How do I determine how much lift my Jeep Wrangler JK has?

Jax

Jax

New Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2022
Messages
6
Location
Wisconsin
Hi,

Looking for some help please - pretty handy and have worked on vehicles before with some guidance/help from youtube for a few things - but by no means am I anything that resembles an expert lol. I bought a '15 JK about 4 yrs ago and I have recently noticed the spring on the FP side is broken near the bottom. Trying to figure out the replacement I'll need, as I can tell when my Jeep is side by side with others, it must have some sort of lift. I've measured accordingly to the chart above but I'm still not certain. There are no tags/stickers/identifying marks that would lead me to size/manufacturer/etc... The measurements I'm coming up with are 11" for the spring and 19 & 7/8" for the shock. I've looked around on rock auto to make some comparisons and am seeing ranges from 1.75"-4" -- would it be safe to assume this was a 1.75? I'm learning as I go so any info would be greatly appreciated. I do not see any spacers that would lead me to believe this is a body lift vs a suspension lift. If these were 1.75, could I get away with going to 2 without any other modifications?
On a side note - I've never replaced springs before - should these be done in singles, pairs or all around? Assuming as long as I have it in the shop (for some other repairs as well) - pairs would be the best at minimum to maintain balanced height for the front end?

Thanks!
-Jax
 
Last edited by a moderator:
It sounds like you have a 2" lift, but you should buy 2 new springs not just 1 for the front.

Does your JK have a stock bumper or a winch on it?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Danarch and mrjp
20190128_144128.jpg
20220624_193553.jpg
20180728_173650.jpg
20220623_164226.jpg


20180407_120123.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: BLACKJKU
What size are your tires? Some of the guys with the lifted Jeeps probably can give you a better idea on your lift.
 
It could be a 2.5” lift that netted over 3” of lift. I think that is the hard part determining the actual lift size. Depending on the quality or lack of quality, equipment on the Jeep the end result of lift will most likely be different then advertised. But yes two springs should be installed In my opinion. Basically the same amount of work to install one as two as the axle needs to be dropped, all the control arms should be loosened, etc. Even if you knew the exact lift height / brand etc. depending on the age I would suspect one side would end up sitting a little lower just simply due to age and wear.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 72c10, Jax and BLACKJKU
If you know the brand of lift you have there is typically a stamp somewhere on the spring that will identify it to the MFG. Call the MFG with that stamp number and they can tell you exactly what you have.
 
The below drawing shows the stock JK suspension dimensions. Make the same measurements and this will determine your lift.

1660140435532.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: mrjp
AaronK said:
If you know the brand of lift you have there is typically a stamp somewhere on the spring that will identify it to the MFG. Call the MFG with that stamp number and they can tell you exactly what you have.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, I purchased the Jeep with mods already on it and no history of these items were listed. I've looked them over and have not found any identifying marks, sticker, etc still intact, as the coating is mostly rusted or fallen off. Is there a specific area on the coils I should be looking? And when you say "stamp" was this like an ink stamp or more like an impression (metal press stamp)?
 
  • Like
Reactions: AaronK
Anybodyhome said:
The below drawing shows the stock JK suspension dimensions. Make the same measurements and this will determine your lift.

View attachment 121831
Click to expand...
Appreciated, as mentioned above - I used this diagram already and my measurements are listed in my original thread. Problem here is I have no history of the mods as they were made before I purchased the Jeep. It also had/has steel bumpers so idk how much that comes into play with the measurement results...
 
Jax said:
Unfortunately, I purchased the Jeep with mods already on it and no history of these items were listed. I've looked them over and have not found any identifying marks, sticker, etc still intact, as the coating is mostly rusted or fallen off. Is there a specific area on the coils I should be looking? And when you say "stamp" was this like an ink stamp or more like an impression (metal press stamp)?
Click to expand...
Stamped into the metal typically at the bottom but since yours are pretty rusted you may not be able to see them (if they had them to begin with)
The issue with guessing is if you are wrong its going to cause issues.

If you can afford it why not replace just the 2 front coils for the time being?
 
  • Like
Reactions: mrjp and Jax
Jax said:
Hi,

Looking for some help please - pretty handy and have worked on vehicles before with some guidance/help from youtube for a few things - but by no means am I anything that resembles an expert lol. I bought a '15 JK about 4 yrs ago and I have recently noticed the spring on the FP side is broken near the bottom. Trying to figure out the replacement I'll need, as I can tell when my Jeep is side by side with others, it must have some sort of lift. I've measured accordingly to the chart above but I'm still not certain. There are no tags/stickers/identifying marks that would lead me to size/manufacturer/etc... The measurements I'm coming up with are 11" for the spring and 19 & 7/8" for the shock. I've looked around on rock auto to make some comparisons and am seeing ranges from 1.75"-4" -- would it be safe to assume this was a 1.75? I'm learning as I go so any info would be greatly appreciated. I do not see any spacers that would lead me to believe this is a body lift vs a suspension lift. If these were 1.75, could I get away with going to 2 without any other modifications?
On a side note - I've never replaced springs before - should these be done in singles, pairs or all around? Assuming as long as I have it in the shop (for some other repairs as well) - pairs would be the best at minimum to maintain balanced height for the front end?

Thanks!
-Jax
Click to expand...
When I got my 2016 Rubicon, it took a while to recognize there was some lift. The tires were stock size, but everything else, but after closer looks it seemed that the entire suspension seemed to be replaced. I have crawled around underneath and made a list of everything that was apparently non-stock. Depending on the height of the lift, many of these parts need to be set to the right length or you encounter issues such as the so called "death wobble." The weight of your vehicle will have an effect on the actual amount of lift a kit will really produce. Heavier bumpers, the weight of all the gear carried by the springs, basically everything attached to the body and frame, will compress the springs and shocks, leading to a lower lift than the kit might indicate.

Besides the spring height and the shock height, you might look at the length of the vertical link between the front stabilzer bar and the axles. Mine are quick disconnect replacements of the stock links, and are right about 9 inches center to center. Stock are apparently 5 1/4 inches on center. The Rubicon has an electronic disconnect, but some distrusting souls also replace the links between the end of the bar and the axles with quick disconnect links in case the electronic disconnect runs into trouble. The length of these link arms also need to adapt to lift. They can rotate some because they have to, but you want the stabilizer bar to have as much play vertically as you can give it for regular highway driving, so the best tactic is to try and keep the stabilizer bar in the proper rest position, which is with arms just slightly above level.

This page seems like a decent overview of the suspension system: https://www.autoblog.com/2020/03/04/2020-jeep-wrangle-rubicon-suspension-deep-dive/.
 
Top Bottom