davefollower

Not a guru with lifts by any means. Never put one on my jeeps in the past. So I'm looking for some advice. Basically I have a 07 4dr sahara. I am putting the AEV 17in pintler wheels on it with 285/70R17 (33's) BF Goodrich Mud Terrains. I know some people run 33's with no lift and don't have any rubbing issues. I would rather put a lift on due to some off roading I do. This is my daily driver with off roading when I get a chance.

So what I was looking at was a 2in or 2.5 in lift. I'm not big on the budget boost lifts and would rather put money into some new springs and shocks. Maybe some other things.

Are there really any issues with budget boost lifts such as them wearing out or the spacers going bad after time. I have heard that the spacers had a tendency to shrink or warp after time.

I was quoted approx. $600 for an install of a budget boost lift (most likely anyone I choose) and around $1000 for a the 2.5 Skyjacker lift kit. Think that includes the steering stabalizer and the component box upgrade. That kit says it comes with rear track bar relocation bracket. But does it come with the reinforcement bracket that attaches to the rear differential?? I heard all the new kits came with that now since they had problems with the factory mounts on the axle breaking off from stress.

What is a resonable price for installation of a budget boost or larger lift?

I'm not sure if this is a good deal or not. Should I go with skyjacker or go with another brand lift? Guess what I'm asking is what brand of lift to go with. I know there are tons of other from doing some research but what is reputable. BDS, Teraflex, Rubicon Express, etc.???

I don't really want to go higher that 2.5 because I don't want to have to change my drive lines and some other things that need changed if you go over that height. Or at least that is what I have been told. Is that right or wrong?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Mark Doiron

I'd really encourage you to install it yourself. I just installed the Rough Country BB and it was pretty straightforward. Okay, I have a well-equipped shop. But, even if you don' t own the tools required, for the money you save on labor you can buy the few hand tools that are necessary. And, if that price didn't include the shocks, you can throw in the new shocks: About $300 for the lift with shocks, and $300 to buy tools. Way more than enough for good quality tools.

As for reliability: Can't say, but to think that the beefy components I installed could warp or bend. I don't see that happening. If that was the person you were considering buying the lift from, I suspect he was just pushing you to the next more expensive product. Go somewhere else and see if they say the same thing.

Blue Mesa

Consider Rubicon Express.

I'd avoid Skyjacker (see my signature below).

Blue Mesa

JeepPilot88

I had a Rubicon Express BB on a previous Jeep (TJ), and really liked it. Either that or everyone really likes the Teraflex BB, ive been eyeing that one for myself. I second the install it yourself idea, it really is fairly straightforward. Find a friend that has a little mechanical knowledge and go for it! Save yourself alot of $$.

Geeper4x4

I would recommend you save a lot of money and do this lift yourself like others have suggested. Teraflex and Rough Country are both really driveway under 3 hour lifts. A jack and some tall jack stands with basic hand tools are all you really need. Wayoflife has a great write up on the TF BB here. After you read through his detailed step by step you will be able to do this yourself. Be sure to recenter your steering wheel or you could get a code. Again this is very easy to do. I have helped a friend do this and we took our time with no issues. We did the TF and it was a very complete kit and the quality was very good. The only problem is I want one on my Jeep now and the wife says no money right now. Sounds like I need to sell something and bring in a little cash for the Jeep. What you learn about your Jeep is well worth the time.

http://project-jk.com/jeep-jk-write-...ation-write-up

davefollower

bump............

RedneckJeep

It's beyond me how in the hell anybody could try to snag 600 bucks for installin a budget boost with spacers. Talk about crooked. If you lived close by here, you could bring it over, I'd show you how to do one, and let you go from there all in my shop. As long as you stuck around for beer:30 when we got done.

TEEJ

Yep - do your own work....when ever possible.

Hook up with a local club...invite them over/show up at their place, etc...for a Mod Day.

That way - you get some help/guidance/access to tools you didn't have, etc.....and you have beer/pizza while knocking it out.



You also become familiar with what's under there....and how it works, and where to steer your lines so as to not hit stuff under there when off roading, etc.

And - if its extra anti-rub tire clearance you're looking for...the reduced BS Pintlers should be taking care of that if less than 4.75" or so of BS...the 285's are only 11.5"-ish...4.75" of BS has been clearing 12.5" section width tires.

If its stuffage room you are actually worried about, the 33's will only stuff ~ 0.5" higher than the stock 32" tires...but, a 1" BL would be a more reliable solution to stuffage room than a BB.

You could of course do BOTH....neither are hard...the BL's seem to take 1.5-2.5 hrs depending on if you get the one bolt per mount, or 3 bolt per mount versions.

The BB's don't take much longer...so, its still a one saturday adventure.

davefollower

Thanks for all the advice. I'm sure I could do the work myself from looking at the various installation instructions for some of the kits. Never done it before but doesn't look that tough. Just not sure on the all of the alignment stuff and recentering the steering. Don't want to have my ride all jacked up and out of alignment so I start breaking parts.

Blue Mesa

There's a write-up on the alignment too.

Re-centering the steering is a 5 minute job with a helper (included in the write-up).

I bought a skyjacker 4" lift from the local off-road shop & they installed. It was a piece of crap. Wheels off center, caster angle WAY off, ride was sketchy, ESP coming on, etc... Oh, and they forgot to mention on my 2 door I'd need a new drive shaft on the rear (especially since the kit didn't adjust the pinion angle on the back). Big mistake thinking everything would be set by them.

They put the kit in correctly, just with 4" of lift, you need adjustable things unless you're up for things being off, rubbing, and soon to wear out.

So I bought all the adjustable stuff from David at Northridge (Full Traction), took off the skyjacker stuff and installed all of it myself. I'd never none any of this stuff before. All went as planned in the write-ups. Great learning experience for my son & son-in-law too.

Short lift should be very straight forward for you, and you won't have all the issues I had.

You can do it!!

Blue Mesa