I just installed one side (front) of the rustys spacer lift. I also installed new quick struts so the springs are brand new. I had to take the upper control arm loose to get the old struts out and the new ones back I in with the spacers.

The problem- sitting on the tire with full weight on it the upper ball joint doesn't protrude through the knuckle enough to get the nut on it. Will the spring settle over night enough to get the ball joint attached properly? Does my camber adjustment affect this? Where have I messed up?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks

Thanks for the replies. Just to be more clear .... I didn't remove the upper control arms. I just unbolted the upper ball joint to separate the UCA from the knuckle.

I unbolted the sway bar link on that side but left the other bolted until I saw I had a problem. Then I unbolted it to start the install on the other side. It didn't help.

And sorry for going with the rustys lift. I was replacing the struts and strut mounts and decided to put a spacer kit on since it was under $200. I had no desire to spend 600 to 1000 on a full suspension kit. This is my daily driver and it won't be rock crawling or mudding. Just back and forth to work and the occasional dirt road. I just miss riding high off the ground


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i usually stick a jack under the LBJ and jack the spindle up until the cv is about level or until it begins to take weight, and the uca will pull right down

tom prefers prybars, some prefer ratchet straps, i do it with magic lol

i read it as

he was sitting on the tire (the tire being on the ground with his rear on it)

and he had full weight on the uca, like leaning on it with his arm.. lol


i mean it made sense when i read it outloud inside my head.. cause thats exactly what i do, i sit on the tire, i put my forearm across the top of the uca and reach down and raise the jack until i see the uca bolt poke through

Update. The lift is installed and I have an alignment appointment tomorrow. I haven't driven it other than on the parking lot, the alignment is terrible and I don't want to drive on the road until it's fixed.

I measured from the ground to the fender through the center of the wheel before. It measured 31.75 inches on both front and back. After the lift (and new quick struts) the back measures 34.5 and the front measures 36. Is that normal?


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Update: it is aligned and drives great. i measured in the same fashion as before and got 34 inches in the front and 35 in the back. then i measured using the method mentioned above and got 20.5 inches on the front and 21 inches on the back. i think i may have messed up with the struts. in some of the directions it said the strut should only portrude one inch into the strut fork. i mounted them the the strut extending all the way through the fork and then some, as far as it will go. i'm satisfied with how it sets unless someone tells me that i really screwed up by not mounting the forks correctly.

so, with 20.5 inches from the center of the wheel to the outside lip of the fender......what size tires are options for me?

also another problem after the lift. the battery was unhooked for the weekend. after i hooked it up the fuel mileage and the miles till empty read 0. will it correct itself or did i mess something else up?

Pic



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So even with new front coilovers, and a what was suppose to be a 2.5 inch lift, you still only lifted 1.5 inches , interesting