Liberty improvements?

[Boze]

Hey all,
I've been trying to get my dad to buy a Jeep ever since I got mine. He finaly made the purchase, but not what I was expecting. He found a good deal on an '06 Liberty, which I had always thought of as more of a soccer mom's ride, (no offense to anyone with a KJ). I was wondering if there were any small mods that could be done to make the Liberty a little better suited for off road. (I should note that he has plans to run the 2" BB from... rough country I believe). Also, are there any weak links that should be addressed, or whatched out for? He's not a hard core wheeler, mostly just uses 4wd to get to hunting locations. Thanks alot, Boze.

 

[SteelHeadz]

Before you do the Mods, have the Vin# checked for any recalls. There were 7 recalls issued out for those 06 KJ's.. Mopar offers a lift kit for those KJ's and it looks pretty good. A friend of mine has one of the 05 model with the Mopar lift kit. He installed 31" inch mud terrains on the factory rims.

 

[Boze]

That's really good to know. Thanks SteelHeadz.

 

[Orlyzz]

I have a 07 KJ with a 3.5" rockcrawler lift on it....had to replace the factory rear ujoint...(ended up replacing both ends.. with heavy duty and grease zirks on them). Lift changed the angle of the driveshaft.

I am also looking for a body lift for it...but can't find anything online?
Would a cherokee lift of the same year work?

Thanks for any ideas...:?:

Orly.

 

[Boze]

From what I can see, a body lift is a body lift. As long as you habve the right number of spacers and the right number and length bolts, you should be good to go. I have even heard of people building their own body lifts just using steel plate and rubber bushings. Just make sure it's safe and use grade 8 hardware. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. BTW, how do you like the lift?

 

[Orlyzz]

Thanks...It is a little stiffer of a ride and other than the ujoint issue it isn't bad at all! Would a motor mount lift block along with a body lift a good idea? you know the fan and shroud issue.

 

[Boze]

Would a motor mount lift block along with a body lift a good idea? you know the fan and shroud issue.

It depends. How large of a body lift do you want? I really wouldn't recomend more than an inch or inch and a quarter (whatever they sell for the KJ), as it puts quite a bit more strain on the body mounts if you go any taller. I havn't really looked under the hood of a Liberty, (my dad's is about 1,100 miles away), but you might be able to get away with not using the motor lift kit. Just check how much clearance you have between the fan and shrowed at stock height. (and as always, someone please feel free to correct me if I am wrong on this) Good luck, and have fun!

 

[SteelHeadz]

Avoid going over an inch on body lift kits.

 

[jps4jeep]

Avoid going over an inch on body lift kits.

:crazy:
can't put body lifts into unit body vehicles like (grand) cherokee's and liberty's

 

[Utah_jeepster]

:crazy:
can't put body lifts into unit body vehicles like (grand) Cherokee's and liberty's

Thanks jps4jeep, Grands, Cherokees, and the Liberty are a uni body design and there is no sub frame to put body lift pucks onto.
With any type of BB lift you increase the angle on the front trans-axle A arms placing more stress on the front CV's. Thus making them the weakest kink. Some of the better kits lower the front trans-axle keeping the front A arms at factory angle.

 

[Boze]

There you go, learn something new every day!

 

[SteelHeadz]

I should'a caught that one. The plane flew right over my head.