03 Rubicon 1" lift on my 97 TJ

[backpack1]

I have a friend throwing a Skyjacker 4" Single Flex onto his 03 Rubicon. I am wondering if his OEM Rubicon springs and shocks could be easily transfered onto my stock 97 TJ - I'm on a budget and can get these quite inexpensively! Anyone try this before?

FYI - I've owned by TJ for 4 months and run 31 X10.50 with no lift, so I need something. Will 1" be enough to clear the tires I'm running? The Rubicon comes stock with 31X10.50's and a 1 inch lift, so will it work for me?

[Darrell C]

Not sure if you'll gain what your looking for by swapping in those springs. Maybe you could borrow a pair, swap them in and see what you get height wise. If all you want is about an inch to help clear tires, how about a body lift. Easy to install, fairly economical, and a small 1" body lift is fair benign.

Just thinking out loud...

Edit: BTW, maybe a brief introduction in the "Introduce Yourself" forum would be in order

[backpack1]

I hear what you're saying about the body lift and have thought about it more than once. I'm on a serious budget and the Rubicon parts will come to me for next to nothing. Can you think of any reason the 03 Rubicon parts wouldn't work on my Jeep? (I see alot of things for 97 - 02 TJ's...and then there seems to be a switch for 03 models.)

I'm even thinking that a couple 3/4" terraflex spacers for the front end combined with the Rubicon springs should level things out and give the 31's plenty of room until I can afford a qualifty lift.

JB

ps - have introduced myself officially in the other forum. Thanks for the advice!

[Darrell C]

I fully understand budget issues...been there myself.

The springs should swap over fine, I'm not 100% positive the shocks will swap...maybe someone else here can chime in on that issue.

My other concern is how much lift you'll actually gain by swapping in springs from a Rubicon model. I've "heard" comments that the Rubi springs will net you about an inch in height, but it's only rumor to me. I've never talked with anyone who's actually done it. Hence my suggestion to swap in a pair and see what you end up with...assuming that's possible.

There are several options to clear 31's. Taller springs with new shocks, spring spacer with new shocks, or body lift. Not sure how much you'll be paying for the used equipment off the Rubi, but you should be able to find a combo that will fit your budget.

[Allen]

From what I've read the Rubicon springs are stiffer, thus making room for 31s on the Rubicon. You should get an inch of lift, but there are no guarantees as every Jeep seems different and thus reacts differently to different parts.

Those springs combined with a small body lift, or spring spacers, and the appropriate shocks can go a long way with the right sized tires.

Allen

[Robert J. Yates]

You can always add some bumpstop too so as to keep the 31's out of the fenders. Some 1" round bar stock cut to your desired length works well for shimming just enough but not more than necessary. A chop saw and a drill is all you need.