BDS

I don't want to get flamed so save it, I have used this tutorial: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=73349. I have been trying for the last 45min. to search for BDS, 4.5", 6.5", lift kit, suspension, , etc. Nothing works on the search function. I am looking for a lift kit for my XJ and the wife is wanting to buy me one for my birthday, can't get much better than that. I really want a 4.5" but can't seem to find the "right" one, I'm currently stationed in Fairbanks, AK so my selection is limited. There is one performance shop in town that sells BDS and has a 4.5" kit for $1,500-$1,600 without shocks.

My question is this: My little jeep cost me $750 and I love it, though I've only had it a week, I've learned more about jeeps and vehicles than I ever though possible. But is a $1500 BDS lift worth it on a $750 Jeep? I want to take this this out and beat it to the brink of death and fix it again, I'm not looking to baby it. Is this a good kit for flexing, trail riding, mudholes well as daily driving? I'm looking for the best 4.5" kit basicly can I please have opinions on kits not flames for this being a post again, I tried to search I swear.

Thanks,
Tyler:wantyou:

The price seems fair, considering your location, because the kit retail with shocks is over $1650. I found that a 4.5" lift is just right for 32" tires. What size do you want to run? For 31's I think a 3 or 3.5" kit is good and for 33's a 6" is just about right.

As far as spending more than your Jeeps worth. I have spent more than double what my '99 cost me in upgrades, with more to come.

Greg M.

I don't know anything about the BDS kit, but your searching woes might be due to the 4 letter minimum for the search engine. I couldn't believe I wasn't getting anything on searches for 33", but I didn't realize that the search word needs to be a little longer.
Are you going with a local shop due to shipping costs? 'Cause there's plenty of ways to get to 4.5".
You'll get your $750's worth out of the Jeep, and whatever you end up paying for the lift. No worries there.

the 4.5" is for the suspension the shackles and coil spacers are going to be during that install I'm going to cut and hack as much off to fit 35's with as much flex as possible with 6's of lift. my goal is just to have a vehicle to have a blast in, I still haven't figured out what transfer case I have but I took a vernier gage and messured my rear axle to find out I had a dana 35? was reading around and it seems I'm wrong about that though LoL. 2.698" on the vernier so i'm guessing I couldn't get it to fit all the way up and it is really is 2.75". sorry I'm off topic now i have too many plans...

either piece one together or try ebay if you want to save some $$. Shipping is probably going to be the biggest factor, or look at some icelandic sites. They are XJ crazy too.

I was just looking at Rusty's and their prices are roughly $600 less. Shipping is only going to be $305 2day air, that was the only option. How are Rusty's kits? Better than BDS?

for good yet cheap priced lift kits, i love rough country lifts. i have 2 jeeps with rough country lifts and love it.

I love my 3" BDS lift rides and works great.

FlatBlack1990 said:

I was just looking at Rusty's and their prices are roughly $600 less. Shipping is only going to be $305 2day air, that was the only option. How are Rusty's kits? Better than BDS?

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no experience with rustys myself. BDS has a no fine print warranty on everything but their shocks (shocks are a wear item) they stand behind their warranty and don't screw people over with crazy excuses like you installed it wrong, raced it, wasnt used in conjunction with their other parts etc and by mix matching kits you voided the warranty. It really is a great warranty.

I have heard good and bad with rustys, i hear its hit and miss sometimes you dont get all your parts and have to make a million phone calls, sometimes stuff goes missing in shipping and is never resolved. Those seems to be the common rustys complaints. His stuff is not top notch but he doesnt charge top notch prices. I would expect to get my parts though no matter the price lol that is something i would not forgive.

If your xj is running well and is not a rust bucket, $750 xj is great, your not wrecking a $5,000 jeep and filling it with mud and scratching it up and ruining the resale value. You cant really ruin the resale value on a $750 xj, you can part it out for more than that, then sell the leftover steel for another $150. A strong running xj with about 150,000 miles is only half used up. You got a great trail rig for a very fair price, if everything works and its not swiss cheese rust everywhere.

Lucky you live in alaska !

I'm in england so I feel your pain on shipping. I went through PORC (performance offroad center) in tennesse?? and they were GREAT!! They ordered me a 5.5 RE lift and broke it up to ship it USPS with no probs. Great bunch of guys and they were the cheapest araound also. Short arm for less than $1500 with shocks SHIPPED.

Far as BDS, I've also heard they have good warranties, with RE you don't need a warranty cause you can't really hurt there stuff. Yes spend the money on the jeep, you can always pull it off and stick it under the next one you get when you wear this one out.

One more for ya, I fitted a front lock rite with a 231 Xfer, MAN!! what a difference, prob be a great investment for that AK terrain.

awesome, so BDS is worth the money, and I just had a bad experience with internet sales about a month ago so that is making me shy away from rusty's thanks again for the advice.

FlatBlack1990 said:

awesome, so BDS is worth the money...

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I've got a combination of RE & BDS on my '98 on 33s with 6" of lift. The warranty is great on the BDS (as said above) and it is built as well as RE. imo.
You probably know to be careful to not cut the spot welds out of your rear fenders since the xj is unibody construction.
dn

I think that I sell that kit somewhere around 1575 w/shocks, however he may be covering freight up to AK.

I think the BDS is good stuff, I have no complaints from anyone that IHave installed it on, and a couple of my friends are on the 2nd-3rd go around and keep buying the BDS as they have been real happy with the kit.

But IMO if you are gonna go w/ the 4.5 for that money I may just say step it up to the 6.5LA kit Long arms are nice....but it only works w/ the AUto tranny and 4.0L motor.
J

have you tried jason @ www.jeepinoutfitters.com he usually has really good prices on alot of good XJ stuff. I got my 4.5 RE kit with AAL and OME shocks for just under a grand. Don't know too much about BDS but I have seen alot of wranglers with them installed on the trail. This would be my choice and you can get some of the upgrades as well. Another 200 bucks gets the OME shocks and the upgraded trackbar and bracket I think its a pretty good deal

http://www.jeepinoutfitters.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=113

free shipping as well

Consider Rusty's is in the SE and RE is on the west coast... look at RE and check with several vendors on price + shipping before committing....

I've got the BDS 3" kit. It netted me about 3" in front and 4.5" in back. You'll most likely need to level it out with a front spacer.

Pros:
It rides nicely, and even with swaybars discod it doesn't feel dangerous.
It flexes very well.
It has the no fine print warranty.

Cons:
For the money, you get almost nothing. I spent almost $800 on mine and only got springs and shocks. No arms, no discos, nothing.
Again, it's expensive. You can get more parts for the money if you pick someone else.

Basically, it's a great kit, but if I did it again, I'd have gotten the RE 3.5 superflex.

I have the Rusty's 8-9" kit on my XJ. All my parts came as promised. Every company big or small has problems from time to time. But when you live further away it takes longer to resolve. I personally only live an hour and a half from Rusty's. Their product is very nice. Will it break? Yes. Will I ask them to warranty any of it. No . I am running Full Width axles, and plan on beating the crap out of it. Search the net and use known vendors. If they are on this site, they are good. Ask many questions along the way.