Leveling a JT That Already Has a MOPAR Lift - Beware

[JTMJT]

I bought my Rubicon with the 2.5 inch MOPAR lift, Fox 2.0, and 37" tires. The 2.5" turned out to be 2.9 of actual lift so, for all intents and purposes, it's a 3" lift.
I have a 1.5" rake to the front so I bought a 2" leveling kit for the front. Simple kit; disks, bump-stops, shock bracket, bolts n nuts. It was a simple install with the hardest part getting the springs out and in. HOWEVER, the MOPAR lift is the max (slightly beyond) for the stock control arms. If you look at any JT with the MOPAR lift, you will see a slight curve starting at the base of the springs. THIS IS NOT GOOD, for those of you that do not know. Suspension geometry is important for a number of reasons too specific to get into here, but on the Gladiator, it's sensitivity is unforgiving. My 2 door JK is much more forgiving for suspension snafu's.
Suffice to say, adding the 2" leveling kit to the MOPAR lift, requires front adjustable swingarms. When I set it down after the install, I didn't even have to drive it to know what was going to happen. Yep, DW was ready to shake at 37 mph all the way through 50 mph. The slightest bump would set it off. I took it home, uninstalled the leveling kit and wallah (viola') no DW and everything was as tight as before I messed with it.
Working on the JK, there seemed to be some forgiveness from JK to my silly errors in the suspension. but the JT, it is not forgiving. OH, and in breaking it down the first time, I noticed that I had 1.5" of offset that the dealer clearly was not looking at or interested in adjusting. This was from the MOPAR lift. I had to put in a new adjustable track bar (Predator Series) to bring it back to center. (Thanks/No-Thanks Roseville Jeep- aka ICP). Somehow, in all that manipulation, my rake is now just and inch and that will go away when I put a load in the bed, so I am not worried. in retrospect, even a 2" rake is going to resolve with a few hundred pounds of load so it's gotta be a pretty serious rake to mess with leveling the JT (with the MOPAR lift).
Lastly: the Predator Series adjustable track bar was pretty reasonable (under $200) and quite beefy, about a 1/4" larger diameter than stock Rubicon.

Sponsored

 

[ezekio3160]

Thank you for the post! I really appreciate the review since I want to do the exact same setup on my JTR and I want to get rid of that rake and level it having the mopar 2in lift. What would you suggest in the approach to leveling out with the mopar lift?

 

[USMC-SSGT]

Interesting. I’ll have to look again but I’ve got Clayton 2.5” springs which are 3.5” up front. I then have the Mopar lower control arms up front as well as a core track bar. All seems well on mine and it handles good as ever.
Sounds like you may have found the upper limit as you say you were closer to 2.9 and then added 2 more inches so near 5” of front lift.

 

[Mac]

The Mopar lift for the JT is a 2” and it comes with longer lower control arms to compensate for the taller springs. Adding lifts together is never a good idea.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

Thank you for the post! I really appreciate the review since I want to do the exact same setup on my JTR and I want to get rid of that rake and level it having the mopar 2in lift. What would you suggest in the approach to leveling out with the mopar lift?

Shorter rear springs.

 

[JTMJT]

Thank you for the post! I really appreciate the review since I want to do the exact same setup on my JTR and I want to get rid of that rake and level it having the mopar 2in lift. What would you suggest in the approach to leveling out with the mopar lift?

I think you can get away with a 1" kit. I will still do the 2" but I am waiting till I put on adjustable lower control arms.

 

[JTMJT]

Interesting. I’ll have to look again but I’ve got Clayton 2.5” springs which are 3.5” up front. I then have the Mopar lower control arms up front as well as a core track bar. All seems well on mine and it handles good as ever.
Sounds like you may have found the upper limit as you say you were closer to 2.9 and then added 2 more inches so near 5” of front lift.

Exactly what happened. I put everything back to original lift specs and rides solid as ever.

 

[shrinkhead]

I do not see any bending of the front springs on mine and the rake is the factory stock rake; about half an inch to inch

but have to say that the Mopar lift is incredible value. for 1500 bucks you get enough lift to run 37 inch tires with only minimal and insignificant rubbing in front only. This essentially turns the JTR into a beast at the mall and in rock gardens. if you trim your fenders you can even fit 38s on there. The shocks perform well on and off road and it’s a very stable ride feel at high speed while keeping your center of gravity low. Only complaint would be the rear sway bar links can pop loose with this rubber grommet mechanism FCA thought was a good idea. I almost think they designed the truck with the lift and 37 inch tires in mind (why else would it fit in the spare well?)

If the end goal of a build is 37s I would always look hard at the MOPAR lift due to all its advantages

 

[Mac]

I do not see any bending of the front springs on mine and the rake is the factory stock rake; about half an inch to inch

but have to say that the Mopar lift is incredible value. for 1500 bucks you get enough lift to run 37 inch tires with only minimal and insignificant rubbing in front only. This essentially turns the JTR into a beast at the mall and in rock gardens. if you trim your fenders you can even fit 38s on there. The shocks perform well on and off road and it’s a very stable ride feel at high speed while keeping your center of gravity low. Only complaint would be the rear sway bar links can pop loose with this rubber grommet mechanism FCA thought was a good idea. I almost think they designed the truck with the lift and 37 inch tires in mind (why else would it fit in the spare well?)

If the end goal of a build is 37s I would always look hard at the MOPAR lift due to all its advantages

Agree 100%, plus it is made to oem specs for finish and corrosion plus truly engineered for the JT, I doubt if any of the aftermarket lifts have a fraction of the engineering in their designs.

 

[SargeDiesel]

I bought my Rubicon with the 2.5 inch MOPAR lift, Fox 2.0, and 37" tires. The 2.5" turned out to be 2.9 of actual lift so, for all intents and purposes, it's a 3" lift.
I have a 1.5" rake to the front so I bought a 2" leveling kit for the front. Simple kit; disks, bump-stops, shock bracket, bolts n nuts. It was a simple install with the hardest part getting the springs out and in. HOWEVER, the MOPAR lift is the max (slightly beyond) for the stock control arms. If you look at any JT with the MOPAR lift, you will see a slight curve starting at the base of the springs. THIS IS NOT GOOD, for those of you that do not know. Suspension geometry is important for a number of reasons too specific to get into here, but on the Gladiator, it's sensitivity is unforgiving. My 2 door JK is much more forgiving for suspension snafu's.
Suffice to say, adding the 2" leveling kit to the MOPAR lift, requires front adjustable swingarms. When I set it down after the install, I didn't even have to drive it to know what was going to happen. Yep, DW was ready to shake at 37 mph all the way through 50 mph. The slightest bump would set it off. I took it home, uninstalled the leveling kit and wallah (viola') no DW and everything was as tight as before I messed with it.
Working on the JK, there seemed to be some forgiveness from JK to my silly errors in the suspension. but the JT, it is not forgiving. OH, and in breaking it down the first time, I noticed that I had 1.5" of offset that the dealer clearly was not looking at or interested in adjusting. This was from the MOPAR lift. I had to put in a new adjustable track bar (Predator Series) to bring it back to center. (Thanks/No-Thanks Roseville Jeep- aka ICP). Somehow, in all that manipulation, my rake is now just and inch and that will go away when I put a load in the bed, so I am not worried. in retrospect, even a 2" rake is going to resolve with a few hundred pounds of load so it's gotta be a pretty serious rake to mess with leveling the JT (with the MOPAR lift).
Lastly: the Predator Series adjustable track bar was pretty reasonable (under $200) and quite beefy, about a 1/4" larger diameter than stock Rubicon.

Hey bud, going through this now with my diesel on the Mopar lift. I was left with a rake of an 1"+... I really want it level, but I dont want to deteriorate from the ride or cause more issues. So maybe as long as I have the MP lift, will I have to live with it ? Did you ever figure anything out or am I stuck with a rake ? Thanks

Edit: I read to the bottom of the thread.. great idea.. right.. lol seems adjustable control arms and a adjustable track bar and possibly different bump stops is the cure to add a leveling kit...to a Mopar Lift... is this correct ? At this point, I might just call it a day and enjoy my JTRD.... I think it looks pretty good...

Sponsored