Black Diamond 3.5 inch suspension kit

[Mud-boy]

How is it compared to some of the higher end brands like BDS and RE? It seems like a great value. What other kits are good bang for da buck? I searched and couldnt find much.

[Mud-boy]

TTT

[ssyj94]

couple of my freinds have it and like it. the springs are pretty flexible and ride well. if your on a budget they will work. def alot of bang for the buck.

[mississippi_xj]

I run it and like it.

[lemsip]

I read the black diamond springs are really superlift springs. If thats the case I would look for opinions on superlift springs too.

[Mud-boy]

The blackdiamond lifts are made by superlift. Where did you guys buy yours and how much did ya pay?

[Mud-boy]

Also, how neccesary is a drop pitman arm? And where can you get extended brake lines? Or are the relocation thingies OK?

[butch6924]

I'm probably one of the cheapest people on the planet so I'll tell you what I did since most of your posts seem to come down to wanting a lifted Jeep and on the cheap.

I bought my lift from http://rustysoffroad.com/ . That lift requires some mechanical know how since there are a few issues that I had with it.
First, it comes with a sold billet spacer to drop the t-case. The holes in the bars were drilled for a TJ so I had to redrill the holes.
Second, it came with brake line drop brackets but I couldn't get my brake lines apart so I loosened them from the frame and moved them to behind the shock towers and let the ends dangle down in the wheel well. THIS IS NOT THE RIGHT WAY TO DO THIS, but I haven't had any problem in 3 years.
Third, the shims that come with that kit are junk. If you're not going to be removing your spring perches and rewelding them, order a set of steel shims from RE. You'll need 4* roughly. Don't even think about installing those shims. They're cast AL and will break as soon as you attempt to tighten down the center pins, I've broken 3 different sets of those specific shims.
Fourth, I do not have a drop pitman arm on my Jeep. It still has stock steering on a stock-ish axle (it's a 4cyl axle swapped in for the 4.10 gears). I have some bump steer and anything over 70 mph and you're not driving anymore, you're aiming.
Fifth, I'm running stock dimension wheels (they're actually AR wheels but they're still stock dimension) with 33x12.50r15 tires. Most people will tell you you can't, I guess I'm proving them wrong.
Sixth, I'm running generic MT's. They're khumo's tires but they're a generic brand so I got them a lot cheaper than 1st run brand name tires. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably have gone with LTB's. They cost about the same and perform much better in mud. Don't get me wrong, I love my generics. They're great on any terrain but when I was buying tires I hadn't ever wheeled before and didn't realize how well the TSL design does. On the other hand, I'd probably be replacing those bias tires already and my radials will probably be around for another couple of years.



Since the lift, I've spent $ on other things, equally as price minded.
Bumpers, had a local guy build 'em. Paid about half of retail.
Rockers, had a local guy build a set of sliders. Paid about half of retail.
OBA, built my own bracket and assembled the parts from various sources. Got my compressor from a truck at the Pick-n-Pull. $20 for the compressor and $1 for the wal-mart generic black spray paint.
Winch, bought at Harbor Freight. They're Mile Marker refurbs. If you buy one, get the no questions asked warranty.
SYE, I bought from http://4wheelersupply.com/ they're about 3 hours from me and had free shipping AND the lowest price I could find.
CV Drive Shaft, I had an XJ front shaft shortened. I paid $30 at the pick-n-pull and had it shortened for $80.
Sway Bar Disconnects, I bought a couple of pins and some pipe from Home Depot. I cut the old ones and drilled them and a couple of pieces of pipe out to accept the pins.

There you have it, one cheap b-st-rd to another.

[Mud-boy]

Thank you. That helps. I am leaning towards the black diamond setup over rustys mainly cause its more complete and seems to be better quality. You are right I want bang for da buck but I dont wanna go cheap and then ending up doing something different later cause it didnt work too well. So I take it if your highway driving the pitman arm is a good thing to have. Rustys sells those for like 70 bucks so I would prolly go that route. Thanks for the help guys.

[butch6924]

The highway driving really became an issue when I removed the front track bar. Also note that I said "over 70 mph". That's pretty fast to be traveling in a vehicle as narrow and short as a Jeep, especially on 33's. If I were to put some reasonable steering on my rig, I'm sure all of those problems would be cleared.

[Mud-boy]

Oh OK. So would the drop pitman arm really make much difference then? And say I kept the front track bar would it still drive decent at higher speeds?

[SexPanther]

if you want i just took the blackdiamond dropped pitman arm off of my lift.... i will sell it to you at a discount (i took my off when i switched to a telescoping track bar and had to put the stock pitman arm back on to correct my sterring geometry)

i run the 3.5" and love it (i purchased it from quadratec)... i do some pretty rough stuff with it and they hold up just fine.... you DO NOT need extended brake lines with this lift UNLESS you remove the track bars, remove the bump stop extensions, remove the sway bar, and change to long travel shocks...

they are a rough ride at first but remember to break them in offroading and to let some airpressure out of your big tires... after that they are a good ride better than stock at least

the level that i ended up going with the lift i should have just bought the extreme duty 4.5".... all that i now retain from the original lift is the springs and shocks

a good combo is i coupled the lift with the Daystar 1" bodylift and TJ flares.... the 33's actually look small under there and i have the room for 35"s which i plan on upgrading to

[butch6924]

With the track bar on, my Jeep drove pretty well.

If you can find a deal on a drop pitman arm, i'd go for it, but, $70+shipping IMHO is nuts.

[subculturenm]

I don't necessarily agree with the comment that you don't need extended brake lines with 3.5" of lift. I've got 2" leafs on my wife's '93 and just installed RE braided stainless lines (I think they're 3" - 4" longer than stock) this past weekend. The stock front lines were just at the point of being too short with the 2" front springs and MORE shackle reversal (1" of lift, moves the axle forward 1"). I still have the stock front track bar on it, and Rancho 5000s that are for 0' - 2" of lift - the shocks limit droop by maybe 0.5".

I'd buy a set of longer lines, to be safe.

[Mud-boy]

You didnt have relocation brackets though, did you?

[ssyj94]

talked to my freinds who run it and they like it. they got them through both quadratec and 4wheel drive hardware for roughly the same price. Superlift distributes it but they arent the same as their super ride or whatever pos springs. they used to be sold under warn. My freinds and i all ditch are swaybars and trackbars ha. All you'll need is a pitman arm or a stock xj arm(same as yj drop arm but like $10 at the junkyard). It comes with everything needed. They run the shocks that came with the kit and use the brakeline relocation brackets and have no need for extended lines. You can clear 31's well with the lift and 32's ok. my vote is get it you wont regret it for the money add tj flares and 1"bl and run 33's

[subculturenm]

You didnt have relocation brackets though, did you?

No, I didn't. I've not seen them installed, so they could very well do what you need.

[Mud-boy]

All you'll need is a pitman arm or a stock xj arm(same as yj drop arm but like $10 at the junkyard).

THANK YOU!!! Thats very good to know!

[YJorBUST]

Subculture, When are the next times you're off, I have my lift in now and ready to be installed, If you wanna lend a hand, that would be sweet..... oh and I'm in Boston now and how is Gretchen DOing

sorry for the thread Hijack, back on topic now, I have a set of the RE braided lines and they seem to be much longer than the stock ones so I would just replace the whole thing instead of relocating them

[mississippi_xj]

with the dpa and no tracbars mine runs fine with the black diamond lift.... alignment can make a pretty good difference with this particular setup.... you will be all over teh place if you don't have it dialed in....

[TSM_88YJ]

porc sells the kit with a drop pitman, shocks, and a steering stabalizer for a really good price.

[Mud-boy]

Thats cool. It comes with the pitman arm for the same price as everywhere else. Thanks!