Hey all,

Picked up this '18 Unlimited Sahara back at Thanksgiving and was told it came with a 6" lift and Hankook 35's. It clearly didn't come with a 6" lift and it was still on stock track bars, links, control arms and drove/rode like shit and felt the axle shifting.

Just got it back and added front/rear adjustable track bars, drag link flip, front control arms(upper/lower), upgraded tie rod and it drives better but I think I still need to get a track bar relocation kit i to get it perfectly parallel. I still feel wandering over bumps.

Just to get this thing drive-able for now as its been down more than up.

I'm planning to slowly replace the RC parts it came with but looking at rancho shocks and metal cloak springs as the rears are sagging, or open to other suggestions.

I'm also trying to figure out the height of the lift, I think it's a 3-3.5" lift but I'm still unsure, any help would be appreciated.

I measured the shocks and they came in at 22"( i read stock is 18.5") , coils came in at 12"( standard is 9 3/8)

I have plans for this eventually but tackling it piece by piece.

Looking forward to getting this on some light trails to start and dive more into it.

 

I think you have it right. Here are stock dimensions:


Judging by the photo, that's about 3" of lift., or more like 3"-3.5" lift with some sag. Yeah, that back is clearly sagging more than the front. I had a 3.5" lift that sagged to 3". The manufacturer warranted both front and rear springs and replaced with 4" spings. This was several years ago and the new springs haven't sagged a bit.

I would agree that a track bar relocation kit would help with the bump steer. With your actual lift height you are at the edge of needing it - except for the fact that you did the drag link flip. Some brackets have multiple mounting points for the track bar depending on lift height so those are easy to dial in.

Nice looking rig!

 

Welcome to the Forum

 

That was the diagram I used to measure.

I'm picking up some Rancho shocks for a local JK'er and I'm currently looking at 3.5" springs to replace the RC ones- I can decide between JKS, Teraflex or Metalcloak. Also have a front track bar relocation kit arriving tomorrow so hoping that will fix the small percentage of flighty steering I have left.

 

the drag link and track bar need to remain parallel, so if you did a high steer/flip with the drag link and the TB is still in the factory position, that will be remedied when you get that new bracket in.

most modified jeeps you see on the road are not modified very well.....we you are coming to see. looks like it's in pretty good condition from the one picture.

 

Thanks for the reply, Just Emptying Every Pocket lol. I originally was looking at Rubicons but for my price point I couldnt find one with low enough miles/not completley beat to shit and wanting too much $$. Plus i can just get a dana 44 front and swap so not worried.

i saw this and checked it out in person, im the 3rd owner and it came with full service/every oil change receipt with 67k miles.
The first first owner bought it new and had the lift done sometime in 2019-2020. 2nd owner just added the dual stabilizer and put 20k miles on it. im guessing so its overdue for a refresh along

Hopefully getting this front track bar relocation kit , throwing on the rancho shocks and getting new springs and I'll be good to just enjoy for a long while now

 

The JK was a great platform. For DIY'ers it's easy to work on and it was a great mix of being very capable, a bit more refined than the TJs were, but not going over-the-top soccer-mom refined inside as the JLs. I've loved mine for coming up on 12 years now, and i have no plans to ever part with it. The 3.6L is what it is in regard to it's typical valvetrain issues (rocker arms), but it is easy to work on too. The one thing I would suggest is stay on top of those oil changes and change more often than recommended IMO.

 

I just did an oil change and switched from normal jiffy lube oil(previous owner) to Liqui Moli full synthetic and planning on 5k-6k changes as I know rocker arms are the major issues on these 3.6's.

I'm also going to do full flushes and switch to Amsoil for diff, trans, power steering fluids as well.

 

I'd keep that interval at 5k max, but that's only this person's opinion. I'd also scrap that damn 5W20 that they recommend and go with 5W30. I just turned 130k on the clock yesterday . I've been running 5W30 for a good while now and my belief is that with this engine running a bit warmer, that oil can start thinning out enough where it starts to mess with the cam phasers, which then starts creating some issues with camshaft codes which is a frustrating rabbit hole to dive down. Might be a bit more common as mileage gets higher, start consuming a bit of oil combined with what is passing through the PCV (would recommend a catch can) and that thinner oil just can't keep up. Anyone, i experienced a lot of these issues myself and 5W30 was the solution for me.

 

I'm actually running the Liqui Moli Asia/American 5w-40. Im just used to running 5w-40 from all my euro cars(Alfa Romeo, VW, BMW) but next oil change I will go down and run the same but in 5W-30, also i''ll look into a catch can