My New Toy: 04 Liberty Limited

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DRockZZ

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My New Toy: 04 Limited

Hey Guys, whats up.

A couple months ago I came across the deal of a lifetime. I found an immaculate 2004 Liberty limited with only 42,000 miles (Yes, 42,000!!). I bought it from an elderly gentleman whose wife could no longer comfortably get in and out of it.

When I say this thing is clean I mean it is showroom clean. Not a scratch on the paint, A+ leather interior, and it had brand new tires put on it in August. All the maintenance was done by a well known and respected local service center. I was able to secure a copy of the records for myself and It has had oil changes every 6 months since it was brand new, not a single one was missed. All the recalls and issues have been dealt with and I received all associated paperwork. No lie, the plastic was still on the rear seats until a few weeks ago.

The factory 17's are pristine and I intend to keep them that way. To ensure that they don't get damaged I've got a set of 15x7 Pro Comp series 52's on the way with 4.5" of backspacing. I'll be putting a 30" tire on it. Something aggressive looking but not ridiculous. I did some measuring and the Suspension hasn't settled too bad at just about 18.5" in the front so a 30 shouldn't be an issue.

I've already put a set of smoked turn signals on it. I like them a lot.

I've got a couple pictures. The first two are dirty from a morning snow storm that turned into a sunny midwest afternoon and the last one is after I cleaned it and I put the smoked signals on it.

Can't wait to see it with the new wheel and tire combo.

Been lurking on here a while and figured I would go ahead and throw my hat into the ring. Proud to be a member of the Jeep family.
 

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tommudd

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Hey Guys, whats up.

A couple months ago I came across the deal of a lifetime. I found an immaculate 2004 Liberty limited with only 42,000 miles (Yes, 42,000!!). I bought it from an elderly gentleman whose wife could no longer comfortably get in and out of it.

When I say this thing is clean I mean it is showroom clean. Not a scratch on the paint, A+ leather interior, and it had brand new tires put on it in August. All the maintenance was done by a well known and respected local service center. I was able to secure a copy of the records for myself and It has had oil changes every 6 months since it was brand new, not a single one was missed. All the recalls and issues have been dealt with and I received all associated paperwork. No lie, the plastic was still on the rear seats until a few weeks ago.

The factory 17's are pristine and I intend to keep them that way. To ensure that they don't get damaged I've got a set of 15x7 Pro Comp series 52's on the way with 4.5" of backspacing. I'll be putting a 30" tire on it. Something aggressive looking but not ridiculous. I did some measuring and the Suspension hasn't settled too bad at just about 18.5" in the front so a 30 shouldn't be an issue.

I've already put a set of smoked turn signals on it. I like them a lot.

I've got a couple pictures. The first two are dirty from a morning snow storm that turned into a sunny midwest afternoon and the last one is after I cleaned it and I put the smoked signals on it.

Can't wait to see it with the new wheel and tire combo.

Been lurking on here a while and figured I would go ahead and throw my hat into the ring. Proud to be a member of the Jeep family.

Welcome
Hate to put a dampener on your plans but with even only being sagged .5 inches your tire and wheel choice won't work
UNLIFTED you'll need to stay with 7 inch wide , 5 inches of backspacing
Yes 1/2 inch does make a difference trust me
As far as tire height , when brand new my 04 rubbed some with 245-70-16s ( 29 inch tall tire
So do what you want but just some friendly advice before you go ordering some things that will not work the way you think they should on paper
Heck on the 03 I'm starting to build now with 30.5 inch tall tires I'm going 2.5 inch lift and 4.10 gears , from experience will work great!
 

DRockZZ

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Welcome
Hate to put a dampener on your plans but with even only being sagged .5 inches your tire and wheel choice won't work
UNLIFTED you'll need to stay with 7 inch wide , 5 inches of backspacing
Yes 1/2 inch does make a difference trust me
As far as tire height , when brand new my 04 rubbed some with 245-70-16s ( 29 inch tall tire
So do what you want but just some friendly advice before you go ordering some things that will not work the way you think they should on paper
Heck on the 03 I'm starting to build now with 30.5 inch tall tires I'm going 2.5 inch lift and 4.10 gears , from experience will work great!

Hey I appreciate the advice.

The wheels are already enroute but I haven't ordered tires yet so although I'm locked in at 4.5 backspace with a 7" wheel the tire situation is wide open. I've considered a clevis lift while I've got the tires off if that would get me the required clearance I need for the 30. I'm not against running something smaller, I know the tire on there now is about 29.1. I was mostly concerned about brake clearance issues with the 4.5 backspace but your recommendation of 5" alleviates that.

Future plans do include the OME lift so if I could get by with 30's for a couple months of sanitary driving-help is on the way.

This is one of the old threads (from 08) that I found and saved while lurking.

I just upgraded wheels and tires last week on my unlifted 07 4x2 Sport. I went with the Crager Black D's from Summit Racing. I got the 15x7 with 4" BS. Then I put 235/75R15 of them. They fit perfect. I only have a very small rub on the front edge of the front fenders at full lock (I had already pounded down the pinch weld) I think if I had gotten the 4.25" BS wheels, it would have been perfect with no rubbing at all.

Here they are
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That's about a 29" tire and it doesn't look bad. I realize that there is only so much I can do on an unlifted KJ. I've got a few of these old discussions saved from several of the jeep sites. Not having actually put tires on a KJ before, I defer to the more experienced.
 
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tommudd

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Will rub , good luck

Only been owning/ lifting / working on KJs for over 11 years
so still a newbie:shrug::icon_lol::ROFLJest:
 

DRockZZ

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Will rub , good luck

Only been owning/ lifting / working on KJs for over 11 years
so still a newbie:shrug::icon_lol::ROFLJest:

Ahh Yes, from what I've read you know a thing or two about these KJ rigs.:mexsmoke:

I'm not married to the 30" tire. Strongly considering some 255/70's or 235/75's.
 

tommudd

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I would at least try and do a 3/8 inch clevis, that will get you up to about 19.25 inches , just above stock height, of course that where even 245-70-16s rub some so the 255-70s would rub bad, especially with a wheel at 4.5 inches of backspacing.
Darn wheelwells just don't much fudge room really
If you wanted since you have to do an alignment anyways
throw a 1/4 inch top plate on plus the clevis for 1.25 inches of lift from where you are now, would clear then I would say
Plus you can use the top plate when you get new springs and shocks
clevis is free
 

Dave

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Welcome and nice looking jeep.


Dave
 

DRockZZ

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Welcome and nice looking jeep.


Dave

Hey, Thank you

I'm going to go ahead to do the .25" top-plate & .375" Clevis Combo, likely do a rear Iso while I'm at it. For minimal cost and and an alignment it looks like I would come out ahead. Then I'll see where it sits and go from there with tire selection.

One foot in front of the other
 
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tommudd

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Hey, Thank you

I'm going to go ahead to do the .25" top-plate & .50" Clevis Combo, likely do a rear Iso while I'm at it. For minimal cost and and an alignment it looks like I would come out ahead. Then I'll see where it sits and go from there with tire selection.

One foot in front of the other

There ya go, like i said measure where you are now in the front
add in the 3/8 inch clevis and 1/4 inch top plate ( total 1.25 inches ) and then know where you will be.
I wouldn't do a 1/2 inch clevis
one iso in the rear is 1/2 inch so if sitting nose down will level it up
OR PM me I'll give you a couple of other tricks :gr_grin:
 

DRockZZ

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I wouldn't do a 1/2 inch clevis

Whoops, definitely met .375. I'll edit it for the next guy.

Put my Window shades on today. Ordering my top plates from JBA. Heck I'll order a t-shirt while I'm at it.

Took a few more pics..
 

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