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If I was using this as a DD, I would without a doubt go back to a 3" lift. Overall, it was a smoother ride, better MPG (more from the smaller tires) and better handling/control on the road. Since this is a secondary vehicle for me, I figured I would go with the 4.5" lift and 32's. Despite what I read and many people told me, the driveline vibes from this particular Jeep completely went away with the 1" TC drop. The poly trans mount I am about to install is actually 1" shorter than the stock rubber mount so I will be taking the TC drop out when installing the new trans mount.
For MY needs and wants, this lift was fine and I would buy it again, but not for a DD. I don't do much hard or intense wheeling like some of the guys on this forum. I'm someone limited in my geographical location. The ride is as good as it can get for just under 5" of lift considering I only replaced the rear leafs, didn't change the style of shackle or anything. So honestly, it all depends on what's more important to you and what you'll be using the Jeep for.
The correct Daystar poly trans mount arrived, so I installed the Brown Dog motor mounts and the new trans mount. Didn't get any picture of the motor mounts installed but I snapped this pic to show the difference between the original trans mount with 160k miles on it and the new poly mount.
Overall I'm happy. There are definitely more vibes, as I expected, but not bad in my opinion. I would guess they might decrease a bit after break-in as well.
Yep, when I first installed my brown dog poly mounts and daystar poly trans mount my whole dash rattled from the vibes. It had me worried at first, that I over tightened the through bolts, but after about 100 miles or so it settled in nicely. Now I don't even notice the vibes unless the A/C is on at idle. Even then it isn't that bad at all.
Received my front bumper today from B. Lee's Offroad. I also scored a deal on a Dynomax exhaust off of Craigslist yesterday. Hoping to get the bumper painted tomorrow and installed on Sunday. I probably won't get to the exhaust until after the holidays.
Took off the stock front bumper and decided to use Plasti Dip on the new bumper. I applied probably 12 coats or more (went through 2 cans). Letting it sit tonight and will install tomorrow. Front end looks so empty at the moment...
Decided to go ahead and install the Dynomax exhaust after I finished painting the bumper. Had the old off and new installed within 20 minutes. Very happy to not hear anymore exhaust leaks!
Installed the bumper this morning. It seems well built and robust, but the bumper lines don't match up on both sides and also one of the mounting holes didn't line up on the drivers side. My unibody is straight so it's in the bumper itself. With some tweaking I think I can get it looking better. Otherwise I'm happy with the bumper.
Picked this rack up tonight for $40. I'm going to mount it sometime this week to see if I'll have to trim it down to fit the Jeep in the garage. I'll probably add some more structure to the bottom and repaint it.
12-09-2014, 02:06 PM
