Jeep YJ Shackle lift

[Mope]

I'm helping my brother search a few things out, and was looking for a few opinions, and hopefully some personal experience.
He has a 87 YJ with stock suspension. He wants to fit some 31's he has. The current stock shackles are 4" center to center. If he goes with a 6" center, will he run into steering castor, or driveshaft problems? I had a YJ a long time ago with this setup, and can't remember much about it.
We realize that he will only net about 1 inch lift, but hope it will work. He's running 30x9.50's right now with very minimal rubbing.

If there is a better way to go please share!

I appreciate the info. I'm going to help him out a bit tomorrow when I have some time.

Thanks

 

[LT.]

I would think that trimming the body would be better than using longer shackles. This would keep the handling the same but still allow for larger tires.

LT.

 

[Mope]

I would say that I agree with you here LT. My brother however wants to just do something really quick, simple, and laid back. He really doesn't like to dive very deep into projects such as this. The body on this is pristine, and he also wants to put some beefier shackles on it anyway, and was hoping for a little lift.
What do you think of add-a-leafs?

 

[phatfoto]

Since running the longer shackles will only raise the YJ 1" overall, I doubt it would cause any handling issues. Will that be enough to clear the 31s?

 

[1993yj]

I don't know what I hate more, shackle lifts or body lifts. However, in this case, they will definitely be the cheapest/easiest way to go. He shouldn't have any driveshaft or steering issues with the shackle lift.

Maybe look at a 1" body lift? I would never go more than that, but it will net the same amount of lift as those 6" shackles and won't change any steering geometry.

This seems like a bit of work to go through for 1" larger tires. If you were to find some 4" lift springs he could run 32's with no rubbing on road, and minimal off without fender trimming. More work and more expensive though.

 

[gijohn40]

I had 6 inch shackles on my cj7 and it didn't cause any troubles except when I tried to approach a steep hill or rock... it was the first thing that hit the wall... then it pushed my springs back into the frame and almost snapped them...

Get a 2.5 inch left springs they run about $300 or so and will give him a better ride and look much better in the process!

 

[Mope]

Thanks for the replies fellas. I will pass this info onto him. He wants to run 31's mainly for the fact that he has them, and he wants to tow a small trailer around to haul a 4-wheeler, and doesn't want to re-gear.
I don't know if the shackle lift would clear the 31's anyway. Maybe he'll have to do that, and a 1 inch body lift (1993 yj's favorite)
OR
probably the better option of the lifted springs.

Thanks

 

[Jay5.9L]

On top of looking like shat, huge shackles can lead to steering geometry issues. If he has the coin replace the old stock stuff with a mild lift. His springs are over a decade old and are probably sagging. The longer shackles were a band aid fix.

 

[gijohn40]

look someone is getting rid of some 4 inch leaf springs.... must be your friends lucky day!

http://www.rockymountainextreme.com/showthread.php?t=66195

 

[Mope]

I just replied on that one earlier! Is 4 inches too much for 31's, or is it about right?

 

[1993yj]

Recommended tire size with 4" lift is 32's, so 31's shouldn't look bad. Much better route than shackles or body lift, especially if your springs are in good enough shape to trade straight up.

 

[Mope]

Thanks for the replies so far. I'm just waiting to hear back from the guy with the springs. Depending on how that goes, we might just have the best solution here.

 

[Mope]

How high can he go before he needs to worry about getting a SYE for the rear?

 

[1993yj]

Generally anything above a 4" lift will require SYE. However, with the 4 " springs he will also want to put 1" spacers on the T-case skid plate to drop the T-case down a bit to help with angles. A drop pitman arm for steering issues will also help, and shims for the rear axle to tilt it up a bit to prevent driveline vibrations.

This link shows a basic 4" lift from Pro Comp. You can see that it comes with new leaf springs, extended sway bar links, bump stops, transfer case lowering kit (1" spacers), track bar brackets, u-bolts and new shocks.

It doesn't come with a drop pitman arm, but that will help bump steer. They are probably around $100 or so. Also, Pro Comp says that kit will fit 33" tires, but I had that kit years ago and I would only say 32's.

 

[Mope]

Thanks for the reply. It sounds like there is a bit more than he might want to do, but I told him that half a$$ing a lift would probably bite him later on. He is currently thinking about what he wants to do.

Thanks again.