Jeepin05 is now Lifted

[Jeepin05]

Well I finally got the funds to lift my Jeep! It took me and a buddy a little longer than the "average" time, but we got her done .

I don't post on here a whole lot, but I have been reading about the Liberty Lifts for a long time and have been wanting to lift mine forever. Everything I've learned thus far was found from this site, and I wanted to start off by saying thanks to everyone.

Here we go:

Before Pics:

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Parts:
Front Springs - OME927 - $158.70 - JeepinByAl
Rear Springs - OME948 - $158.70 - JeepinByAl
Front Shocks - Rancho RSX 17505 - $235.40 - NAPA
Rear Shocks - Rancho RSX 17004 - $150.27 - NAPA
Boiler's 3/8" Shims - $48 - Boiler
Rear Upper Isolators - 1 extra per side - $17.64 - MoparOnlineParts.com
Terraflex Front Bumpstops - $39.98 - JeepinByAl
Rear Bumpstops - 4 Hockey Pucks - $8.44 - Scheels

Shipping Costs:
JeepinByAl - $33.32
NAPA - $8.09
MoparOnlineParts - $10.99

Parts Total: $869.53

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After Pics:

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Wheelwell Comparisons:
FL:

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FR:

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RL:

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RR:

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Measurements - From middle of wheel hub to Fender
Before:
Front: ~18" on both sides
Rear: ~18.5" on both sides

After:
Front: 22" on both sides
Rear: 22.5" on both sides

After the lift settles, I should have gained 3+".

Goodyear was able to align the Jeep at a reasonable $52. For what it's worth, here are the post-alignment #'s:
Camber: -0.5(LF) -0.6(RF)
Caster: 2.4(LF) 2.8(RF)
Toe: 0.11(LF) 0.11(RF)
Cross Camber: 0.1
Cross Caster: -0.3
Total Toe: 0.22
Set Back: 0.13
As expected, Caster was the only part not able to meet specs. This has been discussed on here as not causing tire wear.

Installation actually went very well, although I'm really wondering how you guys do it in ~4 hours! I definitely would be faster my second time around, but I did run into some unexpected snags:
1. Drilling Mounting Holes for Rear Bumpstops - this was surprisingly tricky. I have a few different drills, although I pretty much had to drill at an angle as I couldn't fit the drill in below the spring top mount. I did pickup a drill bit for steel, although it took a good 25-30min for each side. Once I got through, installing the pucks was cake.
2. Installing Rear springs - I did have to slightly compress the rear springs to get them to fit with the extra isolator. No big deal, a set of small spring compressors were $10 at a local harbor freight.
3. When tearing apart the engine compartment (airbox/battery etc), I found a line/wire that was hooked onto one of the driver side strut assembly bolts. Here is a picture -

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We ended up hooking it up here (seemed reasonable?) -

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4. Disassembly/Reassembly of front shock assemblies. We were able to disassemble them with the cheap compressors, although I know that's not the preferred method. The next step was assembly, and there was no way the little $10 compressors were going to work. I found a local shop that was willing to do it without notice, but they reamed me at $35 per assembly.
5. Bolting down the Upper A Arm with the Hub Assembly. Once we put the nut on, the ball joint sleeve itself spun with the nut. This happened on both sides and stumped us. We cleaned the sleeve threads with a wire brush and eventually was able to get the nut past the point where you can hold the sleeve with a small wrench.
6. Installing Terraflex front bumpstops. As you guys probably noticed from the pictures above, I wasn't able to install these. How the heck do ya get them in there? Do you guys have any tricks? I searched for this and didn't have any luck.

So, add in the few additional expenses:
Parts: $869.53
Spring Compressor: $10.59
Alignment: $51.95
Rear Bumpstop Hardware: $5
Grand Total: $1,007.07.

All in all, I don't think this is incredibly bad. I do think I could have saved a few dollars on the Ranchos by finding them online, although I did order them from Jeg's and they pulled my leg for a few weeks before the order was cancelled (backordered).

After First Drive - the ride is surprisingly responsive. It reacts to pretty much everything on the road, and I'll be honest it seems a little bouncier than expected. I'm pretty sure I've read that the ride will be stiffer at first and will get smoother over time. Overall, I am happy with the decision, I like the look much more and now I can fit some bigger tires .

I want to say thanks again to everybody, especially JFortier777, as his Frankenlift How-To was extremely helpful. Also thanks in advance for the info on how to get those Terraflex's installed .

This is an awesome forum!

 

[twack]

haha you look like budke with those skinny tires, but ya look good. you might want to pull out the front struts and pull off those dust guards, they will smash after a couple full compressions and cause problems like this:

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[theholybull]

looks good except for those sissy tires

 

[ThunderbirdJunkie]

Good looking Jeep!
Now to do lots of burnouts so you can go get some MAN TIRES

 

[KJedmonton]

Looks great!!! I can't belive you only had to pay 50 for alignment! The cheapest place I could find up here was 109!!!!!!!

 

[Ry' N Jen]

To the op.
Nice looking Lib!

Looks great!!! I can't belive you only had to pay 50 for alignment! The cheapest place I could find up here was 109!!!!!!!

I paid $60.00 cash!
No tax!

Brought it back for a second alignment after the coil springs "settled" and a second alignment was NOT REQUIRED!

 

[KJedmonton]

To the op.
Nice looking Lib!

I paid $60.00 cash!
No tax!

Brought it back for a second alignment after the coil springs "settled" and a second alignment was NOT REQUIRED!

Wow, I need to look around some more I guess... It was OK tire that did mine...

 

[twack]

Wow, I need to look around some more I guess... It was OK tire that did mine...

i got my alignment from the guys in orange at Fleet Farm for only $40!!!! it was on sale that week.......i was like, this never happens to me! and they got it in spec

also you think they would want to name their business something like Awesome Tire or Great Tire rather then OK tire haha

 

[ridenby]

Good job,looks so much better.

 

[tommudd]

Looks way better
angle drill for the drilling on the rear spring perches
After you do 10 to 15 you find all kinds of short cuts and time savers

and with twack's removing the dust guards, you don't have to remove those, thats what you get with no bumpstops

The hose you found is from the breather for the front diff, neds extended on up higher if you ever do any water crosings.

 

[rockymountain]

Installing the teraflex bumpstops stumped me too. (I installed and removed them a while back, just because) anyway, I put the bumpstops in the oven at about 180 I think, and used soapy water. With the tire on and everything get the bumpstop to stick in there a little, then use a 2x4 or what I used a 4 foot 2x6 and wedge it between the top of the tire and the bumpstop. Then just push down on the 2x6 and it will "POP" right in. There's other people that have posted on here how they did it too. I think Tony used a shovel maybe. Give it a shot.

 

[Jeepin05]

Awesome guys, thanks for the compliments! Heck yeah now I gotta get some bigger tires for sure. Also thinking about some Soft 8's . All comes down to funding...

That is funny about the Budke reference Twack, cause when I saw Budke's post-lift pictures, I was like "sweet, that's what my KJ will look like!". Yep, I gotta say I do like those black Jeeps . If only the sport fenders weren't gray....

Thanks Tom, I'm glad I don't have to remove those dust guards as long as I get those tricky bumpstops in. I'll also find a higher place to hang that breather tube, although I won't be crossing anything too crazy .

Now onto installing those bumpstops .

 

[ptsb5a]

Looks awesome dude. Good work. Now go and enjoy it!

 

[Jeepin05]

Thanks for the tip Tony, got the Terraflexs in yesterday with a shovel. Actually didnt take much push once the bump stop was lined up correctly .

 

[dogem]

Is there any way to put the Tereflex in when you have things tore apart to make it easier to install. I have a pretty good idea how to do the lift install except for the front bumpstops.

 

[Jeepin05]

I'd recommend the shovel trick, it worked surprisingly easy once the strut assemblies were installed.

The only pointer I would say is to put the bumpstop and shovel in place, then line it up as close as possible before cranking up on the shovel. Once it lined up correctly they didnt take much force.

 

[2-old]

My alignment from 4 Wheel Parts was only $90.00. I don't know what the specs were before and after though.