Baystate Jeepers

Hey folks, so I've been spending a fair amount of time under Jonathan (my 2009 JKU) over the past month. Also been wheeling every chance I get. So despite adding 35's this fall I've been feeling it is running a little low (not enough ground clearance). I bought Jonathan in Jan of 2020 and put on a 2 inch Rancho lift that spring. I wanted to keep it a moderate lift because it is my DD and I wasn't going to be doing "too much crazy off-road" stuff. Well, that's changed a bit.

The Rancho lift was a set of springs, shocks, and misc. components. I installed it myself. Initially gave me 2.5 inches over my old worn out springs and shocks which seemed great! Now, after adding skids, a front bumper, a winch, misc other mods, and wheeling on it for almost two years I measured my lift today and I'm only 1.25 inches above stock height. That's not cutting it. Ideally, I'd like to keep the actual lift between 2-3 inches.

I'm looking at two options:
1. Add some spring spacers to bump the lift back up to what it once was. 1 inch spacers would bring me back to 2 inches and, I assume, keep the original geometry of my lift intact. I would probably install some bump stops and shock risers to the front as most folks (and Rancho) encourage this if you use 35 inch tires. This would be a cheap and relatively easy fix. Anyone see concerns with this I ought to keep in mind?

2. Get a new lift. Obviously this is the ideal solution if money were not an issue. But, money is an issue. Any lift that is greater than 2 inches generally needs lots of other modifications which all add up. My estimates are $1500 (on the super low end) to $2500 on the high end. Since I have some of the components I would need (adjustable track bar, sway bar links, etc.) I may be able to Frankenstein a lift for cheaper, but that's a bit outside my league.

The spacers I could do quickly and get back on the trails. A new lift would require some significant saving and spousal cajoling. Thoughts...

You don’t need adjustable track bars, it have the relocation brackets and switched back to stock bars because they are simple and reliable. A set of lifted springs is probably enough to get you by. If you don’t need bump stops now you’ll be fine with taller springs.

Rancho recommends (and provides) the bump stops with the lift if you run 35s. I was running 33-34s so never installed them. I think they were intended to prevent fender rubbing. When I switched to 35s this fall I heard a LOT of rubbing on some rides at flex. I then switched to flat fenders to prevent this, but still wondered about installing the bump stops. Folks on the WranglerForum suggest installing the shock mount extensions to compensate for the loss of travel by adding the bump stops. I’m now thinking of installing Teraflex 1” spacers and skipping the bump stops and extensions all together. I’m not sure what purpose they’d serve.

Nothing extra is needed for 2 1/2 inches. I'm wondering if the front and back are both 1.25 inches or is the back more? I ask because my Teraflex 2.5" lift is 2.5 in the rear and 1.75 in the front. I'm fixing this with a set of Metalcloak front springs that are sitting on my porch. I think I paid something like $200 for them.

So I spent today installing a new heavy duty crossmember. It’s never as easy as it should be with a 13 year old Jeep. But, got everything installed and the skids back in place. While I was working, I remeasured the front and checked on the rear. Both are sitting at about 1 1/4 inches. I spoke with a few members who installed spacers when their lifts settled a bit. They’re doing well with it so I went ahead and ordered some Teraflex 1” spacers for front and rear which will bring me up to 2 1/4. That’ll do for now. I looked at installing a new lift, and will probably go ahead a do that soon. Maybe this summer. But my main goal is to get my height back before heading out to Utah in 12 days. The spacers will do that. Then I can later look into investing in a better lift. Thanks for all the input.

Following up…1” spacers arrived this week. As I was rereading my lift instructions (since I was basically reinstalling it) I saw on page 2 under recommended modifications, “if you are install a winch, you may wish to add a 3/4 inch spacer to compensate.” I had totally forgotten about that since I didn’t have my winch when I installed the lift. So apparently adding the spacers are expected with all the added weight I have. So I went ahead and installed them today. Four 1 inch spacers all around. Loving my stance now and ought to have better clearance on the trail!

Nice! Don’t forget an alignment!