOS act like bumpstop extensions in themselves, since the rubber end is damn stiff. But the bad news is, if you haven't added bumpstop, but you've extended the threads to lift the Jeep, you've just eliminated a good amount of space the springs have to compress, and you can damage them.

i cant remember.. i have the RE monotubes.. im thinkin the 2.5-3.5'' ones.. but i may have gotten the 4.5'' ones.. i originally ran a 2'' pc lift with 1'' bbs.. i replaced the shocks, replaced the 1'' bb with acos, added a front trackbar (d44 had the bracket already on it) so to be honest.. im leanin towards the 4.5'' shocks because i knew i was going bigger

and yes.. im running front and rear riddle diff covers..

the acos bump stops i believe are around an 1'' longer than stock.. i cant remember but i measured them when i first put them on compared to my exs dad's jeep just to see the difference

 

[UnlimitedLJ04]

i cant remember.. i have the RE monotubes.. im thinkin the 2.5-3.5'' ones.. but i may have gotten the 4.5'' ones

and yes.. im running front and rear riddle diff covers..

the acos bump stops i believe are around an 1'' longer than stock.. i cant remember but i measured them when i first put them on compared to my exs dad's jeep just to see the difference

well, problem solved.

I see you've got a JKS track bar too. You're limiting the uptravel because the JKS track bar doesn't clear a riddler diff cover, in fact, it needs about 3" of bumpstop extension in front.

here's that exact combination:

Now you're saying: "well I don't have any problems, my Jeep flexes fine"

That JKS/Riddler interference I posted above, here's the Jeep flexing, with enough room to fit 35s due to the JKS track bar acting like 3" bumpstops.

If you followed the Quadratrash shock suggestions, and have the 2.5-3.5" RE monotube shocks (PN: RXJ703), they're 15" collapsed length...which is actually a 4" lift shock. They act like 1.5" bumpstop extensions themselves.

If you bought 4.5" RE monotubes, those are 17" collapsed length. Which surprisingly enough, act like 3.5" bumpstops! but based on your pictures, it looks like you've got the 3.5" shocks.

So you're effectively running 3" bumpstops on the front drivers side, as the JKS track bar smashes into the huge Riddler diff cover, and 1.5" on the passenger side because the shocks are too long. But hey, as long as you think that crap works, keep it. Just don't advise anyone else to run such a poorly constructed "lift".

If you don't believe me - prove it. Pull your springs, reconnect the shocks, and attempt to set the bumpstops down on the spring pad. Take pictures.

 

[MoA]

ive flexed my jeep out many of times to check the front suspension.. ive NEVER seen my front trackbar touch my diff cover?

also never told the guy to run what i had.. i just gave him the example of acos instead of a bb because of the fact they can be adjusted

 

[UnlimitedLJ04]

ive flexed my jeep out many of times to check the front suspension.. ive NEVER seen my front trackbar touch my diff cover?

then post pictures of your Jeep sitting on the bumpstops, with the springs removed. There is no way a JKS track bar clears a riddler without 2.5"-3" of effective bumpstop, not even on 15.75" stock control arms, let alone 16"+ to correct caster.

 

[MoA]

.. sits right above the diff cover

cant quite do that there either boss.. jeep is 900 miles away.. no since in driving it and my car to lejeune a month before i deploy.. im tryin to find what little pics i still have saved

and just for giggles.. as far as my bumpstops will let me go

i got out and checked my suspension out.. that was from my first trip on my current setup.. 2'' front coils, acos set at about 1.75'' maybe a little more..