JLU Willys XR Lift Recommendations

[bittnecm]

Working on putting together a budgetary plan for a lift for my JLU Willys XR, and am hoping to get some feedback and recommendations between two 2.5” lifts. So far, I have narrowed it down to Metalcloak and Tera Flex.

A few things to note:
- My Jeep is my daily, and I typically hit the dirt about once or twice a month. When I get out, I really only hit trails and not a lot of rocks…so I don’t feel I need a huge amount of flex.
- I reside in the South-Western Ohio area, so I do see snow and lots of salt and I want something that can withstand that mess.
- I know I am going with Bilstein 5100 2-3” shocks, as I don’t like the feel or cost of Foxes.
- My plan is to buy portions of the lift, at a time, to avoid spending a big lump some and keep the costs under the radar (so to speak) with the wife. I also plan to go all in, whichever brand I go with, regarding all portions of the lift (ie CAs, steering, trackbars, etc)…so that I don’t need to have bushing/joints from a bunch of different brands.

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[garyji]

With your driving needs, isn't the XR enough??? Why screw with it?

G.

 

[Kracka]

For your needs... Why not just keep it simple?

• Bilstein 5100s as you mentioned
• Small spring spacers
• Mopar LCAs
• Bilstein 5100 steering stabilizer to match the shocks

 

[Terrymo]

Cut and pasted from my previous post

First a disclaimer. I’m a rookie when it comes to suspensions. I was looking for a stop gap until I can install a proper 3.5” lift in the future. I have a 23 JLU Rubicon XR and was tired of slamming into the bump stops in the front jounce tubes.

I literally just finished a similar installation today with Teraflex 1.5” spacer lift, Bilstein 5100’s for 2-3” lift, and Mopar longer lower front control arms. I moved the rear OEM sway bar links to the front and installed these Teraflex sway bar links in the rear
https://teraflex.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=1764300
I also installed the Metalcloak durospring bump stops
https://metalcloak.com/durospring-replacement-jounce-bumper-jeep-jk-jl.html
I bent/straightened the front brake line brackets that attach to the front lower control arm, but may install these instead
https://teraflex.com/brake-line-anchor-kit-w-1-mounting-hole.html
I relocated my parking brake cables for more slack and installed this
https://www.synergymfg.com/synergy-jeep-jl-jlu-parking-brake-cable-relocation-bracket.html

Some of what I did is probably unnecessary just out of lack of knowledge and experience. People here like @rocky and @Zandcwhite can give you better advice

 

[Zandcwhite]

Cut and pasted from my previous post

First a disclaimer. I’m a rookie when it comes to suspensions. I was looking for a stop gap until I can install a proper 3.5” lift in the future. I have a 23 JLU Rubicon XR and was tired of slamming into the bump stops in the front jounce tubes.

I literally just finished a similar installation today with Teraflex 1.5” spacer lift, Bilstein 5100’s for 2-3” lift, and Mopar longer lower front control arms. I moved the rear OEM sway bar links to the front and installed these Teraflex sway bar links in the rear
https://teraflex.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=1764300
I also installed the Metalcloak durospring bump stops
https://metalcloak.com/durospring-replacement-jounce-bumper-jeep-jk-jl.html
I bent/straightened the front brake line brackets that attach to the front lower control arm, but may install these instead
https://teraflex.com/brake-line-anchor-kit-w-1-mounting-hole.html
I relocated my parking brake cables for more slack and installed this
https://www.synergymfg.com/synergy-jeep-jl-jlu-parking-brake-cable-relocation-bracket.html

Some of what I did is probably unnecessary just out of lack of knowledge and experience. People here like @rocky and @Zandcwhite can give you better advice

What you did is almost exactly where we started with the mods to the 2022 xr. Huge improvement over stock and worked great on 7+ rated trails. Since we've gone to 3.5" metalcloak springs, front control arm drop brackets, yeti flipped drag link and raised trackbar mount, fox 2.0s for 4-6" lift, and 39s. The budget setup was good, the new setup is amazing. Road handling is as good as stock despite the height and bump handling is far better than it was stock. The control arms and the drag link now sit flatter than they did stock.

 

[Terrymo]

What you did is almost exactly where we started with the mods to the 2022 xr. Huge improvement over stock and worked great on 7+ rated trails. Since we've gone to 3.5" metalcloak springs, front control arm drop brackets, yeti flipped drag link and raised trackbar mount, fox 2.0s for 4-6" lift, and 39s. The budget setup was good, the new setup is amazing. Road handling is as good as stock despite the height and bump handling is far better than it was stock. The control arms and the drag link now sit flatter than they did stock.

i just used the advice that you and @Roky gave me. Thanks

 

[Zandcwhite]

i just used the advice that you and @Roky gave me. Thanks

The xr doesn't need much to be really good. There's a few obvious shortcomings but they are so easily fixed. I almost feel bad for owners who don't at least add a spacer up front and longer shocks.

 

[Terrymo]

The xr doesn't need much to be really good. There's a few obvious shortcomings but they are so easily fixed. I almost feel bad for owners who don't at least add a spacer up front and longer shocks.

The first time I drove over a specific set of train tracks near my house and didn’t slam abruptly on the front jounce tube bump stops I was happy. Off road it made a big difference as well. Good enough to tolerate waiting for a proper lift kit.

 

[bittnecm]

The first time I drove over a specific set of train tracks near my house and didn’t slam abruptly on the front jounce tube bump stops I was happy. Off road it made a big difference as well. Good enough to tolerate waiting for a proper lift kit.

@Terrymo and @Zandcwhite I really appreciate your feedback and insight into what you did. I really was wanting to do a spring lift and not a spacer lift, as I had one on my TJ back in the day…and felt like it rode harsher than stock. How is the ride with yours, so far? Also, did you need to extend the bump stops, at all, or did you still have enough bump with the 5100s on it?

 

[Zandcwhite]

@Terrymo and @Zandcwhite I really appreciate your feedback and insight into what you did. I really was wanting to do a spring lift and not a spacer lift, as I had one on my TJ back in the day…and felt like it rode harsher than stock. How is the ride with yours, so far? Also, did you need to extend the bump stops, at all, or did you still have enough bump with the 5100s on it?

Plenty of bumpstop if you're staying with 35s. Ride was great. I think the biggest issue is shock travel. People add a spacer and don't do anything with the shocks and that results in a harsh ride. Between running the longer shocks and adding the longer lower control arms for better caster you shouldn't have any issues. Of course you can buy just a set of front springs if you'd prefer. Most 2"-2.5" springs should be just about perfect for the front of an xr in order to gain a little uptravel and not sit too high up front. I'm partial to metalcloak but any reputable manufacturer works.

 

[Terrymo]

@Terrymo and @Zandcwhite I really appreciate your feedback and insight into what you did. I really was wanting to do a spring lift and not a spacer lift, as I had one on my TJ back in the day…and felt like it rode harsher than stock. How is the ride with yours, so far? Also, did you need to extend the bump stops, at all, or did you still have enough bump with the 5100s on it?

I couldn’t feel any difference in ride quality with the spring spacers. I bought bump stops but did not add any.

 

[bittnecm]

Do you happen to know if the TeraFlex LCA brackets work on a ‘24? Wondering if front LCA brackets would be a better route than the longer Mopar front lower LCAs…and help to keep the arms flatter? I know @CloakedWillys said that theirs do not fit.

Like I said earlier, I was hoping to go with a spring lift and max out at 2.5”, because I want to keep a lower CG. Then continue to piecemeal parts into the overall build (steering, adjustable CAs, etc)…kind of the buy once, cry once method; but, spreading the buy out a little bit

 

[F4Flyer]

Good thoughts here. Did you guys need to use an aftermarket driveshaft when lifting the XR?

 

[CloakedWillys]

Do you happen to know if the TeraFlex LCA brackets work on a ‘24? Wondering if front LCA brackets would be a better route than the longer Mopar front lower LCAs…and help to keep the arms flatter? I know @CloakedWillys said that theirs do not fit.

Like I said earlier, I was hoping to go with a spring lift and max out at 2.5”, because I want to keep a lower CG. Then continue to piecemeal parts into the overall build (steering, adjustable CAs, etc)…kind of the buy once, cry once method; but, spreading the buy out a little bit

We should have ours for have 24 soon. At the height you are at. I would recommend adjustable arms over the drop brackets for ground clearance.

 

[Zandcwhite]

Good thoughts here. Did you guys need to use an aftermarket driveshaft when lifting the XR?

You should only need a drive shaft if your front shocks are 29" or longer. Still on the stock shaft in our 2022 xr with 3.5" of lift and 39s.

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