So I'm pretty sure I'll get comments on how I should do it myself, but I'm currently deployed and to be honest, I don't think I'm savy enough to install a 4 inch lift myself...

That being said, I'm just curious what average prices are to have a lift installed? The folks at High-Tech in Chantilly, VA want almost a grand to install a 4 inch Old Man Emu lift kit on a 2013 2 door JK. Does that sound about right?

 

I've never priced a lift install, but I have had work done at Hi-Tech. I've NEVER seen a shop with higher prices than them.

 

I was waiting in line at 4 wheel parts and overheard a guy get quoted $300-400 for a 2.5"coil lift and shock install. Guess it all depends on the shops hourly labor rate. I think theirs is around $100/hr.Expect to get charged for at least 2 hours of labor.

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My Jeep is going for a lift install on Monday and the quote is $510 for a Rock Krawler 2.5" max travel system. Hopefully this gives you a baseline to work off of since I'm not in Virginia. Hourly labor rates will be the determining factor as mentioned. I was born and raised in Fairfax County, VA by the way and thank you for your service!!!

 

Ha I dont think 4 wheel parts will ever quote a fair price

They overcharge on just about everything. This is how they always do this at the shops around me.

You can check online when you buy your lift and see how long it takes to install a lift that size (typically somewhere between 3-4 hours for a teraflex 2.5 without controls (just an example)) and they will claim that it takes a whole days work and charge you 8-9 hours of work. Lol. 4 wheel parts are full of s#$& they claim they are "experts" and it takes them twice the time it takes me at home with Walmart brand wrenches and a 12 pack.

I never go and wouldn't recommend it OP.

Op. Price check tons of places, ive found that the bigger the name of the shop the higher the wait time and price.

 

Everywhere I checked was between $800-$1500. I wanted a 3" with upper & lower CA, springs, etc. that was just the labor if they provided the lift. This was in VA Beach. I decided to do it myself.

 

I would agree that it's about a 3-4hr job on a kit wo arms for someone experienced, possibly even less. So multiply the high end by hourly shop rate and then add some "back pocket" for ancillary tasks like seized bolts/nuts, troubleshooting squeaks, pulls, etc. after that can eat into their profit if such issues arise. So at a $100ph shop rate for instance, $4-600 isn't completely out of line and $3-400 would be very fair.

Another suggestion I would make is to purchase the kit from whomever does the work if that's an option. You may pay a few bucks more for it from a brick and mortar, but you should also expect better service/support after the sale and this is an arena where you'll want that advantage.

And thank you for your service.

Cheers

 

I dont see how it would take 3-4 hours to install a lift without control arms...just shocks and springs? maybe a spacer? In a shop with proper tools and lifts, about an hour and a half maybe. always have to align though so thats an extra $100.

2 hours - $200
Align - $100
Misc tools n time - $50-100

$300 - $400 is actually not a bad price for their time. But it should all be done in under 3 hours easily.


I've done 3 full lifts so far and the last one took me about 10 hours, but it had lots of modifications - 2.5" X-Factor It's worth it to do it yourself and know everything about your jeep so you have a chance to fix it when it break offroad.

 

Knowing nothing about anything, it took me like 8-9 hours to do a teraflex bb years ago hahaha.

I just swapped coils and shocks recently and it only took me about 2 hrs by myself with crap tools.

 

Don't forget new longer brake lines for a 4" lift & bleeding the brakes. Possibly a new front d/s to avoid hitting the exhaust crossover or exhaust spacers. If you're running factory wheels, you might need wheel spacers. There's a lot of extras that can pop up that take more install time, not just coils/shocks/control arms.

That being said, we did my buddies 2.5" teraflex coil lift & aev geometry brackets in 4 hours in my driveway. I did my 4" complete lift in 10 hours by myself, but I had access to a car lift -- that included all 8 arms, coils, shocks, trackbars, bumpstops, brake lines, front driveshaft & wheel spacers.