Lifting a 4x4 Jeep WJ

[Parketip24]

This one is for anyone who has or currently owns a WJ. At what size lift do you recommend a driveshaft swap? I have heard 3 inches or more you need to do a front driveshaft conversion, and some say you need to do the conversion with any size lift. What do ya'll think? Thanks!

 

[tjZ06]

This one is for anyone who has or currently owns a WJ. At what size lift do you recommend a driveshaft swap? I have heard 3 inches or more you need to do a front driveshaft conversion, and some say you need to do the conversion with any size lift. What do ya'll think? Thanks!

Which 4wd system do you have (Quadra-Trac I, Quadra-Trac II, Selec-Trac, or Quadra-Drive)? The 4wd system you have, and year, determine what front driveshaft you have. It gets a bit convoluted, and the best way to figure it out is just to visually ID it. This should help: WJ Driveshaft Information Page

If you have a double cardon stock than you can go 3" without replacing it no problem. My '03 Overland (Quadra-Drive) had the DC shaft and I ran it for years at 4.5" of lift with a front long arm with no issues. I only changed it because I went higher (and swapped the axles, t-case, etc.).

-TJ

 

[Parketip24]

This one is for anyone who has or currently owns a WJ. At what size lift do you recommend a driveshaft swap? I have heard 3 inches or more you need to do a front driveshaft conversion, and some say you need to do the conversion with any size lift. What do ya'll think? Thanks!

Which 4wd system do you have (Quadra-Trac I, Quadra-Trac II, Selec-Trac, or Quadra-Drive)? The 4wd system you have, and year, determine what front driveshaft you have. It gets a bit convoluted, and the best way to figure it out is just to visually ID it. This should help: WJ Driveshaft Information Page

If you have a double cardon stock than you can go 3" without replacing it no problem. My '03 Overland (Quadra-Drive) had the DC shaft and I ran it for years at 4.5" of lift with a front long arm with no issues. I only changed it because I went higher (and swapped the axles, t-case, etc.).

-TJ

Thank ya for the reply, I have the Quadra-Trac II and it is a 1999 Laredo

 

[tjZ06]

Thank ya for the reply, I have the Quadra-Trac II and it is a 1999 Laredo

Np. Also, I misspelled cardan in my first post. ;) If you get a good pic of your front DS I can ID it.

-TJ

PS- this is my WJ:

 

[Parketip24]

Np. Also, I misspelled cardan in my first post. ;) If you get a good pic of your front DS I can ID it.

-TJ

PS- this is my WJ:
View attachment 229914

Woah man, Love your WJ. I will send a picture of my drive shaft this evening (stuck in school right now). Although I do believe it is either a Rzeppa-Rzeppa or a double cardan-Rzeppa. What would be the situation if it were either of these? Thank you for the help!

 

[ThundahBeagle]

About 3 or 4 years ago I added a 2 inch lift on mine. As I understand it, 3" and up is sort of the rule of thumb with these. At that point you are looking at longer or adjustable UCA's and longer pitman arm.

Mine was Iron Rock offroad springs that gave the 2 more inches. I added the spring perch isolators (DONT FORGET THOSE), Pro Comp 9000 series shocks, Moog Anti Sway Bars and added a new complete drag link to correct some death wobble. Added some Wrangler wheels and tires.

It was just 2 inches above stock, with maybe half inch to an inch due to the wheels and tires. It was a nice, tight ride, comfortable.

Unfortunately there have been other issues plaguing that Jeep and I have recently given it up "for the kids."

I'd love to grab another, but itll have to wait until after we get a new house

 

[tjZ06]

Woah man, Love your WJ. I will send a picture of my drive shaft this evening (stuck in school right now). Although I do believe it is either a Rzeppa-Rzeppa or a double cardan-Rzeppa. What would be the situation if it were either of these? Thank you for the help!

Thanks, I'll dig up a pic when it was at the 4" lift with stock driveshafts, axles etc. too. If you have anything other than the DC then you *should* upgrade to a DC at 3" or above.





This was on an Iron Rock Offroad 4" (or was it 4.5") Rock Link front long arm, rear was stock arms with the wishbone spacer (and obviously coils and shocks). I had some other goodies like Kevin's OR Over-the-Knuckle steering, front JKS quicker disconnects, Addco rear sway bar, some additional skids, Kevin's sliders, etc. Being a Quadra-Drive rig it worked really well (I actually think the Vari-Loks are pretty decent if you keep tire size/weight in check). The tires were ~31.6"s. It was a pretty perfect combo... so of course I cut it all up and went stupid. :D

-TJ

 

[Parketip24]

Thanks, I'll dig up a pic when it was at the 4" lift with stock driveshafts, axles etc. too. If you have anything other than the DC then you *should* upgrade to a DC at 3" or above.

View attachment 230000
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This was on an Iron Rock Offroad 4" (or was it 4.5") Rock Link front long arm, rear was stock arms with the wishbone spacer (and obviously coils and shocks). I had some other goodies like Kevin's OR Over-the-Knuckle steering, front JKS quicker disconnects, Addco rear sway bar, some additional skids, Kevin's sliders, etc. Being a Quadra-Drive rig it worked really well (I actually think the Vari-Loks are pretty decent if you keep tire size/weight in check). The tires were ~31.6"s. It was a pretty perfect combo... so of course I cut it all up and went stupid. :D

-TJ

That thing looks absolutely awesome, here is a picture of my 99. A little hard as a high school student to heavily modify it but found some pretty solid Rubicon wheels with good tires on them. The only thing done suspension wise is a .75 inch leveling kit from rough country. I also have 1.5inch wheel spacers on. Do you think I would be able to run a 2 inch lift without doing a driveshaft swap? About to get some new tires and they have a pretty aggressive tread so I want to minimize my rubbing.


Thanks for the help man I appreciate it! I know my rig doesn't compare as well as others on this site but I think its pretty good for a high school student working a part time job!

 

[OTH Overland]

We have a 2000 Limited, installed a 4" Iron Rock long arm kit on it, had the razzepa drive line, and had to change to an aftermarket shaft mainly due to the fact that the bell shape of the razzepa was not wide enough due to the increased drop causing it to rub on itself. went with a Tom Wood double cardan. Keep in mind that you will need to change flanges at both transfer case and yoke at front diff as well as the shaft. Had to play around a bit to get the caster correct after the lift, you will have to fight the battle between optimum pinion angle to make the driveshaft happy, and the optimum caster angle to prevent death wobble and crappy steering. without cutting the C sections off the front axle and re-welding at the correct angle you can not get both in spec. We did find a happy balance and the rig drives great now. One thing to note wiht lifting the WJ is that due to the shape of the wheel wells you have to go up a whole lot to fit much bigger tires without hacking up your wheel wells. We like the look of the factory wheel well so could not go as big as we wanted. Totaly love the WJ and its a very capable vehicle with lots of comfort and since they made so many of them, used and new parts are plentiful.

 

[tjZ06]

That thing looks absolutely awesome, here is a picture of my 99. A little hard as a high school student to heavily modify it but found some pretty solid Rubicon wheels with good tires on them. The only thing done suspension wise is a .75 inch leveling kit from rough country. I also have 1.5inch wheel spacers on. Do you think I would be able to run a 2 inch lift without doing a driveshaft swap? About to get some new tires and they have a pretty aggressive tread so I want to minimize my rubbing.

View attachment 230003View attachment 230004
Thanks for the help man I appreciate it! I know my rig doesn't compare as well as others on this site but I think its pretty good for a high school student working a part time job!

That's an awesome rig for high school. I drove a '84 Chevy Cavalier in HS. ;) You're doing great. You probably can run a 2" without a DS swap, but really with WJs you're not going to be able to run much (if any) more tire at 2" than .75" level. But if you're just trying to minimize rubbing with your current tires it could help. That said, trimming is where it's at. At 4" of lift and 265/75-16"s I had to do some pretty extensive trimming on the bumper cover and inner wheel well liner, as well as relocated my washer bottle (I used a ZJ bottle) and delete my fogs. In the pic above flexing on the rocks I actually was getting into my washer pump motors and the fog lights all trip. Somewhere I have pics of exactly how I trimmed it.

But the front bumper is mostly just gone now, and rear is aftermarket/custom:








-TJ

 

[tjZ06]

We have a 2000 Limited, installed a 4" Iron Rock long arm kit on it, had the razzepa drive line, and had to change to an aftermarket shaft mainly due to the fact that the bell shape of the razzepa was not wide enough due to the increased drop causing it to rub on itself. went with a Tom Wood double cardan. Keep in mind that you will need to change flanges at both transfer case and yoke at front diff as well as the shaft. Had to play around a bit to get the caster correct after the lift, you will have to fight the battle between optimum pinion angle to make the driveshaft happy, and the optimum caster angle to prevent death wobble and crappy steering. without cutting the C sections off the front axle and re-welding at the correct angle you can not get both in spec. We did find a happy balance and the rig drives great now. One thing to note wiht lifting the WJ is that due to the shape of the wheel wells you have to go up a whole lot to fit much bigger tires without hacking up your wheel wells. We like the look of the factory wheel well so could not go as big as we wanted. Totaly love the WJ and its a very capable vehicle with lots of comfort and since they made so many of them, used and new parts are plentiful.
View attachment 230010

Perfect height/stance for a WJ!

-TJ