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Lifting This Weekend. Last Minute ???

1K views 25 replies 12 participants last post by  mobdawg 
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#1 ·
Hello all,

I'm finally going through with it and purchasing a 2" BDS lift kit. I'm leavin' work early to pick it up from Bob Suplee; lucky me! We'll prep the Jeep a bit Friday night and start work Saturday morning.

Any who... I was able to get BDS's instructions off their site and I went over them with my Dad. His concerns after reading the instructions are:

- What lubricant should be used to lube up the spring buschings?

- Where's the best placement for jack stands? We'll be doing the rear first, and then the front. So 2 jack stands will be used at a time.

- Was going to ask about torque specs but found it in my Chilton Repair Manual.


My Dad has a pretty good tool collection. I think we may purchase an impact wrench to tackle the rusty bolts, but they really don't look too bad. He might have mentioned a breaker bar as well, but I can't remember. We are going to purchase a heavier torque wrench though, as his old one is too wimpy. Any suggestions for tools that may be necessary to do the job?

I'll take pics with my dig camera incase anyone wants to see how it went. Hopefully, fine. *Crosses fingers.


Thanks!

EDIT: Forgot to mention, Bob suggested purchasing Boomerang Shackles... something about hitting the frame with the military wraps. I'm strapped for cash and asked him if I could buy them after the lift. He said I could do that, but am sure this may not be the smartest thing to do. Any thoughts on that?
 
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#2 ·
You will want 2 sets of jack stands. one for the frame and one for the axle.

Rubicon Express lift just had me grease whith plain ole' chassis grease...same stuff you would use on the rest of the Jeep.

Booms will help in the rear...not so much in the front...better clearance up front...you can change out shackles pretty easy...It is always easier to do it once...but this time wont be so bad.

Good socket set with 9/16" to 7/8" sockets, breaker bar, and impact wrench will do most everything you need...

Hit EVERY BOLT whith PB Blaster tonight then do it again before breakfast....then enjoy yourselft...shouldn't take more than a day. But if it does...don't worry about it...take it slow and get it right.

You can see some pics of my R/E install here .
 
#3 ·
Congratulations on the lift...You are now experencing why Jeep stands for
Just
Empty
Every
Pocket
Anyways to answer you questions:
1. Any type of grease should work (as it's been said)
2. Jack stands should be placed on the frame the best place will probably be close to to te inner most spring perch(as was also said you will want a second set for the axle)
3. Good job using the Chiltons that's what it's there for.

PB Blaster is a must soak, soak, and soak again this will make your life much easier.

Did you find out what your squeak was????
John
jduffey97tj@yahoo.com
 
#4 ·
You will probably have trouble knocking out the old rubber bushings in the spring hangers...
Just use a drill and bit to pepper holes in the old rubber then use a fat punch (big bolt or something similar) to knock out the steel center sleeve and a chizel if necessary to dink out the rest of the old rubber lining out of the cylinder of the hanger.

Loosly mount the leaf springs in main frame hangers and loosly mount the plates and U bolts ... enough to engauge the centering pins ... loosly mount the rear shackles to the frame then jack the axel and leaves up and swing the shackles into the rear spring bushings.
Snug the frame main bolts, shackles and U bolts, tighten the U bolts, tighten the bushings (not too tight!) then torque down the U bolts.
Re-torque the U bolts after a bit of use.
A floor jack under the axel makes lifting it up into place to mount the rear hangers a breeze.
 
#6 ·
One other suggestion. Use a lot of grease on your shackle bushings. Also, be sure that you don't over tighten the shackle bolts. Tight shackles will give you an awful(stiff) ride. I have my shackles loose enough that I can slip a playing card between the bushing and shackle. I have all of the bolts double nutted with all metal locking nuts. This allows the shackles to ride free, but eliminates the possibility of the bolts loosening up. Sounds like you are lucky to be so close to Suplee's shop.

Later,
Tom
 
#7 ·
I did an 87 last month and with the PB blaster and other fluids the four main frame spring bolts were adheard to the rubber bushing. Out came the 4' grinder. So if you have one it will speed up the removal if you got a tough nut. Don't forget about the shocks, and brake lines.
 
G
#8 ·


Awesome info. I appreciate each and everyone of your replies. I'm going to print this page off and keep it beside the directions


Babypoo, yeah, I was able to locate the problem. There's something rubbing in the rubber hose that runs off of the Clutch Master Cylinder. When pushing on the clutch I could feel something inside the hose rubbing, which is making the nasty squeaking. At this point, I don't know what to do about it.


Thanks again everyone!
 
#9 ·
Hi Jay,

I'll be doing exactly the same this weekend (only a 4" lift so it is slightly more involved).

In reply to:

- What lubricant should be used to lube up the spring bushings?

[/ QUOTE ]

I've seen plenty of replies on this one but I haven't seen anybody mentioning the fact that your new springs most likely come with polyurethane bushings. If you use ordinary grease, chances are that they will be squeaking in no time. Normally you need to use a teflon based grease for this. When I changed all my bushings and body mounts a few years ago, the kit came with some teflon loaded grease. Unfortunately the amount that came with the bushings was very small so I looked around and found that Loctite sells it as well and is called "Superlube".

Anyway that is my view on the greasing side... I'll let others chime in on this one...

I am not even going to bother with the PB Blaster this time as I know that most of the nuts are seized up solid. My spring kit and I am sure yours does as well, comes with nice 'n shiny new u-bolts so why bother undoing the old ones?? I'll just put the angle grinder in the old u-bolts and cut the suckers off. Just be careful that everything is supported properly and that you relieve the tension of the old leaf springs by undoing the shackles first so the springs don't come flying around your earholes when you cut the u-bolts


As for the shackles: Not sure what he is on about with "hitting the frame". Boomerang shackles as far as I know are designed to prevent your shackles from going "over centre". I currently have longer heavy duty Con-Ferr shackles on my Jeep and will be keeping them although I will cut them down to stock length and redrill them.

You can always change the shackles at a later stage if you are not happy with the normal ones. It is not that hard and certainly doesn't take much time. Keep your money in your pocket and run the stock shackles for a while.

The only thing that could cause a problem are the military wraps i.e. that they physically won't fit as the spring eye is too close to the spring hanger. Measure how much room you will have left when both the spring eye and the spring hanger are inserted into the shackle. You might require slightly longer shackles but don't go overboard with the lenght as it will affect the caster of your front axle and give your Jeep a wandering feeling on the straight.

Hope this helps...
 
G
#10 ·
Hooch,

"The only thing that could cause a problem are the military wraps i.e. that they physically won't fit as the spring eye is too close to the spring hanger. Measure how much room you will have left when both the spring eye and the spring hanger are inserted into the shackle. You might require slightly longer shackles but don't go overboard with the lenght as it will affect the caster of your front axle and give your Jeep a wandering feeling on the straight."

See, that's what I'm worried about, the springs not fitting.

Let me ask you this, cause I'm a bit confused. You said that I can run stock shackles for now and upgrade later, but then you said that they won't physically fit. Are you saying that the spring itself will fit, its the military wrap that won't? I'm a bit confused because I've never seen a military wrap before.


Thanks!
 
#11 ·
For what it's worth:

Page 32 & 34, of the this months OFF_ROAD_ADVENTURES shows using white Lithium grease on the the spring eye bushings and shock bushing. I've used silicone before when that's all that was handy at the time.


I've found it easier to cutoff the U-bolts with a cutoff wheel in the mini grinder. Never seems to be enough room to fit the impact and deep socket on to the U-bolts. The hand rachet can take a while with rusted & bent bolts.
Jack stands ..... mores is better and taller is good too!

Longer brake lines ..... getting the old ones apart can be an adventure.


I agreee with the "slow & easy ..... do it SAFE & right the First Time!
 
#12 ·
military wrap.

stock leaf spring pack is made of 5 or so leafs, the top leaf is the longest and has the eylets that mount to the frame and the shckles. the rest of the leafs decrease in lengnth provideing a progressive spring rate.

with the military wrap the second spring is longer then the top spring, and it wraps up and around the eylet.

thus longer shackles are somtimes needed to fit the extra wrap around the eyelet.

the military wrap is a real life saver if the top spring tears, the second leaf should hold the jeep up long enough to limp off the trail.
 
#13 ·
The CJ has the rear spring shackle mount below the frame. The YJ has the mount in the frame. That is why the boomerang shackles are used and why the military wrap springs might not have enough room under the frame.
 
G
#14 ·
hey well good news for you, i bought that same lift kit for my 95 4cly, and let me tell you its not a 2 inch kit, i got 3+ out of it, and after wheeling it for a year quiet a bit it never did settle down...had to use the transfercase drop on it, but its a good kit, i noticed that i had to unbolt the sping clamps to let the leafs fan out all the way when offroading, u might also down the road remove an actual leaf to get them to flex more, but it is a good kit good luck!
 
#15 ·
Sorry about the confusion... What I am trying to say is that if they fit i.e. if there is enough room, run them till you can afford to buy other ones. If the military wrap causes fitting problems, you will have no choice than to buy new ones. The military wrap's spring eye is larger in diameter due to more than one leaf being wrapped around the eye. The larger diameter might give clearance problems with the spring hanger, but you won't know till you either measure it or do a test fit....
 
G
#16 ·
Update!

Day 1 of the lift, Saturday...

It was a long day, 11 hours of work and only 1/3 (rear suspension lifted, today) of the way through the kit. My dad and I started on the rear early in the morning and finished by late evening. That was of course with many breaks, including lunch, and many minutes just layin' down on the floor of the garage.

I'm very happy to say that we have not run into any trouble removing the old hardware. There is rust on many of the bolts and nuts but nothin' our handy breaker bar couldn't handle. We have yet to remove the impact hammer from its packaging as we have not needed it.

We did run into some trouble, but nothing we couldn't get past. One odd problem we ran into was the spring center pin that came on the new springs was too long to fit into the hole on the bottom of the axle. We didn't realize it until we dropped the axle onto the springs. We ended up just taking out the center pin from the stock springs and putting it onto the new springs. After that, the axles fill perfectly ontop of the new springs.

Other problems include: getting the trackbar relocator to fit, removing the rear shackle's bolt that holds in the spring (the gas tank was in the way), and there's something else... but I forgot.

Well, I'm out for now. Tomorrow is yet another day of learning about my pride and joy, my Jeep!

Day two will include: Front suspension will be lifted and transfer case lowering kit will be installed.

Thanks for all the replies. They've been a great reference while working on the Jeep!

 
#17 ·
Update on my lift:

Didn't get started until today (Sunday) as I had to do some pivate work yesterday.

Got the whole front done; New springs, new shocks, new steering damper, extended brake lines, dropped pitman arm, shortened and re-shaped the Con-Ferr lift shackles to 0.75 over stock.

It is back on its wheels now and everything still needs to be torqued up but unfortunately I broke the adaptor for my deep sockets so I'll have to pop down to the autoparts store tomorrow.

The Jip now looks like it is doing a freeze frame wheely


Hopefully tomorrow I'll get most of the rear done. Just hope the weather cools down a bit. Currently the tarmac I am working on is melting. The trolley jack sunk straight through the tarmac with the full weight of the Jip on it and my clothes are covered in tar stains (as is every exposed bit of my body; spend half an hour getting all the tar off my arms and legs with nail varnish remover).

Anyways, I'll keep you posted.
 
#18 ·
Update Monday,

Got most of the rear done. Just the shocks to go on and the shackles to cut down and we're finished.

While under the Jip, I noticed a gas smell. Had a good look and it looks like I've got quite a leak in the gas tank, The bottom of the skid plate is soaking wet with gas so I'll need to order another tank


Bummer, just as I had some other nice little projects in mind for my week off in August....

Jay, how did you get on with your lift??
 
#19 ·
Update Tuesday,

Well the rear is all finished.... Apart from.... The last shock.... Tried to put the sucker on, but it wouldn't extend. It collapses fine but I have to pull at it with all my might and it will very slowly (think 10 mins) extend. Rung the supplier and he sent a new one out straight away. Should have the rear shock by tomorrow lunch time so I can finish it off and see how it rides....

Any updates on your lift Jay??
 
G
#20 ·
I\'m done, hooray!

Hooch,

Sorry to hear you ran into all that trouble. Is the gas tank fixed? And did you finish the whole lift?

I'm done with my lift. Was done, last Sunday but didn't get around to making a post. Just to make it short and sweet, the lift was pretty easy. It was a bit time consuming, and took longer than expected. Then again, this was my first real work done on the Jeep or any vehicle for that matter. The most I've done is change my oil.
It took two whole days in our garage, about 20 hours to be exact.

I'm very satisfied with the lift so far. It rides smoother and looks great! Measurements that I took before and after confirm that I have gained 3".

Even though the lift took all weekend I'm glad I took the time to do it myself, with my Dad's help (much needed). I learned A WHOLE LOT about my Jeep and am proud of the work that was put into. Doing it myself, gave me a whole new appreciation for the Jeep.

I'm going to include pics of the Jeep. The first two were taken right after the lift, with my 29" A/T's. The second group of pics, was taken today after I had my 31" M/T's mounted. I had my bro take a pic of me beside the Jeep so you can get a feel for how tall it is. Keep in mind, I'm about 5'7", maybe a little more.

Enjoy!



 
G
#22 ·
Re: I\'m done, hooray!

Hehe, fat chance of that. It's my lil bro's Jeep.

I think he's headed to the dark side. He's mentioned larger wheels (currently 16") and more chrome.
I hope to steer him in the right direction. I doubt I could ever get him to do some 4 wheelin mods, but at least I can try and keep him from goin the "bling-bling" route.

Any news Hooch?
 
#23 ·
Re: I\'m done, hooray!

Yep got it all finished, finally... Didn't get the new shock till two days after as the supplier missed the courier the day I rung. Took me three days including travelling up and down twice to an engineering company where I used their tools to shorten the shackles back to 0.75" over stock. Had to grind the shape back in the shackle plates to clear the bumper and this took most of the time. Each set (seperating, cutting down, redrilling, regrinding) cost me about two hours including travelling up and down to the shop. At least you had help, I had to do it on my own and I can tell you it is a P.I.T.A. as you have to manhandle everything around.

Got no pics yet as my girlfriend is on a holiday till after the first week of August and has the digicam with her.

I haven't sorted the fuel tank out yet, but I am off next week an intend to take the fuel tank out, repair and respray, fit a 2.5" straight through exhaust including headers, regasket the Weber carb adapter plates, take some rust out of the pass. side fender, in front of the cowl and the wind screen surround (glass has gotta come out again), respray, fit rear corner and rocker protection, respray my wheels and hopefully if time allows, take the whole interior out, derust and repaint/spray the inside floor.....

Man I am gonna be busy... Just hope the weather clears up as it is pissing down with rain at the moment.

Laters....
 
#26 ·
Re: I\'m done, hooray!

Nothing wrong with running bigger wheels...say 20" wheels...as long as they're attached to 2.5 ton axles and are standard military issue rims! Some easy notes on removing old hardware that is being replaced anyway...Use the biggest impact wrench available, or breaker bar...and tighten them. They will break off instantly and save you the trouble of spraying and messing around with cutoff wheels!
 
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