How do I determine the amount of lift that was done to this YJ?

Old McDonald "88 YJ"

Old McDonald "88 YJ"

New Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2020
Messages
2
Location
South Houston, Texas
Finally, It only took 66 years to get my first Jeep !!! I have wanted a Jeep for as long as I can remember, probably while I was still in the womb !!
I purchased a 1988 Jeep Wrangler YJ - 4 cylinder/2.5 L - 5 Speed Manual Transmission - Red Color (of course) from a friend that got it from a friend that had in stored for quite a while.
Before I purchased it, he put a new Battery, Master Brake Cylinder, Fuel Pump, tuned it up, basically made it Road Ready !!
Warning !!!! I will be asking a lot of Newby Questions that will probably be having you slapping your forehead and saying a few cuss words and calling me a stooooopid *^&%#*&^%$#@, but that's OK with me.
I have OCD, ADHD, AC/DC or whatever you call it, so I want to know as much info about this Jeep as is humanely possible.
The Exterior is in Good Shape for the most part, I need 2 side mirrors and if possible just replace the clear plastic window above tailgate.
The interior is in need of some Tender Loving Care. I already took off the tan door panels and removed the worn out rear seat. I will be removing/painting/covering up all the tan parts in the interior - just not a color that fits with a Red and Black Jeep.
So, here is my 1st question - how do i determine the amount of lift that was done to this Jeep. Tires are Goodyear Wrangler SR-A / M+S P255/75R17 on Jeep Aluminum Wheels.
Thanx in Advance and I Appreciate Yawls Patience - Yea, I be a Native Texan.

88 Jeep Wrangler YJ #12b.jpg


88 Jeep Wrangler YJ #14b.jpg


88 Jeep Wrangler YJ #13b.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chris
Hello and Welcome!

Nice Jeep!

Here are a few tips and links I can give you... from doing my own experience and homework...

1)- The Factory Build label in the door edge should help you with factory wheel size, build date, etc...

2)- Call Jeep and give them your VIN# to get the Factory Specs as to how the Jeep left the factory

3)- I am replacing my original (tired) leaf springs with 2" BDS ones and FOX Shocks and Steering Stabilizer.

4) Your wheels and Tires appear to be 32" tires on 17" wheels.... I am personally keeping my EOM 15" x 7" Rims and 31" Tires

5)- Decode your vin at https://www.vindecoderz.com

6)- Pull a CARFAX

7)- www.Quadratec.com for parts

8)- I would remove those diamond plate corners and sides... You don't know what is hidden (rust?) behind those corners and there are some much nicer looking side rails and plates to protect the bottom/sides.

9)- I am replacing Rear drum brakes with TERAFLEX Disc Brake Kit and Steel Braided Brake Lines.

10)- Replacing axle shafts with Chromoly ones for additional strength.

11)- Putting on 1/2 Differential Covers to keep the original pumpkins protected.

12)- Tail Lights should be replaced with LED ones (Quadratec) for the sake of increased brightness and safety.

13)- Keep the Jeep as original as you can.

My 2 cents.... not worth more than that! :)

I hope this helps!

Have fun!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chris
P.S....

The Rule of thumb is that your tires need to be at least twice the size of your rims so you have enough sidewall when you air down.

15" Rims I go with 31" Tires (which may not quite measure 31", tire manufacturers' specs vary a bit).

16" Rims I go with 33" Tires

17" Rims I would go with 35" Tires

The manufacturer's Tag on your door may read that the rims your Jeep came with 15" x 6" Rims.... mine said that too, but, there was a special package added to the basic Jeep and my rims are actually 15" X 7", which allows for 31X10.50R15 LT tires.

Here is a great site for you.... do pay attention to rim size based on the tires you want to run.

https://tiresize.com/calculator/

As far as tire choices, depends what you want to do and if you are going to use them in the Winter on snow and ice... The rubber compound on Mud Terrain tires is not good for those conditions under 40 degrees because the rubber hardens and is slick as a hockey puck.

I am finding that, after many hours of research, for Winter conditions and all year around use, the Falken All Terrain https://tiresize.com/tires/Falken/Wildpeak-AT3W.htm with the Mountain Peak Rated (see special logo) is what I am going to go with. The Falken Wildpeak A/T3W LT is extremely highly rated and seems to wear forever (personal experience from people I know) and has an 18/32 tread depth, which is a lot more than most tires. Watch YouTube videos of reviews and everything else Jeep related.

The BF Goodrich KO2 is a very popular one but I don't care for the looks of that tire and it seems to cake up pretty bad in mud, not saying that the Falken won't, but that's my preference.

The other tire I really like and have on my 2006 LJ Rubicon is the Kelly Safari TSR, a very good looking tire and excellent... has great reviews and I will probably buy another set of those for this Jeep when they finally wear out... https://www.carid.com/kelly-tires/safari-tsr-17931621.html

Anyway, again, this is my personal experience and what I know... I have been studying the Jeep subject for years and I learn something new every day. It is endless and mindboggling... especially with the new models.... YJ's have excellent aftermarket support, but they are older so not as much as the new stuff everybody wants. Aftermarket companies are striking that iron while it's hot, and competition is good for us as Jeep owners, collectors and... preservationists? :)

There is a lot of crap out there, like with anything else, so you need to sift through all the stuff.

Always look for the very best of anything and buy the best you can afford... cry once!

If you buy cheap stuff, you will have to replace it quickly and you will have wasted that money for nothing, instead of going for the best stuff you can get and afford the first time! Again... Cry once! The extra expense will soon be forgotten but the benefits will be long-lasting and will keep on paying dividends in on-going satisfaction and overall pleasure of having good stuff.

OK, I will shut up now! :)

I hope all this helps at least a little! :)
 
Hello Old McDonald,
We share a very similar story. I'm 59, never had a jeep before but always liked how they look. I was ready for a winter project so I picked up an 87 YJ shown in my profile pic in a trade. So, basically free for me. I had the exact same question as you since I could see the jeep was lifted but didn't know how much.
Turns out you just look at a few things. First thing, put the jeep on some nice flat ground. Then measure from the lowest spot under the door, that bottom plate, not sure what its technically called, but measure that to the ground. Make sure your tires are fully inflated. That is your overall lift. Stock on these yj's, as far as I know was 19 inches. So say you measurement is 25 inches that means you have a 6 inch overall lift. Then you want to see what is really lifting your jeep. Its your leaf springs, tires and shackles typically, or a body lift as well. My shackles measured 5.5 inches from the center of each bolt. Stock would be 4 inches. So that 1.5 extra inches divided by 2 and that was 3/4 of an inch from the shackle. Now I'm running 33 inch tires and fully inflated, they measure 33 inches. Stock are 29 inches. So 33-29 is 4, but divide by 2 and thats 2 inches for the tire portion of the lift.
So, 3/4" from the shackle, 2 inches from the tires, that leaves 6" - 2 3/4" = 3 1/4" left over which is the spring lift in my case.
My leaf springs were in bad shape, so I ordered new ones that were for a 2.5" lift. After installing them, the jeep steers really bad so I just removed the long shackles and went to stock one's and that fixed my caster issue and the jeep drives much better. Still not great but I haven't got it aligned yet. Thats next Wednesday. So I did end up lowering the jeep some but I really want this to drive as good as a straight front axle vehicle can. I'd be better off with 31's as well, but these wheels are like brand new and probably 200 bucks each, and were on it when I got it.
Thats how I figured it out, may not be exactly right but gave me an idea where to start.
 
A couple more things I forgot to mention...

1)- When you change tire size, that will affect your odometer and speedometer... This is a mechanical fix through the transmission, not a computer fix.

I need to get that corrected on my Jeep (as soon as I put the new tires on) as the mileage and speedo are way off and read much higher than actual.

2)- The bigger the tires, the higher the weight, therefore the harder the engine has to work to move those tires. Re-gearing is one way to bring things back to factory "conditions" so-to-speak. I have 4.10 gears for my 31's, which is perfect for me. You may have 3.07, 3.54 or 3.73 Gears from the factory, you will need to find out.
 
Old McDonald 88 YJ said:
how do i determine the amount of lift that was done to this Jeep. Tires are Goodyear Wrangler SR-A / M+S P255/75R17 on Jeep Aluminum Wheels.
Thanx in Advance and I Appreciate Yawls Patience - Yea, I be a Native Texan.
Click to expand...
Based off the eye test, it appears is if you have factory springs on it with “lift shackles.” Which I would get rid of. Your lift is the result of the longer shackles for sure and you may have some aftermarket springs on it.

The tires and wheels look like JK take offs. You could re gain some performance by getting 15 inch wheels and factory sized tires.
 
Yeah, that sounds So familiar.... the story of my life!

And it's like, the faster I go, the behinder I get! LOL :)

The Jeep community is awesome though and we all learn from each other.
 
Top Bottom