I finally had some good weather so I got to install the new rear UCA. Let me first say that Iron Rock was a pleasure to deal with. By accident, they sent left out a bag of parts. I call them, let them know and they sent the parts the next day. As an experiment, I ordered by Polyethylene bushing for the body mounts instead of the rubber ones. You will also note in the next picture the WW Diesel differential mount. I fit like a glove so thanks for making those WW!!
Here is the completed assembly:
My only comment about the body mounts is the socket head cap screws didn't fully engage the end plate. They were about 1/4" short so I bought a longer screw and cut them to length. Now they are flush with the end plate
If you decide to do this install, make a note of the following. I cut 1" off the threaded portion of the differential joint. If you look at the directions, the jam nut is supposed to be located between the control arm and the differenial. Since the Liberty's suspension is shorter than the GC, you have to locate it on the other side. In order to get the jam nut off/on, you will need to cut some of the threaded portion. WW Diesel helped me out with this one.
The actual install too me about 2 hours. The toughest part was getting the old/new differentia mount on the diff. My liberty is a 2003 and the rear sway arm sits right in front of those bolts. My wife manned the floor jack to raise and lower the body so I could access the bolts. Once the diff bracket was installed, its just a matter of locating the UCA. I reused the original body mount bolts and the Iron Rock kit came with new hardware for the diff bracket. Here is the final install:
When i removed the original UCA, each side of the arm had e brake supports and the drivers side has a wiring harness attached to it (going to the differential). After I installed the UCA, I drilled a hole for the e brake clip and pushed it in. I was prepared to drill and tap a bolt to i could re-install the original hardware, but the tubing Iron Rock uses is either a solid bar or very thick tubing. I'm thinking I'll have to get a shorter bolt, but for now, I zip tied it to the UCA.
I did this install so I could correct the drive shaft to pinion angle. Tom Mudd helped me understand where it should be and with my lift, I was not where I wanted to be. But, now it is.
I installed the PE body mount bushing because I wanted to tighten up the rear end just a bit. This install did exactly that. The original UCA was well past its prime. The body bushings were cracked and had a few pieces missing. I put some similar PE bushing on another car and I didn't notice any difference in ride quality. My Liberty however, I think I'm feeling the differential right around 1800 RPM under hard acceleration. The jury is still out in my mind since I know I need to change a motor mount. I doubt changing the motor mount will make any difference, but I'm in no rush. The worst case, I'll pull out the PE bushing, install the rubber ones and my $80 experiment will have been a bust.
All in all, an easy upgrade.
Enjoy.
Metalengineer
