Jeep Garage  - Jeep Forum banner

Finally lifted it...after much reading and slowly aquiring parts!

4K views 12 replies 4 participants last post by  PA WJ 
#1 ·
Howdy, :thumbsup:

I have been reading for quite awhile, gaining knowledge and buying stuff along the way over time. Finally put some stuff on the DD. I went with a Fat Bob's 2.5 lift. Went with the standard shocks, Boots ( I know, I know...I still think they look cool for $12 total). Extended Sway bar links. Bought all the isolators off of Rock Auto. Bought IRO Bar pin eliminators. I had a brand new set of Moabs that I got from Craigslist for $225. 255/65/17 Cooper Discoverer AT3's. New brakes and rotors. Monroe Magnum (Tenneco) Steering stabilizer.

I can't believe the difference in the look and feel of the rig! A little stiff but I am used to it being really REALLY soft. The old shocks were all leaking. The stabilizer was doing nothing. I could push and pull it in and out like nothing by hand. The old springs were swampy and bottomed in the rear on the bump stops with a load. All in all very happy! I was intent on loosening the control arms like everyone says to do but there is no way that is going to happen. The bolts are rusted to Hell and back. I will cut them off and put new control arms/bushings on if it becomes a problem down the road. Being from the rust belt the rig only has so much time left anyway. The spring pads on the axles are rusting pretty bad. It has been well cared for and looks like new, but underneath is taking a beating from rust. I am really happy and will enjoy it for however much longer I decide to keep it. I will have a fun couple of years at least for my efforts. Thanks for all the knowledge from this community! It has been a fun experience and I am sure It will not be my last Jeep project.
 

Attachments

See less See more
3
#3 ·
Alright, so I have a few miles on it and can give some feedback on it. I ended up netting 3 inches of lift all around from center of hub to fender. I did replace the isolators so I will lose probably a quarter to half inch as time goes by from spring settling and isolator compression. The hardware for the rear shocks of course was not right. I revisited the rears and recovered the old sleeves for the bottoms of the shocks and put them in. The tops I could not get the sleeves in the bushings (too fat). I bought some bronze sleeves at the hardware center that fit good and backed them up with washers. Seems to work good. I have noticed that if I hit a bump or pothole with the front passenger tire I get a bit of bumpsteer and a bit of wobbles. It has not gone into the death wobble yet but it is certainly disconcerting. I wonder if I should get an adjustable track bar if that would help. I can't help but suspect that being the axle is noticeably pulled to the drivers side that hitting a bump would snap it over and cause that hard hit to the steering and suspension. I am looking at the addco rear sway as a future upgrade as well. I did reduce my tire pressure to 30 psi and it has improved the ride. At first I had 38 psi that the tire shop guy put in there and the ride was very rough. If anyone has any comments regarding the track bar thought please post it. I would probably just bite the bullet and get the super durometer bushings and JKS. Why not just go with the best and do it right?
 
#4 ·
Looks good! I am running those tires and wheels on stock height but want to go UC springs and OME spacers to lift mine. How long did it take?
 
#5 · (Edited)
Took about 6 hours for me and my son to do it. We do goof around alot and take lots of breaks so your time may be substantially less. We were in no hurry. Just spending the day so time didn't matter. I did use a spring compressor for the second spring on the front axle. The old one came out but the new one was just a little too tight so I compressed it just a little. Just enough to get in in there is all. I do think an adjustable track bar is needed for this lift. Oh and just for everybodies info: the front springs had Rusty's name printed on the spring.
 

Attachments

#6 ·
Thanks for the hints. I have wondered about the track bar and other suspension parts up front. I think I need to replace the bushings in the lower control arms on my WJ. Love the color of your Jeep too.

When I did the front spacers I used a trick I read on an XJ forum and jacked up the opposite side of the axle to release pressure on the side I was working.
 
#8 ·
With the new stiffer spring in there, jacking it up just lifted the whole rig off the jackstands. That may work with a BB but not with newer stiffer springs.
:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
#9 · (Edited)
I had my son stand on the rotor to bottom it out and the spring wouldn't make it in there. I only had to compress it a very small amount. Not a big deal. I did try to jack the other side but that just lifted the jeep. Haha. Good tip though for a BB install. If you have bad lower bushings it should be pretty easy to just buy the control arms ready to go and put them on one at a time. Rockauto has a good selection of stockers. Very cheap. If your bolts are not too rusty it should be a bolt-on piece of cake. Thanks about the color. The paint really shines up nice. Paint is incredible considering it is 11 years old. No body rust. Just the axles and control arms and tie rods/track bar is rusted. I went with a 30.1 tire. Could have fit a 31 but I like it to look lifted. When the wells are stuffed full of tire it detracts from the lifted look IMO. Plus I haul a lot of weight at times and do not need rubbing issues. I wasn't interested in trimming anything. I figure there would be better MPG and less chance of DW with a modest increase in tire size. I feel I made the right decision on that.
 
#10 ·
I put a JKS adjustable track bar on and replaced all four TRE's. Still getting the hard hit and bump steer out of the right front tire. Starting to wonder if I shouldn't have done the lift. Truck has only 39000 miles. Drives really good on smooth pavement but the right front tire feels like it bounces up and down 5 times every time I hit a manhole cover or pothole. Steering wheel feedback is excessive when that happens.

Anyone else have the same experience with a 2.5" spring lift?

Hey CheapJeep.....you have (or had) the same Rusty's springs in the front. Did you have the same problem?
 
#11 ·
Sorry didn't see this till now. First off did you center up the front axle like we talked about?
You don,t have DW so it's probably not a track bar issue but double check it anyway.The mounts need to be tightened with the weight of the vehicle on them.By tighten I mean TIGHTEN :lol: Double check the jamb nut,mine came loose at least once after the install. Have your boy get in there and turn the wheel(engine off) ,crawl under there and check for play in EVERYTHING. I was really pleased with the rusty's kit ride and handling until I added those damn 3/4"
spacers. That's when things turned to crap for me. Rides like a 3/4 ton truck now so that's why I'm switching to a long arm setup. To be honest with your miles I really suspect a bad new shock. If they're Rusty's shocks they don't have a good rep to begin with. Mine didn't even make a year. Me,I'd try swapping sides with the front shocks and see if the issue moves with the shock. Hope ya get it sorted out without too much hassle.
 
#12 ·
Bought and installed a JKS Adj Track bar. I torqued to spec and tightened that jamb nut really tight. Put new TRE's. The lift is from Fat Bob's. They are the default gas shocks. The front springs are Rusty's 2.5" that Fat Bob's puts in their 2.5" spring lift. I am going to have the alignment shop check all the front bushings and ball joints. That is a good idea about switching the shocks. I hope it's that easy but I would be surprised if it were. I will try that after the alignment shop has it. I was thinking about getting new tubular lower control arms. Rusty's makes them custom to length depending on lift height for the same price as quality OEM arms would cost and they are longer to correct caster and restore wheelbase. I'm getting worn down with this. I wouldn't have bothered if had known it would take this much. Thanks for the replies!
 
#13 ·
I was under it looking around. Anybody know what this square washer thing is with the pointer thing? It is on the frame end of the lower front passenger side control arm bolt.

Anybody else have that? It almost looks like a cam bolt type deal, but I know the history of the truck. It was never worked on.
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top