Lifting a 2002 Liberty on a budget

[JKMudder]

Good God, who gives a shit, honestly. You sound like freakin 14 year olds goin back and forth. Chevy obviously feels he knows what he needs to know and as you already pointed out SUPERD, you can argue with a stump all day and come away with nothing accomplished.

To answer the original question, no, you can't get a usable, reliable 4" plus lift for a Liberty on a budget. As others pointed out, there are quite a few 2.5" kits around.

Also, as a former IFS owner multiple times, I concede that the SFA is a better offroad option, but IFS is not some pile of shit that is useless in offroad situation. Last I checked, that axle is down there limiting your ground clearance just like the tcase etc. on an ifs. Lifting an IFS to fit bigger tires is the main goal, which by default gives you more ground clearance. That gets me into body lifts and people talking badly about them. I personally like body lifts (though I wont run one on the Jeep). The biggest drawback to a body lift is simply the aesthetic spaces you have to deal with. They allow you to run bigger tires which is everybodies goal in lifting. The only benefit other than better materials in a suspension lift are increased articulation/break over angles and not everyone rock climbs or needs those.

Sigh, anyway, each has its place. Everyone has an opinion.

 

[Chevy]

Those are the kind of answers I was looking for! Thankyou guys

 

[daspes]

Wow... how did I miss this thread? :jawdrop:

Mike's Cliff Notes for Liberty lifts:

Cheap lift: 2.5" Daystar spacers $155
Cheap suspension lift: Rusty's Offroad 2.5" lift (it wills sag to stock height usually within a year though)
Quality Suspension lift: 2" OME about 600 on the cheap, 700 normally depending on shocks. (net's about 2.5 on HD springs though)
Best Lift: All J's Products Frankenlift. You will net 3.5-4".
Most excellent overpriced lift: Jeepin By Al's _____" lift. The 4" is with 1/8" of the Frankenlift at 3x the price. The 6" is worthless since you still can't run anything larger than a 32" tire (33" on a KK) without dropping serious bank and time on a SFA.

Lastly KJ/KK's don't have spindles. Sorry. Really, I mean it. p:

 

[Chevy]

Ok, he decided to get this lift:

2003-2007 Jeep Liberty (KJ) 3" Lift Kit! NEW!: eBay Motors (item 360285495093 end time Aug-28-10 09:02:02 PDT)

Then after that, I am orderering tires and wheels through where I work. I think he decided on the Moto Metal 951's (black) and a 265/65R18 Bridgestone Dueler AT RH-S

 

[ridenby]

That lift is pretty much guaranteed to be junk, go with OME springs,shocks.

 

[Dave]

That lift is pretty much guaranteed to be junk, go with OME springs,shocks.

I agree.

Dave

 

[Chevy]

He isn't going to be doing any kind of extreme off-roading. 99% of it's life will be highway. He has the same mindset as me though, if its 2wd then lower it, if it's a 4x4 lift it. It's his money, he wanted that lift. If it were my truck, I would probably have ALOT of money invested into it in the long run. I have $1000 in lowering components on my truck and probably about the same in lift on my wifes truck. Soon another $2000 for an extra 5" of lift on her truck

 

[daspes]

He isn't going to be doing any kind of extreme off-roading. 99% of it's life will be highway. He has the same mindset as me though, if its 2wd then lower it, if it's a 4x4 lift it. It's his money, he wanted that lift. If it were my truck, I would probably have ALOT of money invested into it in the long run. I have $1000 in lowering components on my truck and probably about the same in lift on my wifes truck. Soon another $2000 for an extra 5" of lift on her truck

First, the lift is junk, and WAY overpriced....Sorry. 8 year old stock coils with a metal spacer... not going work well. Personally will be suprised if a 30.5" tire will fit. Not to mention ack of ride quality.

Second, Tires and Wheels... A with any 32" tire he is going to be cutting and trimming like hell. He also will have to remove his windsheild washer bottle and replace it with a generic 2 gallon radiator overflow mounted in the engine compatrment. I won't even comment on the 18" wheel. But the Moto Metal 951 won't fit on the liberty. Backspacing is wrong. You need to have 3.75" - 4.5" BS. Anything else just wont work. With the 5 3/4" BS of those rims you would be limited to a 29" or 30" tire on a liberty. Secondly the wheel is way to wide, 7" wide is optimum for the KJ, 8" is really pushing it and creates a lot of rubbing on the edge of the fenderwell... Lastly if you even tried to air down a 10.5" wide tire on a 9" rim you are pretty much going to blow the bead.

 

[Chevy]

These Liberties are a pain in the butt, lol. I told him I did't think the lift looked that great. If it were mine, like I said, I would have gotten a better kit. For a mild lift, I would get adjustable coilovers up front and new coils in the back. Wheels and tires will come after the lift, nothing is for sure yet. It's his truck, I cant force him to get something he doesnt want to buy

 

[yellocoyote]

This might just be a case that he'll have to learn by his mistakes.

 

[Chevy]

I'm trying to talk him out of that kit and getting this one:

02-05 jeep liberty kj 2.5" skyjacker lift kit : eBay Motors (item 190432096180 end time Aug-21-10 19:16:10 PDT)

 

[daspes]

I'm trying to talk him out of that kit and getting this one:

02-05 jeep liberty kj 2.5" skyjacker lift kit : eBay Motors (item 190432096180 end time Aug-21-10 19:16:10 PDT)

Holly poo!!! 500-750 buy it now!!! A OME kit can easily put together for that much.

 

[Chevy]

The only OME kit I could find for an 02 Liberty was 1.5" FOR $750. I have had good luck with Skyjacker in the past. They make a quality lift.

 

[daspes]

All J's (boulderbars.com) has the springs for $300. Unless the front shocks are blown, no use replaceing them. The rears just use any shock for a Durango (IIRC 99-05, I'll have to research that when I'm at home).

 

[daspes]

Also, due to regulations in Australia (where OME is out of) Lift's are limited to no more than 2" (all KJ OME Lifts I've seen are listed as ' 2" '), so All there lifts are sold as light duty (2" over stock), Medium Duty (usually about 3" over stock, 2" when used with aftermarket bumpers), or Heavy duty (nearly 4", or 2" inch when bumpers, winch, skids, and gear are added in).

Still The 750 for a Skyjacker or 750 for an OME is no comparison. Another thing is Skyjacker changed there coils in 03. The newer coils don't do that much for a KJ.

 

[tommudd]

Skyjacker coils are weak and will sag like Aunt Tilly in a few months
FACTs
OME HD front coils are 400 lbs
Skyjacker front coils are 310 lb same as stock ( 300-320)
Rustys are the same as well 310 lb
stay away from Skyjackers if you want your lift to keep the KJ up in the air, trust me they'll sag

 

[tommudd]

I'm trying to talk him out of that kit and getting this one:

02-05 jeep liberty kj 2.5" skyjacker lift kit : eBay Motors (item 190432096180 end time Aug-21-10 19:16:10 PDT)

junk

 

[Shaggy]

Whats a good lift then?

 

[ridenby]

All J's (boulderbars.com) has the springs for $300. Unless the front shocks are blown, no use replaceing them. The rears just use any shock for a Durango (IIRC 99-05, I'll have to research that when I'm at home).

Also, due to regulations in Australia (where OME is out of) Lift's are limited to no more than 2" (all KJ OME Lifts I've seen are listed as ' 2" '), so All there lifts are sold as light duty (2" over stock), Medium Duty (usually about 3" over stock, 2" when used with aftermarket bumpers), or Heavy duty (nearly 4", or 2" inch when bumpers, winch, skids, and gear are added in).

Still The 750 for a Skyjacker or 750 for an OME is no comparison. Another thing is Skyjacker changed there coils in 03. The newer coils don't do that much for a KJ.

Skyjacker coils are weak and will sag like Aunt Tilly in a few months
FACTs
OME HD front coils are 400 lbs
Skyjacker front coils are 310 lb same as stock ( 300-320)
Rustys are the same as well 310 lb
stay away from Skyjackers if you want your lift to keep the KJ up in the air, trust me they'll sag

Whats a good lift then?

Look up,or could get a Franky. If I was doing it again would use OME,Durango shocks on rear. HD on the OME,you are going to add more junk to your junk.

 

[Chevy]

He ended up buying a cheap kit rather than saving for a better. He got a 4wd.com 2" lift. Basically just new coils. I'll be installing it tomorrow