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Rough Country 3.25-Inch Suspension Lift Kit with Shocks (97-02 2.5L Jeep Wrangler TJ)

Item J17617
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$399.95 (kit)

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      Product Videos

      If you're looking to replace old, worn-out suspension parts on your TJ and get a moderate lift at the same time, this Rough Country 3.25-inch lift kit with shocks will do just that in a complete kit. This will level out the factory rake in the hood, as well as give you a little bit more of a comfortable ride than you're used to on your stock setup. This kit is specifically gonna be for the '97 to '02 2.5-liter Wranglers, and this will fit up to a 33-inch tire comfortably. As for 35's, you're not gonna have much uptravel off road, so a 33-inch tire is definitely recommended. Install is gonna be a three out of three wrenches on the difficulty meter, as expected for a lift kit. So let's get the Jeep up on the lift, and I'll show you how to bolt this in. So your first step is to get the Jeep up in the air, whether it's on a lift like we have here or on a jack and jack stands in your driveway. So the next step is to get our wheels and tires off with a 19-millimeter deep socket. So the lug nuts on the back here were giving me a little bit of trouble with my impact. So I'm gonna switch over to my air gun. So our next step is to place some pole jacks underneath our axle so, when we lower it down, the axle is supported. So our next step, after supporting the axle, is to remove our sway bar links. We're gonna use a T55 Torx bit and an 18-millimeter open-ended wrench. So after we remove that bottom bolt, we're gonna remove the top bolt holding in the sway bar link. It's gonna be a 15-millimeter. So this is a perfect example of why you would want a complete kit that comes with really everything you need to get that height because it's gonna come with a bunch of components that are gonna replace your old, worn-out suspension parts, like I said before. You can see that the boot here is completely torn and the ball joint for the sway bar is completely exposed. So if your front sway bar link is stuck in there, since it is pressed in, you can just hit it with a hammer and break it free. You can break it free with a hammer because it is tapered at the top and they are pressed in. So make sure you keep all of the factory hardware because that's what we're gonna be putting in our new components with. So now, we can break this free from the sway bar. So after our front sway bars are removed, we can start removing our shocks. You're gonna need a 13-millimeter wrench and a 13-millimeter socket. I'm also using an extension for this. Because the control arm mount hangs lower on this side, I did switch to a longer extension. So after removing the bottom hardware from the shock, we're gonna remove the top hardware. And it's gonna be a 9/16-inch bolt. So after all of the hardware is removed, we can go ahead and remove the whole shock. So now, you can just repeat that same process on the other side. So you wanna make sure that you keep the bottom hardware. The top hardware, we're gonna get replacements with our new shocks. So after our front shocks are removed, we can go ahead and take out this T50 Torx bolt that's holding in our track bar. So you have three bars up front. You have your tie rod, your drag link, and your track bar is gonna be the only one that is connected to your axle. So as soon as we remove this bolt, it'll allow us to drop the axle completely. So if you're having trouble with this track bar bolt, you can always grab a breaker bar, I've grabbed one, or really any type of leverage to crack it free. After it's cracked, you can grab your impact and an extension to clear this drag link and tie rod and remove it. After you have the bolt cracked free, you can grab your ratchet or an impact and remove this with an extension to clear the tie rod and drag link. Well, if the bolt is still being a pain and you can't get it out after you've completely, basically, removed it, I just took a pry bar. In a couple of wacks, it should break it free. So before we lower our axle to get our springs out, there is a spring retainer clip that's in here, and it's held in by a 13-millimeter bolt. After both spring retainers are removed, we can completely lower the axle. So once we have the retainer clip removed from the coil spring, we can fully lower the axle. Once the axle is lowered, we have enough room to pull our springs out. So sitting these side by side, you can tell that there is a big difference visually. Your new spring is gonna be a lot taller, and it's gonna give you that height. Both of them are gonna be a progressive spring rate. However, your new spring is preset, and it's gonna give you a little bit more of a comfortable ride. So let's get these installed in our TJ. So because our new spring is a lot taller than our stock spring, we will have to use a spring compressor to get it up and around the bump stop and in place. Once it's in place, you can carefully release the spring compressor and spin the spring until it sits in the retainer. So before we put in our spring, we need to remove our stock isolator and replace it with our new one. We just wanna take the pry bar. So once you have the stock isolator down to this bottom point, we will need to remove this cup because it has a lip and will not allow the stock isolator to come out. So in order to do that, we need to remove the bump stop in order to get to a bolt that's holding in this bump stop cup. So we can remove our bump stop, we might need a pry tool. So now, we can remove the 15-millimeter bolt holding in the bump stop cup. I'm also using an extension so we can reach it. So now, we can fully remove our stock isolator and install our new one when we install our new spring. Now, we can access our 15-millimeter bolt inside of the bump stop cup. So now, we can fully remove our stock isolator, replacing it with our new one, and reinstall our bump stop cup. And now, we can reinstall our bump stop. So after this side is assembled, we can move on to the other side. So now, after everything is assembled, we can go ahead and install our new springs. Now, we are using a spring compressor because the new springs are a lot longer than our stock springs. And Joe is gonna be putting those in for us. So after the spring is in place, you can spin it until the bottom pigtail sits in the retainer. So now that our spring is in, we can reinstall our spring retainer clip with the 13-millimeter socket. I also have an extension on this to clear our brake line. So there's two schools of thought when it comes to shocks. There's a hydraulic shock and there's also a gas-charged shock. This is gonna be a gas-charged shock with a mono-tube design, charged to 200 PSI with 10-stage variable valving. So with a hydraulic shock, they're gonna feel more fluid. But they're gonna be susceptible to shock fade over time from cavitation or foaming forming inside of the shock body when it's worked really hard, like excessive washboard. A gas-charged shock is gonna reduce that shock fade and have a longer lifespan over time. Now that our springs are in, we can go ahead and install our shocks. So like I mentioned, we're gonna reuse the factory hardware for the bottom. But Rough Country will give you new bushings and new washers, as well as a new nut for the top. And now, we can go ahead and move over to the other side. So before we move over to our next step of installing our new extended sway bar links that are gonna accommodate for that ride height, we have to press in our metal sleeves with a vice. So I would recommend spraying the inside of your bushing with lubricant before you press these in. So you can get it started, and then take [inaudible]. Just repeat this process for all four of your sway bar links. Since our stock links have a ball joint setup and our new links do not, we need to install this U-bracket on our sway bar with the provided hardware. So make sure with the hardware that the bolt head is at the bottom and the nut is on the top of the sway bar link because it will interfere with the sway bar. Take your flange nut and attach it to the other side. And once that's on, we can tighten it down with a 9/16 wrench and socket. You will be able to loosen it up and adjust it a bit once we put on our sway bar links. So after our U-bracket is installed, we're ready to install our front sway bar links. But first, we have to press in the metal sleeves. I would like to mention that for the front sway bar links, you will have to use the bigger sleeves because of the bigger hardware. Now, we can head over to the vice and press those in. So now, we can install our sway bar links with the provided 19-millimeter bolt and the 18-millimeter flange nut. I would just double-check your front sway bar links because they are specific to each side. But we are gonna install ours in our new bracket. And like I mentioned before, you will be using the larger hardware for the front. We're gonna be using a 19-millimeter wrench and 19-millimeter socket. So once the top of the sway bar link is attached, we can attach the bottom with the factory hardware. So with one of the sway bars attached, the other might not line up correctly at first. You can grab some extra leverage, like a pry bar, and line that up. Let's head over to the back of the Jeep to finish up our install. After we have attached both of our sway bar links, we can relocate our track bar. You're gonna measure three-quarters of an inch over from the factory hole and mark it with a center punch so we can drill a new hole. After we mark our center punch, we can drill a pilot hole with a smaller drill bit. Now, we can take a 7/16-inch drill bit and drill through our pilot hole. Now that our hole is drilled for the track bar, we can move on to the back. We won't be assembling the track bar right away. We do have to do that while the Jeep is on its own weight so the bolt hole will line up. So let's head on over to the back. So before disassembling the rear, we wanna support the rear axle with our pole jacks. So now, we can remove our rear shock. I'm using a 15-millimeter wrench and an 18-millimeter deep socket. Since the bolt is started, I moved over to a 15-millimeter ratcheting wrench. And now, we can move over and do the same on the other side. So after we have removed the bottom shock bolts, we can remove the top shock bolts. And they are gonna be pretty difficult to see, as well as difficult to remove. So I would recommend spraying them with WD-40 or PB Blaster a day ahead. And you are gonna use a 13-millimeter socket and a long extension. Now, we can move over to the other side. After our rear shocks are removed, we can remove our sway bar links with an 18-millimeter wrench and a 15-millimeter socket. Now, we can remove our top bolt with an 18-millimeter socket. So now that the other side is off, we can do the same for this side. To access the top rear sway bar bolt on the passenger side, we're gonna need to use an extension to clear our exhaust hanger. And I'm also using an 18-millimeter swivel. So after we removed our sway bar links, I took out the top track bar bolt in order to lower our axle all the way down. I used an 18-millimeter wrench and a 16-millimeter socket. Now, we can remove the breather hose from the axle and drop the axle to get the springs out. So before we install our new springs, we need to install our new isolators. So we're gonna do the same thing that we did in the front and remove our bump stop and our bump stop cups in order to get this on there. And you're gonna be using a 15-millimeter socket and an extension to access that bolt. Now, we can install our new isolator over our old one and reinstall our bump stop cup. And now, you can reinsert your bump stop. Now, we can move over to the other side. After our isolators are in, we're ready to install our new rear springs. So like you just saw in that last step, we did have to use a spring compressor, and that may be needed. But now, since we have our axle at our lowest point, we're gonna remove our bottom track bar bolt so we can bolt up our track bar relocation bracket. So in order to install our track bar relocation bracket, we need to remove this plastic cover using a trim removal tool. So now, we can install our track bar relocation bracket. To hold it in place while we drill out these existing holes, we're gonna install the factory hardware, as well as the sleeve that Rough Country provides us. And you're gonna reinstall using T55 Torx bit, making sure that all of your holes line up. So now, we can use a 5/16 drill bit to widen up the existing holes on this top and the bottom. After we widen our holes, we can go ahead and install our hardware. So this back bolt here is a little bit hard to reach. I would recommend using a magnet. But if you take out the factory hardware holding in the bracket, you may be able to reach it with your hands. So after we installed our track bar relocation bracket, we can install our rear sway bar links, using the provided hardware for the bolt and washer and our old flag nut. So now, you can tighten that down with a 17-millimeter socket. Now, we can install the hardware in the bottom of the sway bar end link. And you can tighten that down with a 17-millimeter socket and a 17-millimeter wrench. So now, we can install the other side. I'd recommend, before tightening this down, that we install the bottom hardware. So now, you can tighten this bottom one with a 17-millimeter wrench and a 17-millimeter socket. So now, remember, on this passenger side sway bar end link, the top bolt is very hard to reach before of the exhaust hanger. I'm using a 15-inch extension and a 17-millimeter swivel. So now, we're ready to install our rear shock. You're gonna be using that 13-millimeter socket and your 15-inch extension. So I would recommend to thread in one of the bolts first so we can slide our shock into place and then tighten it down. So now, we can raise the rear axle to line up our shocks and also compress our springs. So along with both of the track bars, we're gonna bolt in the rear shocks while the Jeep is on its own weight so everything lines up correctly. Now, we can move into dropping our transfer case. So now, we can start dropping our transer case. We're gonna remove these three bolts on our belly pan. So we can drop one side and insert our provided spacers, and then do the same for the other side. I really like this kit because it really comes with everything that you need in order to accommodate for that 3.25-inch lift height. Let's go ahead and remove these 18-millimeter bolts. Now we can remove the belly pan bolts with a 19-millimeter socket. So after we have our belly pan dropped enough, we can insert our spacer, as well as our longer bolts that Rough Country provides us. So if the belly pan bolts are not lining up within the spacers, you can always loosen up these 13-millimeter bolts and slide the belly pan a little bit forward, and then tighten those down after you've tightened down your other bolts. That should give us enough wiggle room to get our bolts in. So now that we're moved over to the other side, we're gonna fully remove these bolts. And we did loosen them to give the belly pan a little bit of play before. Now, we can lower down this side of the belly pan [inaudible]. All right. [inaudible] So now that our transfer case drop spacers are installed, we're gonna re-tighten these four 13-millimeter bolts in here. After that's finished, we can move over to adjusting our shifting linkage. Because you've dropped your transfer case, it does need some adjustment because the shifting linkage, at the moment, will be maxed out. So now, we're ready to adjust our linkage. It's gonna be a little difficult to show you right now, but there is a 13-millimeter bolt that holds in your four-wheel drive lever. So if you loosen that bolt, it will slide the lever forward and reposition your four-wheel drive lever. So let's go over to the transfer case, and I'll show you how to unbolt that. So this will be the 13-millimeter bolt holding your linkage in place. And you see here that it did slide forward when we dropped the transfer case. Now, if we loosen that, it should slide back into position. After that's moved forward, you can reinstall your bolt. Our next step, after adjusting our shift linkage, is to reinstall one side of the track bar. So when we get the Jeep down on its own weight, we can bolt up the other side. So we're gonna install the top portion so we can access that bottom portion on our new track bar relocation bracket. So now that we have one side of our track bar attached, it does look like the other side is able to line up while we have it in the air. We're just gonna use one of our pole jacks and raise the axle a little bit to line that up. So I'm tightening down the bottom track bar bolt with an 18-millimeter socket and a 19-millimeter wrench. To accommodate for our added ride height, we will have to lengthen our breather hose for our differential. So it's located right here, and you can just reroute it by pushing it back and pulling it through. Now, we can reroute this up through here, and down to our differential. At the moment, this will be your most affordable option for a 3.25-inch lift kit on the page at around $450. Rough Country will be a more budget-friendly brand compared to the more premium brands, which will explain that lower price, as well as the lack in more extra components like control arms and track bars. However, I do like the fact that Rough Country keeps it engine and year-specific. Overall, this is a great starter kit that's gonna give you the height on your Wrangler that you want and come with everything to accommodate that new ride height. Now, let's put the tires back on and get everything re-bolted up. Now that we have our wheels and tires on, we can lower this down on its own weight so we can bolt up our rear shocks, as well as our front track bar. So in order to get the bottom shock bolts in, you may have to open up the mount. You can use two pry bars to do so. So now, we can reattach the front track bar bolt. I'm gonna have somebody inside of the Jeep steering it back and forth so we can evenly line this up. Pull to the right. Yep. All right. You're good. So after your lift is complete, I would highly recommend an alignment. So that's it for my review and install on the Rough Country 3.25-inch lift kit with shocks. For more videos like this, keep it right here at extremeterrain.com.

      Product Information

      Features, Description, Reviews, Q&A, Specs & Installation

      Features & Specs

      • Easy Bolt-On Installation
      • Increased Ground Clearance
      • Levels the Front with the Rear of the Vehicle
      • Rear Track Bar Bracket
      • Includes N2.0 Series Shock Absorbers

      Description

      Kit Includes. The Rough Country 3.25-inch Suspension Lift Kit includes 2.5-inch front and rear progressive rate coil springs, 0.75-inch poly isolator spacers, sway-bar links, front transfer case drop kit, and rear track bar drop bracket. These accessories help increase ground clearance in vehicles to accommodate tires up to 33 inches. They efficiently level the front with the rear of your vehicle to provide perfect balance for enhanced on- and off-road driving experience.

      Reliable Performance. This jeep suspension lift kit's progressive rate coil springs offer a smooth and comfortable ride. The transfer case spacers maintain factory driveshaft angles to improve your vehicle's performance.

      Freight Notes. Freight items can only be shipped within the continental 48 states, no expedited methods.

      Fitment:

      Details

      Rough Country 641.20

      CA Residents: WARNING: Cancer and Reproductive Harm - www.P65Warnings.ca.gov

      Installation & What's in the Box

      Installation Info

      What's in the Box

        • 2.5" Front & Rear Coil Springs
        • (4) Premium N2.0 Series
        • .75" Coil Spring Spacers
        • Sway Bar Links
        • Transfer Case Drop
        • Track bar drop bracket
        • Hardware

      4.7

      Customer Reviews (500+)

        Questions & Answers

        10 More Questions

        Will It Fit My Wrangler

        • tj Wrangler 2 Door - 97, 98, 99, 00, 01, 02

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