lhamilton1807

Project: 1992 Cherokee Laredo from stock height (likely 1/2" saggy in the front and 1"+ saggy in the back) to 3 1/2" or so above stock height for under $300, not including new (to me) tires. Yes, I'm cheap. But that just makes it more fun

Here are the instructions I found:
http://www.lunghd.com/Tech_Articles/...udget_Lift.htm

My parts so far:

1988 Dodge Dakota rear spring pack & 1979 F150 front coils: $40 delivered
Front & rear Rough Country nitro shocks & dust boots: $127 shipped (resold boots on ebay - was warned they just collect crud)
Misc. parts for homemade leaf clips, swaybar disconnects, etc.: $25sih
Used rear rubber brake line from a YJ Wrangler (it's 2-3" longer than stock): $10
1.75" front coil spacers (used from eBay, only 20k mi on them): $30 shipped

So far I've gotten the Dakota packs split apart and have cut the main leafs to size. Once I'm ready for the lift (I need the help of a friend with some tools, etc) I'll put the Dakota packs (minus the overload spring) under the main leaf spring from the Jeep and won't use the other Jeep springs. I've got pics of before/after the cutting, and will update with those soon.

10/5/11 Pictures
Leaf springs before & after cutting. Used a metal-cutting blade in my circular saw to cut off the head of the center pin, and used a hammer & chisel to take off the clamps. Then I measured the distance from the center pin to the front & then to the back on my Jeep's main spring and cut the Dakota main springs to those lengths from the center pin hole. Now I need to strip the rust, prime, and paint before reassembling with grease to eliminate the sqeaks.


10/6/11 pictures
I used a brass brush bit and cleaned up the loose rust on the leafs. My 5 year-old son helped me pick out the spray paint (he like the sound of "industrial") and spray primer on the short leaf.


10/13/11 picture update:
I decided to paint the front springs, too. They got chipped during installation, though Altogether, I netted 4" front & back over stock. I also made quick disconnects for the front anti-swaybar links, so I can take out the vertical links before I go off-road and get more flex, but put them back on when driving on the road so I don't have a lot of body roll.


And... The final product! It took 14 hours altogether. Before and after shots (note the position of the red ball on the windshield; the jeep wasn't moved forward or backward during the lift). I had to make a bar pin eliminator for one of the shocks in the back b/c the previous owner broke a bolt putting replacement shocks in, and just welded the bar pin in place. I had to grind that out, make the bpe, and then bolt/weld the bpe in before I could put the shock in.




I've now put the rear fender flare on. It came with the jeep, just needed some new nuts & bolts and it was good to go.

And what I HOPE to do very soon: put the big bumper on! It came with the Jeep when I bought it.


The rear driveline angle was pretty steep, so a friend brought over some shims for the rear springs, longer u-bolts from his shop, and then I made some 1.25" TC drop spacers out of box pipe & massive nuts welded in them to keep them from compressing. All drive line vibes are gone. All of this was free

I collected a bunch of free used tires on CL and traded them for a set of used 31x10.50R15's at a local tire shop, so nothing out of pocket there (they're Toyo A/T's, so Les Schwab rebalanced them for me for free!). I sold my old set of MT's from the pics above for $80 and am now looking for longer LCA's and an adjustable trackbar. The project's been on the backburner for a while now. It's not my DD, I walk to work

lhamilton1807

Total budget for the rig (including the Thule on top, bumper, spare front driver fender, lift pieces, and covers for interior seats) is $2000 now. I'm pretty happy with her It does great in snow, too! After the trackbar/lca upgrades, I hope to make a stronger rear bumper with a tire mount & cb antenna mount. Will just need some scrap metal & borrow my friend's welder! What next... front locker?

ball buster

cool deal, ive got under 6oo into my 4" lift but with all brand new parts and new nitrogen shocks. I tend to be cheap since i dont make much $$ so i do what i can to save it.

lhamilton1807

Great job! I hope to do a few more things to it, but I've got to do it piece at a time. I don't have $2k to throw into it. My ride is a little stiff up front, but putting the big bumper on should soften the ford springs a little. Pretty happy so far If the front springs don't soften up enough, I'll probably buy the moog springs for a v8 zj with an upcountry factory lift. They'd be like $70 for a much softer ride.

wheelinwv

how much lift did the f150 coils give you??

lhamilton1807

the f150 springs gave me 2" of lift, and the spacers got me the rest of it. If you get the upcountry springs, they're longer, but not as stiff, and will give you 2" as well, but will be a little softer. These were cheap ($40 for ALL my springs was too good to pass up), but they're rather stiff. I'll update the post when i get the front bumper on and will mention how much of a change it makes.

Lizardxj01

Im digging the carpent bro!

lhamilton1807

carpent? are you referring to the nasty 70s mottled brown poo carpet that I have in my living room? my wife's wanted to take that out since we moved in 6 years ago. Still wants to, but it's pretty spendy to get the whole thing done. We'd like to redo the hardwood that's underneath. It's 80-yr old oak hardwood under there!

Lizardxj01

I havent seen carpet like that since i was a kid.. And im 25! Just old memorys i guess.

hidetheid

? Trying to keep cost down so.how big can I go before I have to do sye

xjmafia

love the stance, when can i drop mine off so you can do the same to my 92 lol

lhamilton1807

Depends on your jeep. I've heard of some ppl going to 4" and having no vibe issues. I've heard of others having their drive line bind up at 3". Mine was really bad, so I had to use the shims & a TC drop. The SYE is the ultimate fix, but is like $300-$400 in and of itself. Dropping the t-case crossmember lowers part of your rig (remember that you just lifted it? lowering is counterproductive) and it can be hard on your engine mounts. It's cheap, tho, and that's why I did it. I may eventually get an sye, but I'll trim the wheel wells and put 33s on it before i do to make up for the 1" of lower clearance.

hahaha. It looks much nicer, esp. since I've got 31s on it now. I should take a pic & update the look. If you look around, you might be able to get the pieces for next to nothing. You've just gotta be patient I started the build in October, and hope to finish it sometime in Feb. when I put the bumper, lca's and adjustable tb in. That's a long time to wait If you collect everything all at once, it'd probably be closer to $500 or so.

lhamilton1807

Got a pair of beefy lca's for $65 shipped! They're the procomp 55200's.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/320834743635... 4.m1497.l2649

Now to hunt down my adjustable TB...

lhamilton1807

I got the lca's and the RC adjustable track bar in last night. Now I just need to adjust my toe-in and I'll be able to drive it for the first time in a LONG time Will get pics up soon.

ZJ24

Nice budget lift