1991 jeep wrangler suspension help

i just bought my oldest son a 1991 jeep wrangler at auction. His enlisted in the Marines in september so i want him to enjoy it this summer.We would like it to sit low on big tires. What is the best economical kit or other suggestion to left it about 4". We are working with a limited budget on this project. i know this is the wrong forum for this questions but what would you guys suggest for tire size and rim size. the jeep has a strsight six motor and is completely stock. Another suggests would be very helpful and appreciated. We are working with a budget for the whole project of $3000.00. We have about $600.00 worth of engine and transmission work that needs to be done. So i was wondering if $2400.00 dollars will be enough to turn this into a tough guy jeep ( seats, steering wheel, suspension, tires, rims, bikini top, some tuype of lock box betwwen the front seats, used front bumper) we are able to do most of the work ourselves.

Thank you for your time reading this

Chuck Aiken

Richmond, VA  

check out the highline fenders genright has... that'll minimize the amount of lift you'll end up with for the big meats..  
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if your son dose not do a lot of off roading. go to pepboys or advance auto and get lef spring blocks for the rear they are like 20 bucks
well you are there get the 4 1/2 inch coial spacers they are like 10 or 20 bucks they are easy to put in all you need is a fue jack stands and basic hand tools takes about an hour to put the blocks in the rear depending on the amount of rust. the coial spacers just jack the front of the jeep up cut your wheels and put the spacers rember to use jack stands jeeps falling on you can hurt rely bad
i do not recomend wheeling with coial spacers. it's just so he can put biger tires on.  

go to northern tools and buy some spring perches about $20 a set do a spring over gives about 4.5 to 5 inches on the front use your stock shocks  on the sway bar mounts and add a pin or bolt to the front of pad for the sway bar on the back measure for shocks  also when doing a spring over make sure the front is exactly matching the stock perch angle (measure the perch front and back to springs) to make sure you keep geometry of steering. on the back the pinion angle should be around 6 degrees to keep vibes down and you should be able to run a 33x12.5 tire
if its auto i would gear it to 4.10 and use a lock right locker  

but a bit of caution the stock d35 axle wont hold up to alot of abuse if your son has a heavy foot keep your eye out for a d44 from a cherokee this is the cheapest way to lift a wrangler and is the best deal for a good summers fun

stay away from lift blocks they can kick out and bind on the trails around va been there done that besides youd have to spring over anyway to make them work  
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not only the founder of the white trash mafia im also a member

94 yj over the limit and out of control

Just to clear up some mis-information being given here.

First off, the question is about a YJ Wrangler, which has leaf springs front and rear. They are mounted under the axle, so a lift block would lower the jeep, not lift it. About coil spring spacers - There is nothing wrong with quality coil spring spacers that are 2" or less when used for offroading. But for a YJ Wrangler, since it doesn't have coil springs...

About lift blocks - Lift blocks can be ok, but are not the ideal solution. The biggest problem with lift blocks is the lack of maintenance. The u-bolts are subjected to much greater stress and they need to be re-torqued as part of routine maintenance and probably replaced if a lot of re-torqueing is necessary.

Recommending a spring-over conversion and presenting it as a $20 proposition is ridiculous. There is a lot more to it than spring purches.

A 2" lift spring kit would be the easy, inexpensive route. Spring-over conversions are much more expensive and labor intensive.

As stated in this month's (June '09) JP magazine, Cappa says, "...95-percent of people who ask about doing a spring-over... are doing so because they think it's a cheap way to lift. This couldn't be further from the truth. A properly-done spring-over suspension will be nearly double the price of a simple bolt-on lift kit. And the spring-over is much more labor intensive as well.".  

I have seen two good suggestions posted already and for the money they are the best....First the spring over axle conversion is super cheep and less labor then new suspension it will give you a little lift for little money. Second is the highline fenders, great way to fit big tires under little to no lift.  

Click here for the whole Jp "Spring Over Versus Spring Under" article.  

Congrats on the Jeep Chuck and thanks to your son for his service.  

I think that your budget is ambitious, particularly given the short timeline.  In my experience you end up making too many compromises in these situations.  A lift kit can be a slippery slope, because then you want bigger tires (added expense), then you want a stronger rear axle than the Dana 35 (added expense), then you need to regear the differentials (added expense), and as long as you are regearing why not add locking differentials (added expense).

My advice would be to get the Jeep running and then just enjoy it in near stock form as you start collecting parts and figuring out what works and what needs to be improved.  For the suspension I would recommend some quality leaf springs from Old Man Emu or Rubicon Express, remove the front track bar, get sway bar disconnects, quality shocks, and if you need more clearance add a 1" body lift and/or high clearance fenders from someplace like AEV or Genright.  
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www.harrysituations.com

i have lifted about 50 jeeps of all ages and modles and i have found rustys off road is one that stands behind their products ( zone lifts ?  buyer beware !) call and talk with them they are very familiar with your needs. good luck !  

ill agree with dirty harry get a quality leaf spring lift and throw some 33s on it with 15 by 8 or 10 wide wheels. dont try and go spring over if youre on a budget. bikini tops and lock boxes are cheap. grant makes good steering wheels for about 100 bucks. if it has to have a locker in the rear weld the spiders. again thank your son for his service.