Need Lift Advice - Done - Pics pg2

tumanator · **Posted:** Sat May 23, 2009 8:03 pm

Ok I read every lift thread I found dating back over 6 months still didn't answer every question, though there's a lot of good information here. First:

I'm going to do it right the first time, so I'm going Frankenlift (I can't compress the Struts myself so I need the OME Coils assembled). I just don't know which Frankenlift to go for, I mean are the OME shocks really worth $200 over the Rancho ones? Information: I don't have a bumper or a winch, I probably will get one eventually that being ~2+ years away.

Second, I now a lot of you would recommend replacing the UCA's along with a lift. But is it really necessary, and due to funds I'm going to have to install the lift myself, from everything I've looked up I'm thinking I can handle the Frankenlift but I have no clue how hard it would be to replace the UCA's.

This isn't going to happen for a couple months still, I passed this lift off once to make another payment on the truck. But after last winter I can't go through another without a better setup. And depending on your answers it may take me a little longer to get the funds. I'm not very mechanically inclined so any advice on parts, tools, install anything is greatly appreciated.

tommudd · **Posted:** Sun May 24, 2009 11:44 pm

Ranchos are great shocks , I have over 80,000 on mine and still doing their job. You don't need upper control arms if yours are still good. Does make it a little easier to align but I ran mine for 65/70,000 miles with no problems , Arms are not any harder than the lift is to install. Pretty easy really esp. since you have it tore apart! :wink:

tumanator · **Posted:** Mon May 25, 2009 6:03 pm

Thanks Tom, I also think I remember reading somewhere in here, a claim that the Rancho shocks are longer by nature and allow more flex, don't know if it true but I think I'll go for the standard frankenlift.

And i guess with the UCA's the only way I'll be able to tell is after the lift is done and depending on whether or not I'm having trouble. I'm sure as I get closer I'll come up with more questions too so try to stay patient :wink:

Still any other just plane advice would be appreciated, I'm not quite sure how to drill the hole for the new bump stop in the rear. I don't have a fancy air drill or even an "L" drill of any kind to attach it to the top of the axle.

superj · **Posted:** Mon May 25, 2009 9:39 pm

my upper ball joints were bad so i changed the upper arms when i put on my lift today. i bought the lift used from a member who was trading his jeep in fro something else. mine has rusty's off road springs and ome front struts with rancho rear shocks. the jeep is so much nicer driving then on those wore out old factory springs that had 100k on them. the wife and kids like the ride and the height alot better then stock also.

the only part of putting the lift on that was tough was putting the springs on the struts. i have springs compressors but darn, they suck when you don't have air tools. other then that, swapping the assembly and putting it on the clevis was very easy. the upper arm is only two bolts and the driver's rear bolt is a pain but with lots of extensions and a universal swivel it came off. the rears are very very easy to swap and take less then an hour to do both of the rears, springs and shocks.

i did my lift on a gravel driveway with a walmart jack and two jackstands. you will need an 18mm deep socket, 15mm socket, 10mm, and i used some american sizes that happen to fit the larger nuts i had to take off so i don't know those sizes but i think the american sizes were a 7/8. i believe that is all the sockets you will need. oh no, you need whatever size unhooks the battery also as you have to pull it and its tray out to get to the top of the strut plate nuts. and a pickle fork.
i unhooked the battery and pulled it out and the tray it sits on. the strut nuts and upper a arm nuts are 18mm. i unhooked the clevis from the strut (18mm) and the clevis from the lower a arm (7/8 ). i also unhooked the sway bar to give the arm some more flex. i had to take the 10mm bolt out of the brake line on the driver's side to get the hard line out of the way to take the bolt out of the front of the driver's a arm too. from there, i just pulled the bolts out and theupper a arm slides right out like nothing. after that, i used a pickle fork to wiggle the strut from the clevis and then lifted the clevis out of the way which let the strut fall out of the wheel well. since your buying your strut/ spring assembly per built, slide your new one into the place where the old one fell out AFTER you put the little 3/8 top plate on top. (you do not have to ask why i accentuated that part, do you?) the reinstall is just putting everything back in and tightening the nuts.
the rear is unhook shock from body and from axle. step on brake hub and pull spring out from between body and axle. you will have to compress the rear springs to put them in so buy a cheap set from harbor freight for this one time use and you'll be done in less then an hour on the rear because you compress the springs and slide them in and then slide the new rear shocks in with two flat washers to fill in the gap around the top part of hte ranchos so there is no knocking noise on bumps and you are done. just get an alignment and you are good to go.

you will be very very happy

tumanator · **Posted:** Mon May 25, 2009 9:58 pm

superj wrote:

slide your new one into the place where the old one fell out AFTER you put the little 3/8 top plate on top. (you do not have to ask why i accentuated that part, do you?)

Lol, I never thought about compressing the rear springs to fit them in, I'll look into that thanks for the advice. You can assume I have a full set of "basic" tools in my truck. I've always kept a full socket/ wrench/ screw / wire ect.. kit on hand, I grew up drivin in the Rocky Mountains so I learned to be prepared. It's the odd tool, like the pickle fork you mentioned, I'd never heard of one (thank you google, and see why i need advice) or the spring compressor. Besides this a good excuse to help me grow my tool kit too

Actually I'm going to add a note on here I don't have a Torque wrench anymore (old one got loaned out and destroyed, yea, yea bad move) are the torque "recommendations" just that where I can ballpark it, or are they really specific.

tumanator · **Posted:** Mon May 25, 2009 10:07 pm

tommudd wrote:

You do not need a spring compressor for the rear springs, do not waste the money way easier ways to do it!
Don't need a pickle fork either, not even sure where you would use it!

I thought I'd just use a tie down strap or another strong arm if needed, sounds like that's what I'll do. What about the torque wrench though?

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon May 25, 2009 10:08 pm

You do not need a spring compressor for the rear springs, do not waste the money way easier ways to do it!
Don't need a pickle fork either, not even sure where you would use it!

2006 KJ · **Posted:** Mon May 25, 2009 10:18 pm

all ya need is basic tools pretty much... the tq. specifications arnt that important. .just make sure everything is tight (and check the nut on top of the frankenlift when you get it.. sometimes they are loose). i have the standard frankenlift and LOVE it. rancho's are outstanding shocks... about 23000 miles on mine and still good as brand new. the back goes right together.. no need for a spring compressor. however i think you will need a drill and bits to install the rear bumpstops.

superj · **Posted:** Mon May 25, 2009 10:41 pm

i use the pickle fork as a wedge to seperate the strut and clevis. you don't need it but it is alot easier to have.

there is no way in hell that ror 2.5 taller springs were going into the rear uncompressed. maybe is you unhook other things it might work but all i unhooked was the shock. so i had to compress the springs to get them back in place.

i have no air tools so i try to disconnect as few things as possible to save my wrists

i was just telling how i did my lift today. since i just did it, it is still fresh in my mind. i have never done a lift on a liberty and no one was here to help me so i figured it out as i went along. its not like lifting the grand cherokee, regular cherokee, or comanche i used to have and is not at all like lowering my bmws. so i just told him how i did mine with common tools all by myself. why don't you guys tell him how you did yours and then he can pick the easiest out of all out ways to make it easy for him.

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon May 25, 2009 11:01 pm

I don't use air tools either superj
You don't need to unhook a bunch of stuff, and no need to compress the rear springs, after 11 or 12 of them I never have, all you have to do is put the stock jack in between the frame and the drum/ caliper and spread it apart, can do it by yourself 10 minutes a side

So there is a easy way, been said on here hundreds of times now, all you have to do is read :wink:

Some want to make a lift way harder than it really is, scaring off people from trying it theirselves :lol:

To spread the clevis all you need is a big screwdriver, any more and you may crack it.

superj · **Posted:** Tue May 26, 2009 12:30 pm

that jack bit is good information. that would be alot easier then using the stupid spring compressor.

you use the big screw driver exactly how i use a pickle fork so that can be done using whichever tool you have.

see, now we are all adding little tricks we use and this guy will be able to do it himself, no trouble.

no reason to not install it your self, just don't get overwhelmed by looking at all the pieces and thinking something is to hard. just picture it all one piece at a time and you'll be good to go.

also, i did not mean to sound like a jerk in that other post. i read it this morning and thought to myself that it sounded kind of rude so if someone else thought that also, its not meant to be. you know how the net doesn't let you convey any emotion or feeling so everything sounds rude.

tumanator · **Posted:** Tue May 26, 2009 2:00 pm

Thanks for the info guys I contacted All-J's about shipping so I can a full estimated price, hopefully I can get it and install it before the fall semester starts.

XJMA · **Posted:** Tue May 26, 2009 4:00 pm

I have a question on the rancho strut install. SuperJ, you said that you don't want to forget the 3/8" spacer on top of the new strut. Is that part of your lift?? Or is that part that is required for the ranchos?? I want to just replace my wifes suspension and use the rancho struts. Don't want any other methods of increasing lift. Thanx for the clarification!!

tommudd · **Posted:** Tue May 26, 2009 4:09 pm

You don't need any spacer at all, are you replacing the springs as well, if the struts are shot the springs are as well then

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Tue May 26, 2009 4:18 pm

superj wrote:

i use the pickle fork as a wedge to seperate the strut and clevis. you don't need it but it is alot easier to have.

there is no way in hell that ror 2.5 taller springs were going into the rear uncompressed. maybe is you unhook other things it might work but all i unhooked was the shock. so i had to compress the springs to get them back in place.

i have no air tools so i try to disconnect as few things as possible to save my wrists

i was just telling how i did my lift today. since i just did it, it is still fresh in my mind. i have never done a lift on a liberty and no one was here to help me so i figured it out as i went along. its not like lifting the grand cherokee, regular cherokee, or comanche i used to have and is not at all like lowering my bmws. so i just told him how i did mine with common tools all by myself. why don't you guys tell him how you did yours and then he can pick the easiest out of all out ways to make it easy for him.

Unbolt the rear swaybar from the LCA's(only 4 bolts,2 per side) and you can install the coils without any aid at all.Also install the extended bumpstop after installing the new coils(drill the mount hole 1st),also makes it easier.

tumanator · **Posted:** Tue May 26, 2009 4:56 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

Unbolt the rear swaybar from the LCA's(only 4 bolts,2 per side) and you can install the coils without any aid at all.Also install the extended bumpstop after installing the new coils(drill the mount hole 1st),also makes it easier.

Does the rear axle drop down far enough to drill it with just a regular power drill, or do I need a fancy air /or L drill like the Frankenlift install guide shows?

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Tue May 26, 2009 6:24 pm

tumanator wrote:

tjkj2002 wrote:

Unbolt the rear swaybar from the LCA's(only 4 bolts,2 per side) and you can install the coils without any aid at all.Also install the extended bumpstop after installing the new coils(drill the mount hole 1st),also makes it easier.

Does the rear axle drop down far enough to drill it with just a regular power drill, or do I need a fancy air /or L drill like the Frankenlift install guide shows?

Mostly,depends on the drill.My Makita cordless drill has plenty of room but mt Milwaukee corded drill is a bit long and has to go at a slight angle but it does give you about 3"-4" more drop then having the bar connected,just remember you need to raise the opposite side with a jack.

superj · **Posted:** Tue May 26, 2009 6:28 pm

the spacer top plate is part of this particular lift, i imagine. its just a piece that goes on top of the upper strut bearing to even out the front and rear springs, or so it seemed to me. i'm not sure if it really has any purpose other then leveling the springs out.

on the rear shocks you have to put some filler washers in or else the upper mount will move back and forth and possibly make some noise after time

tumanator · **Posted:** Tue May 26, 2009 7:46 pm

Well maybe i can scrounge up a drill if mine is too long I just found a new bottle jack i posted on the other jack question in general forums I'm considering buying to replace the Stock POS. And with all the spare junk jacks around here I'm not to worried about getting what I need in the Air. Here's the link again for that jack:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00950284000P?vName=Automotive&cName=Tools+%26+Equipment&sName=Lift+Equipment

tommudd · **Posted:** Tue May 26, 2009 8:24 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

superj wrote:

i use the pickle fork as a wedge to seperate the strut and clevis. you don't need it but it is alot easier to have.

there is no way in hell that ror 2.5 taller springs were going into the rear uncompressed. maybe is you unhook other things it might work but all i unhooked was the shock. so i had to compress the springs to get them back in place.

i have no air tools so i try to disconnect as few things as possible to save my wrists

i was just telling how i did my lift today. since i just did it, it is still fresh in my mind. i have never done a lift on a liberty and no one was here to help me so i figured it out as i went along. its not like lifting the grand cherokee, regular cherokee, or comanche i used to have and is not at all like lowering my bmws. so i just told him how i did mine with common tools all by myself. why don't you guys tell him how you did yours and then he can pick the easiest out of all out ways to make it easy for him.

Unbolt the rear swaybar from the LCA's(only 4 bolts,2 per side) and you can install the coils without any aid at all.Also install the extended bumpstop after installing the new coils(drill the mount hole 1st),also makes it easier.

That works great unbolting the sway bar unless you you live in the midwest/ norteast where salt is a daily thing it seems, seen a lot that you can not even touch without a hot wrench :lol:

Need Lift Advice - Done - Pics pg2

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