RK 3" Lift... I need to run 33" tires... what now??

I have a 3" Rockrawler Lift on my 96 XJ, an adjustable track bar, 3" drop pitman arm, Pro Comp ES9000 series 924515/922500 shocks, adjustable sway bar disconnects, and an 3" add a leaf rear, extended stainless brake lines, Skyjacker 1" Transfer case lowering kit, extended bump stops on the front, and 32" tires that rub terribly.

I need to run 33" tires to qualify to ride with my club on some of the rides.

Please, advise. I cannot afford a 6.5" lift kit. Thanks.

I appreciate you help.

4" drop pitman arm! Wow! For a 3" lift. Is that right???

Regardless, with a 3" lift you're going to need to cut your fenders quite a bit. I have the RE 3.5" lift, which came out to 3" actually. I'm running 33's. I had to cut at least 3" off the front and 2" off the rear to keep from rubbing. At full stuff to the extended bumpstops it will still just barely rub.

Here's some pics:

I was mistaken. I edited my post. Thank you.

I really didn't want to cut my fenders (I have the Country Package) and I love my stock flares and trim. This is for my son. I am his mom. lol

What fender flares are those?

Those are TJ Wrangler flares. I was like you before and didn't want to get rid of my nice color-matched factory flares, but I needed the clearance.

Trust me, after you make the first cut you'll feel much better!arty:

Now I actually like the TJ flares 10x better than the stock ones I had. I found some spraypaint for plastics too that is pretty darn close to matching my jeep.

3" drop pitman arm is not needed for 3" lift.

stock wheels? if so, correct backspaced wheels would help.

2 choices to run 33's, cut more fender or go higher and trim a bit.

what about safety equipment and recovery?

I like your idea.

I thought we would go with 3" coil spring spacers, adjustable lower control arms, 2.5" shackles, and 6 degree shims (1/2" thick) but I do not know if this will work.

I thought I would get some other ideas on how to lift it more.

Thanks.

Here's a picture of mine after I first lifted it and it still had all the stock trim on it. I like the way it looks better now. (click to picture to make it bigger)

We have a 60" farmers jack, front shackles, and a tow strap.

I need a bumper with a receiver. The hitch was stolen.

The problem is if you plan on lifting another 3" from the already 3.5" you're at, you're going to need a lot more stuff, including: sye and cv driveshaft, adj. trackbar, new upper and lower control arms, extended brake lines, etc.

It's a lot of work/money to get to the 6-6.5" lift mark. IMO, you're better off with cutting the fenders (not as bad as you might think).

BTW, I wish my mom did this for me!

I have half that stuff... I listed it in my opening post.

I guess I need an sye & drive shaft and new upper & lower control arms then, right?

you'll def. need the sye and cv driveshaft. Cheapest way is to do a Hack n Tap sye (look at PORC website) around $90, and use the front driveshaft from an auto xj in the rear (cheap at junkyard).

As far as the control arms, yes you'll need those as well, prob. around $300 for uppers and lowers. At that height you'll prob. want to get control arm drop brackets as well if this is going to be driven on the street at all. Those will run you another $100 at least.

Also, make sure the extended brake lines and adj. trackbar you have are still good at 6.5" of lift. If not, you'll be getting new ones of those (about $250). For the front brake lines, you can just straighten out the Z bend in the wheelwells and remount it and that'll give you another 4" or so of length in the front.

You'll prob. need new shocks as well, b/c chances are the ones you have now aren't long enough for 6.5" lift. That's another potential $150.

So, it could still turn out to be quite a pricey project (around $900) to do it right. Now, I'm sure you could take shortcuts and get there for a little cheaper, but the quality and durability of everything will be compromised and you'll prob. end up spending more on broken parts down the road.

That's why I say you're better off just cutting your fenders, it's free!!!

I understand now.

At $900 I might as well get a new lift kit.

I can't afford that. Thanks.

How do I cut the fenders then?

just enough to take out the flares i would think. also how wide of tires were you going to run? you could run 10.5" wide as well instead of 12.5 wide.

12.5

It's swampy and sandy here in Florida.

Trim and fold your fenders, get rims with less backspacing and a set of lower control arms.
It wont be that much.

How much backspacing?

Lower control arms... no problem.

Anything 4 or less would work out. Cragar has some decent rims with less backspacing.

I would not go any bigger then 2" with spacers and shackles but its all personal pref.

Thank you.

I have my 33x12.5's on 15x10's with 3.5" BS.

Trimming the fenders is simple as cut and see how it works. If you want to mount TJ flares just get a set and hold them up where you want them, then cut out their outline and mount them. Mounting the flares does take some time to get them to fit right, but it's not too bad.

Before I mounted the flares, I just cut the fenders and took some Herculiner (left over) and painted a 1" strip around the cut fenders. It actually looked pretty good.

In the rear, you will see that there are spot welds about 1.5 -2" up. if you cut through those, you'll have to reweld the panels together. So, the way to avoid that is just to make vertical cuts in between those welds, then take a hammer and fold over the pieces. Works great.