TeraFlex 3" Suspension Lift
Seduced by the glossy magazine ads about the stock go-anywhere abilities of the new TJ's, I baptized my then 1-week old Jeep with a mild run in some sandy scrub during a fall thundershower. I quickly found that the stock 30 X 9.50 Goodyear Wrangler GSA tires became useless as they quickly clogged with dirt, and to my dismay a stray root easily tore through the flimsy sidewall of one of the tires.
Upgrading to a set of 31 X 10.50 BF Goodrich All Terrains (with a three-ply sidewall) solved the sidewall durability problem and improved the clearance and stance of JeepThing without any modifications besides slightly adjusting the steering stops. Nonetheless the Jeep lacked the undercarriage clearance and flexibility for the kind of 'wheelin that that I desired.
In stock form the Jeep sat low in the front and about 1" high in the rear. An additional 100 lbs. in the form of an added Ramsey ProPlus 9000 winch made things worse. The areas underneath that were susceptible to damage and were already accumulating dents were the oil pan, transfer case crossmember, and the gas tank.
I opted for TeraFlex's top of the line (at that time) 3" suspension lift system (S3T), over comparable kits by Rubicon Express and others because of the relative simplicity and durability of the control arm design, and problems at that time with failure of the rod ends used in the Rubicon Express kit. To account for the added weight of the winch 1" coil spacers were added to the front.
Since the Jeep was a daily driver I wanted a ride uncompromised by driveline vibration yet durable enough to take on the rocks on the weekends. I chose the heavy duty NP231 transfer case upgrade and slip yoke conversion kit by JB Conversions and a CV joint style rear driveshaft by Six States Distributors to help achieve this goal without sacrificing ground clearance with a transfer case lowering kit. The good folks at Mountain 4X4 in Cumming Georgia performed the installation of the lift and transfer case mods, and JeepThing rode high and smooth without any vibrations or need to drop the transfer case.
Before After
The front did sit 1" higher than the rear, but settled level after 6 months. The improvement in ride was tremendous with none of the porpoising of the vehicle with accelerating or stopping. The ride was just slightly more firm than stock, and the articulation off road with the front sway bar disconnected was incredible. There was a slight tendency for the steering to pull right during heavy acceleration from a stop - despite checking tire pressure and alignment. This probably is a limitation of the inverted- Y pattern steering setup, with unequal changes in front tire toe as the suspension extends and compresses. Upgrading to a beefier Black Diamond steering stabilizer did not improve this, and the only sure cure would be to change the steering linkage pattern. This quirk is minor and rarely noticable, and I'll probably leave the steering alone.
After the first 12 months I noticed that the front drivers-side tire rubbed more on the shock tower and control arm than the passenger side. Closer inspection revealed that the front axle was translated 1" towards the passenger side. Due to the location of the track bar the axle typically shifts towards the driver's side as the suspension is lifted. TeraFlex recommends that a new hole is drilled 5/16" towards the passenger side of the original hole on the lower track bar bracket, or the bar is lengthened by partially straightening the bends in a press. In my case a shorter bar was needed. A cromoly Heim- jointed adjustable length track bar was ordered from Rubicon Express, and installed after the axle was centered with a come-along.
The lift made the 31" tires look weenie by comparison. A set of 33 x 12.50 Super Swamper TSL's mounted on 15 x 8 black steel NASCAR style rims from American Racing (AR767 - 4" backspacing) added to the looks and performance. The stout 8(!) ply sidewall construction means this tire can handle anything the rocks can dish out, and the bias-ply construction of the Swampers makes the diameter effectively 33.7" tall - almost equal to some 35" radial tires. Unfortunately this created some problems with fender rubbing at maximum compression. A 1" body lift from TeraFlex fixed this.
Unfortunately after 1 1/2 years the back end of the Jeep began to sag miserably. Customer support at TeraFlex was terrific and instantly credited me with a new set of 4" springs that I installed (along with some other goodies)!