I purchased a 95 yj for $ 3,500 last summer. I want to put a lift on it this summer and i want to be able to clear 33"s. Any lift kits i should look at?
I bought a Rubicon Express 4" lift and I am happy with it. They seem to have tons of great reviews (I did a lot of research online). Any 3.5~4" lift will be enough to clear 33" tires, so that is what you are looking for. Also consider that you may need to ad a SYE kit... At least if you want to get all the ground clearance (otherwise you need to install a TC drop which is included in the RE kit).
And what are some mods that i could do to my stock yj to improve looks and performance... I am also just finishing my freshmen year at college so i do not have that much money but will be working a lot this summer.. Thanks im new!
If its a 2.5L you can change your throttle body to a 4.0L, it will give you a little more power & it's cheap. There's a write up on here about it, also there is a write up about changing the injectors to ford mustang injectors. Haven't done the injectors yet but I'm fixing to. Good Luck.
I did both of these, and they work nice. Other mods to consider are:
E-fan conversion; this will free up some ponies (or, in our case, squirels!). I bought a Ford fan for $28 bucks at the U-Pick here, so it is cheap if you run it with relays; I then proceeded to spend about $120 in a Delta Current Control unit, which will automatically control the speed of the fan according to the temp of the radiator, and I do not regret it one bit, as it has worked flawlesly for over 2 years...
Performance Distributor ignition system; it will be a good match to the 4.0L TB and mustang injectors, as it will better light up the mixture. Includes Screaming Demon coil, LiveWire plug wires, rotor and cap.
Cat Back; I run the Borla (used to run the Gibson before, and I was happy with that one as well; changed to Borla because the cat blew up and damaged the Gibson, and the Borla is Stainless Steel), but there are many brands out there to choose from. The idea is that you need to get all that air out quickly. It's also good to consider a high flow cat to match; I run the AutoSound by Magnaflow, and I am happy with it (but then again, I HAD to change my cat because the other one blew up!). Headers is also something to consider, but be careful which brand you get, as some are designed for HP and not low end torque, which is what you need...
FlowKool water pump; I personally have no experience with this one, but I have heard it also frees up some ponies (dont know if it is true or not, though). I would not run this pump if you have the radiator with the plastic bottles, though...
Now, the change that will make the biggest difference will be to regear your axles; stock axles can only go to 4.88 (you have 4.10 gears if they are stock), but this is not cheap by any means... And if you plan on doing it yourself, you have to know what you are doing or it can end up being even MORE expensive! If you do not regear, the Jeep will be driveable, but dont expect to use 5th anymore unless you are going downhill with a tailwind... 4.88 gears will bring it back to stock level, but consider that the larger tires and lift will cause more drag (aerodynamically speaking) and the larger tires will have more rolling resistance, which means in reality it will be a little worse than stock... But nothing to worry about (the other mods listed above should more or less make up for this, so it will really be about the same as stock).