Just finished installing my Rough country 4in lift(with pics)... Have a few questions

7716 Views 62 Replies 31 Participants Last post by dmgiff, Jun 12, 2009

Arron

Discussion Starter · Feb 23, 2009 (Edited)

20

I have finished installing the rc 4in lift and i have to say i am pleased with how it turned out. It wheels nice too!

more recent pictures from last wheeling trip some are my buddies jeeps:

Before lift:

After:

Its much higher and looks great. Although it was anything but easy going. Since ive wheeled it and the jeep is an 01 there was a ton of rusty bolts, a few of which i broke. This brings me to a few questions:

1)I broke one bolt on the rear right upper shock mount and half the bolt is in the body nut still. Any suggestions other then drill it a get a tap? What size tap?

2)With all my horrible luck my torque wrench never clicked when tightening the last lower control arm bolt (arm to body) on the driver rear and i ended up twisting it in half and welding part of it to the frame which made the hole 1.5mm smaller and i had to re-drill the hole. Since jeep wanted $35 for new lower control arm bolt and nut and could not get it until wednesday or thursday i went to O'reilly's and picked up a grade 5 metric bolt (although it says 8.8 on the head of the bolt) for $2 with the exact same OD as the stock bolt (13.75mm). My question is should this just be a temporary fix or would the grade 5 (or 8.8?) metric bolt be strong enough to withstand off road use?

3) Again with my rusty bolt twisting luck i broke the drag link bolt that attaches to the axle as i was removing it. I ended up using one of the bolts from the rough country lift. It says 8.8 on the head of the bolt. My question is will this bolt be strong enough?

Other then the above problems install wasn't half bad just very time consuming as the amount of work is deceiving. After 14 hours of non stop work, some cursing, a few "cold refreshments", and no sleep for a night we finally got everything installed and it finally looks like an off road beast.

Thanks in advance for any input.

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1 - 20 of 63 Posts

TheBoogieman

· #2 · Feb 23, 2009

Looks good.:thumbsup:I have the same lift but didn't have any rust problems so the install was a breeze.

EvilM0nkey

· #3 · Feb 23, 2009

Find someone local that's installed LA's, that's how I got my extra control arms and bolts. Also a grade 5 bolt is going to be just fine in the CA. All it does it provide clamping force, very little torque is applied to the actual bolt when wheeling/ driving.

JUPITERSAHARA

· #4 · Feb 23, 2009

Looks great. I've been very pleased with my RC 2.5" lift and their customer service is outstanding.

Arron

Discussion Starter · #5 · Feb 23, 2009

JeepinRoss said:
Find someone local that's installed LA's, that's how I got my extra control arms and bolts. Also a grade 5 bolt is going to be just fine in the CA. All it does it provide clamping force, very little torque is applied to the actual bolt when wheeling/ driving.

Awesome thanks for answering my question. Im glad it will work as i really dont want to have to take the rear apart again just to swap out a bolt. My concern was since it holds the control arm to the frame that when wheeling and coming down off of large drop offs that the impact might break it.

Thanks for the complements

clintsharley

· #6 · Feb 23, 2009 (Edited)

1)I broke one bolt on the rear right upper shock mount and half the bolt is in the body nut still. Any suggestions other then drill it a get a tap? What size tap?........ the nut on top of the mount can be broke off with a chisel and hammer.. not much room to do so though, but can be done... the nut is just tacked with a little welding. then just put a regular nut and bolt in... I did the whole drilling the broken bolt out and re-threading it... the bolt has a hardened tip on it which requires an extremely good drill to get through, and then drilling it straight to tap the hole is not easy... I spent a full night drilling one bolt, only to have a buddy come over to the garage and break the other nut free in about 15 minutes...

jagular7

· #7 · Feb 23, 2009

For the shock mount, punch it through. The nut is welded to the plate on the other side. The weld is a simple spot to hold the nut there. You can easily pop it through with a punch. To replace it, find another nut/bolt combo you want to use. Put the nut in a box wrench and slide it under the body to the hole. Put the bolt in and secure the shock bar pin.

I would suggest you look at the bar pin eliminator kit ~$25. It basically removes the bar pin and bushing with a sleeve and bushing. This keep the shock from side loading on the bar pin and sliding. This also only takes a one-time installation, whereas if you replaced your shocks, you'll need to grab the nut to remove the bolt.

96greenxjjeep

· #8 · Feb 23, 2009

i wouldnt put anything less than a grade 8 bolt

akread

· #9 · Feb 23, 2009

good job, it looks great, but can i just ask you what kind of grille guard, i guess you could say, is that? cause i am looking into getting one that attaches to my stock bumper

Varnish

· #10 · Feb 23, 2009

I'd replace that bolt with a metric 10.9 grade bolt if you can find it. Its supposed to be torqued to like 120ft/lbs. I also twisted one of them in half last year so bought several extras from the local dealer - I don't remember the price but it was nowhere near $30 so I'd check another dealer.

Arron

Discussion Starter · #11 · Feb 24, 2009

akread said:
good job, it looks great, but can i just ask you what kind of grille guard, i guess you could say, is that? cause i am looking into getting one that attaches to my stock bumper

Thanks for the complement.
If i knew i would tell you. I bought the winch bumper and the winch off of a buddy who sold his tj awhile back.

hyperboarder

· #12 · Feb 24, 2009

Your FD as well? Super hot, always wanted one. Is this the new adjustable CA lift? Mine's in the mail as we speak.

Arron

Discussion Starter · #13 · Feb 24, 2009

Varnish said:
I'd replace that bolt with a metric 10.9 grade bolt if you can find it. Its supposed to be torqued to like 120ft/lbs. I also twisted one of them in half last year so bought several extras from the local dealer - I don't remember the price but it was nowhere near $30 so I'd check another dealer.

As much as i am dreading having to disassemble that right rear corner again I think just for peace of mind i will have to go with a 10.9 grade bolt.

Apex

· #14 · Feb 24, 2009

About that upper shock mount, you could go ahead and try to punch or chisel it out but me and a buddy couldn't get that nut off with a chisel for the life of us. I took an angle grinder to the tack weld and then knocked it off and replaced it with grade 10.9 hardware and a serrated flange nut

Oh and PS, I broke ALL 4 upper shock mount bolts

Arron

Discussion Starter · #15 · Feb 24, 2009

hyperboarder said:
Your FD as well? Super hot, always wanted one. Is this the new adjustable CA lift? Mine's in the mail as we speak.

Yep that is my LSX (5.7L V8) powered rx7. Its my baby. My jeep is my daily driver.
Here is a link if you want to see more pics of the FD:http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/conversions-hybrids/932594-my-ls6-rx7.html

The lift is rough country's basic 4in lift that sells for $499. I just wanted to build a fun daily that i could wheel on the weekends.

ZJ1209

· #16 · Feb 24, 2009

do you like the ride that it gives

Imped

· #17 · Feb 24, 2009

Looks good man. It would look much better with those bumper caps removed and the bumper cut down.....

And fill that profile in so we can see what you have.

Arron

Discussion Starter · #18 · Feb 24, 2009

ZJ1209 said:
do you like the ride that it gives

Yes. I have been in a few lifted TJs now and honestly i like the way the rough country lift rides on the street better then most other lifts. Some just feel like your about to flip going around corners because they are so soft.
I would recomend rough country as this is my 2nd RC lift (YJ and now my TJ) and ive been nothing but pleased with them.

bmxrules39

· #19 · Feb 25, 2009

I have had this lift on my TJ since I got it about 7 months ago, it's good lift, however I have broken both the front and rear track bar mounts- Just welded them back on and it was good to go, but that's something you might want to look out for.

Arron

Discussion Starter · #20 · Feb 25, 2009

bmxrules39 said:
I have had this lift on my TJ since I got it about 7 months ago, it's good lift, however I have broken both the front and rear track bar mounts- Just welded them back on and it was good to go, but that's something you might want to look out for.

How did you break them and exactly where did they break? Where the track bar mounts to the axle or the frame?

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