I am looking for a cheap way to lift my 89 YJ. I want to put a suspension lift on it and I was actually gonna get a 4" suspension lift from the guy (Shane) I bought my jeep from. He was buying it from a friend (Billy) and has already paid on it and only owes 100 dollars on it now, so I was gonna pay Billy the 100 for the lift but Shane cant get ahold of Billy. If that ends up falling through, what is the cheapest way to put a suspnesion lift on my YJ.I heard from a friend that I can use the leaf springs off an 89 chevy but I aint sure if that true. Any ideas on that or info on REALLY cheap lift kits will be appreciated.
SOA, if done correctly isn't really "cheap". Sure, you don't need to buy new springs, but you are going to need a lot of other stuff, and it adds up quick.
At a minimum, to do a a spring over, you are going to need;
SYE, CV shaft, longer brake lines, and a hi-steer kit to keep the drag link off of the springs.
Also, with as much lift as you get from a SOA (somewhere around 5" give or take), you have room to run tires that are more than the stock axles can handle.
I would say thats not all correct. yes it would be the best to go with a cv driveshaft but you could get away with a tcase drop just like you would adding 4-5" springs under axle. you dont need hi-steer dont know any guys that have ever wasted money on hi-steer for their soa on stock axles. yes longer brake lines wich you can get for $50. You didnt mention a track bar bracket for the front axle wich i think is a must. But you can get away with a spring over for under $200. You need to get spring perches, front brake lines, a track bar (panhard bar) bracket for the front, and a tcase drop and you would be good to go. if you end up having alot of vibration from the rear drive shaft you could always go sye and cv drive shaft but i would go with a tcase drop first and see how it goes.
Heres is a pic of my jeep just to show you that yes i do have a highly moddifed jeep.
I only have one thing to say...you get what you pay for.
But if you want a cheap suspension lift go with Rough Country. It's around $350 or so. You could also do a S-10 bastard pack and get 1.5-2" of lift that way. There is write-up here if you need it.
I only have one thing to say...you get what you pay for.
But if you want a cheap suspension lift go with Rough Country. It's around $350 or so. You could also do a S-10 bastard pack and get 1.5-2" of lift that way. There is write-up here if you need it.
SOA is probably more expenisve then anyother lift when done correctly. I mean i could think of 20 different ways to lift my jeep and get the height i have now and keep it SUS. But i'd rather just do it correctly once
Thanks. I've got a set of sagging stock front springs on the YJ I just bought, and need to address it before I can install the winch and do any off-road riding. I've only got 1" between the axle and new bump stops. My long term plans are 1 ton axles and a V-8, so I'm looking for an inexpensive solution to get me a year or two while I design the suspension and gather and build parts.
SOA gets expensive because you have to change steering components, driveshafts, you will need to do SYE and you probably need new shackles, you can fab up your own perches, reuse the old ones, or most people buy a kit like th MORE kit that runs somewhere around $300. I'd say that you will be in the $500 to $1,000 range for SOA.
S10 bastard packs are a pretty cheap way to go and I think they work fine, keep in mind that some jeeps need SYE etc even with small amounts of lift.
If you already need springs then do your research and buy the kit that works for you. I have been wheeling for over 20 years and am perfectly happy with the RC kit, with TJ flares and 1.25" boomerang shackles I fit 35's and I take it on rockcrawling almost every month. I know lots of people who swear by BDS, RC, Wagoneer springs etc. so definately no one answer.
Just ordered a Rusty's 4" lift today, it will be my 4th lift from them but first involving leaf springs. I believe that they have the cheapest lift that uses 5-leaf packs, had also considered Old Man Emu and Trailmaster. Mine was $610 shipped, $150 of that being freight. I did not opt for the swaybar disconnects since this rig is 98% street. Shooting for 3" so am going to be pulling the shortest leaf out of each pack. Have never had issues with customer service in the past.
I should have it installed in the next couple of weeks, PM me if you want my impression of the thing after I'm done. -TR
Honestly, once you get all the extended brake lines and everything else you need to do the lift RIGHT, you end up spending not much less than you could get an entire Rubicon Express 4 in lift for.
I ended up spending $820 on my RE lift and I love it.
Man, I was always envious of hi-steer systems and I hope one day I can have one. On a lifted vehicle it gets the tie rod out of the way of rocks and what not so it won't get bent and gives better steering geometry. As of now my next mod I'm planning is a tie rod flip. I would never put my jeep on the road for any length of time without a hi-steer system if I was SOA.
I concur.... altho I drive mine without but its only back and forth to work right now, which is withing 1 mile of my house so no biggie, but even that or going to the corner store its scary sometimes.....
winter here now and still about 4-5 feet of snow, so once spring hits the highsteer is going in...
Wbat I did was put a wanted for lift springs on my local forum and got a lot of response. I ended up getting some used 3" springs for $50 bucks. I installed the springs and had to ride around with no shocks for a few weeks until I had the money for longer shocks. I don't recemend driving with no shocks but its doable in a yj for a week or so. Next I got my extended brake lines from quadratec for $30. I also bought new ubolts and shims for $80 from quadratec. So I spent 200 bucks total for a great lift. Its very easy to find the parts to do a "build ur own lift kit" ylu just have to do a lot of asking...
Wbat I did was put a wanted for lift springs on my local forum and got a lot of response. I ended up getting some used 3" springs for $50 bucks. I intalled the springs and had to ride around with no shocks for a few weeks untill I had the mone for longe shocks. I don't recamend driving with no shocks but its doable in a yj. Next I got my extended brake lines from quadratec for $30. I also bought new ubolts and shims for $80 from quadrtec. So total I spent total I spend around 200 bucks total for a great lift. Its very easy to find the parts to do a "build ur own lift kit" ylu just have to do a lot of asking...
I put a RC 3" lift on a '88 fullsize blazer-drove it two weeks and sold it!!!-i agree with"you get what you pay for"- it totally destroyed the handling,and overall ride qualities. don't get me wrong,i wasn't a SMOOTH ride at all before i did it,and i understand all new springs-firmer ride,etc,etc; but the object is to ENJOY your favorite beverage,,,,not WEAR it before you're out of the driveway..... but please keep in mind im an older chap!!!!!!!
I did forget to mention a drop pitman arm fir the Soa lift with stock springs. I ran my yj with a 1.5 inch tcase drop and a drop pitman arm for a year with no problems at all. He is looking for a cheap way to lift and Soa can be cheaper then buying new springs. As for hi-steer I do think it is a waste of money on a dana 30 because the stock axles just are not worth putting any money into. As for axle wrap yes you will have it but not bad enough where its going to hurt anything maybe go through u joints a little faster. And yes I do have hi-steer on my yj but I don't ha e stock axles and im running 38.5 boggers with 10 inches of lift.
I just installed the 2.5" Rough Country on my 95. The cost was a little more than $500.00 with shocks shipped to my front door. Not a difficult install if you are mechanically inclined.
If you guys are scared to drive with a SOA and no track bar, you're big &%#$@!! I did forget that I already had the SYE when I started my lift so add some to your price. (got my 231 with the SYE on it already and sold the old one, final price for SYE $50) Cut down a XJ front drive shaft to fit your rear application ($40 from a junkyard) New brake lines ~$30 from autoparts store ('99 Dodge 3500 passenger side lines if I remember correctly). New shackles are at your discression and totally NOT required. Your drop pitman can be pulled from a Cherokee stock pitman (couple bucks from a junkyard). Yes you should use new U-bolts but you can get away with reusing your old ones if they are in good condition. Perches you can cut and reuse but it's a pain in the butt so get some new ones (someone has to have some near you for cheap). Rancho RS5000 shocks are not that bad for prices or you can comb the interweb for some 6" lift shocks (skyjacker has some, use google). People say that the steering will be hairy but they are talking about the wicked bump steer you will have if you don't use the drop pitman. And even with it, it'll be significant if you death grip the steering wheel. As with all lifts you are changing the geometry of the steering components and suspension. You do it at your risk and you must understand that things WILL NOT be the same as a stock suspension, and that holds true with ANY LIFT!! You may also be told that the drag link will directly conflict with the leaf and that's not true. It'll get reallllllly close and may at full flex with the wheel at full right lock but how often does that happen? It's your Jeep, there's a bunch of smart guys saying it'll screw you, I did it. Been driving just fine since. Got mad lift for way less than quoted here. Get into the junkyard and scrounge your parts like a Built not Bought kind of bada$$. (yes I know this isn't a POPULAR post and people will bash me for it, Build it, recycle it, just don't UPS it)
If you guys are scared to drive with a SOA and no track bar, you're big &%#$@!! I did forget that I already had the SYE when I started my lift so add some to your price. (got my 231 with the SYE on it already and sold the old one, final price for SYE $50) Cut down a XJ front drive shaft to fit your rear application ($40 from a junkyard) New brake lines ~$30 from autoparts store ('99 Dodge 3500 passenger side lines if I remember correctly). New shackles are at your discression and totally NOT required. Your drop pitman can be pulled from a Cherokee stock pitman (couple bucks from a junkyard). Yes you should use new U-bolts but you can get away with reusing your old ones if they are in good condition. Perches you can cut and reuse but it's a pain in the butt so get some new ones (someone has to have some near you for cheap). Rancho RS5000 shocks are not that bad for prices or you can comb the interweb for some 6" lift shocks (skyjacker has some, use google). People say that the steering will be hairy but they are talking about the wicked bump steer you will have if you don't use the drop pitman. And even with it, it'll be significant if you death grip the steering wheel. As with all lifts you are changing the geometry of the steering components and suspension. You do it at your risk and you must understand that things WILL NOT be the same as a stock suspension, and that holds true with ANY LIFT!! You may also be told that the drag link will directly conflict with the leaf and that's not true. It'll get reallllllly close and may at full flex with the wheel at full right lock but how often does that happen? It's your Jeep, there's a bunch of smart guys saying it'll screw you, I did it. Been driving just fine since. Got mad lift for way less than quoted here. Get into the junkyard and scrounge your parts like a Built Wrong not Bought kind of bada$$. (yes I know this isn't a POPULAR post and people will bash me for it, Build it, recycle it, just don't UPS it)
many many ways to do something wrong, this being mostly the wrong way....
each to their own but if your gonan do somehting do it mostly right the first time, save you time and money....
people dont REuse ublots cause they STRETCH, has nothing to do with the fact good or bad shape, even bran new ones I would not reuse after a month, they stretch out and will most liekly never tighten down good agian....
flex has nothing to do with hte drag link hitting turning does, trust me it WILL HIT wiht a SOA and no high steer, I got a 6" drop pitman and it STILL hits... like I said I dont drive it much at all, its a scary thing wiht no high steer.... hit a bump forget about it. its doing its own thing mostly...
Im with you tim I ran stock springs Soa and a drop pirman arm never even came close to hitting he spring with the drag link! But one thing you did say was only a *ussy would run wihout a front track bar that's not cool I un without one but I do recomend it because when you steer it can push your axle around so it does help and its cheap for a bracket.
I think you got me wrong on the track bar. I think if you are saying you have to have one or it's scary, you're a wuss. It's not required on a YJ since your leaf springs hold the axle centered and relatively stable. A YJ is a very capable rig when sprung over and even more so with a 31 spline disc brake 8.8 in the rear. If you are going to spring over, do the 8.8 at the same time and save some time. You can pull one for less than $200 at a local yard most of the time. And if you search you'll even find the LSD carrier with 4.10 gears. Do a clutch repack and you are (essentially) locked on the cheap. :highfive:
Couple of good junkyard tips that I wasn't aware of. I guess if you go SOA just make sure to test each of the issues that has come up here before you get it off road or on the main roads.
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