HELP ! How to mount the Frankenlift in the clevis

Topan · **Posted:** Sun Nov 14, 2010 11:26 am

Hi ! finally received my Frankenlift, booked a lift in a local garage this Saturday.
As i am in Europe, i ordered the struf and spring not assembled...not a very good idea...took quite a while to get the right tool to compress the springs,and then to get the tool out of the mounted compressed spring... :banghead:

Anyway, now the KJ is stocked on the lift. the mounted set Spring-Strud are fixed from the top (4 bolts)
The clevis is still atteached from the bottom to the arm, but i cant figure out how to get the bottom of the strud in the clevis. If i push down the hole thing, the brake fluid tube is stopping me to go low enough the insert the strud in the clevis...

hope you understood....

How do you do that without damaging the brakes ???....

BlackLibertyCRD · **Posted:** Sun Nov 14, 2010 11:39 am

I would think that you remove the two bolts of the caliper so you can have more slack in the line by moving the caliper.

Topan · **Posted:** Sun Nov 14, 2010 12:32 pm

BlackLibertyCRD wrote:

I would think that you remove the two bolts of the caliper so you can have more slack in the line by moving the caliper.

you mean the upper bolt in the body and the one in the break?

kskj · **Posted:** Sun Nov 14, 2010 12:44 pm

I think he meant the two bolts that mount the caliper to the knuckle.

Topan · **Posted:** Sun Nov 14, 2010 12:53 pm

yes, i think i got it now. Sorry for my French... :dizzy:

i guess you guys mean to remove the 2 bolds that hold the break caliper.
...and yes, i am used to be so thick,,, :-)r

thanks, will try tomorrow night.

...can't wait to see my KJ Frankenlifted and feel the new ride !!! :rockon:

tonycrd · **Posted:** Mon Nov 15, 2010 2:05 pm

Topan, I do not mean to pie in your cornflakes, but you just bought a standard OME lift for the CRD. Which you could have bought in Europe in any 4x4 store.

And where are the dustcovers of the front shocks?

Topan · **Posted:** Tue Nov 16, 2010 7:30 am

tonycrd wrote:

Topan, I do not mean to pie in your cornflakes, but you just bought a standard OME lift for the CRD. Which you could have bought in Europe in any 4x4 store.

And where are the dustcovers of the front shocks?

Hi Tony,
I appreciate the concern, the pic is taken from a mounting write-up from another LOST thread. It is not my KJ.
But yes, i bought it from the US, 1'100.-CHF versus 1'600.-CHF from the local 4x4 sellers.

It is finally mounted, will get some pics this week end.
Amazing the high of the querida now !! almost fell of the seat first time i got out.

Actually Tony, you recommded me some months ago to get the airbox from gas 2006 in order ot get the mini snorkel. Thanks for that.
i ordered it from Mopar US, and with CH taxes and USPS, i still got it at 1/2 the price than the quote from my Chrysler dealer. :google:

tonycrd · **Posted:** Thu Nov 18, 2010 5:36 pm

Ok! Then it's all cool. Now we need PICTUREEEESSS!!!! Show us some JEEP porn!!! :-)r

Topan · **Posted:** Fri Apr 08, 2011 8:21 am

hi there,
ok, here are some pics of my KJ lifted:

and to prove its really mounted:

Now....
i waited for so long to post these pics because I am extremely dispointed with the lift !!!
The behaviour of the Libby has deteriorated like crazy:
-On regular small roads: it is bouncing left-right and diving every time i break even slightly.
-on highway: every bridge junctions, it is bouncing front-rear for a few hundreds of yards.
-the other day, i drove over maybe 300 meters of asphalt with riddle (you know, small waves) i lost almost totally the control of the car, i could feel the front wheels wobling on the road, like a car with worn out shocks...
-basically i lost all the stability of the vehicule....
no offroad yet, and there am sure it will be fine. the problem is that i am most of the time on the orad. like of us.
I was initially scared that the lift will make the car very stiff and that i would feel every little bump from the road stragiht into my b... but not at all. it seems am driving a cadillac from the 60's...... :furious:

I wonder if this is due to the fact that maybe, the euro KJ have stock stiffer springs, due tho the fact that speed is faster here, and therfore cars need more stability than in the US.

Ah. almost forgot: front spring is 0790 and rear: 0948....i have checked. it seems to be heavy duty set..... :-)r

Pippobug · **Posted:** Fri Apr 08, 2011 8:54 am

Hi Topan,

Sound like you are disappionted with your Frankenlift !!? I have have just bought one (CRD Frankenlift) to and I have to wait 10 days before I can fit it ( Annual inspection & Time at the garage). I have the same set up you have Coils 790/948, Shocks I have NS131 front, NS132L back ( I will also fit Boiler top plates and 1 or 2 back top isolators). I will let you know once it's one, if I experience the same terrible wobble ( Cadillac 60's feeling) you are experiencing.

Fil.

tonycrd · **Posted:** Fri Apr 08, 2011 1:39 pm

yellocoyote wrote:

Have you had the wheels aligned since you did the lift? If not, this is where your problem lies. Lifting changes the geometry of the vehicle, and an alignment helps to restore most of that. It was certainly a night/day difference driving my KJ after aligned. :2cents:

X2 that is what I was gonna ask.

And if they did do an alignment, they did it wrong.

No such thing as a floppy OME lift.

For example:

There is a very rough road to my house that has a bunch of very thight curves in it. With the stock springs my KJ would take most of those curves sideways if I wasn't carefull. Now with the OME springs and Rancho shocks I can hammer through those same curves at twice the speed without ever feeling I am loosing control.

Topan · **Posted:** Mon Apr 18, 2011 6:58 am

well, re-alignment has been done, after replacement of engine bed and other major parts underneath. (after i hit a rock and displaced the engine)

And i beleive, and really hope , the re-alignement was not done correctly.
I will book a day to to have it re-done.

this week end i have put my Cooper Discoverer pressure to 3 kg....the ride is firmer...a bit...

Fil,
let us know how your kit is improving the ride.

thanks guys.

Topan · **Posted:** Mon Apr 18, 2011 7:05 am

tonycrd wrote:

yellocoyote wrote:

Have you had the wheels aligned since you did the lift? If not, this is where your problem lies. Lifting changes the geometry of the vehicle, and an alignment helps to restore most of that. It was certainly a night/day difference driving my KJ after aligned. :2cents:

X2 that is what I was gonna ask.

And if they did do an alignment, they did it wrong.

No such thing as a floppy OME lift.

For example:

There is a very rough road to my house that has a bunch of very thight curves in it. With the stock springs my KJ would take most of those curves sideways if I wasn't carefull. Now with the OME springs and Rancho shocks I can hammer through those same curves at twice the speed without ever feeling I am loosing control.

Hi Tony,

but isn't that you are on different shocks (rancho) could explain the difference in ride ?
Really i feel like my shocks are dead and that the KJ is sitting on springs only....
but ok, first i will re-do the alignement...
thanks

Topan · **Posted:** Thu Apr 21, 2011 5:50 am

OK !
Alignment was done again !!
and the first one must have been done by a 6 year old, because this time, i have the feeling to have my KJ back on the road !!
The gaps were quite large versus standards, according to the alignment guy.
I have not ride long yet but the difference is obvious and in the good direction ! :JEEPIN:

thanks for following !

Pippobug · **Posted:** Fri Apr 22, 2011 10:47 am

Hi Topan,
I have fitted my CRD Frankenlift to now and I have had the tracking done to. I have to admit the KJ feels compleatly different and handles a lot better. I am still getting used to it but fist impressions are great. If feels like it glides over bumps more like RR that the old KJ did. I will keep you posted later once it's settled in a bit.

Fil.

Pippobug · **Posted:** Sat Apr 23, 2011 2:38 pm

Hi Topan,
A quick question, how tall are you sitting at the front now? Did you measure before and after? At the front I have gone from 17.5in to 22in ie 4.5 in in total. I know it's early days and it will settle and I have and I have a 3/8 Boiler top plate and 2 clevis ring also. If you don't mind letting me know as be both run European spec KJ slightly different that US( seam according to the forum there are 18 different settings for the front of a KJ from 2001 to 2007

)

Fil

Topan · **Posted:** Wed Apr 27, 2011 6:41 am

Hi Fil,
i did not measure before and after, unfortunately.
and also, i did not manage to put the 3/8 plates (ordered with the Frankenlift) at the front. There was physically no way to add them up looking at how hard it was to put the clevis back into place with just the lift...

So , yes, i do feel a bit sitting over the hood now. :dizzy:

I have had the alignment done, it is now back to the factory setting. It has improved a lot the ride, the breaking and the stiring in general, but i still believe this setting is not perfect with the lift.
I have emailed Boulders this am for them to send me their recommended specs, waiting for their feed back. i believe this should be better.

Regarding the flying over the bumps. i agree that it has improve the shock absorption (compression), but the re-bound (end of the bump, time when the shocks extend again) feels very brutal. Maybe this will improve with a prefect set-up of the alignement.

well well well...still not 100% enthusiastic, specially that the Techs from Boulders do not seem to rush to answer me...must be my accent :SOMBRERO:

I will post the changes...

tonycrd · **Posted:** Wed Apr 27, 2011 1:52 pm

I did experience that the OME shocks are a bit softer then my KONI/Rancho setup but not to a point where it feels wrong...

Drive down to Barcelona and we can compare the two... :-)r

Topan · **Posted:** Fri May 27, 2011 7:24 pm

tonycrd wrote:

I did experience that the OME shocks are a bit softer then my KONI/Rancho setup but not to a point where it feels wrong...

Drive down to Barcelona and we can compare the two... :-)r

Hi Tony ,
Funny I have been following the thread on the US LOST guy you welcomed in Spain, and the the trails you went. So beautifully, and I don't know Spain, I travelled and lived all over the world but never been to sunny Spain.
To come back to the shocks, I will give the libbie to my mechanic and I need to replace the shocks for something stiffer, I will. I let you know the result.
Now back from a road trip in AZ & UT , no KJ to rent so in a Grand Cherokee. Fantastic trip will post some pics.

HELP ! How to mount the Frankenlift in the clevis

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