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Before I started, I wanted to take a few measurements
to reference once the lift was on. I measured the distance from the ground to the
fender on all four wheels. Average was 30.5".
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I also measured from the ground to the center of
each wheel. Average was 13.25". Just by
putting on 33" tires
I lifted the Jeep by about 3". Add that to the 6.5" of lift from the
kit and the Teraflex Revolver shackles and I should be about 9"-10"
higher.
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Next, I wanted to see how much "flex" I
could get with the stock suspension, with both front and rear sway bars attached.
I jacked up the left front wheel at the axle.
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I jacked up the wheel until the right front tire
started coming off the ground. You can see the tread is up off the ground just a
little bit in this picture.
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As you can see in this photo, even a stock XJ
with both sway bars attached has some decent flex. Once I had it jacked up
as far as it would go, I measured the distance from the ground to the center
of the axle: 22.5". That's 9.25" of flex from the stock suspension.
You can actually get more flex when the suspension is "shocked,"
causing the sway bars to twist. But it's hard to measure anything other than
static articulation.
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This is a good shot of how far off the ground the
front tire can get off the ground with stock suspension. Good. But not good
enough!
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This photo shows how "stuffed" the rear
tire is in the wheel well. I'll have some problems with tire rub once I put
bigger tires on. Compare this photo to the
action shot of my Jeep in
"full flex" on the Upper Lopez trail.
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To begin, I jacked up one side at a time and put
the Jeep on jack stands.
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I put one stand at each corner of the unibody
frame. I wanted them to be spread out as much as possible to make it as stable
as possible. I gave it a good shove test before I started doing any work on it.
I was a bit paranoid about the thing coming down on me while I was working on it.
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Next, I removed the front driveshaft. (You can
barely see it in the shadow of the Jeep, but it's there.) I did this so the
front axle would be free to move, and also because it was necessary for my
slip yoke eliminator
installation.
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I got tired of working around the tires, so I
took them off. In hindsight, I should have done this as soon as I had it up on
the jack stands. But I was still a bit edgy about the thing coming down on me,
so I wanted to leave the tires on. I got over it and just took the things off
so I could work.
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With the tires out of the way, I removed the
rear sway bar. It wouldn't be going back on later, so it went into the
"E-bay pile."
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I then removed the rear driveshaft, disconnected
the stock shocks from the axle and removed the U-bolts to free the rear axle
from the springs. The rear driveshaft went in the sell pile. I also tried
removing the stock shocks while I was under there. But, while trying to loosen
the first bolt that holds the driver's side shock on, I sheered the head right
off. That really ruined my afternoon, so I took a long break. I was not
looking forward to having to drill that piece of crap out of there.
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Next, I installed the extended stainless steel
brake line for the rear axle. Then I carefully lifted each end of the axle off
of the jack stands (I needed them for my
transfer case work) and
set it on the ground. That allowed me to remove my springs. The bolts that held
them in took a breaker bar with a 2.5' pipe on the end to break free, but I
eventually got them off. I almost broke my 5" vice trying to loosen the
bolts that held the shackles on. So I eventually gave up and ordered some
Teraflex Revolver shackles instead. The stock springs and shackles went into the
sell pile.
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To install the front suspension, I needed to
remove the stock crossmember. The crossmember supports the weight of the tranny
and transfer case. So, I put a jack stand under the transmission pan before I
removed the crossmember. (This photo actually shows the crossmember already
removed.)
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There are four nuts that fix the transmission to
the crossmember. Then there's a bolt and a nut (on a stud fixed to the frame)
on each side (end) of the crossmember that hold it to the frame. The driver's side
nut and bolt came off easily. So did the passenger side nut. And, I thought
the bolt did too - until I realized it was just spinning in its hole. The welded
nut on the inside of the frame broke loose. There was no way to reach it to
hold it in place to remove the bolt, so I had to cut the bolt head off. I would have
to find a solution to the loose nut inside the frame later when I installed the new
brackets for the lower control arms.
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I finally stopped procrastinating and got around to
removing the remaining bolts that hold the upper shock pins in on the rear shocks.
Well, at least that was the plan. I sheared not one, not two, not even three,
but all four of the bolt heads off! What a pain!
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After shearing off all four bolt heads, it was time
to extract the broken bolts. Again, that was the plan. After trying both left-hand
thread and straight flute bolt extractors of various sizes, I eventually just drilled
out each bolt completely. I was left with a lot of metal shavings on and around my
rear axle. I vacuumed it up as soon as I could to keep from getting it in anything.
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I used a thread gage on what was left of the thread on
the head of one of the bolts to see what size bolt it was. Based on that, I tapped
each hole with a 5/16-18 tap. I threaded a bolt into each hole
to make sure they all threaded properly.
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To hopefully alleviate any similar problems on
the front shocks, I soaked the front shock pin bolts with PB Blaster to loosen
them up. Considering I did the same thing to the rear bolts, I wasn't hopeful. But
it was worth a shot. I was in a bit of hurry to beat sunset when I took this picture,
and my camera focused on the steering knuckle instead of the shock mount. You get the
idea though.
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As a comparison, here's what the 6.5" spring from
Rusty's looks like compared to the stock spring.
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Another comparison of the stock shock length to the
Monroe shock that came in the Rusty's Offroad kit. I fiddled around briefly with the
bushings and pins. I could tell it was going to be a royal pain in the butt to get
those things put together.
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As soon as my new Teraflex Revolver shackles arrived in
the mail, I installed my rear springs. Stock shackles are 31/8"
from eye to eye. Collapsed, the Revolvers are 51/8".
Extended, they're 101/2"! That's
53/8" of droop just from these shackles! You can see how
low the springs are hanging. Re-installing the axle and getting the tires on was going
to be a challenge.
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With the springs suspended from the frame, I replaced
the axle locating pin with a longer one and installed the axle shims. These shims
keep your differential pinion point up towards the transfer case to reduce driveline
vibration.
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I installed the driver's side U-bolts first. I couldn't
get one of the U-bolts into the passenger side because the axle was still on the ground
and the shock mount was at an awkward angle. Once I had the U-bolts in, I tightened
them just enough to draw the axle up so the perch was flush with the shim. The
emergency brake line was pretty tight. There was still a bit of play in it, but not
enough to make me comfortable. I later decided that instead of replacing the brake
lines, I would simply move the splitter bracket back a few inches. There was enough
slack in the line between the e-brake lever and splitter bracket to do it easily.
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To get the passenger's side U-bolts in (one of them,
anyway) I had to raise the axle. But now, I was lifting the combined weight of the
axle and the spring and compressing the spring slightly. Too much to do by
hand. But the axle was too low to get my jack underneath. So, I raised the jack
high enough to go over the axle and then used a ratchet strap to pull up the axle.
I brought it up just enough to get the U-bolt in. Once I had the last U-bolt in
place, I tightened all the U-bolt nuts on both springs and removed the jack. You can
see how far up the pinion yoke is pointing. That's from a combination of the shims
and the severe droop from both Teraflex Revolvers being completely extended.
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I was now faced with the problem of getting tires back
onto the rear axle. The combination of the taller springs and extended Teraflex
Revolver shackles left my rear axle sitting on the ground, even though I had jacked up
the Jeep more than eight inches. I couldn't just jack up one side and put on a tire
because it started to lift the Jeep off of the jack stands. Not good. So I started by
collapsing the Revolver shackles as much as possible and holding them closed with
ratchet straps. That lifted the axle up about three inches. Then I installed the
driveshaft into the pinion yoke.
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I then reconnected the driveshaft to the transfer
case yoke. It's a bit tricky to get it into the yoke, stretch it enough to seat,
and tighten all the bolts all at the same time. This project would definitely be
a lot easier on a lift.
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To put tires on the rear axle, I would have to be
able to raise one side at a time. I couldn't do that while the front end was still
on jack stands. So I decided to put the tires back on the front. But, to lower the
front, I would have to remove the jack stand holding up the transmission and transfer
case too. So I had to re-install the stock crossmember. I didn't tighten it to
specs or put the nuts on the studs that fix the transmission to the crossmember. I
just needed it on there to support the weight of the tranny and T/C.
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I then replaced the stock front tires. Again, I
didn't torque anything to spec. I just put them on tight enough to hold the wheels
on nice and tight.
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Then I jacked up the front end enough to remove the
jack stands and then lowered the front end back down onto the tires. That allowed me
to jack up one side of the rear axle at a time. As I raised each side of the rear
axle, I placed a jack stand under it. Also notice that I chocked the front tire.
Since the front driveshaft was still removed, there was nothing to keep the Jeep from
rolling away while I was jacking and lifting.
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I raised the rear axle just high enough to put the
stock tires back on. I did that so I could then raise each side even further to put
on the new tires. I was a lot more comfortable with doing all of this jacking with
the Jeep resting on its tires. No way of it falling off a jack stand that way!
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I put on the new tires on the rear axle. Holy
cow! That thing is high up! I couldn't wait to get the front done. Having the
rear end back on tires made the rest of the project easier because I could use the
e-brake to keep from rolling, it was higher (and easier to get under), and I could
jack up one side at a time without worrying about it falling off jack stands. The
downside was that my jack stands weren't tall enough to reach the frame and get the
Jeep level, so I faced a similar jacking rodeo later on for my front axle.
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Next I installed the rear shocks. Getting the
bushings with the pins through them (at the top of the shock) through the shock eyes
is a lot harder than it seems. To get them in there, I put them in boiling water
for a while first to soften them up as much as possible. Then I liberally doused
them with WD-40. Then, I used a deep socket to fit over the pin and pushed the
bushing through.
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Since the weld nut inside the frame broke loose when
I was removing the stock cross member, I had to do something about it. I used a
stepped drill bit (Uni-bit) to drill out the hole where it used to be. I drilled
it big enough for a flanged nut to fit flush with the surface. Then I used a long
bolt to hold the nut in place while I tacked welded it in place. Once it was in
place, I removed the bolt and welded it all the way around. Once it cooled a bit,
I ground off the excess weld, then primed and painted it.
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To install Rusty's kit, you have to drill or cut
1" holes on the inside of the frame rails. I used a stepped drill bit to
drill holes on the left side of the frame. But the right side is a really tight
fit if you don't want to remove the exhaust (which I didn't). You could use a
torch or a plasma cutter, but I don't have either. So instead, I used a die
grinder with a rasp bit (actually 4) to "hog out" the holes. I also
had to use the grinder to clean up the holes on the left side too.
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I would imagine that watching me install the new
crossmember and frame plates was a bit of a circus act. But after much sweating
and swearing, I got it installed. Rusty's actually sent me the wrong transmission
mount initially, and it took me a day to figure it out. They sent one overnight
to me, but the delay was very frustrating, especially after trying all day to get
the one they sent me to work.
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Next I removed the stock front coils. To make it
easier, I put the coil compressors on first and then lowered the axle down to the
ground, just on the side that I was working on. That made it easier to get the
coil off because I didn't have to compress it as far to get it out.
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Here are the stock and new coils side-by-side. The
new coil isn't actually 6.5" taller than the stock unit. However, it's a lot
"beefier," which means it won't sag as much under the weight of the Jeep.
Unfortunately, it also means I'll have a slightly harsher ride now.
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With the coils out of the way, I installed the new
braided brake lines. Don't forget to get the brass bushings off of the banjo bolt
that threads into the brake caliper. The cable clamps that came with the new lines
wouldn't fit on the bolt that the stock lines used to hold them in place. So, I
either had to drill the holes slightly larger on the clamps, or drill and tap a
smaller hole in the frame and get some hardware to fit it.
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Since the axle was going to be so much lower, I
needed to adjust the steering linkage by making it longer. If you don't make it
longer then your steering wheel will be turned to the right when your tires are
straight. I extended the track bar as much as I could with full thread engagement.
If it's not enough to align the tires to the steering wheel, I would have to buy a
drop pitman arm.
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Next I removed the lower control arms. This is
another task that would be much easier on a lift. It's hard to get a wrench on
some of the nuts and bolts, and you can't get much swing with a breaker bar
because you're sandwiched between the ground and the frame. Time and patience.
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After the lower arms were out, I removed the upper
control arms. The bolts at both ends are supposed to lock against the frame or
the control arm itself to keep it from spinning. However, I had to use some
locking pliers to hold some of them in place.
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Next came the tedious and extremely dirty task of
cutting off the stock lower control arm brackets. I tried a reciprocating saw,
wheel cutter and angle grinder (with a cutting wheel). Out of all of them, the
angle grinder worked best by far. I went through 4 cutting discs, but I got it
done. By the end, I and everything around me was covered in ultra-fine
metal dust. Not a friendly thing to have in a mechanical project. I was so
miserable (sweat + metal grit = uncomfortable) that I stopped to take a shower
and get all the grit off. My daughter said I looked like I had beard stubble all
over my face.
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Once the brackets were removed, I ground them
smooth and painted and primed them. Nothing fancy. Just enough to keep them
from rusting. Then I installed the new upper and lower control arms. To get the
LCAs in, I had to remove the jack stands near the front wheel well. I had to
locate them to the front of the frame, which is higher than the middle section.
To compensate for the distance, I used some wheel ramps to set the jack stands
on. Not pretty, but it worked.
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According the the instructions that came with
Rusty's kit (which I was learning weren't altogether accurate at all times), you
need to reuse the hardware for the UCAs. However, as I stated before, they have
brackets welded to them to keep them from spinning. But since the design of the
new UCAs is different, the stock hardware wouldn't work. So I had to make yet
another trip to the hardware store to get some new bolts, locking nuts and washers.
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After installing the new hardware for the UCAs, I
used my jack to cycle the front axle all the way up and down. I had to adjust
both brake lines slightly, but other than that there were no problems. The
control arms pull up all the way to the frame when the axle is on the bump stop.
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To make installing the new shocks easier, I dropped
the front axle all the way onto the ground.
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Putting the axle on the ground proved to be very
benificial. The new shocks are ultra beefy, and compressing them a lot with the
spring compressor would have been difficult. I was able to get them in easily
with only a little bit of spring compression. I had about 2" between the
upper mount and the top of the coil.
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With both coils in place, I raised the front axle
back up just to the point where the coils engaged at both ends. I didn't want to
take the weight off of the jack stands just yet.
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Again, I had to fit some bushings with pins into the
new shocks. Using some big sockets and my vice made it easier, but certainly not
easy. It's still a pain.
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After getting the bushings into the shock eyes, I
installed the shocks. Notice that the brake line loop bracket is still loose in this
picture. I later tried to drill the hole bigger so I could fit the stock mounting
bolt through them, but the drill bit tore the thin aluminum to shreds. So I ended
up just using some strong adhesive-backed cable clips.
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Next I mounted the JKS Quicker Disconnects to the sway
bar and installed the mounting pins on the axle. The stock bolts are pressed into the
bracket, so I used a gear puller to push them back out. I had to disconnect the
steering stabilizer shock to get the gear puller in to remove the passenger side bolt.
I didn't adjust the length of the disconnects yet because the axle was still not in
its final position.
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With everything in place inside the wheel well, I
put the stock tires back on. That allowed me to get the weight of the Jeep onto the
axle, rather than on the frame, with the least amount of axle articulation.
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I then immediately installed the new front tires. Now
the Jeep was resting completely on its tires and I was able to remove all of the jack
stands.
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At this point I was having a hard time staying focused!
Seeing my Jeep up on all four new tires - finally - was exciting. With the Jeep
resting on its tires, I was now able to adjust the JKS Quicker Disconnects to their
final length. I also installed the new track bar bracket to the frame. It was really
nice to be able to work under the front end without a bunch of jack stands in the way!
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It's difficult to see in this picture, but the axle was
off-center by about 2" to the passenger's side. Installing the track bar later
would correct this problem.
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Before centering the axle, I replaced the front
driveshaft and torqued it to spec.
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Next I installed the new adjustable track bar. The
track bar can be lengthened to accomodate more lift later. But for the amount of
lift I was putting on, the shortest length is what I needed. I also aligned the
tires to the steering wheel. I had lengthened the steering linkage considerably
early. More than I needed. So I shortened it back up a bit until the steering
wheel and tires were aligned. I still needed to get it professionally aligned, but
this was good enough to get me back on (and off!) the road.
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Wow! Finally done!! At this point I torqued
everything to spec and double checked everything. I bled the brakes, greased
all the fittings and filled the transfer case. I also had to recharge the battery
because I left the door open and the ignition on (to unlock the steering wheel)
for a while. Flex test and measurements next!!
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