a little advice for a new jeep owner. 2002 wrangler

[brokenujoint]

Before you lock it, get to know what its capabilities are first.

Youll be very suprised where a stockish Jeep can go, and when you finally lock it, youll be a more capable driver.

You beat me to the punch..

There is nothing more fun than taking a stock jeep out (with other jeeps) and seeing what it (and you) are capable of and comfortable doing. I had the most fun with my new jeep, stock gears, 31 inch tires and open diffs. When something broke, I upgraded it. When I realized that 31's werent cutting it I moved up to 32's then took a HUGE leap to 35's. If I just jumped to a long arm and large tires/lockers, my jeep would be destroyed by now. You gotta learn to use what you got, then move up...

If you never plan on going more than 32's or 33's then you can do a mild lift and keep it on a budget.. If you ever get the bug and believe me YOU WILL, you'll wanna just do it right the 1st time and not look back. Whats the 1st time? Well, how much can you afford? Then when you figure that out, figure another 50% on top of that. Expect to go hungry saving for something and being obsessed about jeep stuff. You'll be fighting with your spouse why you HAVE to have this or that. You'll be at work drawing your jeep, looking online at pics of your jeep. You get the idea.

I dont know your lifestyle, your income, your living conditions, your mechanical aptitude and so on, but my advice is to wheel it as hard as you can with what you got and upgrade it while it breaks.
OR, if you just want the looks, do a body lift, spring spacers and some shocks, tires, wheels and call it good.

[JeepGal]

Before you lock it, get to know what its capabilities are first.

Youll be very suprised where a stockish Jeep can go, and when you finally lock it, youll be a more capable driver.

[2blk2drs]

a front lunchbox locker will get you places you never thought possible.
best ~$200 i have spent

[Jason]

:hide:

What was I thinking, the Rubicons come with front and rear D44's. Thanks for checking.

When I ordered my 2002 one of the few options was a Heavy Duty rear axle, this upgraded the D35 to D44 and if I remember correctly it was less then $300.00. Boy did I luck out seeing how I knew very little about all this stuff.

I knew less than you. I bought the last of the YJs.:hide: I did the 8.8 upgrade though.

Sorry to the OP, I have leaf springs. Can't help you on the choice of lifts.

[Black & Tan TJ]

Tom, my 04 Rubicon....the fluid plug screws in.....D44?

What was I thinking, the Rubicons come with front and rear D44's. Thanks for checking.

When I ordered my 2002 one of the few options was a Heavy Duty rear axle, this upgraded the D35 to D44 and if I remember correctly it was less then $300.00. Boy did I luck out seeing how I knew very little about all this stuff.

[RonR.]

Tom, my 04 Rubicon....the fluid plug screws in.....D44?

[Tumbleweed13]

a "budget boost" is probably the most cost effective (cheapest) way to get a few inches of lift. It's a spacer that goes ontop of the springs, and then you'll also need longer shocks.

As far as the SYE goes, my jeep never had a slip yoke (rubicon) so I don't know for sure, but I hear the general consensus is that around 3" or more of lift you probably need to start thinking about an SYE.


If you want to avoid the possibility of having to get an SYE kit, you do a 2" budged boost, and a 1" or 1.25" body lift and motor mount lift.

If you want to do alot of offroading, you'll most likely eventually replace the budged boost with new springs, so if you know you'll be offroading you might as well just hold off and wait until you can throw down $ for a spring lift. But if you're just looking for a bit more lift to fit some bigger tires and don't plan on doing a whole lot of offroading, it'll probably serve you just fine. And a body lift can make some things easier later on down the line as well, that's probably something you wouldn't remove later on. I'd say a body lift would probably be a good idea either way, if you offroad or not. Just don't get a 3" body lift, haha :-D

Asher, as you said, "mostly street driving". Based on that, I'd have to agree with Daniel, on the 2" budget boost, and 1" body lift. This is a great, cheap way to get started. If the jeep'n bug hits you bad, your still starting from a stockish, set up. Leaving you every option out there, without having to double spend, on different versions of the parts you've already purchased.

Good luck, and keep us posted. Its cool see'n new jeepers, learn to crawl(pun intended).

[Black & Tan TJ]

Tom, u caught my attention.....what fluid fill plug are u talking about to determine axle size????

Hey Ron,
The one attached to the diff cover, just look under from the rear should be right there. I'm sure there's other way but this seems to be the quick & easy though I'm not sure if that changed in later years. Have a look and let us know.

[RonR.]

Tom, u caught my attention.....what fluid fill plug are u talking about to determine axle size????

[Black & Tan TJ]

As JeepGal states this can be a can of worms. Both she and I have gone through the gambit of suspension upgrades. Presently I am running a Currie lift, Currie steering upgrade, SYE and Tom Woods driveshaft. As Curtis said do it right, Currie is the best out there but requires quite a bit of other mod like an SYE and new driveshaft and of course all the set-ups and alignments. There's other thing to consider to, want kind of rear axle do you have, D35 or D44? Simple way to find that out is look at the fluid fill plug, is it a rubber push in type (D35) or does it have threads and screw's in (D44). Yes this will make a difference in the big long run picture. If you have a D44 your in good shape to limitless lift and mod options, if it's a D35 go with the 2" budget boost and longer shocks and no larger then 33" tires and be done with it. Welcome to MJR and the addiction, most of us are always thinking about our next upgrade and how to fund it.

Cheers

[JeepGal]

Can of worms.

You CAN put a 2.5" lift on a 2002 TJ without a SYE. There is a chance that it might need one. Anything over 2.5" youll need to start upgrading everything else.

I ran this way for a long long time. 2.5" rancho lift (I wouldnt recommend it), and a 1" body lift to fit 33's.

You will also need to replace your control arms and shocks.

Tam

[HB Jeeper]

When I had my 90 YJ I had a 2.5" lift and it was fine without the SYE. I then had a 95 YJ and did a 4" and as soon as I drove it on the freeway the vibration was so bad I definitely needed the SYE. Got it fixed it drove it...sold it

[daniel_buck]

a "budget boost" is probably the most cost effective (cheapest) way to get a few inches of lift. It's a spacer that goes ontop of the springs, and then you'll also need longer shocks.

As far as the SYE goes, my jeep never had a slip yoke (rubicon) so I don't know for sure, but I hear the general consensus is that around 3" or more of lift you probably need to start thinking about an SYE.

If you want to avoid the possibility of having to get an SYE kit, you do a 2" budged boost, and a 1" or 1.25" body lift and motor mount lift.

If you want to do alot of offroading, you'll most likely eventually replace the budged boost with new springs, so if you know you'll be offroading you might as well just hold off and wait until you can throw down $ for a spring lift. But if you're just looking for a bit more lift to fit some bigger tires and don't plan on doing a whole lot of offroading, it'll probably serve you just fine. And a body lift can make some things easier later on down the line as well, that's probably something you wouldn't remove later on. I'd say a body lift would probably be a good idea either way, if you offroad or not. Just don't get a 3" body lift, haha :-D

[asher.lucasj]

thanks for the advice. I'll post this question in the tech section with a little more detail and see what i can get. thanks alot

[GP4Play]

Welcome to MJR, I have a old leafy Jeep so no help but good luck on your lift hunt. :beer: