2006 CRD Frankenlift Report/Review

panion · **Posted:** Sun Nov 05, 2006 4:09 pm

2006 CRD Frankenlift Report/Review

Hi all, I’ve been reading on this forum for some time now researching before I purchased my KJ. I thought I’d better do some giving back to keep the Karma at a level state.

I recently purchased a 2006 KJ and within 2 weeks of picking it up installed the 2.5 inch Frankenlift. Below are a few observations regarding the lift and the process.

I wasn’t sure If I was going to get the Rockfather II or Frankenlift. I decided to call them both and get a feel for which would be best for me. I called Rockfather and spoke with a pleasant young man who didn’t know if the parts were in stock, couldn’t guarantee when the lift would ship and couldn’t answer an of my technical questions. I then called AllJ and spoke with Heather. She had all the right answers. Parts in stock, and said they would arrive in time for my planned trip. She also asked Quinn a few questions for me which helped a bunch. I ordered the lift and it did arrive in a timely manner.

Installation was not straight forward. I did not receive adequate instructions with the kit. I could not finish the lift without help from Quinn. I had to ask Quinn where the brake re-location bracket went (holes did not line up). Quinn also told me exactly how the struts went together. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t have all of the necessary info, I will say that the support from Quinn was immediate and excellent.

With the CRD you need to have the struts built. We tried to compress the springs ourselves, but it wasn’t going to happen in my garage. The nearest Big O charged me 40 bucks for the job. I ended up returning to the shop a second time after learning that the strut guy installed the wrong bracket on the wrong spring. Believe it or not, my CRD has two different springs on the front end. Got it all installed, wasn’t easy, don’t do it (on a CRD anyway) without some mechanical knowhow.

The First trip with the new lift went well. Last week I drove the KJ back into the Arizona wilderness for Bambi killing. I still have the stock tires installed so wasn’t really expecting much. Tires did ok, I ruined one with a sidewall flat and chewed up the others pretty bad. Yes it is completely worth it to put on bigger tires for only 1 to 2 inches of undercarriage lift. Ground clearance is definitely the KJ’s weakest 4wheeling link. I left a pound of skid plate paint on the rocks up there. I was very impressed with the articulation and ride of the new lift. Only negative I have seen is that the suspension is overall a bit on the soft side. On the higher speed dirt roads I bottomed out several times before finally learning to slow it down for the dips and minor washouts. I was loaded down heavy, but it still bottomed easy. Gas mileage doesn’t seem affected by the lift. I’m getting around 25mpg with 2000 miles on the jeep.

In Summary, I’m satisfied and would do the same lift again. It’s great to be just a little bit different than all the other KJ’s out there. Looking forward to BFG all Terrain 265/70 R-16’s. I’m hoping the stiffer sidewall will help with the high speed bottoming.

Hope this helps someone. Sorry for the long post, I wanted to get it all out of my head in one sitting.

litton · **Posted:** Sun Nov 05, 2006 5:43 pm

Good report, it's appreciated. Three questions:

1) Would you buy the same kit again or go elswhere?
2) Where did you carry Bambi? On the roof or over the hood?
3) Which section were you in? Sounds like a good time.

panion · **Posted:** Sun Nov 05, 2006 8:36 pm

I would definitely buy the same kit again. Only problem was lack of strut building instructions. Quinn was great with the help I needed and apologized for not sending a picture of strut build.

I picked up the rear cargo liner the day before hunting. Bambi fit nicely in the back, no blood on the carpet with the OEM cargo liner. White tail are small deer.

We went from Oracle to Wilcox on back roads (San Manuel-Reddington). Then North up the valley from Wilcox towards Klondyke. From Klondyke to camping was around 10 miles, took us 5 hours. Turkey creek was seriously messed up. Had a great time, Jeep did much better than expected.

Glad someone is reading the post, thanks for the questions.

Tom.

Special Agent · **Posted:** Mon Nov 06, 2006 2:10 pm

Thanks for the review!

Good info.

OzLtd · **Posted:** Mon Nov 06, 2006 6:25 pm

I'd like to know your're before and after ride height measurements.

clday25 · **Posted:** Mon Nov 06, 2006 9:27 pm

Ya, had the same trouble with my CRD Frankenlift two weeks ago.... had to run over to my buddy's Tire Factory Store and use the strut/spring compressor... but damit, we put the top plate 180 degrees out. My brother and I got it done though and I couldn't be happier.

Now that my 265/70/16 Cooper Discoverer STT's are on, my rig looks perfect. I'd have to agree and say the lift ride's great, more firm then stock around corners and on the highway. Haven't had a chance to take it off road yet, but it will happen ;-)

Chris

panion · **Posted:** Tue Nov 07, 2006 10:11 am

I didn't take any measurements. Sorry. It is a noticable difference, perfect height in my opinion. Just enough to get you down most 4x4 trails, not enough to change ride/mechanics (cv joints).

Hey clday25, do you have any rubbing at all with the 265/70/16's? I will go a size smaller if they rub much at all. I've finally accepted the fact that I should set the car up for the driving I do. 85% road and 15% off. My CRD is mostly a commuter, I'm not willing to cut anything except the pinch weld. Please let me know.

tom.

dog_party · **Posted:** Tue Nov 07, 2006 11:16 am

Nice report clday25!

Finding the right spring-compressor was a challenge for us too, as was getting the top plate on straight. But well worth the effort. I ended up buying a spring-compressor because the ones they "rent" out are too big to fit in our big fat springs.

You have two different springs on your front end???

clday25, you're a brave person to put an ARB on a CRD. We have so much weight on our front-ends already, I'm afraid of the effect such a hefty bumper will have on the front springs. Let us know how it goes!!

clday25 · **Posted:** Tue Nov 07, 2006 2:14 pm

Panion, yes it does rub slightly on the pinch weld while turning when backing up, but not a lot. As for the front air-dam/bumper, i couldn't tell ya because i installed the used ARB bumper which opened everything up. If i had to guess, i'd say that the 265/70/16's would rub the air-dam and fender lining up front. I still haven't had it on the trail, but i'd assume that the rubbing would just get worse. Hope that helps.

Dog_party, i wish Quinn at All-J had given me a heads up and/or better instructions. This was my first interaction with struts and a KJ lift so at first is was like trying to walk in the woods in the dark... But i'm all smiles now that its on and working!

The ARB wasn't as heavy as i thought it was going to be and i'm not planning on putting a winch (well, unless my brothers neighbor that works for Warn can hook me up!) so right now i'm not feeling any negative effects of the additional 70+ lbs. Time will tell i guess, but i have a feeling the ARB struts up front will help control the CRD's weight a lot better then the stock struts. The bumper looks so good and the price was right, so i'm not look'en back!

I really am impressed at how well the Jeep drives and handles after the lift. Its very stable and having 1.25 spidertrax wheel spacers on stock alloys can only help.

I still need to "fix" the pinch welds before my elk season next week......

panion · **Posted:** Tue Nov 07, 2006 2:49 pm

It's me who has two different springs on the front end. Didn't even notice until I tried to pick up the struts for the third time and noticed my fingers went in between springs on one side and not on the other. After closer inspection I realized they were completely different.

Another question for clday25. I didn't realize you used wheel spacers. Was that required for the tires, or are you going for a different look? Will they really rub on the inside if a spacer isn't used?

I'm thinking of making a new front bumper anyway so I'm not terribly worried about the front air dam. Fender lining rub may be an issue for me though. Even with stock tires I have rub marks in the back wheel wells so I'm a bit concerned with the bigger meats.

tom.

dog_party · **Posted:** Tue Nov 07, 2006 4:17 pm

Oops! I put the wrong name on that first part of my other post. The first part was supposed to be addressed to you panion. That's CRAZY that you have two different springs up front! I don't know what's up with that?!?! Mine has the same spring on both side (fingers won't fit between those big fat curve unless I ran them over and make them Wile E. Coyote flat first). I believe I'd take that up with my dealer. Serious, that concerns me!

There's no telling what did and did not get put on (or taken off) our trucks before they got to us. I realized, well after buying my truck, that I don't have the Optima Red Top that we're all supposed to have. I brought it up to the dealer and they were like, "Hmm, that's strange." Wouldn't do a thing about it. (shrug) Just goes to show that you don't get squat after you hand them money and drive off the lot. I love good service! :roll:

clday25, that's cool that you are braving the ARB. Keep us posted on the status/height of your front-end. I love that bumper!

I had a bunch of help installing the lift on my little tractor. Granted, none of us had actually done the lift install before, so it was like 4 of us plunging our way through the dark forrest. But we got through it. I destroyed one strut in the process, but thankfully my friend had a spare. ;-)

I will probably step up to the full 2.5" CRD Frankenlift before too aweful long. Probably either sell my 2" Daystar, or give it to my brother. After we learned the secrets of the strut and spring compression, the hardest thing for me was the airbox side of the engine bay! Holy cow that was like putting together a puzzle! Ended up pinching a vacuum hose in the reconstruction too and my turbo stopped working for a day. The 2.8 diesel motor actually pulls this truck around without turbo. Not fast, but it pulls.

MMmmm, elk. Post picts of a big ol' elk draped over the hood of your KJ!!

clday25 · **Posted:** Tue Nov 07, 2006 8:21 pm

LOL!

I'll see what I can do on the Elk..... one of these days I’ll set up the picture posting thing.

After installing a header, cam and aluminum head on my 2002 TJ I sold to get the KJ, and now the Frankenlift and Al's A-Arms I have lots more confidence to tackle projects like this. My 1970 Mustang is feeling neglected though.... but the mud and rocks win out over highway cruses and hot-august-nights in Reno.

Panion, the wheel spacers luckily came with the Jeep when I bought it, but I would have either bought them anyway or got new rims with around 4.25" to 4.5" of back spacing. The stock alloys are around 5.5", so less the 1.25" spidertrax spacer, I’ve now got 4.25 of BS. The decreased BS keeps the tires off the front sway bar.... i'm no expert on these things yet, but i'm sure it helps keep the tires off the fender lining. Really, there's lots of clearance besides the pinch weld which I should really deal with soon. I need to hide out in the garage and send the wife shopping or something so I can get it done.

Making your own bumper, I’ve got to respect that. I've got no metal working skill, wish I did, so anyone that can dray up and make their own parts is a stud in my book. I actually spoke to a metal machine shop about making an aluminum skid like the ASFIR stuff but that would cover from the ARB and under the engine. They said they’d do it for pretty cheap as long as I designed it with all the measurements, dimensions and angles.... Looks like i'm gonna have to polish up my drawing and geometry skills.

PM me your emails and i can send a pic or two of my jeep and maybe a dead elk or two.....

Chris

GilaMonster · **Posted:** Wed Nov 08, 2006 1:14 pm

I replied in your cross-post. I'm in Tucson too, and hope to see your jeep up close to check out the lift. PM if it is convienant.

2006 CRD Frankenlift Report/Review

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