Long travel bump stops for KJ IFS

TTU_TJ · **Posted:** Mon Jan 30, 2006 4:38 pm

Hey everyone! This is my first post and one of my first visits to these forums. I just finished a project that I thought might be beneficial to some of you who have experienced the same problems I have.

Short story: the wife purchased a Limited '03 KJ new and we lifted it last year with a Rocky Road OTT lift I bought on a local forum. It worked sufficiently well to give her the look she wanted and boost our ground clearance over the trail rocks, but the problem we encountered was the struts bottoming out on hard bumps. Because of the spacers, the distance between the upper A-arm and the stock bump stop was now longer than the travel of the strut. This led to harsh collisions of parts inside the strut. We knew we needed longer travel struts or an extended bumpstop kit, but Rocky Road wasn't offering anything, and we were on a budget, so here's where the project started.

I purchased a pair of these bumpstops:

http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/pr ... rod=9.9104

and proceeded to figure out how to mount them. Amazingly, it's not as hard as it sounds.

1) Remove stock bumpstops by pulling them out with vise-grips.
2) Drill out the two spot welds that holds each bump stop cup onto the unibody, and remove the cup. This reveals a stamped "hump" in the steel that serves as a mounting surface for the bump stop.
3) Use a cutoff wheel on an angle grinder to cut the hump out flush with the surrounding material. It will look like this:

4) Next, grind down the ribs on the stock upper A-arms that were used to hold the stock bump stop in place on compression. They don't need to be completely gone, just smoothed out. They'll look like this:

5) Drill a mounting hole up through the sheet metal for the new bumpstop. Be careful to remove the battery and the airbox before this step. You'll find that there is a strut-mount reinforcing rib stamped into the engine compartment that looks like this:

6) You'll need to cut an access hole with a hole saw to reach the bump stop stud and place the washer and nut in place.

When all is said and done, you'll have a finished product that is ready for some rough stuff.

Like I said, I just finished this projects, so if I encounter any problems in the future, I'll report them here for reference.

-Bryan

ManicMechanicJoe · **Posted:** Mon Jan 30, 2006 7:36 pm

that a Rusty's Spacer Lift? I got the same one if it is... let me know how this works out over the next month.

KJ04 · **Posted:** Mon Jan 30, 2006 11:42 pm

That's because RRO coppied their Ott lift (now called 2.5" budget lift) off of Rusty. He told me the whole story over the phone a few years ago when I was first investagating lift kits.

ManicMechanicJoe · **Posted:** Tue Jan 31, 2006 12:22 am

oh I missed that part of the post. The Rusty's spacer is cheaper then the RRO...yet the RRO is the copy? that seems weird. I am not I would want to do business with a company that has to steal ideas when they should be making a REAL lift kit...

TTU_TJ · **Posted:** Tue Jan 31, 2006 1:13 am

Well, I'm not going to defend RRO, but there ARE only a few ways to make a spacer lift for these things, none of them are patentable or even original. I say anyone who wants to manufacture them is free to do so.

As for the good stuff, I tested the system out last night. There's a dip in the road near my house that usually causes a bottom-out condition at around 40 mph. I hit it last night at 59 mph and had a smooth landing. Afterward, every component was still in place and looking good.

Now the wife wants to race off-road! :twisted:

TTU_TJ · **Posted:** Thu Feb 02, 2006 3:05 pm

Ok, I've been hammering these stops every chance I've gotten for the last few days and they're still looking good. I'm thinking of rigging up my video camera under the wheel well to get some footage of them in action...

KJ04 · **Posted:** Fri Feb 10, 2006 2:56 pm

Keep us posted on your progress, I'm sure people that have the front 3" clevis style lifts would be interested in this also. They are an OTT reversal of your lift and have, or will have, the same problems.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Sat Feb 18, 2006 12:26 am

TTU_TJ wrote:

Ok, I've been hammering these stops every chance I've gotten for the last few days and they're still looking good. I'm thinking of rigging up my video camera under the wheel well to get some footage of them in action...

Gosh that would be awsome. I love seeing the suspension work like that. If i has the time and a video camera i didnt care about, i would do it! Anyone care to give me a camera i can strap under my heep?

Art M. · **Joined:** Fri Jun 23, 2006 1:32 pm **Posts:** 8

Hi
TTU_TJ, can you provide an update as to how this is holding up after 6 months, any problems at all? I'm considering doing the same.
Regards
Art

TTU_TJ · **Posted:** Wed Jul 05, 2006 6:47 pm

Still looks like a good fix. I've checked them periodically, and seen no loosening of the mounts (my major concern). I apologize for being lazy/busy and not getting the video done though. Let me know if you have any questions come up during the installation.

KJ04 · **Posted:** Sun Jan 13, 2008 1:00 pm

Anyone have comments on why this would't work :?:

Most everyone adds a rear bump stop, but no mention of a front extended bump stop.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Sun Jan 13, 2008 1:38 pm

KJ04 wrote:

Anyone have comments on why this would't work :?:

Most everyone adds a rear bump stop, but no mention of a front extended bump stop.

I have extended front bumpstops,they came with my SkyJacker kit,about 1.5" longer then the stock one's,works perfect for my lift.

KJ04 · **Posted:** Sun Jan 13, 2008 2:19 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

KJ04 wrote:

Anyone have comments on why this would't work :?:

Most everyone adds a rear bump stop, but no mention of a front extended bump stop.

I have extended front bumpstops,they came with my SkyJacker kit,about 1.5" longer then the stock one's,works perfect for my lift.

Are they sold separately from the kit?

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Sun Jan 13, 2008 2:39 pm

KJ04 wrote:

tjkj2002 wrote:

KJ04 wrote:

Anyone have comments on why this would't work :?:

Most everyone adds a rear bump stop, but no mention of a front extended bump stop.

I have extended front bumpstops,they came with my SkyJacker kit,about 1.5" longer then the stock one's,works perfect for my lift.

Are they sold separately from the kit?

Not sure.

GilaMonster · **Posted:** Wed Jan 30, 2008 9:38 pm

Hey, how are these working out for the long term? How is the material used for the bump stop holding up?

KJ04 · **Posted:** Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:00 am

GilaMonster wrote:

Hey, how are these working out for the long term? How is the material used for the bump stop holding up?

Groo2 found some extended 4" bump stops that are direct replacements for the stock ones, at TeraFlex Plus, and are working well for him.
Phone # 801-713-3314 for TeraFlex Plus.
Part # 001903200, $16.20 ea. + $11.44 shipping came to $43.84 total.

Here are the posts:http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=28552

GilaMonster · **Posted:** Sat Feb 02, 2008 7:56 pm

KJ04 wrote:

GilaMonster wrote:

Hey, how are these working out for the long term? How is the material used for the bump stop holding up?

Groo2 found some extended 4" bump stops that are direct replacements for the stock ones, at TeraFlex Plus, and are working well for him.
Phone # 801-713-3314 for TeraFlex Plus.
Part # 001903200, $16.20 ea. + $11.44 shipping came to $43.84 total.

Here are the posts:http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=28552

Thank you for the information. Was the installation as simple yanking out the old one from its mount and pushing in the new ones? Can you give some details?

KJ04 · **Posted:** Sun Feb 03, 2008 10:30 am

From the post, it looks like you just work the old one out and pound in the new one. I haven't installed mine yet.

Long travel bump stops for KJ IFS

Who is online