Rancho RS5000X Gas Shocks set compatible with 97-06 Jeep Wrangler TJ with 2-3" lift kits

Swapped out my old shocks (no clue what they were — probably “Bone Rattler 3000s” from the feel of it) and slapped on these Rancho beauties. Install went shockingly smooth (pun intended) — no snapped bolts, no thrown tools, no questioning my life choices.The difference on the road? Night and day. The ride is noticeably smoother — potholes and speed bumps no longer feel like personal attacks. Now, to be fair, I’m rolling on 20” rims, so there’s not a lot of cushion coming from the tires themselves. I wasn’t expecting limousine-level refinement, but Rancho definitely tamed the beast. Make your own mind up about the bright red shock boots. I chose to ditch them, but you do you. Remember to check the bolts after a few drives to make sure they haven't come loose as the shocks settle.

These shocks made a big difference improving ride quality for my 2001 Jeep Wrangler. Took less than an hour to install all 4 shocks.

So I had some Bilsteins prior to these and they were incredibly harsh. With Bilsteins on a Wrangler you can tell if the quarter you just ran over was on heads or tails. I bought those previous shocks through Quadratec and though they claim to fit a 3" lift, they were actually too long. Like WAY too long. If you have to compress the shock quite a bit just to line up the bolt holes, it's too long. A couple of inches compressed is fine. But riding around with a shock almost completely compressed @ ride height is no good.So after having already stiff riding shocks that turned out to also be TOO long, I was hesitant about ordering these and possibly having to send them back. Well at such a great price, why not? I'm very pleased to say that both the front and rear pairs are a perfect length for my 3" lifted TJ. The ride is noticeably more "plush" than before. Yes, it is still going to ride like a Wrangler, but not nearly as harsh.I have not yet tested these out on any trails but I'm sure they'll perform great since I usually drive about 7 mph offroad! However, if I notice any gripes I will come back and update my review.I don't live in the rust belt so I couldn't care less about the finish. One thing you may notice is I have decided to leave off the huge plastic "boot" on the rear shocks. I've never had trouble running my shocks without boots, one less way to trap water and mud in there, right? If you also hate the look of a plastic shock boot, grab you a pair of diagonal cutters or heavy duty scissors and carefully cut around the lip of the boot where it surrounds the edge of the saucer towards that upper mount and the boot should slide free no problem.For those of you with a Jeep Wrangler TJ that you purchased with a lift already installed, I've attached some photos above to give you an idea of how high a 3" lift will sit measured from the garage floor to the bottom of STOCK fender flares. Tires are about 32.75" tall.If your current ride height is fairly close to mine, these will fit beautifully.Good luck and happy trails!

I recently added a budget lift to my newly acquired 97 TJ and had read that it was possible to run it with stock shocks. While that is true... It was functional but it only took a month before I got so tired of the incredibly rough ride. I looked around on some of the jeep forums to find some recommendations and the Rancho RS5000X was almost universally loved. And the only complaints I saw were regarding that they rust quickly due to EXTREMELY thin coat of paint they come with, complaints which I also see mirrored here.That being said I just installed them yesterday and the difference is night and day. The ride is so smooth now it feels more like my 2013 mazda3 driving on the road which is so much better than anything I could have hoped for.Now to the headline... definitely paint them, the paint was so thin that you could see through it even before I scuffed them up to prep for paint. If you like how they look then just clear coat them or better yet, find a local body shop and bring them to them and ask if they can clear coat them the next time they're painting a car with the left over clear. Just make sure to scuff them up with a scouring pad on the painted areas before you bring it to them. As my father works at a body shop I didn't have to pay to get this done but I can't imagine they'd charge too much to do this and now you know the shock is much better protected than just buying spray paint at the hardware store or walmart.Enjoy your new shocks! I hope you are as happy with them as I am with mine.Minor Complaint: One of my front shocks did not come with the nut for the top and I had to go to the hardware store to get one. Not horrible but definitely annoying.

Having researched many hours what the best shocks for a TJ could be, these are highly recommended in the jeep community. It won't be an ultra smooth ride but bumps are much less jarring. Easy to install and highly recommend