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Discussion on Lift Installation Tips

130K views 125 replies 100 participants last post by  Remacal 
#1 · (Edited)
I thought after all of us have installed various brands/types/sizes of lifts, that we should have a discussion regarding tools you wish you had to help you install your lift. Use this thread to list pieces you really wish you had and what vehicle and lift you were trying to install.

When I was installing my BDS 3.5" on my YJ, I really wished that I had tall tall jackstands with a wide platform underneath and a taller floorjack for the axle. Also various deep-socketed large size wrenches would have been nice.

Tips: Don't bother with a pickle fork when trying to remove your pitman-arm, just get one of these:: Pitman arm puller
autozone carries a different version of this that is wide-jawed and can ben used for ball-joints as well. makes it much much easier..

Installing leaf spring axle shims is easier when you have two or more clamps to hold the pack together so you can unbolt the center stud and position the shim underneath it.

You don't *need* two people to install a lift, but it sure is handy to have a 2nd person with his own set of tools, makes certain bolts easier to install and remove, as well as bolting skid plate pans back to the frame.
 
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#27 ·
LOCKED UP said:
Because the BFH just flattens the end. It's called a tie rod puller at AutoZone...
Just make sure you remove castleated nut, flip it over,put it on till flush with bolt, and whack away. Though there is little room to get a good whack but at least it won't mushroom the top of the bolt. Also helps if you put a hammer under link, or end to remove some of the hop in piece you are hitting.wrks best with two people.
 
#28 ·
TJ Lift Suggestions.

When you take your tires off, put them under the jeep right next to the jack stands. Between the jeeps frame and the floor. This way if the Jeep falls, like mentioned about the jeep will land on the tires. I have also installed a TJ lift with the tires still on the Jeep this is even safer.

Here a tip for trying to remove tapered connections on tie rod ends or the steering stabalizer. Say you are trying to remove the steering stabalizer from the drag link. Take the castlenut off the end of the stabalizer and then smack the other part meaning the bulged out part of the drag link. Not the tapered steering stabalizer end with the threaded end. I know this doesn't make sense but it work and works well. The vibrations will spread through both parts and the tapered end will fall right out. It's a good idea to leave the nut threaded on about 1-2 turns so when it breaks loose it doesn't fall. Smack it really hard with a ball peen hammer.

Ian
www.RedJeepclub.com
 
#29 ·
Utilize ALL your resources...ie...when you cant find your spring compressor, hose clamps can work great in a pinch....heh...not saying that i actually did this of course....uh...next thing.

on xj's, the original bolt for the lower part of the sway bar end link does NOT thread out like some people may think...or at least like i did. easiest way to get it out is to cut it down so there is about 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch remaining and whack it A LOT with an extra-grande-supersized-gigando hammer. when the bolt is shorter, there is less movement in the vertical direction, so the force of each blow goes more in the horizontal direction...which ultimately drives the bolt out.

having a bigger, younger brother that is stronger than you helps out a bunch too. he wasnt afraid to tackle the damn bolts that were too stuck for me to deal with. go keith!

Last thing, to take your mind off things and get yourself in a better mood after all the swearing and throwing of tools during the install...take cool "after" pics like this one....

 
#30 ·
1) Dig up and read reviews + forum threads for info privy to whatever it is you are installing. All of the problems that I ran into, I knew what to expect ahead of time (tools, complications, shortcuts, safety tips, etc.) and was more prepared and less frustrated as a result.

2) PB or WD-40 the hell out of every possible nut and bolt you can find (that pertains to whatever you are installing) every day for about a week. I don't have any air tools so I was able to borrow some from a friend as well as an impact wrench. Well, both crapped out on me and if I hadn't soaked everything to death there's no way I would have been able to do the rest by hand and would have been stuck without a driveable vehicle.

3) A breaker bar and tight-fitting cheater pipe can be a lifesaver. There were bolts that wouldn't budge with the air tools or impact wrench (before they died) that I was able to pop easily with the breaker bar and a little leverage. Mind you I'm not a big guy (5'11" / 165) and I was able to break 90% of the bolts loose the old fashioned way with a minimal amount of effort. Also, most guns won't fit underneath the u-bolt plates unless you have a hi-lift (lucky SOB if you do) or taller-than-average jack-stands.
 
#32 ·
I have been racking my brains the last week trying to figure out a way to remove my front springs to add 3/4" spacers. I tried jacking it up and removing the shock mounts, but with 3" lift springs, short arms, and only myself, a jack, and some stands, I could not get the springs out. When I initially did the lift, I had a car lift, and 2 people hanging on one side of the axle to get the springs off. So I started brainstorming and came up with a very easy way to change springs/bumpstops etc. I have a loading dock right down the street from my house that has a ramp that I used to get some flex shots on. What I did was disconnected the front swaybar, used a pair of strut compressors (just hand tightened them on to the spring)and pulled one wheel on to the ramp so that the other side drooped way down. This gave me more that enough room to do whatever I needed to do under there. The springs just about fell out. Only took me about 15 minutes to do both sides using this method. I didn't take any pics during the install :( , but here's a picture of the ramp I used. :thumbsup:
 
#33 ·
here's a stupid question.

Did you remove the shocks before you tried jacking it up to get access to the springs? Do that and they pretty much pop right out.
 
#34 ·
evilpsych said:
here's a stupid question.

Did you remove the shocks before you tried jacking it up to get access to the springs? Do that and they pretty much pop right out.
No, I did not need to. I had probably 5" of space between the bottom of the spring and the perch, even with the shocks still bolted up.
 
#35 · (Edited)
My 2cents...from experience

Do a testdrive before buying a lift kit... also look to the overall quality like the paintjob on the shocks and springs.

Most liftkits are coming incomplete. Most dont have higher bumpstops or longer brakelines and very cheap trackbar extensions. The trackbar extensions are the worst thing they put into the kit. Allways gets loose because of the stupid design.

I bought a Skyjacker Softride 4" liftkit. Except the smooth driving and flexing the is absolute rubbish quality. Shocks are corroded because of bad paint job, springs are corroded like 5years too...only after one winter = 4 month of use.

The trackbar extension brackets dont work as the force coming from the track bar is too big and it gest loose all the time.

No bumpstops and no good trackbar control let the axle flex too much and destroys your fender from inside out on the front because the wheel can go up too much. No longer brake lines included in a so called complete kit too.

Installing new springs take the chance to install greasable shackles. You will be pleased how much this will increase the ride.

Installing a Slip Lock Track Bar and not installing the dropped pitman arm keeps the axle centered as the length can be individually adjusted after the spring has set. No bumpsteer at all...control on the road and good flexing off the road = best of 2 worlds.

Installing correct measured bump stops avoidng problems offroad...

Any cheap swaybar disconnector will make noises after a while...the Skyjacker does after now 8 month of use.

Take JKS or Teraflex.

Never combine leave springs with gasshocks, always use hydro shocks. Gasshocks are good for coil springs. Look up at OME and Skyjacker and ask people or better testride.

Finally :

Dont buy a complete kit, buy the best springs, shocks, alyways new brakelines, dont tighten the shackle more than recommended and use nylon stopnuts, always, if not buying greasable shackle bolts, grease w. petrolfree grease the shackles...best use is motorcycle chainspray grease with teflon or Mos2.

Taking care of all this you get the best of all world for not much more than buying a kit wich is not complete and just increases the margin for the seller.

What I would recommend on leavesprings is OME for up to 2,5" and RE for 4" and +. Shocks from OME or Rancho 9000 or Skyjacker if you do the paintjob yourself, RE is not bad too.

RE is selling the most complete kit.

Comparing prices pls take this into account.

Dont forget...a 4" lift requires a Slip Yoke Eleminator !

Greetz
Heiko... who paid a lot for rubbish and had lots of trouble with quality and consumer care from Skyjacker. They said they dont give warranty on paintjob... I can understand this because it is a thin white paint direkt on the steel with no groundpaint at all.
 
#36 ·
If this is your first TJ Lift, and you might do further higher lifting in the future, I would suggest doing bumpstops that mount to the bottom perch; and not as extensions to the factory top bumpstops.

When you have the springs taken off, drill a whole in the center of the bottom spring-perch. Then put your springs and etc back in.

Go to a sports-store, and buy you some polyurethane hockey-pucks. They come in 1" widths for about 99c a piece.

Center drill one or two etc...; (depending on lift height) and use them to mount to the bottom spring-perch as your bumpstops.

Since they are only 1" wide, you can add more later WITHOUT having to remove the springs once they are already on.

This is the big gain over the long top-mounted extensions which you can't add to without removing the spring again

It is also easier to put the springs back on without the bumpstops mounted; hold-off putting them on until after you have the springs mounted. This makes springmounting much easier; and you can even do up to a 3.5 inch lift without needing spring compressors.

So when you get it all back together, and go out on the trail; and get at full stuff; and find that you are still rubbing the fender a little; all you have to do is get 4 more pucks and 4 longer hexbolts; and you can add them to the bottom perch (because they will fit through the mounted springs) and do all of this without re-pulling the springs off; which is a big hassle.

(On a side note, polyurethane hockeypucks also make for a very inexpensive 1" body lift; for around $20 if you want to buy 11 more pucks and 11 longer bolts.)
 
#37 ·
Diddo on the PB Blaster and the elbow grease. I just got to say that my off-road jack was a life saver, those things are awesome (if used in an aware way). Little tip if you don't have a breaker bar, use a big cressent wrench (like a 22mm). If you put the box end of the wrench into the cresent side of the wrench on the bolt, you can easily break the bolt free. *TJ guys* You need a T55 torx head for the rear trac bar and you also need two other sized torx for the brake line stays and the front track bar. The front shocks were a ***** to get the top bolt off, so I loosened it all the way and removed the bottom bolts and bent the shock until it broke (pretty easy, actually). You can use that broken shock shaft later to align the lower control arm bolt holes by sticking it in and levering it. Doing one wheel at a time is a good idea and you don't need to disconnect the pitman arm or anything else unnessisarily. I just did the things I was replacing. Last thing is if your doing RE discos, theres a pin you have to mount in the wheel well that is used to hold the rod when disconnected. The problem is the surface is curved, so line up you drill hole after everthing else is done and you have the Jeep back on the ground and your sway bar length is established. Put the moount into the sway bar with it disconnected and line up where it should go and mark it. Drill your hole and mount the pin and fully tighten it. Then bed the -=-=-=-= out of your wheel well using channel locks and also by just pushing up on the pin (the wheel well bends pretty easily).
 
#38 ·
I'm buying (I believe) a 1999 Jeep Cherokee .. I want to put a 6.5" lift on it. However, I'm a girl & I'm 16 so I'm not as off-road savvy as my guy friends are, but I want to be. I haven't a clue how I'd end up doing this stuff myself. My guy friends said they would help me, though. Does anybody have any suggestions as to which kit is a good one to buy? I don't mind paying a little extra for something that's going to be worth it..
 
#40 ·
Second full weekend and I'm still not done :rolleyes:
'05 TJ with an RE 4.5" Long Arm

1) Get Jack Stands tall enough that you can set your axles on the ground and not use a spring compressor. The higher the better. I wish I had another 6" so I could sit under it instead of laying (I've got 24" stands).

2) Take your time with the SYE kit. Don't rush. Use a NEW tube of silicone. Read the directions several times before you start. (I split mine 4 times before I got it right, last time due to silicone that didtn't set up).

3) Mount all your brackets before you mount the springs. The directions call for the track bar mounts to go on after the springs. Much easier to do before the springs are in the way and the axles are still on the ground.

4) If you're an ole fart, you will be sore for days. Good thing my job prevents me from working on it during the week :D

I should be back on the tires next weekend. It IS on the axles now, just all the little things to do.
 
#42 ·
OME lift. Spring compressor a must and a Right angle drill for the rear trackbar bracket is a must also.
 
#43 · (Edited)
I decided, OK my wife decided that we needed a lift on her Wrangler. Nothing to big since it's her DD. As inexpensive as possible. Easy to install. About the same ride. REBB was the answer.

some pics
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2149388

I got the REBB from northridge4x4, about $198 w/ shipping. I used this install,
http://4x4xplor.com/REBB.html
you can click on the first paragraph where it says Rubicon Express Budget Boost in red and it will take you strait to northridge4x4. When you order use coupon code ( 4x4xplor10D ) to get the 198 price.took a week and a few days. it came with the Rubicon shocks. Oh yea the shocks didn't come with shock boots so got some trom O'Rileys(spelling?)$4 each.Get extra zip ties for the tops. I can tell that they are a little stiffer than factory but not bad at all.

I installed it myself with a friend helping. The first thing I would say is to make sure you have the tallest jack stands you can find. I borrowed some that were the shorter ones and it was alittle tough with the front. We ended up having to put 2x8s under the stands to get the front to drop enough to get the springs back in. Some things that I ran into that I hadn't heard anything about;

1 leave in or leave out the spring isolater in the rear? (edit; left in)The isolater is a soft rubber bushing that is between the top of the springs and the spring mount or housing what ever it's called. I am debating about removing it, notice how high the rear is in the pics. Personal preferance I guess. I do have a vibration in it so right now I will drop the transfer case to take care of that, 1/2 - 1 inch should do it. finding the bolts was a pain, from 03 and newer they are metric. I ran around town to find the right ones. Metric size is 12, grade is 10.9. That is equal to grade 8 standard bolt.
Oh yea If you do the transfer case drop the bolts are very hard to get in and out. When I removed mine to put in 1 washer to see if that made any difference, Thats what I found around my garage. Putting the bolts back in I thought I was crossthreading them they are that tight. When I Lowered the plate it shifted over so the bolt on the dr side center one is hole with no play like the others are oval. It took a few hits with a really BFH to get it to line up . (edit; dropped it 3/4 inch. Probably more than I needed but oh well)

2 On the drivers side rear I had to grind off some of the lower spring perch, with the axle dropped down the new bigger shock was hitting the spring perch. I spent 30 minutes on that, but it shouldn't rub now. the pass side had plenty of room. Every Jeep is different is the truth.

3 On the front shocks if your not saving them cut the plastic cover off the upper rod and use a pipe wrench to hold it while you take the nut off the top. Install new top first then push the shock together to get it on the bottom mount. (edit; I ended up replacing the bottom shock bolts with grade 8 bolts and torqued to 35lbs)

4 I did the basic alignment to get it lined up. very simple. Use a big pipewrench. Had a full alignment done later.

The lift and basic alignment took from 10:30AM to 3:30PM and that was stopping to eat lunch.I am very happy with it overall. I would sugest that anyone not sure what lift they want to do. get thas one and install it thereself to get familiar with how their Jeep works. Than when you want to upgrade you only spent $200. You can then sell it for probably $100. Hope this helps some of you.
 
#44 ·
If you have an LJ like mine. I disagree with the factory pitman arm. I have a 4.5 RE super flex Kit. My steering system ( Adjusting Sleeve) was breaking my quick disconnect sway bar pins. Install and take down to tire place and have them allign it for you. When I bought my tires I payed for a liftime allignment. Comes in handy when you lift your Jeep. You can rent a pitman arm puller for a couple bucks at Autozone. I bought one just because it wasn't much more than renting.
I would also make sure you buy offset wheels and not fool with spacers. They end up stripping your wheel studs. Do it right the first time.
 
#47 ·
how much is lobor for an install of a lift
4x4 shop says they can have mine in complete in 20 hours, $80 an hour.

if it wasn't my daily driver, I'd find a way to do it myself
 
#49 ·
WOW, we did mine in 6 hr. with 2 guys and 12 beers. It's not hard at all, a tj may be differant but $1,600 in labor is more than the lift. I must be in the wrong business.$$$
a full kit with long arms in 6 hours? I wonder if I'm being jerked around!!

And yea, I'm in Canada, for us a lift is a couple bucks more than what you'd pay in the states.

... sucks but what can ya do?
 
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