Jeep Tj Tummy Tuck Diy

Jeep Tj Tummy Tuck Diy

Jeep TJ is a popular SUV, and it’s one of the most durable and reliable off-road vehicles on the market. However, like other cars, it can be prone to damage from rust or corrosion. Corrosion can be very expensive to repair, so it’s important to keep tabs on your Jeep’s frame and body panels for any signs of damage.

The best way to protect your Jeep from rust is by performing regular maintenance checks. You should perform these checks every six months or so depending on how much you use your vehicle. The most important thing about maintenance checks is that they allow you to identify problems before they become serious enough to warrant expensive repairs or replacements.

One area where you should always check for signs of corrosion are around the wheel wells and undercarriage areas near the front seats (where most moisture tends to collect). If you notice any kind of discoloration or pitting in these areas then there may be some kind of underlying problem that needs attention before further damage occurs.

Right here on Cosmeticsurgerytips, you are privy to a litany of relevant information on jeep tj tummy tuck diy, jeep tj tummy tuck no body lift, jeep tj tummy tuck skid plate, and so much more. Take out time to visit our catalog for more information on similar topics.

Jeep Tj Tummy Tuck Diy

What is a tummy tuck?
Take a look under your Jeep Wrangler TJ and one of the first thing’s you’ll notice is that the transfer case hangs down really low (especially if you have a Rubicon model). A tummy tuck means that you’re lifting the transfer case up into the body more and getting rid of that low hanging stock skid plate in favor of something flat, that doesn’t hang down (or at least doesn’t hang down as low as the stock skid plate).

Why do I need a tummy tuck?
Well, you don’t need a tummy tuck, but if you do a lot of offroading in your TJ then at some point or another you’re going to get your transfer case skid plate stuck on something, whether it be a rock, a log, etc.. With as low as the stock skid plate hands, most serious offroaders will agree that a tummy tuck is a necessity.

What do I need for a tummy tuck?
Depending on the Jeep you have and which route you intend on going you might need one or more of these for your tummy tuck:

Body Lift– There are various routes to go with body lifts, but I always recommend a solid mount body lift such as Savvy, Rokmen, or others. Avoid the poly mount body lifts such as JKS.​​

Motor Mount Lift (MML) – Is needed when doing any high clearance transfercase skid on a Jeep that has a suspension lift of 2” or more. Stockers can usually get away with out it, but if you are doing a tummy tuck chances are you aren’t keeping the stock suspension height. The reason this needs to be done is when you are stuffing your tranny and tcase farther up you want to tilt the output shaft of the tcase down to help with the geometry you are messing with. By bringing the front of the engine up, you will be able to tilt the output shaft of the tcase down. There are various MMLs out there including M.O.R.E. Bombproof mounts.​

Double Cardan Driveshaft – Is needed when doing any tummy tuck on a Jeep that has been lifted 1.5- 2” or more via its suspension. Stockers can usually get away without it, but if you are doing a tummy tuck chances are you aren’t keeping the stock suspension height. This will be needed regardless of whether you have a Rubicon or non-Rubicon. There are a few out there (Currie, Teraflex, ect.), but the only one that I would go with is a Tom Wood.​

Slip Yoke Eliminator (SYE) – Is needed when doing any skid on a Jeep that has been lifted 1.5″ or more via its suspension. Stockers can usually get away without it, but if you are doing a tummy tuck chances are you aren’t keeping the stock suspension height. If you have a Rubicon, you will not need one of these. Many people say that the Rubicon already has an SYE, but that is incorrect. It would have to have a slip yoke in the first place to elimininate it – Rubicons have fixed flange rear outputs. There are several good kits on the market such as Advance Adapters, JB Conversions, Rubicon Express, etc..​

Rear upper adjustable control arms – Will be needed to rotate your pinion upward. There will be some fine tuning to eliminate driveshaft vibrations. Currie, Savvy and Metalcloak are the only ones I would consider personally. I run the Savvy adjustable control arms and personally think they are one of the best options available for the TJ.​​Rear track bar relocation bracket – This angled bracket will be needed for your trackbar when rotating the pinion. With out this bracket your stock or adjustable trackbar will bind.​​

Rear shock relocation brackets – When rotating your pinion up, you will find that the can of your shock (if you have piston down, you may not have this problem) will rub the axle. If you’re looking for maximum flex, this is a good time to consider shock mount relocation to use long travel shocks. Don’t overthink this one. I just went with some basic Rough Country rear shock relocation brackets and they did the job just fine! The long term solution however, would be to outboard the rear shocks in my opinion.​​

Spring perch modifications – Will sometimes have to be done, but I personally have not seen a Jeep that has absolutely needed it. Rotating the pinion will cause the spring sit a bit different- resulting in the spring trying to arc…meaning the bumpstops will no longer align. This mod is not absolutely necessary with smaller lift heights, and mainly helps suspension geometry on taller lifts.​​Transfer case bracket – Most people run into issues with the stock transfer case shifter assembly when doing a tummy tuck. In fact, most people have problems with it even when their TJ is bone stock. The bottom line is that the factory transfer case shifter assembly is a poorly engineered piece of garbage. Things will only get worse when you do a tummy tuck. The Savvy transfer case shifter is hands down the best transfer case shifter on the market for our TJs. Savvy took the Novak design and improved on it in several areas that make it an even better choice than the Novak shifter cable. There should be no question in your mind, Savvy is the way to go. Savvy makes a transfer case shifter for the NV241 Rubicon transfer case.​

Has anyone out there done a tummy tuck by modifying the transmission tunnel? It seems that it wouldn’t be that hard to do (I’m probably wrong) by cutting the tunnel off and then adding some height to it, re-welding it, and putting everything back together. If you did this, wouldn’t you be able to fully tuck the transfer case, have a completely flat skid plate (like the JK does), and no longer need a body lift?

I’m just curious, since this seems like a decent idea. Am I wrong?

Yes, I know it’s a bigger project than a body lift, but someone must have done it. This is one thing I like on the JKs, is that they come from the factory with a flat transfer case skid plate.

When I was researching mint here were quite a few that said you can do it just by pounding a few spots up with a hammer. I did not fancy that idea. I tried to put it on without first, and was able to get it together, but the transfer case was literally against the floorboards. HOT, and loud is all I can say! If you have the skills to modify the tunnel, I am sure you could do it. I just don’t have those skills, or a welder!

If you read the install directions from UCF on all their applicable bits, you still need to do a little body and fender work on the tunnel to make it all fit without a body lift. At least for their flat(ish) skid. The LoPro mount is known to transmit a lot of vibrations as well. That’s kind of where I’m headed, in aluminum. But I decided to go with a 1″ BL. It gives me a chance to tuck the gas tank as well. Every little bit helps.

YES ! Exactly what AEV did with the highline fenders. They cut the tops off, added 3″ of steel, 2″ lift plus overlap.
So, yes, I’ve wanted to do that if I could pull my TJR off the road for a month or two. A 2″ motor mount lift and a 2″ tunnel “highline”….. and keep it going to a 4” rear deck lift to fit a 35gallon gas tank too.

Right now with the AEV HighLine I run 33s on stock steel15x7 spokers and a stock Rubi suspension, no lift.
Next mod will be to trim the 6″ AEV flares down to 3″.

See, that’s what I want to do as well. Add enough extra height to the tunnel that the transfer case can tuck up under there without the need for a body lift (I don’t like the look of the body and frame gap that comes from a body lift). I know it would involve some work, but I would have to imagine that the end result would be pretty cool.

Years ago 4wd? Had Top Truck Challenge? And some guy entered a 1960s Bronco. Very little lift, lots of HighLine etc. It was incredible. Ted Nugent had an ’80s Bronco, he cut off the fenders to a HighLine concept. Same thing. Vehicles which just stuck in my mind. Back to Grade 8? and the Ford F100 4×4 looked low rider. I loved it and the ’69 GT350 the same day.

I’m not a fan of lift, lift, lift. I like practical performance more. And in North America that means lots of highway miles too.

There are diminishing returns and then there are “holy crap, those are so far away I can barely even see them” returns. That is a phenomenal amount of work just to get rid of a small body lift. And, I’ve not yet seen mentioned what you plan to do under the hood to bring the motor up, deal with the fan shroud, etc. The radiator can NOT move up at all. There is already a dimple in the front of the hood brace for clearance on the radiator cap.

I have contemplated what it would take to raise the tunnel but only to drop the body to build a low rider TJ. I finally figured out the suspension, just a bit left to do on the steering and it looks like a custom radiator is going to have to be built and that isn’t cheap.

I’ve been researching TT, especially the well-written thread on this forum, and pages on Tom Wood site. If I’m understanding, since I already have a 2.5″ OME I can go ahead and do a 1″ MML Brown Dog to get rid of my TC drop. I can do a Novak Transfer Case Shifter anytime. I can also do a 1″ Savvy BL anytime. Is this right?

My other questions; for my control arms, can I keep the stock lowers and just get the adjustable rear upper’s (Savvy) so I can rotate the pinion on my rear differential so it is facing the output of the TC? When do you put the high clearance skid on in relation to the SYE and Tom Wood Driveshaft? It seems to me that you have to already have the skid on so you can get correct measurements to Tom Wood so he can make the personal driveshaft the right length.

And I’m just wondering how this works when you get to the point of putting on the skid. Is it the higher clearance skid that raises up the TC? It’s crazy that the 2003-06 TJ’s have 4.65″ of belly sag. If you can get rid of that you’re almost gaining 5″ of lift (at that point)! Anyway, appreciate any feedback…

Also, I’m assuming I can go ahead with the 1″ MML, the 1 or 1.25″ BL (which would probably be easier to do at the same time) and the Novak shifter?

Will my Jeep look stupid with the 2.5″ OME and a 1 or 1.25″ BL and the 31×10.5’s? Eventually I think I want to go to 33’s, but that’s a distant think…

There are diminishing returns and then there are “holy crap, those are so far away I can barely even see them” returns. That is a phenomenal amount of work just to get rid of a small body lift. And, I’ve not yet seen mentioned what you plan to do under the hood to bring the motor up, deal with the fan shroud, etc. The radiator can NOT move up at all. There is already a dimple in the front of the hood brace for clearance on the radiator cap.

I have contemplated what it would take to raise the tunnel but only to drop the body to build a low rider TJ. I finally figured out the suspension, just a bit left to do on the steering and it looks like a custom radiator is going to have to be built and that isn’t cheap.