Help with lift kit suggestions

[Jeepin Jason]

I need to get a lift kit for my 83 Chief. The original springs are shot so I figured I might as well add a few inches at the same time. I will be replacing the spring packs front and back so I don't want blocks. I also want to keep the ride soft as it will be used for daily driving and to occasionally tow another rig. I will not be using it for extreme off-road trips as I already have a lifted TJ for that. I really don't plan on going bigger than the 31's that I currently have on the Chief.

I could use some help with suggestions on which kit and if anyone has pics, especially before and after that would be great!

Jeepin Jason

[Gwamp]

I am in the middle of putting on a Rusty's 4 incher on my rig. His lifts are about the cheapest. My only complaint is that he did not send everything and you have to hound him to get the extras. I got one wrong sized u-bolt and the brake lines were missing. I don't have any before and after pics yet :D The lift added about 1.5 - 2 inches to my front as I already had some AAL's in there. I haven't got the back done yet-in the pricess of doing a shakle flip. I am looking forward to a better non-back breaking ride :cool:

[Jeepin Jason]

Thanks for the help. Unfortunately, I have already had too many friends that have had problems with Rusty's service. I am sure the product is great and maybe it is just a fluke that 3 of my friends have had problems with him, but I will not take the chance.

I am looking at Superlift and Rough Country unless someone else knows of another name I should look in to.

[Gwamp]

I don't blame you at all, I wish I had found this place BEFORE I had ordered the lift and saw all the problems that people had had with Rusty's lifts. Live and learn!

[reddog]

Check out Skyjacker. They come recommended from a number of experienced people here. I am pricing a 4" for my Wag and the best price I have found so far is at Rocky Mountain Suspension (http://www.rockymountainsusp.com/jeep.htm)

Kerry

[Dude23455]

I have the rusty's 4" lift. No problems getting all my parts, of course i did go and pick mine up, and made sure they were all there smile.gif So that might have helped a little bit. lol

Cullen

[tito]

JJ,

If you're looking for a smooth ride, then I wouldn't go to Rough Country. I've got the 3" kit and it can be rough. I don't mind the stiffness and roughness, but it definitely isn't for some one wanting a confortable ride. My wife refuses to ride in it unless absolutely necessary, which means she wants a piece of furniture bad enough to suffer the ride to go get it.

Tito

:cool:

[Jeepin Jason]

Tito,

Thanks for the heads up. I know this sounds lame, but I have to keep the ride somewhat smooth so that the wife will ride in it and drive it. Besides the Chief we have a 2001 Suburban, and sometimes I need to drive that to work if I am going to be taking clients someplace. My only other vehicle besides this Chief is a TJ that has 35"s and over 6" of lift and she hates driving that because it is bouncy and very hard for her to get two children with carseats into the back.

I heard that there is a manufacture that makes a 2 1/2" lift, so maybe I will look into that as 4" may be a big much.

[tito]

Jason,

Sorry to reply so late, lost my head for a couple of days and focused on work. Whew, hope that doesn't happen again for a while.

My original springs were sagging so bad that I gained about 5.5" of lift by putting on a 3" kit. You may want to think about doing a stock spring replacement. If you get similar results, you may get about 2-3" of lift by getting rid of the sag, plus maintain the stock ride. Somewhere in this forum, I remember somebody posted the stock door sill height. That would be a good reference point of how much sag you might eliminate.

Don't have any experience with stock springs, but I saw that espo.com has them while looking for a lift kit.

Tito
:cool:

[bchesley]

Rusty is sometimes hard to work with, but there is a solution. Call www.crawltech.com (http://www.crawltech.com) and get the kit through them. They are his largest dealer and I promise they have much better service.

[JohnnyJ]

A friend has an 86 Wag that he put a 4" all spring Superlift on, and then bought an 85 Wag with 3" Rough Country.

After driving the RC he said to me "now I know whey they call it *rough* country.." He is much happier with the Superlift. We haven't tried comparing mine with the 4" Rusty's to his Superlift to see how ride compares.