Me and My '05 Limited, Riding On Air

[GunnerSchenck]

:emotions34:

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I bet someone lost their testing driving privileges on the rover test track lol

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

These are the raw lifted measurements (before the alignment):

Front-Left = 22⅝" - Front-Right = 22⅝"
Rear-Left = 21½" -- Rear-Right = 21½"

Just looking at it, it looked taller than that, but it's prob'ly just because I have the stock size tires - and there isn't a single lifted KJ around where I live, even though there seems to be one on every corner.

Here it sits, cold and wet, until I can take it in for the alignment tomorrow.

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Looks great Jim - really happy for you! :waytogo:

Reminds me of HoosierJeeper's KJ - he has the Limited also and it handles great and does great off road. I was there and saw it myself, right HJ?

A thought on rails... AllJ's Products is in Northern California and they make a nice set of rock rails. I bought a custom made set they put together and they have an angled tube onto which I've put 'traction tape' so my wife and others won't slip when stepping on them to climb into my KJ. I'm about an inch taller than your post-lift measurements so it can be a bit of a stretch for some to climb into. If you zoom in on these pics you can see the angled tube and the traction tape along the top:

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Glad you found the ride to be greatly improved. We keep saying that and those who haven't done an OME suspension think we're crazy. Well, we ARE crazy but we know what we're talking about :gr_grin:

Bob

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Thanks Bob! Yeah you've seen in action and can vouch for it being better off road than either of the people piloting it.

x2 on those for side steps. The RL ones are great for that, but good luck getting a set. The JCR off road ones would also be good too. I bedlined mine- good grip, even with ski boots on and them being covered in snow/ice.

 

[Jim McClain]

A thought on rails... AllJ's Products is in Northern California and they make a nice set of rock rails. I bought a custom made set they put together and they have an angled tube onto which I've put 'traction tape' so my wife and others won't slip when stepping on them to climb into my KJ. I'm about an inch taller than your post-lift measurements so it can be a bit of a stretch for some to climb into. If you zoom in on these pics you can see the angled tube and the traction tape along the top.

AllJ's is actually in Southern CA - 600 miles/10 hours from me. If I didn't have to be on oxygen 24/7, the trip wouldn't bother me, but I carry only about 15 hours worth of o2 tanks - no way to hook up my electric concentrator in the Jeep.

AllJ's will do custom, hu? I like yours. They look just like the Rocky Road Supersliders. Can you share a photo of them with the doors open? How much should I expect to pay for those (not counting shipping)?

Glad you found the ride to be greatly improved. We keep saying that and those who haven't done an OME suspension think we're crazy. Well, we ARE crazy but we know what we're talking about :gr_grin:

Absolutely. I also thought the hullabaloo was mostly exaggerated, but I'm a believer now.

x2 on those for side steps. The RL ones are great for that, but good luck getting a set. The JCR off road ones would also be good too. I bedlined mine- good grip, even with ski boots on and them being covered in snow/ice.

I've heard rumors that orders of Rock Lizard sliders have been a disappoiningly long wait coming. I like the style, but have no plans to order from them. The AllJ's on Bob's and RR Supersliders look very similar, so I will be mulling over those choices. Bedlining them sounds like a good idea.

JCR Offroad doesn't have parts for KJs.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Damn, JCR used to make 3 types of rock rails for the KJ.
Wouldn't do RRO. They suck and don't even compare construction wise. I think, if I remember what Bob said, that his are modded, someone added the tubing "step" , AllJ's doesn't do that. There's are just the bar.

I was scared about RL too but I got mine in 2 weeks. But I don't think they're in business anymore.

 

[tommudd]

Goodyear has both sizes. I'm hoping the 75s fit. I plan to get one for a test fit and then decide. I don't mind having to pound the pinch weld or maybe massage the well liner some (not a lot, but some). I have a powerful heat gun usually used in the flooring industry that will make the job easier.


I didn't try that yet, but I believe it. Before the alignment, it was pretty squirrely.

PS: What's a LR3?

245-75-17 would be a bad idea IMO
Thats a 31.6 inch tall tire , lose a bunch of power and mileage and would need to regear right away. Only way I would run that size is with 4 inches of lift with springs banging away

 

[Jim McClain]

Thanks Tom. What do you mean by "springs banging away"? I do plan to do a re-gear to 4.10, but not right away. I won't be able to afford that for another 6-9 months. You think 245/70R17s would be that much better? I don't really care about mileage - I didn't buy this to be easy on gas. Power is important, but I won't be racing anyone to the top of the hill either. I am trying to buy the best parts and only once.

Would I be sorry I bought 245/70s now, which will probably last me 5 years, after I gear up to 4.10s within a year and can regain a little power and mileage? Or will I wish I had 245/75s, but can't recover the value left in the 70s?

Or is what you are trying to say is that the 245/75s would take more than a little liner massaging with only a 3" lift and quite possibly not enough to work lock to lock? I just want to be clear about the size issues.

 

[jeeplib05]

I can tell you one thing, my tires are 31" tall and I wouldn't go any taller, even with me being at 3.25" lift
But, every tire is different in size
I'd stick with something around 30" tall MAX with 3" of lift- especially since you aren't even at 3" of lift

 

[tommudd]

245-75-16 is a height than a 245-75-17 is what I am saying
plus you don't have enough lift for that size tire
The banging comes in if you lift high enough for that size tire ( 245-75-17 ) and the UCAs hit the springs

 

[Jim McClain]

I can tell you one thing, my tires are 31" tall and I wouldn't go any taller, even with me being at 3.25" lift
But, every tire is different in size
I'd stick with something around 30" tall MAX with 3" of lift- especially since you aren't even at 3" of lift

Thanks for sharing your specs. I was under the assumption that I did get a 3" lift. That is what I decided on when Tom suggested the parts I would need to do that here. Do you know what the fender measurement is for stock height?

245-75-16 is a height than a 245-75-17 is what I am saying
plus you don't have enough lift for that size tire

Different height is what you meant to say, right? I don't know how I got confused about that. Musta been parked on a dead brain cell. The diameters for Duratracs are

• 245/75R17 = 31.6"
• 245/75R16 = 30.7"
• 245/70R17 = 30.6" (thanks to Cardhu for being the first to recommend this size).

The banging comes in if you lift high enough for that size tire ( 245-75-17 ) and the UCAs hit the springs

I thought that's why I got the JBA UCAs... to prevent that. Not enough?

Any idea why I'm not at 3" lift? I used the parts you suggested (see link to your post above). My post-alignment measurements come in at just 3" over unlifted. I assumed they would be a bit more, accounting for the sag over the last 10 years. I thought it was going to be that when I measured 22 5/8" in the front after the lift, but before the alignment. But it dropped an inch and an eighth after the alignment. Now it's measuring 21 1/2" all the way around, which means I'm also at the same rake as stock, not more level as I had assumed it would be.

Is there a lift break-in period?

 

[jeeplib05]

I haven't read through this to see what all you had put on but at 21.5" that's only 2.5" of lift over new stock height
Also, it'll drop slightly when you break it in so it'll be a little lower than that even through time
Not sure what was suggested to you but basically you got the same lift height as just putting on OME927/948 springs so hopefully they didn't forget to install anything

 

[Jim McClain]

My complete list of parts used:
FRONT:

• Coilover Assembly
  • OME 2927 front Coil Springs
  • OME 90009 struts
  • Moog K3189 & K3190 Front Strut Mounts
  • Moog K3186 Coil Spring Insulators (4)
• JBA Strut Spacer Plate Set
• JBA Upper Control Arms
• 1903200 TeraFlex Bump Stops
• Moog K200161 Sway Bar Bushing Kit
• Moog K7391 Stabilizer Bar Link Kit
• Moog K7389 rear lower Control Arm Bushings
• Moog K200258 front lower Control Arm Bushing
• JBA SS Brake Hose kit for 2½" lift (front & rear)

REAR:

• Y-Link Extension
• Rear Bump Stops (4 hockey pucks)
• OME N132L Shocks
• OME 2948 rear Coil Springs
• Rear lower coil spring isolators (2)
• Rear upper coil spring isolators (4)

Is stock height supposed to be 19" all around? According to Tom, the coilover assembly and the spacer plate was supposed to give me 3" of lift over stock. Everything was installed and it all looks to be correctly installed.

What is the break-in period?

What is the easiest way to make what I have a 3" lift instead of a 2.5" lift?

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Front you can add a clevis lift to bring it up another 1/2"- so leave a 1/4" gap in the clevis.

Rear, maybe another upper iso on each side, that would probably bring it up.

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

Jim, on the front you could lift the shock out of the clevis a 1/4 inch and that would give you half inch of lift over what you have now. The rear is probably fine where it is - not much more you can do there since you already put 2 upper isolators on top of the springs.

I wouldn't worry about that 1/2 inch though (that's what she said... :happy175: ) until you drive it for a while. Break-in is fastest when you go somewhere that gives you good articulation - maybe one of the logging roads that hasn't been used in a while. That compresses/decompresses the springs and makes the ride a bit smoother and not quite as stiff while keeping the control you mentioned earlier.

A set of 245/70-17's will fill out the wheel wells nicely and make the KJ a half inch taller due to their larger diameter.

Have fun with it for a while and contemplate your next mod based on your experience with your new Jeep :waytogo:

Bob

 

[Myke]

Also check and see if your flairs are sagging. That could affect your measurements.

 

[tommudd]

With the parts you used you should of gotten 3 inches, 2.5 from the springs and 1/2 inch from the 1/4 inch plate on top . Always got that measurement after alignment ( 3 inches )

 

[Jim McClain]

Also check and see if your flairs are sagging. That could affect your measurements.

Yes, it would affect measurements, but the before & after measurements should have still been 3" different, unless the flares sagged sometime between those measurements.

With the parts you used you should of gotten 3 inches, 2.5 from the springs and 1/2 inch from the 1/4 inch plate on top . Always got that measurement after alignment ( 3 inches )

I wonder if tightening nuts/bolts into bushings before the Jeep was put on the ground could have accounted for the discrepancy?

 

[tommudd]

Yes, it would affect measurements, but the before & after measurements should have still been 3" different, unless the flares sagged sometime between those measurements.


I wonder if tightening nuts/bolts into bushings before the Jeep was put on the ground could have accounted for the discrepancy?

would of kept it higher/ longer

 

[jeeplib05]

Like what's been stated already something isn't sitting right
You shouldn't only be sitting on 2.5" of lift with those parts you should be at 3" for sure
I'd take a good look to make sure they put everything on

 

[Jim McClain]

Like what's been stated already something isn't sitting right
You shouldn't only be sitting on 2.5" of lift with those parts you should be at 3" for sure
I'd take a good look to make sure they put everything on

I posted a list of all the parts installed. They were installed. I checked. In fact, I have all the parts they took off and they couldn't have been removed without something to replace them. I showed photos of the rear in a previous post. Here they are again.

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I didn't get photos of the front during installation, but I did share a photo of the coilover:

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I was alerted by my mechanic that the guy who assembled the coilover for 20 bucks forgot to use the big washer that covers the top cone on the strut mount. My mechanic took it back to him and he made it right - I saw the corrected assembly before it was installed.

I've personally checked to make sure the spacer plate was installed correctly. There's nothing else that affects the lift.

After the lift was done, but before the alignment, the front measurement was 22⅝". After the alignment I lost 1⅛ in height. I haven't heard about anyone here on JeepKJ losing that much after an alignment. Could that be the problem? What about an alignment could cause that much drop?