Pics of my slightly lifted CRD on 255s....

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Wed Jan 11, 2006 10:21 pm

www.cardomain.com/ride/2164878

I uploaded a few pics of the 255/70-16 on my CRD. I have the 1.5" front/2.5" rear Daystar lift kit. The kit acheived about 2.0" of lift all the way around. The 255s are the PERFECT tire for this combo IMO. They fill out the Jeep real nice, but there is only very minor rubbing occasionally (most of the time there is none at all, depends on if my KJ is flexed or not).

fireman1028 · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2006 6:59 am

Looks good man!!

I should have mine finished on Friday hope to have some pictures up this weekend.

Guest · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2006 8:15 am

LibertyCRD wrote:

www.cardomain.com/ride/2164878

I uploaded a few pics of the 255/70-16 on my CRD. I have the 1.5" front/2.5" rear Daystar lift kit. The kit acheived about 2.0" of lift all the way around. The 255s are the PERFECT tire for this combo IMO. They fill out the Jeep real nice, but there is only very minor rubbing occasionally (most of the time there is none at all, depends on if my KJ is flexed or not).

That looks REALLY nice. I'll have to refresh my memory with the search function to see exactly how you got that combo as I thought the Daystar was only sold in a 2.5" kit front and back.

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 9:42 am

All the Daystar kits have the "2.5 inch" spacer for the rear. (It actually acheives only 2.0 inches of lift because you have to remove the 0.5 inch factory spacer). The difference is you can get the "2.5 inch" spacers for the front, or you can stick with the 1.5 inch spacer up front. I used the 1.5" spacer up front because it was a LOT cheaper and looks better IMO. www.rockymountainsusp.com is where I got mine. They have a ton of stuff for the KJ on there. I'm still LOVING these tires. I've got $600 invested in my LIFT AND TIRES so far. Couldn't be happier...

Guest · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 11:54 am

LibertyCRD wrote:

All the Daystar kits have the "2.5 inch" spacer for the rear. (It actually acheives only 2.0 inches of lift because you have to remove the 0.5 inch factory spacer). The difference is you can get the "2.5 inch" spacers for the front, or you can stick with the 1.5 inch spacer up front. I used the 1.5" spacer up front because it was a LOT cheaper and looks better IMO. www.rockymountainsusp.com is where I got mine. They have a ton of stuff for the KJ on there. I'm still LOVING these tires. I've got $600 invested in my LIFT AND TIRES so far. Couldn't be happier...

I know that our stock Liberty Jeeps sit lower in the front than the rear. Does this get exaggerated because of the 1.5" in the front versus the 2.0" in the rear? Maybe it settles over time? I like the idea of keeping the front IFS at a lower extreme of lift. Please advise as I think you combination may be the answer for me as well. I just don't want to "nose down" any more than I already am.

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 11:58 am

I think it's a visual misconception. If you actually take a tape measure and measure the distance between the center of the wheel and the edge of the fender flare, you'll see that it is actually very even front to back. With my 1.5" lift up front and 2.0" of lift in the rear, my KJ now sits almost perfectly even front to back when you measure it. I think the way the body is shaped is deceiving to the eye and makes it look like the Jeep actually is sagging in the front, but it's not. I have the same clearance front and back. The guys running the 2.5" kit up front actually sit higher in the front. I think (just in my opinion) that this looks silly, and it throws your headlight beams out of adjustment, and makes towing more of a challenge if you use your Jeep for that too. I didn't want that so I went with the 1.5" kit up front to level it all out.

Guest · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 12:08 pm

LibertyCRD wrote:

I think it's a visual misconception. If you actually take a tape measure and measure the distance between the center of the wheel and the edge of the fender flare, you'll see that it is actually very even front to back. With my 1.5" lift up front and 2.0" of lift in the rear, my KJ now sits almost perfectly even front to back when you measure it. I think the way the body is shaped is deceiving to the eye and makes it look like the Jeep actually is sagging in the front, but it's not. I have the same clearance front and back. The guys running the 2.5" kit up front actually sit higher in the front. I think (just in my opinion) that this looks silly, and it throws your headlight beams out of adjustment, and makes towing more of a challenge if you use your Jeep for that too. I didn't want that so I went with the 1.5" kit up front to level it all out.

One last question - how did you know which rear shock to choose from Rancho? The guys at boulderbars recommend the ones for the Dodge Durango with model number RSX17004 to allow for more rear travel, but you are using a different model number...

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 12:13 pm

Yeah, almost everyone on this forum is running the Rancho RSX 17004 shock because they (boulderbars.com) figured out that it works for the lifted Liberty. I didn't want to spend $55 each for shocks, so I crossed the number for the Rancho RSX shocks over to the Rancho RS series shock which is only $40. So I saved $30 total on two shocks and still have Ranchos. I have never used the RSX series shocks that everyone else here is using so I cannot comment on whether or not they ride better. I would imagine that the difference in ride quality would not be noticeable, but I can't say for sure. If you don't care how much it costs, go ahead and get the RSX 17004 shocks.

Guest · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 12:18 pm

LibertyCRD wrote:

Yeah, almost everyone on this forum is running the Rancho RSX 17004 shock because they (boulderbars.com) figured out that it works for the lifted Liberty. I didn't want to spend $55 each for shocks, so I crossed the number for the Rancho RSX shocks over to the Rancho RS series shock which is only $40. So I saved $30 total on two shocks and still have Ranchos. I have never used the RSX series shocks that everyone else here is using so I cannot comment on whether or not they ride better. I would imagine that the difference in ride quality would not be noticeable, but I can't say for sure. If you don't care how much it costs, go ahead and get the RSX 17004 shocks.

Ahhh, did not notice the RS vs RSX designation. I still can't believe how well this lift looks on your Jeep. And with no additional "nose down" effect, or appearance there of. I think I'm going to have to copy!

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 12:38 pm

Well thank you for the compliments. I had popped the hood to check the oil and just had it resting in it's downward position in those pictures...that's why the hood looks like there's a gap.

I really am liking it. 2 inches doesn't sound like much, but combined with some wider AT tires it really does totally change the appearance of these Libertys. Good luck!

Guest · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 2:28 pm

LibertyCRD wrote:

Well thank you for the compliments. I had popped the hood to check the oil and just had it resting in it's downward position in those pictures...that's why the hood looks like there's a gap.

I really am liking it. 2 inches doesn't sound like much, but combined with some wider AT tires it really does totally change the appearance of these Libertys. Good luck!

Just ordered my kit from the link you provided - $171. It only lists it as -02'-04' Liberty Part Number "KJ09123 DA" but I'm hoping that's the one you got as well considering it's the only 1.5"front/2.5"rear daystar listed on that site.

I just really hope I don't notice any front-down stance when driving. If so, I guess there is always the clevis lift to fall back on. Or, since I run my tires at 42psi cold, I could always drop the pressure on the back tires to the 35-38 psi change and it MIGHT lower the back a little...

Did you ever solve your Rancho thumping problem?

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 2:56 pm

With that kit your KJ will sit level. IF you decide you don't like it, you could probably just order the "rest of the kit" that the guys get with the 2.5" kit and install that up front in addition to the 1.5" spacer you'll already have. I think you'll really like it though. I love mine.

The Rancho thumping...I tightened everything down with an impact wrench. Thumping is a little less but is still there occasionally. Nothing is loose, and the shocks work great so it must just be a normal occurance with different than factory shocks. I'm fine with it.

Guest · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 3:09 pm

LibertyCRD wrote:

With that kit your KJ will sit level. IF you decide you don't like it, you could probably just order the "rest of the kit" that the guys get with the 2.5" kit and install that up front in addition to the 1.5" spacer you'll already have. I think you'll really like it though. I love mine.

The Rancho thumping...I tightened everything down with an impact wrench. Thumping is a little less but is still there occasionally. Nothing is loose, and the shocks work great so it must just be a normal occurance with different than factory shocks. I'm fine with it.

Sits Level = SWEET!!!

I'm going to test it out for awhile and see if I need the bumpstops or not, but I dbout I will. I don't see that you have them either.

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 3:15 pm

I did not add any bumpstops. Without them you'll have more flex off-road, but more rubbing of the tires too. With the extra bumpstops you'll have factory flex again, but less rubbing with the tires. So it just depends on which is more important to you. The back seems to rub more easily than the front off-road because it actually flexes more.

Are you going to install yourself? The strut compression tool you can rent at auto parts stores does not work on these front struts. We had to use a shop press and just compress the entire front assembly to take the pressure off the spring and remove the struts. Other than that installation isn't bad at all with a garage to work in.

Guest · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 3:22 pm

LibertyCRD wrote:

I did not add any bumpstops. Without them you'll have more flex off-road, but more rubbing of the tires too. With the extra bumpstops you'll have factory flex again, but less rubbing with the tires. So it just depends on which is more important to you. The back seems to rub more easily than the front off-road because it actually flexes more.

Are you going to install yourself? The strut compression tool you can rent at auto parts stores does not work on these front struts. We had to use a shop press and just compress the entire front assembly to take the pressure off the spring and remove the struts. Other than that installation isn't bad at all with a garage to work in.

I'm not sure if I'm going to install it myself yet or not. I'll probably stare at the parts for a few weeks like I did with my front mount hitch before I put it on. Usually if I spend enough time looking at the jeep and the parts I build up the courage to do it myself.

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 3:56 pm

LOL. That's hilarious. :lol:

I do the same thing. You know, honestly if you sit there and stare at the parts long enough, and stare at your Jeep, and stare at the parts, etc... on and on.. Eventually what happens is you get a mental game plan going on and when you finally go to install it you know exactly what you are doing because you've run it through your head for months. So it works. Well good luck. If you have any Qs I'll try to answer them for ya'.

Guest · **Posted:** Wed Jan 18, 2006 8:22 am

I was checking out your pictures again and see a nice shot of the rear spacer installed. Any way you could post a good close up of one of the front spacers installed?

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Wed Jan 18, 2006 9:03 am

Yeah I can try to get a pic of the front spacer when I get home tonight. I'll see about getting that uploaded this week.

Guest · **Posted:** Wed Jan 18, 2006 10:13 am

LibertyCRD wrote:

Yeah I can try to get a pic of the front spacer when I get home tonight. I'll see about getting that uploaded this week.

Thanks. I'm curious to see if the front spacer it a true 1.5" or if Daystar designed it taller to anticipate some spring compression on the gasser KJ's that would result in a final lift of 1.5".

I was told by the guys at boulderbars.com that our CRD's use "extremely stiff springs in the front" compared to the gas KJ's and I'm thinking we may be getting a front spacer benefit there as we will have little to no spring compression in comparison to the gassers. Just a theory...

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Wed Jan 18, 2006 12:42 pm

Well the spacer is 1.5". I measured and picked up 1.75" up front. Drove it for a few thousand miles to allow for any possible sagging, measured again and there was zero sagging.

Send me a PM with your e-mail address and I'll e-mail you photos directly. I took pics of the spacers, etc. before the install so I can send you all the pics directly to your e-mail if you send me your address.

Pics of my slightly lifted CRD on 255s....

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