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Off road toy, what lift?

D

dannanw

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Colorado Springs
I am getting ready to build my rock toy, no road. will be using (already have a set) 35X12.50's looking at lifts. dont care about trimming body (can do as much as needed). not ready for rear 4 link (not going that serious yet). Was looking at rustys 8in for the clearence and ability to run bigger tires down the road. Found some other options/opions that say more like a 4.5-6ish what yall think. PS dont care about how it does on the road. And am also looking into lockers (found a great deal just want to get lift squared away first).

On a side note what rims would be better with the 12.50's 10in or 8in wide? Thanks yall!! and see yall on the trail! :worship:
 
Good lord dude, search. Obviously you haven't at all if you're considering 1) Rusty's and 2) an 8" lift.

You're looking at spending a good $5k in parts if you want 35's, 5"+ lift and lockers. Gears, steering, longarms, axle shafts, u-joints, SYE/Driveshaft, etc.

Read through the forum for like 2 months at all the threads posted exactly like this.

Oh, and use 8" wide wheels.
 
Hey! My Rustys lift has been awesome after I got rid of the control arms, tracbar and the coils and replaced it with Rock Krawler stuff.
 
sunburned said:
Good lord dude, search. Obviously you haven't at all if you're considering 1) Rusty's and 2) an 8" lift.

You're looking at spending a good $5k in parts if you want 35's, 5"+ lift and lockers. Gears, steering, longarms, axle shafts, u-joints, SYE/Driveshaft, etc.

Read through the forum for like 2 months at all the threads posted exactly like this.

Oh, and use 8" wide wheels.
Click to expand...

thanks, I have been. I did use the search. I didnt find and question exactly like this.....I did find a bunch of, I want to use XXX what do recomend for YY. I dont even know where to start looking for what lift and what size ect. I have been around on here for a while waiting, searching and trying to find the answer to my question so thanks for the help. and yes i have $3,000 to get me started into lift issues so thanks for the info. That is something i have found thanks.

lowrange2 said:
Hey! My Rustys lift has been awesome after I got rid of the control arms, tracbar and the coils and replaced it with Rock Krawler stuff.
Click to expand...

huh, well then......back to square one then. If you dont mind me asking what was wrong with the conrtol arms? I have found info on the known issues with the track bar.
 
If you want to run 35's, check out the 4.5 or 5.5" lift kit from TnT. Comes with longarms, nice belly pan, double shear track bar, sway bar discos, brake lines and everything else you need in the suspension. Look up threads on fender trimming and rear quarter cutting.

http://www.tntcustoms.com/Rock-Tek/4.5_Suspension_Solution/Jeep_Cherokee_XJ.aspx

Problem is, if you are going to be doing some decent offroading, you'll need to beef up a lot of other things and it is not cheap. Here's a list of what I have:

currie steering
Advance Adapters SYE and Tom Woods rear driveshaft
hardened axle shafts front and rear, (760x u-joints in the front at least)
4.56 gears
no-slip rear locker, ARB front

Armor is a must too for the rock. At least a bumper/winch, rocker protection and maybe a gas tank skid. LCA skids on the front axle definitely. The TnT kit has a nice belly pan to protect your trans and t-case.


I started off with 32" tires so that I could gradually buy this stuff over a few years instead of dropping a ton of money all at once.
 
Last edited:
I have dana 35's to start (at least in the rear). Axles are in my future, like sunburned said a little at a time. I too also will be doing SYE/woods drive shaft soon. to start out I am starting with the lift, used wheels, and rear locker. I can do the front and rear bumpers and rock sliders my self. will be putting a 2IN reciever in the front and rear so I can use a winch in the front or rear as needed. I have pro comp mud terains so those might not last long as they aint great for rocks, but they came to me for free. I have many ideas (some not to good :p) that I want to do. I was/am looking to those who have done this kinda stuff for advice. So back to the lift......Why other than the obvious low COG to run a 5.5 vs a 8ish? Seems to me it would give better clearence and more articulation (sp?). and who knows also like yall said, i might run bigger tires latter. Thanks yall for the help. Now where did I put that search button to find more info on what/who to use for the lift.....
 
I would not put 35s on a dana 35...

and no... more lift dos not mean more articulation... proper angles shackle angle, flexy springs, correct bump stopping, etc, that means better articulation
 
I know the axels are going to be the weak point. I will be starting slow with the "crawling" I haven't done much serious crawling. I have done plunty playing just not anything this serious. So the axles should last a while, if not then that gives me a reason to find axles that much sooner lol. That and when I go playing I will have the wife and kids so I aint gonna go crazy; aka no flipping.

In asking yall have showed me that SYE is something i need, so I lernt something....lol
 
dannanw said:
So back to the lift......Why other than the obvious low COG to run a 5.5 vs a 8ish? Seems to me it would give better clearence and more articulation (sp?). and who knows also like yall said, i might run bigger tires latter. Thanks yall for the help. Now where did I put that search button to find more info on what/who to use for the lift.....
Click to expand...

A taller jeep will be much more tippy when getting off-camber

It's hard enough for people to get in my Jeep with a 5" lift on 35's, especially the backseat. Imagine how your wife and kid are going to feel trying to get in something that's 3" taller. Personally, I wouldn't even want to do it lol.

You won't get more articulation with a taller lift. Your axle can only flex so much before there isn't weight on a tire, and that doesn't help you. Since you will be trimming the fenders, you can just bring the whole body down with a lower lift. At full flex, it doesnt matter if you're tire is stuffed in the fender or a few inches below it, the suspension is moving the same amount either way.

Your driveline and control arm angles will be much better with a lower lift. Puts less stress on all those expensive components you are buying.
 
Advantages?

You get better subframe and rocker clearance for stuff like mud, and deep water crossing. Remember that your lowest point is ALWAYS your axles.

Depends on what kind of wheeling you do. If your in the rocks, or in the hills, you don't want to go too high.
 
new axels are in my future I know this. I have to take baby steps. first is wheels (cheapo's), lift (sye/driveshaft ect.), then other stuff. I have 3,000 from selling a quad, so lift and wheels are all i and do. then will be looking into more. And i didn't think the D35's would do to bad on 35's but i guess i will find out lol.
 
I've seen a D35 survive on 35" Krawlers, but the dude had the super 35 kit with chromoly axles and locker and whatnot. Don't even think about putting that much money into that axle. Find a C8.25 29spline from a newer cherokee and upgrade that, or a Ford 8.8".
 
why put money into a dana 35 when ur gunna snap shafts the first hill u climb just save ur money till u can build everything rather then building ur 30 and 35 over and over again screw the polished terd go 44's and dont look back
 
You'll be time and money ahead if you replace the D35 now rather than later. The big lift and big tires may look cooler but not being the guy running an unreliable setup and ruining your buddies' day on the trail is much cooler. ;) You can find a Chrysler 8.25 for pretty cheap, it'll swap right in, maybe needing a new driveshaft, but you'll be needing a new shaft for the lift anyways. An 8.25 can be built to easily handle 35s. A D35 can be built to somewhat handle them and still fear breakage at every turn.
 
Pros of 8in lift??? None.
And you dont have d35s.
You have a rear dana 35 and a front dana 30.
Dont even consider 35s on a d35 :explosion, You will break and axle immediately and then you will be stuck because it is a c-clip axle so your entire axle shaft will slide out of the rearend.
Do yourself a favor and go to a junkyard and pull a chrysler 8.25 from a 1997 and up and save yourself the hassle.
Oh and do 4.5" lift and become good friends with a sawzall and an angle grinder. You will be much happier.
 
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