O.K. guy's, I don't care about looks and cool factor. I will be taking my 4x4 to Africa and drive from south to north. Mostly I will encounter badly paved roads, destroyed by trucks and dirt roads. The biggest problems are mud in some areas, water crossings and the ruts left behind from the rain season and big trucks. yes, I will do some "real" off roading ( no roads) too but I will always put the safety of my rig in front of everything else. a broken axle in the middle of no where is no fun.....
I am planning on running 235/75/R15 tires on stock rims and in the past ( on other vehicles) had some problems with not enough space between tire and tire well by filling up so much mud and hard to get out, so I was wondering if I should lift the body for one or two inch? Also why would you lift the suspension ? Obvious for bigger tires and more ground Clarence, but if you are not building a rock crawler and for my use would I benefit? I somehow feel that I sink into mud or sand a few more inch9(2-3) Clarence will not help either, I just sink more...  I am very concerned about extra stress with bigger tires on my vehicle. So should I stick to no lift, body lift, new suspension or......

Get a suspension lift, it will give you more clearance for bigger tires and give you more
ground clearance, as well as give you a better ride.

If you really want to build a vehicle that will perform and ride well as well as clear bigger
tires you could consider a coil kit, it would be a nice truck and look cool at the same time.

I think for your purpose, you should contact Liberty Overland and talk to Eric

PHONE: (541)967-3255
http://www.liberty-overland.com/store/

Wild

A mild, 2" or less, suspension lift will help clear the tires and also not put any more stress on the drive train. FYI, I just so happen to make a 2" coil / strut spacer lift kit.  . Mudchild makes one as well.

He's planning a run with a SJ-413 so I don't think a coil lift will help. 

A 2" OME wouldn't hurt though.  Pretty much for all the reasons Wild said.  And it isn't high enough to really change the behavior of the vehicle.

 

If you are going on a long journey over that much terrain you will probably have your Sammy loaded down with some personal gear, fluids (petrol, gear oil, engine oil and water... and maybe a case of beer) plus repair parts, tools and an extra spare tire and a reliable air compressor.  You or one of your traveling mates (if you have one) will have a 7-8K winch with several snatch blocks and extra rope as well.  If for no other reason than the above, a set of OME leaf springs would serve you well.  The extra weight you will haul will sag your stock springs and the ride will be much worse than normal.  Add to that the unimproved roads, the deep and larger ruts made by heavier lorries in the mud, river crossings, rocks and it makes a good argument to upsize your tire size as well to at least a 235 series (28-29 inch) all terrain tire. You will probably encounter Type I mud around unimproved river crossings, which is the "bottomless" type of mud that just won't support vehicles with more than 20# of aired tire pressure or the mud just has a hard layer that exists deeper than your truck's ground clearance. Taller tires would help you a bit here too. Course if you travel during a rainy period any road could present you with the same type mud. Do you have lockers on your truck?  Bottom line: ANY vehicle can get stuck.  Tanks don't even go where cattails grow, so if in doubt, look before you leap.   Sounds like a great adventure though!!  Like the Jeep commercial says; "less than 1% of the earth is paved..."  Good luck to you, be safe and please let us know how it goes.  Send pics!!!!

In past I have used 235/75/15 size tyres on stock rims in a SJ-413 for quite some time and can safely say that there is enough clearance in the wheel well for them to move around.

Cheapest way I have seen here in India: Shackle lift using Dog Bone style shackles. It gives 1-2" of lift. However, do note that the ride quality becomes worse.

My suggestion: Combination of Dog Bone Shackle + OME Shocks.

Do note that even when you do a suspension lift or a body lift, your diff clearance will remain same and in rutted jungle/village/no road tracks can get stuck. The only way to have more clearance at the diff is to use larger tyres.

And yes, happy adventure..

From what I have seen of loaded down and worked SJ/Sami springs, I would put a set of coils under it.  They do not bend when stuck in the mud, or rocks.  Otherwise I would at least install traction bars.  And Height can be adjusted with spacers, or where you put the spring pads.