4x4jeepmanthing

do you think a metalcloak duroflex joint would be any different?

im not seeing any JJoints with the same ID as the bolt the heim uses to the bracket. hmmmm

the whole idea spawned on me when i saw cav fabs new 3 link and the frame side jjoint is vertical.

SatiricalHen

That johnny joint doesn't have as much upward and downward travel as a track bar joint. A double shear mount is much better anyway. Just get a double shear mount and a new joint. You can really tell a difference in stiffness. At least I could in my jeep. I actually have a cav fab 3 link also.

Ryan Riddle

So in the next year or so I am planning on lifting my 87 xj and I had my mind set on the Rubicon Express 3.5in Super-Ride kit. All the forums I've read says in reality it puts on 4.25in of lift. The lift costs $784.99 and that's when I noticed the Rough Country 4.5in lift costs $680.95 and comes with a transfer case drop kit and allows for 32x10.50s. Now I'm just a high schooler with a part time job so I wanna go the more affordable route but I also want something with good quality. I know rubicon express is supposed to be better but my question is that is it really worth the extra $100? And also, I am very unfamiliar with regearing. If I'm going with 32in tires, would I have to have that done? I have the Dana 35 axle and only going on medium to light trails. It's mainly gonna be a daily driver.

SatiricalHen

Rubicon express is worth the extra money in my opinion. Either lift you go with you want an sye not a transfer case drop. Personally would ditch the dana 35, but you don't have to. Regearing is more of a personal preference. It'll just bog down more and suck more gas without a regear typically. I had a rough country lift and now I've gone to all rubicon express springs with bilstein shocks and a few other extras. Lifting a jeep is not a cheap thing to do, and is something that you should never cut corners on.

4x4jeepmanthing

Easy advice is you get what you pay for. Rough country does not have the best reputation for a reason. It's a cheap budget built lift that's made to get you off the ground and money in their pocket. Great you think! wrong, youll really be spending that money likely twice, once for the lift, and again after everything is shot.
a bigger piece of advice at your age would be for me to suggest that you really think, what do you want out of that vehicle to the longer term?
if you think youll off hand it down the road and you just want something to go camping that lift will be fine.
if you want something to last, save your money for a good lift ,spend it right. Also have a very good idea what size lift you want. these things are not cheap if you decide you want a bigger lift a few years down the road and you could have done it right away.....
good luck though!

Ryan Riddle

Thanks for the advice. As of right now I'm planning out everything I'm gonna need for the lift. I've done all my research so I know what I'm getting myself into After the lift I'm gonna get an RE adjustable track bar, extended stainless steel brake lines, RE steering stabilizer, and either a transfer case drop or sye, haven't decided yet. I knew from the beginning that lifting a jeep isn't cheap. I'm just gonna have to be patient and do things right.

Martlor13

sye for sure at that height

LiamLikeNeeson

Anybody happen to know of an alloy wheel that has a soft 8 look for $100 or less? When I upgrade to 31x10.5x15 KO2's, I would like to have wheels that are on the lighter side, which allot wheels tend to be. I don't do hard enough off roading to the point that a steel wheel is needed to withstand the beating. I was working on this JK with 35's ProComp alloy wheels that looked like soft 8's design wise. Couldn't get a pic but the owner told me they were $600 for the set of 5. No thank you lol.

NewKindOfClown

There isn't one, unless you find a good sale

That's the lowest price you'll find, and I'd double check the quality before running an alloy wheel that cheap

SatiricalHen

I rock black rock 909 rims. Got them from discount tire and they cut me a deal when I bought tires too so they came out around $100 a rim. Got a good bit of rock rash and been on two wheels more than once without breaking one. I know a guy who wheels a Tahoe on coil overs with alloy rims, and he beats the crap out of it. Also a buddy of mine has a Toyota buggy on a set of alloy beadlocks that have held up.

Martlor13

That is quite cheap actually.

NewKindOfClown

Hen,
Keep in mind there are very, very different levels of alloy wheel strength. Anything in the ~$100ea category does not belong on a buggy, and they definitely won't hold up to beadlocks

Basslicks

x2 on this. The wheels that were on my Jeep when I bought it were a set of American Racing Bajas..... about $105 a few years back. I only know the price because I had to buy a replacement for it because the previous owner bent the **** out of one of them (thing was running on street tires and never even saw off-road use). When I was getting new tires mounted on the replacement wheel and the rest of the wheels, the tire guy informed me one of the others was bent as well. So if normal road driving and/or potholes can do that to a cheap aluminum wheel, it has no business being offroad.

SatiricalHen

Yes, I understand that there are various levels of price and quality in alloy wheels, but he was saying that you have to have steel wheels for heavy offroad use, which I was replying back to with the fact that a buddy of mine had high quality alloy wheels that take a beating offroad and are still fine. I wasn't saying my buddy has $100 alloy wheels, just the fact that they are alloy.

NewKindOfClown

I just wanted to ensure he didn't get the wrong impression