yea i was just looking at a lot of stuff on jeepforum. thats actually the exact zj i have but i was looking inot the front to rear swap with new front 3inch shocks and swap fornts to rear. then ill need 4 shocks all around. which wouldnt be much then i seen the iro 3.5 inch kit that comes with everything but the rear springs that u just swap the fron to rear. i may go with that for 475 but its kinda pricey for wat i want to spend. they said the front to rear swap involves new links and adjustable sway bars or sumthin and stuff. do u think i could get away with 3 inch new shocks up front and 4 new shocks and call it a day or no? and of course swapping front to rear shox.
try mallcrawlin.org for ZJ stuff. I don't know jeep forum, but I"ve heard of it. I can only do so many forums!!
When you get much over 3" then you'll need to replace tracbars (they keep the axles centered from side to side), and potentially some control arms to keep the pinion angles in check. I know for a fact that doing the ZJ front coils with the 2" spacers and then putting the front springs on the rear will work without new tracbars or control arms. You would eventually want to get at least a new front trac bar, and potentially get new LCAs that are just a tad longer...but they don't need to be done right away. Also, if you're gonna wheel it, get a HD tie rod...the stock ones are totally useless!! They bend real easy. At very least, get a spare from the junkyard for when you do bend yours!! The shocks won't swap from the front to the rear, they have different mounting styles. I'd double check, but IIRC you can do about a 3" lift with a ZJ and still use the stock shocks, although not ideal. YOu won't get as much down travel. If you can do this, I would, and then save up for some nice shocks, because cheap shocks aren't very good!! I'd recommend OME or bilsteins. I've got bilstein 5150s up front on my XJ on 36" TSL super swamper bias ply tires and it rides like a dream!! It really helps for long trail rides where it's bump after bump after bump, haha. Lot less jolting around, and you can travel faster over the rough terrain where as you go real slow over rough terrain when your shocks really suck.
You could just buy some 3" front coils, then put the stock fronts in the rear, and then buy shocks and you'd be good. Again, you'll eventually want a new front tracbar, and you'll need a new alignment when you lift or the tires will wear bad. If you feel the need, eventually get some LCAs that are a tiny bit longer, or adjustables. I think you could do what you're saying there at the end of your post and be good to go!! I've got a 3.5" lifted XJ that I still rock a stock tracbar on...not ideal, but I don't mind. I could put a new one on and get a little more flex, but I've got so many other things to put money into and it's locked so it just drives up whatever I want it to anyways!!
I don't think you'll need any new links or anything. Depends on how you like to drive, but I don't have swaybars on either of my vehicles. I've heard that removing the rear swaybar on a ZJ doesn't do anything...so you can keep that one on there. Should be able to bolt it back up without any extensions, but it won't work as good like that. If you know your way around a hardware store you could build your own extensions, same thing goes for the front. If you're going to get removable disconnectable swaybar links, there is only one kind worth your money and that's JKS generation 2 quicker discos. They're like 120ish but totally worth it. They work like a dream!! I don't even use mine anymore though....I'm comfortable without swaybars, but not everyone is like that. See that thing with a hole in it in the last pic I posted?? That's the actual swaybar. No links on it...just leave the bar there, toss the links in the trash!!
Oh, and I wouldn't put a light bar on the roof...can't use those lights on the road. I would put some hellas or pro comp 55s on the front bumper. If you're going to wheel you'll want to trim the fat off the bottom of the bumper so it doesn't get caught on stuff and then rip the whole bumper cover off. It's just a plastic cover, and you can make it look real nice real easy. Check mallcrawlin for that stuff. jeepin.com may have some good ZJ info too.