3" Lift from Journeys Off Road

[Coaster]

ok i looked closely at how the brackets/holes line up. i see how they work now, the journey brackets are lame

[AstroWill]

I noticed that they also have some of the spring hangers with 5 holes vs 4. Wonder if they just changed the design if one is taller than the other.

What size steel did they use on those hangers from Journey's Offroad, possible to get dimensions from the front hanger?

[Lumpy]

What size steel did they use on those hangers from Journey's Offroad, possible to get dimensions from the front hanger?

Looks very thin. I took a ton of orthographic photos of my front stock steel hangers with measurements before I mounted them. Building beefy adjustable fronts seems simple enough. I can't seem to locate a LONG through bushing like the stock hangers use. Journey's uses a solid DOM tube, no rubber or urethane.

Cargo built longer side pieces. Welded them onto stock hangers.


Lump

[AstroWill]

Do you have those pictures posted? What are the dimensions of those bushings? http://autofab.com/i-9941287-killer-bus ... embly.html

[castlerox]

NICE Kit right in my local state… wish I knew! looks nice.

[Lumpy]

Here's the stock, steel spring, front hanger with measurements -








































Thanks for the link. Those Killer Bushings look like they're exactly the right length. That's what I haven't been able to locate, a LONG bushing.

I"ll fire up the welder.


Lump

[AstroWill]

YW Lumpy, TY for the pictures, I was wondering what the steel bracket dimensions were.

NICE Kit right in my local state… wish I knew! looks nice.

Everything(basically) in their kits can be had as off the shelf parts except for the front hanger for the rear leaf springs on the higher lift kits. Want to save $140? It's a LOT cheaper to piece your own together.

They want $225 for their 2" kit.
Example of 2in lift pucks on amazon were 23.60 with shipping http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0021IAOYQ/
Bolts-Depot had the Qty 4 M12x1.75x150mm Qty 2 M14x2.00x150mm bolts for $29.95 with shipping($24.95 w/commercial address)
Rear shackles are ~$35 you can find at your LAPS or online.


That is a total of less than $90 to piece your own together, $135+extra is quite a markup(I didn't need the bumper brackets, you can do your own for a few$).

[Lumpy]

I was wondering what the steel bracket dimensions were.

You mean the formed in/welded in things up in the van pan that the above pictured hangers bolt into? Those would be "just a little larger" in dimension L to R than the hangers. The hangers touch the mounts only on the sides. Front to back and top isn't critical.


You're right about the price of those kits. I don't really like the looks of, nor the sturdyness (lack of) look of JOR parts. At one time he was experimenting with a monster upper clamshell for leaf mounts. Beautiful piece. Welded out of thick metal. But a couple of resident dick brains gave him a hard time because the welds were "too pretty". Said they were guaranteed to fail.

Right too about the cost of sourcing a lift. Pucks are $3 everywhere, all day long. Shackles likewise. $35 normally, I've seen them on the shelf at O'Reily for $17 on sale. And they're better parts than those in at least the Journey kit.


Lump

[AstroWill]

I worded that weirdly, you posted exactly what I wanted :)

[daddywalt]

I'm all about saving money, but I want to make sure I have everything before I start my lift. I feel guilty looking at a kit package and buying all the parts separately. Journeys kit "looked" good on the Ebay page, but I trust everyone's experience more. What about for the 4 inch lift? Can you still get everything off the shelf for that lift? I work in a rural area, I want to run at least 30 inch tires preferably 31s. It's time to do the lift!

[Lumpy]

...What about for the 4 inch lift? Can you still get everything off the shelf for that lift?

Of course.

If you're a little uneasy, or even if you're not, start with the 2" lift. You'll have to do that no matter how high you end up lifting it and you'll never have to "undo" anything in the 2 to go to 4 or higher.

2" subframe pucks and new, longer bolts up front.
2" lift shackles in back.

That's all you need. Costs maybe 50-100 bucks max. An old guy with a bad back and busted up arm can do it in a driveway with hand tools and a floor jack. If the weather and bugs are cooperative, you could start at 8am and be finished by 1700 hrs.

Do that and you'll gain the confidence and familiarity and reduce the fear factor of working on your suspension. There's no critical measurements or torque values. There's only ten bolts involved.

After that 2" lift, which EVERY lift must have, then you can evaluate how you want to lift to the next height. There's several ways to go from there but the initial two is all exactly the same on all years, AWD or 2WD, Gen1 or Gen2.


Lump

[daddywalt]

I have a 2wd 2000 so Gen 2? So for the 2" how many subframe pucks and bolts? I was under the impression that the shackle and pucks were different sizes for different lifts.... what is different in the 2 inch and 4 inch lift then? The kit from Journey just looked like it was the same stuff, just bigger. Thank you sooo much Lump for helping me out. Being tax time and needing new tires, no sense in getting another set of smaller tires if I can help it.

[Lumpy]

Your front sub-frame, EVERY front sub-frame, has six mounting points with pucks. Three left and three right. Lots of "how to" threads with pics, diagrams, narratives in this very section.

Pucks are about $3 each. Shackles are about $25 for the pair. Add longer bolts from Fastenall or similar (dimensions are in several threads). Couple of very simple tweaks to do - fan shroud trim, maybe bumper move up a notch, maybe eBrake bracket relocate. All documented very well in threads that likely show up at the bottom of this page.

Don't need to change shocks with the 2" lift. Anything higher you likely will.

Just go read them all. You'll see how it's done, how people's anxiety was relieved when they learned how simple it really is. Any snags, dozens of us have had the same snag. We'll tell you how we got around an "opportunity for growth".


Lump

[AstroWill]

I feel guilty looking at a kit package and buying all the parts separately.

Don't feel guilty, the lift has been around from LONG before Journey's offroad.

They just have packaged it and put a huge markup on it. :)

[dryhumor]

I haven't had a single problem with anything from Jouney's. The shackles and hangars have been on for a year with no issues. I wouldn't compare them to the crap at O'Reilly's. It's way better. I broke my traction bars and the hangars weren't even phased.

[Shamus71]

Before Lift


After JOR 2" Lift and new 235/70-16 BFG tires
Gained 3" and still have one slot left to go up in Back and haven't touched the front torsion bars yet.


Camping setup


Camping setup

[Jeepster09]

I haven't had a single problem with anything from Jouney's. The shackles and hangars have been on for a year with no issues. I wouldn't compare them to the crap at O'Reilly's. It's way better. I broke my traction bars and the hangars weren't even phased.

I agree, I have their kit and am satisfied with it. I feel price is fair. If a person wants you can always build your own ANYTHING for less if you have the time and skill.

[AstroWill]

I agree, I have their kit and am satisfied with it. I feel price is fair. If a person wants you can always build your own ANYTHING for less if you have the time and skill.

It's always good to have options and everyone can go the route they so choose.


My comparison wasn't about taking any time/skill 'building' anything. Just talking about ordering some parts online without the $140 markup. At least for an easy 2 or 3 inches.

Now if you want to build your own pucks, no problem either but it's sure hard to beat $3 a piece or whatever they cost today.


I'm glad they are in business, making stuff for our vans, but they are far from the only way to skin the cat.