Level or lift - wear and tear on stock components

[chorky]

I've read conflicting info. Some say the Mopar lift retains a full warranty regardless of who installs it, some say it must be done by the dealer.

A very small spacer in the front end does not void any warranty, unless they want to prove that the spacer caused any given problem you are having. Any modification you do to the truck could *potentially* cause problems at a dealer if they were inclined to make your life difficult - generally with parts that are connected or affected by the modification. Every dealer is different. However, if you put spacers in the front and the engine Amber Heard's the bed next week - they aren't gonna void an engine replacement over spacers.

My 2013 Camaro had lowering springs on it. I took it to the Chevrolet dealer because the struts were popping very loudly on certain bumps. It wasn't normal. Turns out - there was a Technical Service Bulletin on the struts - they were faulty from the factory. The service advisor told me that because my struts had lowering springs they could simply say no, but they agreed that the issue wasn't caused by being lowered, and that this particular TSB would cover it. Just an example of how they do things sometimes...

Really it just depends on how much money you want to throw away and what you really want. The Mopar lift isn't cheap, and neither are 35s to put under it (which the dealer could ALSO theoretically give you warranty hassles about tires).

I didn't personally have a few thousand dollars to spend on a lift and tires (that I didn't really need anyway) so I went with the spacer and 33" wheels and tires from a Rubicon that I got for $400.

You run the equal risk no matter what you do - so I'd base your choice on available finances and desired goals

By law it is up to the dealer/jeep to prove an aftermarket item was the cause of a failure. For example if a 8” lift put driveshaft angles at a crazy amount and caused them to explode, that likely would not be covered. But if a engine blew up on a 3” lifted jeep it would have to be proven the lift caused the engine failure.

the confusion and difficulty lies in individual dealers. Some are nice. Some are a$$holes. People like myself with only one dealer within several hours need to be more careful than those in a developed city with multiple dealers around. So it should be a calculated risk. I have heard plenty of people saying various dealers simply refuse to work on broken jeeps with aftermarket goodies because they dont want to deal with that mess. Warranty work typically pays very poor so it encourages technicians to shortcut in order to make hours

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[Jefe1018]

The dealership won't give you hassle over the 35s. That is the tallest tire the vehicle is capable of having without modification. Any taller and they would have problems with it for your warranty.

That’s not necessarily true, the mopar lift only says “bigger tires”. I fit 37’s under my JT with a Mopar lift with no issues. Unless they can prove that the wear or breakage is due to abuse or because of an added weight of a bigger tire, they might claim, however most dealers won’t unless it is true abuse.

 

[Louie4]

I second the idea of a Teraflex leveling kit. I put Rubicon springs and shocks on my Sport and put the 1” spacer on the front. Completely satisfied since all I do is take my kiddos around and tow a small travel trailer. For serious off-roading I take my 1993 YJ.

 

[Silverator]

For what it's worth - my local 4x4 shop checked with the local dealer, and "THEORETICALLY", they can put on either the Mopar lift, and/or the Terraflex leveling kit on my Gladiator, while still retaining the warranty. If / when I get there, I may have the dealer do it anyway just to be safe.

 

[jcarbs]

I did the Terra Flex leveling kit and upgraded my OEM shocks to Bilstein 5100's. Later went with a set of Toyo AT3's at 35x11.5x17 because I didn't want to live with noise from the OEM Firestone mud tires. Extremely happy with the outcome.

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

Looking for advice.

Should I level or lift my 23’ Sport S w/max tow 4:10’s?

I am wanting to shoot for 1.5” – 2.5” of additional clearance for 33’s or 35’s. I do not do any rock crawling or serious off roading.

One of my main concerns is additional wear and tear/stress on stock components. Is a lift going to suit me better in the long run or a leveling kit?

Much appreciated and thank you all in advance!

Whether lift or level, most of the real magic happens at the front end so I would suggest choosing the stance you prefer.
Also consider if you tow you may want the lift to keep the rear from sagging.

A lift will add rear springs or spacers, and maybe sway bar link ends, driveshaft carrier bearing spacer, shocks or shock relocation brackets, and optional for ride quality is a track bar relocation bracket.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

Will you be towing, and if so, how much weight?

 

[Jenneraj]

5,000 would be my max.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

5,000 would be my max.

I don't think you have to be too concerned about the towing capability impairment from bigger tires and a lift since you are well under the max.

I did a 2.5" Clayton lift and 35s on mine. Just for looks, it's not going to be wheeled. I wanted more lift than a leveling kit.

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

Consider if you use inferior aftermarket lifts like Rough Country, Skyjacker, Pro Comp, etc you are replacing stock parts with possibly lower quality ones that could fail or wear over time and introduce alignment and suspension geometry considerations.

How do you quantify using the word inferior to describe these brands?
I've got over 25k on a used 3.5" Skyjacker lift. It rides smooth at all speeds, 37" tires wear evenly, no death wobble, bushings look to be in great shape, and it's quiet, and I do offroad often.

 

[MrClortho]

How do you quantify using the word inferior to describe these brands?
I've got over 25k on a used 3.5" Skyjacker lift. It rides smooth at all speeds, 37" tires wear evenly, no death wobble, bushings look to be in great shape, and it's quiet, and I do offroad often.

Personal experience from myself and guys I wheeled with. In my sig are rigs I have run in the past 25 years and two of them had SJ kits (XJ and JKU) that were both complete short arm. I had alignment and death wobble issues, vibs and the ride quality off-road was pretty bad. On the XJ, I swapped to an Old Man Emu kit and the difference was night and day better. My JKU rode like a dump truck so I swapped the springs and shocks for Rancho's and the ride quality improved drastically. My current TJ on a 5.5" long arm had SJ shocks when I bought it, and they were awful.

Maybe SJ has stepped up their game recently because I am referring to 10 years ago or more. I see they have come out a new lineup of products so maybe they are improving.

I ran Procomp on one rig and it was acceptable but brackets began to rust quickly and had to replace shocks after a couple of years. I would say in 4 years, the kit was about shot.

Rough Country...

Before installing the lift on my Gladiator, I visited my buddy whom owns a Jeep shop, and he had a SJ set of front upper and lower control arms sitting on the bench next to the stock take offs. He then unboxed a set of Clayton's going on his wife's JL and set one on the bench. The difference was significant. At any rate, I ended up going with Clayton am very happy with it so far.

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