Tera's 4" lift for the WJ performs an amazing magic trick - it takes a very capable out-of-the-box vehicle and turns it into a Jeep. The off-road abilities of this lift are nothing short of amazing.
Within the first hour of testing our new Tera suspension on the "Hell's Revenge" trail in Moab, we became infinitely more confident in our Grand Cherokee. By the end of the day, we were tackling obstacles we did not even expect to attempt on this year's trip to the Easter Jeep Safari.
Click Here For A Video Clip!
On the road, our Teraflex lift rides very nicely - perhaps better than stock. Off-road, it flexes extremely well, allowing our Jeep Grand Cherokee to crawl easily over obstacles that most other long-wheelbase vehicles would probably think about twice before attacking.
The Teraflex 4" WJ kit itself is well thought out, and very complete. All necessary hardware was present (and the directions were much more detailed than most). Unlike other lift kits we have tested, the Tera Flex Jeep Grand Cherokee kit required no modifications. That in itself, while unusual, was very welcome.
Our lift kit was installed at the Spokane, Washington location of Central 4 Wheel Drive in only a few hours without complications and we were able to drive the WJ away on the same day. The kit included 4 new springs, new bump-stop spacers, sway bar disconnects, front track-bar relocation bracket, rear A-arm drop bracket, transfer case drop kit, and all necessary hardware down to the last nuts and washers. (The directions included with the kit were more complete and better thought out than most, and aided the speedy installation.)
We used Rancho RS9000 shocks with our kit (RS9255 Front and RS9116 Rear),
and decided to replace the stock factory steering stabilizer with a more acceptable RS5000 stabilizer (this required us to drill-out the stock stabilizer bracket - see below). We installed the shocks at the minimum setting (1), and have since fine-tuned the ride by setting the front shocks to "3" and the rear shocks to "2", "5" being the maximum setting. While we were at it, we also converted our front shocks from a stud type (S1) to a more secure eyebolt mount (EB1), using adapters available from Central 4 Wheel Drive.
The sway bar disconnects are very well designed, and deserve special mention. The entire link between sway bar and lower bracket is completely removed, leaving no parts to rub or bang into each other, like some other kits do. Removal is easy, by simply removing 4 clips and sliding the entire disconnects off of the vehicle, as shown in the pictures below.
SS Modification |
A-Arm Drop |
Shock Adapters |
The kit can almost entirely be installed with the use of air tools, with the A-arm drop bracket being a notable exception. The space between the A-arm and the new bracket that is bolted to the top of the rear axle is simply to small for an impact wrench or air ratchet, and must be tightened by hand with an open-end wrench.
Even with that in mind, installation was very straight forward, and can be installed by novice Jeepers. Just br sure to follow the instructions, especially when tightening down the new sway bar disconnect brackets - failing to do so could cause the sway bar to become disconnected unexpectedly.
With no reservations whatsoever, we can highly recommend the TeraFlex Jeep Grand Cherokee 4" lift for everyone with a WJ. Get the most out of your Jeep, with help from TeraFlex.
Dirt Road Magazine is sponsored by Turner 4WD Parts Co.
|
