I'm running a 6.5" lift from rustys and 35" boggers. My 95 ZJ is strictly offroad use and trailered to the mud and home. Looking to put another 3" lift and do some trimming for some 38.5 that I got a good deal on. I know the control arms need extended and plan to put some spacers between body and crossmember to save driveshaft. What else am I missing, particularly with the front end?

 

Long arms....definitely long arms.

 

Well that's obvious, but I'm trying to do this with as much homemade pieces as possible and not spend thousands or really even more that a couple hundred bucks. I don't do any rock crawling or get into anything more than mud and some mild trails..

 

For 38.5 you really need 1 ton axles or get use to replacing broken things,The other big thing will be the steering needs to be replaced.

 

I know the risk of breaking everything without upgrading axles, but this ZJ is on it's last limb from being rearended in front of my house. So i was looking to see what the 38s would do until I save up the money to build a new mud truck. And like I said before I don't do anything but find the biggest mud hole in a field so i dont put much of a strain anyway. Just wanted the pointers on what needed to change to make the extra 3 inches.



I dont drive it more than onto a trailer, in the mud, and back on the trailer.

 

At the point your are at, I would just cut or remove the front fenders, whats the point....out back start hitting stuff with a hammer & throw some parts away like the bumper and tailgate, no money spent.

 

i already fixed it to the point of offroading. That happened last year. Only thing I had to do was remove a bunch of metal and buy one new shock. It's pretty much all ok for intended purposes. I'm looking for someone who has put 9" or more of lift on a ZJ cause i've seen the sigs that say such work has been done to tell me what im getting into. Like the one guy said steering needs redone so what specifically needs changed or is it just have to do with being roadworthy.

 

coly crap 9" of lift. your a mad man lol. 6.5 is more than enough for me

 

These are the type of posts that drive me crazy. You ask for advice, you get good advice, then do what you were going to do in the first place.

 

I was going to do it. I was trying to see what guys had to do to achieve a lift this high before I was in the garage putting it back together to be like oh **** I need to order .... I already have the tires and spacers and knew that my control arms would pull my rear axle forward in the process of going any higher. By using the tcase drop I was keeping my original driveshaft in enough. I've said it multiple times that it's an off-road only vehicle and not worried about vibrations or breaking ujoints or any of that. I just want somebody that has a 9" lift to tell me what they had to do to make everything go back together before I'm knee deep in it.

 

 

On this site very few have a lifted grand and most have a 5 inch or less,I would find a old 1 ton truck ford gm or dodge any of those with leaf springs front and back will do.It will be easy to lift and 1 ton axles already so you can run 40s with some axle upgrades.And with a 1 ton you can get a big block which you want for the torque down low vs a small block.

 

I am sure you can get it done no problem, out of the box no one is selling bigger that a 8" lift for a xj/mj/zj (Rustys), I am sure its a liability/demand thing. I got a pair of 8" coils in a trade one time and I couldn't believe how tall they were. Surprisingly they were from a jeep that rolled.
Anyway you are just at the limits of the stock steering/trackbar & driveshaft angles up that high. Offroad only it may not be a problem, just expect you may have to customize/clearance/modify certain parts to work with eachother.


I know I saw one on JF
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f13/j...5/index24.html

 

I know I'm at the limits so was hoping for someone that has already went that high. I saw a dog of a guy that had 9" on a zj but he is inactive since 2013.

I have a 85 k5 blazer to build but still running the Cherokee til it's completely dead