Do I have the parts correct for my lift kit and what is the difference between front and rear height

KingKJ · Oct 21, 2024

I'm getting ready to do my lift kit and I'm trying to make sure I have the right parts but I also have a question about how much lower the front is compared to the rear?

Parts list:
OME 790 (Front)
OME 948 (Rear)
Bilstein B6 4600 24-139168 (Front)
Bilstein B6 4600 24-139175 (Rear)
JBA UCAs
Iron Rock Offroad Rear Control Arms
NAPA Extended Travel CV's
Bump stops

I am planning on using a strut spacer to make it a 3 inch lift(I've been told the OME setup will only give 2 inches of lift) and I'm wondering what size strut spacer would I need for the front to give me 1 inch of lift and be level with the rear?
How many isolators would I need in the rear to make it 3 inch lift?

I am planning on doing my suspension work all at once while I do the lift kit(tie rod ends and sway bar links) and am curious about what other parts I could upgrade to give it better offroading(Front and Rear) while I'm working on it (LCAs, Sway bar Disconnects, ETC.)

Shankster · Oct 21, 2024

It's been a while since I did my (very similar) lift (2020, 8,000 miles ago). I think I got about 3" of lift on the OME springs but that was from a baseline of 20 year old worn out factory springs. At the time I suspected that OME under reported the lift you would get from their springs for liability (or maybe legal?) reasons. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable chimes in. My part numbers are not all the same as yours:

Parts list:
OME 790 (Front) - I have OME 2927
OME 948 (Rear) - I have OME 2948
Bilstein B6 4600 24-139168 (Front) - I have the same
Bilstein B6 4600 24-139175 (Rear) - I have 24-185240 for a Dodge Dakota Quad Cab 4x4
JBA UCAs - I used RRO UCAs
Iron Rock Offroad Rear Control Arms - I stayed with stock - no problems in 4 years
NAPA Extended Travel CV's - I stayed with stock - no problems in 4 years
Bump stops - I used generic urethane ones off eBay on the front and trailer bumper guards on the rear (most folks seem to use hockey pucks)

To try to level mine out (front ends up lower than the rear if you don't) I put 3ea 2" conduit nuts from Home Depot above the clevis on each side on the front. I just measured the vertical distance from center of wheel hub to outside edge of wheel arch lip and I have 22" on the front and 21-3/8 on the rear - I imagine there has been some settling and sagging of the springs since I first did it. In hindsight maybe I should have gone with 2 of the conduit nuts on each side.

KingKJ · Oct 21, 2024

Shankster said:
It's been a while since I did my (very similar) lift (2020, 8,000 miles ago). I think I got about 3" of lift on the OME springs but that was from a baseline of 20 year old worn out factory springs. At the time I suspected that OME under reported the lift you would get from their springs for liability (or maybe legal?) reasons. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable chimes in. My part numbers are not all the same as yours:

Parts list:
OME 790 (Front) - I have OME 2927
OME 948 (Rear) - I have OME 2948
Bilstein B6 4600 24-139168 (Front) - I have the same
Bilstein B6 4600 24-139175 (Rear) - I have 24-185240 for a Dodge Dakota Quad Cab 4x4
JBA UCAs - I used RRO UCAs
Iron Rock Offroad Rear Control Arms - I stayed with stock - no problems in 4 years
NAPA Extended Travel CV's - I stayed with stock - no problems in 4 years
Bump stops - I used generic urethane ones off eBay on the front and trailer bumper guards on the rear (most folks seem to use hockey pucks)

To try to level mine out (front ends up lower than the rear if you don't) I put 3ea 2" conduit nuts from Home Depot above the clevis on each side on the front. I just measured the vertical distance from center of wheel hub to outside edge of wheel arch lip and I have 22" on the front and 21-3/8 on the rear - I imagine there has been some settling and sagging of the springs since I first did it. In hindsight maybe I should have gone with 2 of the conduit nuts on each side.

I see, I considered dropping the NAPA and IRO parts but because I am planning on putting the spacers to make it 3 inch lift I figured it would help keep everything in alignment with the larger lift, get more articulation, and not wear out parts as fast.

KingKJ · Oct 21, 2024

Shankster said:
It's been a while since I did my (very similar) lift (2020, 8,000 miles ago). I think I got about 3" of lift on the OME springs but that was from a baseline of 20 year old worn out factory springs. At the time I suspected that OME under reported the lift you would get from their springs for liability (or maybe legal?) reasons. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable chimes in. My part numbers are not all the same as yours:

Parts list:
OME 790 (Front) - I have OME 2927
OME 948 (Rear) - I have OME 2948
Bilstein B6 4600 24-139168 (Front) - I have the same
Bilstein B6 4600 24-139175 (Rear) - I have 24-185240 for a Dodge Dakota Quad Cab 4x4
JBA UCAs - I used RRO UCAs
Iron Rock Offroad Rear Control Arms - I stayed with stock - no problems in 4 years
NAPA Extended Travel CV's - I stayed with stock - no problems in 4 years
Bump stops - I used generic urethane ones off eBay on the front and trailer bumper guards on the rear (most folks seem to use hockey pucks)

To try to level mine out (front ends up lower than the rear if you don't) I put 3ea 2" conduit nuts from Home Depot above the clevis on each side on the front. I just measured the vertical distance from center of wheel hub to outside edge of wheel arch lip and I have 22" on the front and 21-3/8 on the rear - I imagine there has been some settling and sagging of the springs since I first did it. In hindsight maybe I should have gone with 2 of the conduit nuts on each side.

also is there any real benefit to the UCAs from RRO because as of right now when I checked you buy a single RRO UCA for the price of a set of JBA UCAs, both have removable ball joins and greaseable parts, but RRO is 2x the price!

Luke · Oct 21, 2024

Ya… don’t fall for that 2” estimate by OME. I was easily over 3” with 927’s

ikuo78 · Oct 21, 2024

I feel that 790 is too stiff for vehicles without a winch or steel bumper.
It looks like it's going to lift about 4 inches with the suspension remaining extended and barely moving.
I haven't actually experienced it, just my impressions from looking at the specs.

KingKJ · Oct 22, 2024

Luke said:
Ya… don’t fall for that 2” estimate by OME. I was easily over 3” with 927’s

I've been told by people on this forum that's the lift amount?

ikuo78 said:
I feel that 790 is too stiff for vehicles without a winch or steel bumper.
It looks like it's going to lift about 4 inches with the suspension remaining extended and barely moving.
I haven't actually experienced it, just my impressions from looking at the specs.

I'm putting on a winch and steel bumper so that's why I'm going with the 790 so it should match the rear and I wont have to mess with coil spacers/isolators to level it?

Shankster · Oct 22, 2024

KingKJ said:
I see, I considered dropping the NAPA and IRO parts but because I am planning on putting the spacers to make it 3 inch lift I figured it would help keep everything in alignment with the larger lift, get more articulation, and not wear out parts as fast.

Maybe I'm missing something but I don't think the spacers will do any of those things. I'm intrigued by those longer CV axles but note that Rock Auto has them for cheaper and those who have tried them say the boots (outer I think) fail quickly so if you go that way you should look at replacement stretchy boots. Search on here and you'll find discussion about that.

Shankster · Oct 22, 2024

KingKJ said:
also is there any real benefit to the UCAs from RRO because as of right now when I checked you buy a single RRO UCA for the price of a set of JBA UCAs, both have removable ball joins and greaseable parts, but RRO is 2x the price!

No benefit to the RROs. Mine have been fine and I had no issues with the company but some on here don't like them. Go with the JBAs for sure.

KingKJ · Oct 22, 2024

Shankster said:
Maybe I'm missing something but I don't think the spacers will do any of those things. I'm intrigued by those longer CV axles but note that Rock Auto has them for cheaper and those who have tried them say the boots (outer I think) fail quickly so if you go that way you should look at replacement stretchy boots. Search on here and you'll find discussion about that.

the spacers aren't to deal with alignment and stuff, it is just to increase the lift to 3 inches, all the other parts are being put in place in order to do that.

ikuo78 · Oct 22, 2024

KingKJ said:
I've been told by people on this forum that's the lift amount?

I'm putting on a winch and steel bumper so that's why I'm going with the 790 so it should match the rear and I wont have to mess with coil spacers/isolators to level it?

That's a good plan.
Leveling depends on the weight of the equipment, so you won't know until you lift it.
If the front is higher than the rear, it will be complicated.

u2slow · Oct 22, 2024

Shankster said:
No benefit to the RROs. Mine have been fine and I had no issues with the company but some on here don't like them. Go with the JBAs for sure.

RRO arms made all the difference for me - could not get aligned with stock arms after the teraflex spacer lift.

RRO used to be cheaper than JBA.... like 10 years ago. My take is they are a near-identical offering.

Edit: one of the challenges with lifting the KJ is it acts like a bit of a teeter-totter. A firmer front suspension tends to squat the rear a bit. This is first-hand experience.

KingKJ · Oct 22, 2024

to fix the rear being lower all I'd have to do is stack an isolator or 2 in the back right?

KingKJ · Oct 23, 2024

ikuo78 said:
That's a good plan.
Leveling depends on the weight of the equipment, so you won't know until you lift it.
If the front is higher than the rear, it will be complicated.

so is that with my coil spacer to get it to be a 3 inch lift or without?

ikuo78 · Oct 23, 2024

KingKJ said:
so is that with my coil spacer to get it to be a 3 inch lift or without?

It is necessary if you try the coil over and find that it is not enough.

Excessive amounts can be troublesome, so
Usually 926 or 927 is selected.

You'll get more down travel by adding 3 inches of lift with an additional spacer than by lifting 3 inches with the coilover alone.
This is because the strut length can be increased by the additional spacer.
The limit is around 12to15mm additional strut length, but the wheel down travel will increase by 1 inch.

In terms of down travel
3 inch coilover: 44mm
2 inch coil over + 1 inch spacer (12mm spacer): 69mm

This means that the unbalanced UP/DOWN travel due to the coil over can be brought closer to the middle using the spacer.
926 or 927 + clevis repositioning makes sense.

It is better to use new front LCA bushings and spring isolators.
If it deteriorates, you will lose about 1 inch.

Shankster · Oct 23, 2024

u2slow said:
RRO arms made all the difference for me - could not get aligned with stock arms after the teraflex spacer lift.

RRO used to be cheaper than JBA.... like 10 years ago. My take is they are a near-identical offering.

What I meant to say was that the RROs are not better than the JBAs. I initially did my lift with the stock UCAs but the passenger side one was hitting the spring so I bought the RROs (it was during the pandemic and the RROs were slightly cheaper and they were able to get them to me a few weeks faster than JBA). The RROs solved my spring interference problem but I don't think they made any difference to my alignment - my camber was / is right at the limit of the factory specs on the +ve end with both the stock UCAs and the RROs.

Shankster · Oct 23, 2024

KingKJ said:
also is there any real benefit to the UCAs from RRO because as of right now when I checked you buy a single RRO UCA for the price of a set of JBA UCAs, both have removable ball joins and greaseable parts, but RRO is 2x the price!

I just looked at RRO and JBA websites. Not seeing what you're seeing. A pair of UCAs from RRO is $449. A pair of UCAs from JBA is $475. As u2slow mentioned they seem to be basically identical with the nod maybe going to JBA for their reputation of outstanding customer service. As I mentioned though RRO treated me just fine - no complaints. I do wonder if the JBAs would have allowed me to get camber in the middle of the factory range rather than on the +ve edge like the RROs have done - I have not noticed any issues re tire wear or handling but I assume cornering at the limit with slightly more negative camber would be just a tad safer.

KingKJ · Oct 23, 2024

Shankster said:
I just looked at RRO and JBA websites. Not seeing what you're seeing. A pair of UCAs from RRO is $449. A pair of UCAs from JBA is $475. As u2slow mentioned they seem to be basically identical with the nod maybe going to JBA for their reputation of outstanding customer service. As I mentioned though RRO treated me just fine - no complaints. I do wonder if the JBAs would have allowed me to get camber in the middle of the factory range rather than on the +ve edge like the RROs have done - I have not noticed any issues re tire wear or handling but I assume cornering at the limit with slightly more negative camber would be just a tad safer.

Oh I must've misreading the listing, it thought they wanted 449 per uca
I'm pretty sure jba uca is supposed to allow for a proper alignment and who can say no to powder coated red. But I'm pretty sure jba is the choice for.most ppl just because of reputation and the fact that it gets the alignment in spec

KingKJ · Oct 23, 2024

ikuo78 said:
It is necessary if you try the coil over and find that it is not enough.

Excessive amounts can be troublesome, so
Usually 926 or 927 is selected.

You'll get more down travel by adding 3 inches of lift with an additional spacer than by lifting 3 inches with the coilover alone.
This is because the strut length can be increased by the additional spacer.
The limit is around 12to15mm additional strut length, but the wheel down travel will increase by 1 inch.

In terms of down travel
3 inch coilover: 44mm
2 inch coil over + 1 inch spacer (12mm spacer): 69mm

This means that the unbalanced UP/DOWN travel due to the coil over can be brought closer to the middle using the spacer.
926 or 927 + clevis repositioning makes sense.

It is better to use new front LCA bushings and spring isolators.
If it deteriorates, you will lose about 1 inch.

Ok, I'm already planning on replacing the bushings while I'm working on suspension, though because I'm going with the 790s is there any major difference? I know they are designed for more weight, which I'm adding a metal bumper and winch to the front.

ikuo78 · Oct 23, 2024

KingKJ said:
Ok, I'm already planning on replacing the bushings while I'm working on suspension, though because I'm going with the 790s is there any major difference? I know they are designed for more weight, which I'm adding a metal bumper and winch to the front.

Mopar or Moog is fine.

Polybush is also available, but I have never used it on KJ.

Products

SuperPro is an innovative manufacturer of automotive polyurethane suspension bushings, control arms, sway bars and other suspension components for both 4x4 and performance vehicles.

superprousa.com

In general, using these bushings that do not easily deform elastically will result in quicker steering and increased vibration.
However, since rotational resistance is reduced, suspension movement becomes smoother.

Do I have the parts correct for my lift kit and what is the difference between front and rear height

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