just ordered the Koni Adjustables COMPLETE!

jinstall · **Posted:** Sat Jun 27, 2009 11:13 am

I hope to have them here by Wed of next week. If I am lucky I can install them at the house. I will be setting them at their firmest setting and then backing off from there. I have to drive down to Greensboro for the 4th so I will report back after then. BTW Tire Rack has them on sale, $591 delivered. Summit has them for a few dollars less but they are special order with a 4-6 week delivery.
Front Fitment
Housing: Shock Housing

Standard Adjustable

Note: Front fitment Twin Tube Low Pressure Gas Standard Adjustable Shock Absorber

Orig. Price: $170.00 (each)
$153.00 Special

Estimated Availability: Fewer than 3
Manufacturer Part #: 8240-1201SPX

Rear Fitment
Housing: Shock Housing

Standard Adjustable

Note: Rear fitment Twin Tube Low Pressure Gas Standard Adjustable Shock Absorber

Orig. Price: $149.00 (each)
$135.00 Special

Estimated Availability: Fewer than 3
Manufacturer Part #: 8240-1202SPX

FROM THE TIRE RACK SITE.

jinstall · **Posted:** Wed Jul 01, 2009 6:11 am

Koni'sare here. I will try and get the rears on tonight.

jinstall · **Posted:** Sun Jul 05, 2009 12:46 pm

OK I was going to istall the front inserts today but for some reason I cannot find out how the hell the fronts are mounted to the body. I pulled the front airbox out but there are no bolts that come close to the size of the insert. Do the 2 15mm nuts hold a braket the insert is mounted to?

Ranger1 · **Joined:** Mon Oct 17, 2005 7:40 pm **Posts:** 1137

There are 4 nuts that hold the top of the strut to the vehicle, visible from the engine bay, but they're covered by a bracket that holds the power steering plastic tank and/or the boost vacuum tank. I don't remember which one it is. Once you take out that black, flat bracket out, you'll see all of them.

You are going to need a pretty strong strut spring compressor to get those springs clamped down enough to replace the struts. I pulled mine and took them to an alignment shop and had them remove the old struts and install the RSX's. The same spring compressor I used on my 02 V6 Liberty had some trouble with the stronger springs on the CRD. I ended up using it anyway because the shop didn't get one of them aligned correctly, but it was almost to the breaking point before I could tighten the top strut nut.

Be sure to align that little slot on the strut on the bottom or your bottom forks won't align properly to the lower A arm bolt holes. A little paint alignment mark on top and bottom rubber isolators is a good idea. Also be sure bottom clevis (fork) is installed all the way to the top of the bottom of the strut guide or you'll end up with slightly different heights on your strut assemblys. Not helpful for alignment.

Be very sure you compress the springs enough to allow you to tighten the strut nut to the correct torque setting, rather than tighten against spring pressure. If you don't, the strut won't be tightened enough to the top plate. It will feel tight and measure correctly with a torque wrench, but's its pressure against the springs if they not compressed enough. Then once you release the spring compressor and install it, the top cap that covers the strut rod will rattle badly on every bump you hit as the springs flex. The alignment shop also missed this and I had to fix that - the strut nut must be tightened against the top strut without any spring pressure on it at all. The instructions with my struts had this information buried in the postage stamps sized instruction sheet.

jinstall · **Posted:** Sun Jul 05, 2009 8:07 pm

Thanks. Yes I know the issue with not getting the strut nut tight, too well. I have pretty heafty spring compressor I bought a few weeks back to do my sisters car. I will have to go to the hobby shop to use the lift to get the suspension unloaded as well.

What about the alignment, it looks that there should be no alignment change while removing the strut. As there is a upper and lower control arms and the strut is only for connecting the suspension. There are no Camber/Caster/Toe issues at that location.

Ranger1 · **Joined:** Mon Oct 17, 2005 7:40 pm **Posts:** 1137

No alignment required from just replacing the struts, but locking the clevis at different lengths on the strut bottom will raise or lower the total strut length relative to the other side. Enough of that will cause some minor geometry imbalances in the lower control arms. I measured mine before and after the strut change to be sure they were equal and to note any differences in height, but more so for equality.

jinstall · **Posted:** Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:03 pm

Thanks for the heads up. I wish I had gone for coilovers all around but that is the racer in me. I keep reminding myself this is not a race car, even though I drive it like one "sometimes". I have some photos of the install so far but I really want to get the front photographed.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Sun Jul 05, 2009 11:09 pm

jinstall wrote:

Thanks for the heads up. I wish I had gone for coilovers all around but that is the racer in me. I keep reminding myself this is not a race car, even though I drive it like one "sometimes". I have some photos of the install so far but I really want to get the front photographed.

You already have coilovers on the front of your KJ,those are not struts,they actually are shocks that get labeled as a strut.If they where actually struts you would not have a UCA.

tonycrd · **Posted:** Tue Jul 07, 2009 1:24 pm

I am a little late but this might help out: pics of my first lift install.

http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34494

The Koni shocks are pretty thight at factory settings, I didn't mess with them and they do fine on my KJ.

Since you are a 2.8 you may want to give them a twist or two.

Problem is...if you want to adjust them later to a different setting...you'll have to take the spring of again....

Side note: only the OEM shocks have an alignment notch, aftermarkets do not. So you can fit the topplate to the Koni's anyway you like.

Here's a little teaser for ya

jinstall · **Posted:** Tue Jul 07, 2009 10:27 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

jinstall wrote:

Thanks for the heads up. I wish I had gone for coilovers all around but that is the racer in me. I keep reminding myself this is not a race car, even though I drive it like one "sometimes". I have some photos of the install so far but I really want to get the front photographed.

You already have coilovers on the front of your KJ,those are not struts,they actually are shocks that get labeled as a strut.If they where actually struts you would not have a UCA.

Let me re-phrase, adjustable ride hight coilovers. Yes I know th efronts are coilovers, struts can be coilovers as well. My race car has coilover struts in the front and a seperate shock and spring in the rear. I do not have $4000 for a full coilover system for the race car. I had the car corner weighted and then had H&R custom valve the dampeners for my car.

jinstall · **Posted:** Tue Jul 07, 2009 10:28 pm

tonycrd wrote:

I am a little late but this might help out: pics of my first lift install.

http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34494

The Koni shocks are pretty thight at factory settings, I didn't mess with them and they do fine on my KJ.

Since you are a 2.8 you may want to give them a twist or two.

Problem is...if you want to adjust them later to a different setting...you'll have to take the spring of again....

Side note: only the OEM shocks have an alignment notch, aftermarkets do not. So you can fit the topplate to the Koni's anyway you like.

Here's a little teaser for ya

darn I thought I would be the first, well maybe in the US. Well Ihave the rears on at the hardest setting and I like it. I cannot wait to install the fronts. I have to work this weekend so it will be another weekend before I get to it.

jinstall · **Posted:** Sun Jul 19, 2009 10:01 am

Well I took a 30 min drive last night with them and just WOW!. I love them. I have them on the hardest setting and they are exactly what I was looking for. I do not have anything to tow so I am not sure how they are with towing but for now they are PERFECT. The handling increase is fantastic. The heavy braking dip is greatly reduced and the tail tuck when accelerating is gone. After strewing up the one side and forgetting to mount the top washer, after everything was torqued down, th eother side was went quickly. Thank god I did not have to drop the LCA. Oh and I changed the oil and the plug to the Fumoto! No more stripped plug. Now th enext is the fuel filter

jinstall · **Posted:** Wed Jul 22, 2009 8:31 pm

OK first thing I have noticed. When you stop now the Jeep rocks back and forth, if you have ever driven a H1 or any M-series military HMMWV, you know exactly what I am talking about. Sidewall deflection? I am running 41psi so I figured that was mute.

CATCRD · **Posted:** Wed Jul 22, 2009 11:23 pm

Sidewall deflection.

(It's moot btw)

jinstall · **Posted:** Thu Jul 23, 2009 7:37 am

Thanks lol (moot)

just ordered the Koni Adjustables COMPLETE!

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