I'm thinking of pulling the pin on the Terrafirma 3" MD kit from lucky8. I have an upgraded front drive shaft now, is there anything else that absolutely needs to get done before going to a 3" kit? It's on right now for the same price as their 2" kit, plus free shipping for you guys south of the border.

Thanks,

Twix

 

I'm planning on doing the 3" lift as well. I'm not ready for the steel bumpers. Have to think about losing the fog lights...

Nothing should be needed, but i sent an email to Erik to find out. I plan on replacing the shock towers with the Terrafirma's, but its not necessary.

Couldn't hurt to upgrade the brake lines to extended stainless steel... but again, shouldn't be required, so I plan to do that later.

 

Yeah, brake lines look like they have enough slack, maybe not for full flex, but enough to get around town. I'm more worried about driveline binding. The wheel sensors will also have to be lengthened for full flex later on down the line as well.

 

I found that with my 3" terrafirma i needed the extended brake lines but not the abs/speed sensor extensions. It might have worked with the stock brake lines but was a little to tight for comfort. For the price I think it's worth getting. I paid like 57.00 for the full set of braided extended lines from AB a while back but hear that Lucky8's kit is a little better quality.

 

I wouldn't do the 3" without degreed radius arms or castor corrected bushings, upgraded watt links, adjustable panhard, rear driveshaft converted to a Ujoint at the pinion-flange, extended lines all around. Of course everybody will tell you it's not necessary but that's if you have no qualms losing all of the "driveability" that you currently have not to mention sacrificing all of the flexibility you are supposed to gain with longer springs and shocks. The axles can't move (droop and plant the tires) when they are all bound up with stock-length hardware and on the street your truck will feel like a bicycle on square wheels and no handlebars; FUBAR, as they say. RTE sells a pretty healthy, all-inclusive kit with all of the above for both 3" and 4" lifts. You need the same amount of hardware for the 3 as you do the 4". Or you could just ask the guys @ L8 to sell you a complete package with all of the upgraded links and lines. It's insult enough driving a tank with pretty decent factory suspension that has one of the lowest market values of anything it's year-make and class while being 1-of the most expensive at new/retail. It's hard to imagine adding more injury by kicking that "drives-like-a-Cadillac" feel to the curb for a couple of inches in ground clearance. Better just to go all the way like you did with all the other maintenance items and upgrades that came before, having the satisfaction that the suspension is truly upgraded and not half-a$$ed death trap with the front wheels cocked over 3" to the left and boatload of tension on every single bushing/brake line/wheel sensor, axles that won't let go of the chassis, driveshafts struggling to hold their pinion angles: like trying to crawl around trapped inside a burlap sack.

 

Thanks for the info, chubbs. That's giving me pause. How would this compare to a 2" MD lift?

Basically I need new tires & pads very soon - as soon as the engine is done - so I want to time this with whatever lift (if any) I do so I can fit the tires that I want without having to buy another set to match a lift later. My only real practical reason for the lift is to do maintenance on the suspension system. Everything else is for looks. I'm more of a camper/"overlander" type, not into the heavy 4x4'ing. Have any suggestions? The 2" terrafirma looks like a good intermediate solution,

If I were to go all out on the suspension, then yes the 3" RTE package + Fox shocks looks like the best possible option. That could come in the future... but not now.

 

My stock suspension has lived its course so I am also considering some options but the difference in 2" and a true 3" is dramatic. A 2" medium compression spring with steel bumpers front and back won't require upgrading everything else. Maybe the brakes and ABS sensors for peace of mind especially if planning to do off-road. Bigger tires means more ground clearance but sacrificing the reliability of half-shafts/CVs/ring&pinion. Everything comes with a price because the D2 is pretty weak in performance standards. Even when upgrading to HD ring and pinion they have to "peg" it in place to keep it from flexing inside the case. It's just weak. If I was gonna do 33" tires on a D2 I would get all HD axles, gears, and lockers before I even replaced the tires and suspension. But I'm all about practicality and reliability. I'm not of the school of thought "do just enough to get it where you want it." Something will fail at the worst, possible time.

 

Right now, I'll use the springs and shocks. That's 2" height. I ordered the stainless line from Lucky8 and I'll do them too. I wouldn't say this truck rides like a Cadillac. More like a full frame truck with solid axles. 95% of the time mine sits in a parking lot while I'm away at work or in my garage. I only drive it in foul weather or if my car is under the knife.

I'd also say that most of our trucks are weekend warriors and pavement princesses that rarely see anything that they can't handle in stock form. Building everything up is good, but doesn't play into what most of us bought this type of vehicle for. It's cheap, reasonably reliable and easy to fix.

 

99 D2 ACE SE7, 3inch Lift, American Racing 18inch Rims, Kalahari Front Bumper, Terafirma Rocker Guards



I just set up my 99 D2 with 2inch OME HD Coils F/R, with 1inch aluminum spacers F/R. I'm running some aftermarket American Racing Rims (with a wider offset), and it's currently riding on a set of 65% Tread life left 275/70R18 Goodyear Duratrac's.

I installed my Kalahari's OEM low profile front bumper onto my 99 and I have a small amount of rubbing on the inner plastic fender liners. I'd prefer a set of 265/70R18's but since these tires were free I'm going to run them until I need some new ones.

I currently have only 2inch longer shocks on it so it's downward travel is going to be limited by the shock length. Since it's a 99 D2 it's also an ACE equipped D2 and honestly it's sway bar setup appears to give it slightly better flex.

I have zero driveline vibrations and besides the larger tires taking away some of my get up n go it's still faster around town or on the highway than any of my Lifted Jeep TJ/LJ's ever were.

When parked next to a stock height D2 it makes the stock D2 look like a Subaru Outback in comparison. My Kalahari D2 is on a TF 2.0inch Medium Lift with 265/75R16's and the 99 is about 1.5 to 2.0 inches taller. It's not my D/D and I intend on all my LR's (with the exception of my wife's LR3) to be 100% capable off-road.

I've snapped LR axle shafts on stock tires with a heavy foot and a tire hopping on/off the ground, and I've also run larger tires and been careful with the throttle and never broken a shaft.

It's a never ending process. If you build up your axle shafts, and gears the stress with travel to the next item on the list the drive shafts. Beef those up, then your transfer case, and eventually the transmission will come into play.

I've just developed a finer touch off road, and since I drive my LR's to the trail, and back home vs sticking them on a trailer. I've found that if I get into a situation where I could break something I'd rather just get out the winch, and winch myself thru it vs sitting there destroying the trail or my LR. At the end of the day it's just not worth it.

 

Even with the 3" terrafirma lift you are still getting held up by the +2 Shocks that come in the kit. In reality it's only a stiffer spring to prevent you from losing your lift when you pack your truck ready to actually do some off roading where the clearance might be needed. Sure you lose some of the return in the steering wheel and put more pressure on the rubber piece in the rear driveshaft but all in all they will still hold up if it's a trail rig, if it's a daily driver putting a lot of miles on it then you will have some issues. I think anything passed 3" requires a lot of upgrades, 3" and under your fine besides the normal wear and tear you will have anyways with the 2" lift.