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Anyone installed a lift kit yourself?

JeepJL18

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I will not be participating in this forum as of 8/31/2018. It's been a fun ride, but it's time to move on. Take care. - Dustin
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I really hate paying anyone to do anything for me as far as that go. Like many of us, I get tired of dealing with shitty jobs only to be disappointed while being out hundreds of dollars of labor. I would rather try and fail than to pay a "mechanic", and I use that word lightly to fail for me.

Now that my rant is over (lol), has anyone installed a lift kit, rubicon take-off or any other lift? I presume the steps are as follows:

1. Jack up jeep in front.
2. Disconnect sway bar
3. Take off shocks
4. Take off springs
5. Remove the factory spacers if needed.


Repeat steps to install new stuff.

Then you're done?

Side note, when I remove all those things, is the axle hard to raise back in place? Meaning do I need to put pressure by the jack to raise anything back up to put sway back on, etc?

Thanks

Dustin

"The youtube certified mechanic"
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Moto_21

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I really hate paying anyone to do anything for me as far as that go. Like many of us, I get tired of dealing with shitty jobs only to be disappointed while being out hundreds of dollars of labor. I would rather try and fail than to pay a "mechanic", and I use that word lightly to fail for me.

Now that my rant is over (lol), has anyone installed a lift kit, rubicon take-off or any other lift? I presume the steps are as follows:

1. Jack up jeep in front.
2. Disconnect sway bar
3. Take off shocks
4. Take off springs
5. Remove the factory spacers if needed.


Repeat steps to install new stuff.

Then you're done?

Side note, when I remove all those things, is the axle hard to raise back in place? Meaning do I need to put pressure by the jack to raise anything back up to put sway back on, etc?

Thanks

Dustin

"The youtube certified mechanic"
Done it twice on the jeep and multiple trucks. Its not too difficult. Time consuming yes. I used two jacks and 4 different jackstands to manipulate the axle and body how i need it. Gotta loosen brake lines off the control arms too to gain more droop. Everythings laid out in instructions. Sway bar links are simple, you can shake the body to give it enough play most of the time to slip the bolts back in. Always good to have a second person to help align and loosen and tighten stuff. You can do it just take your time and double check everything!
 

pangmaster

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I've done two Jeep lifts over the years. A YJ with the leaf springs and my 05 TJ. It's not really that hard, though there are usually some complications that you will run into. Breaking loose some bolts/nuts can be a chore, though on a practically new Jeep that should be to a minimum. Best to have a friend or two or three to make it more fun. Both times it took me the bulk of a day, but we just took our time and made sure it was done right.

And I agree with Erik... On the TJ I used 4 heavy duty jack stands and a floor jack. Having a second floor jack would have been better.
 

Command Line RC

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Yep, same thing as everyone else is saying pretty much. Installed my first lift with a buddy. Supper easy to do!
 

Sheepjeep

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done a few lifts and a few axle swaps in drive ways

put the frame on jack stands

support the weight of the axel with a floor jack, jeeps weight should be 100% on the jack stands

disconnect swaybars, electrical connectors, remove calapers, and any other suspension or steering parts you need to replace with you kit

slowly lower the floor jack to let the axle droop as much as possible, make sure the axle weight is not supported by any lines or wires

hopefully it as dropped enough that the spring can be pulled out by hand but if need be have a coil compressor ready just in case but try avoiding needing to use it

once work is done per kits instructions

use the floor jack to raise the axle up to ride height again leaving the jeep weight on the jack stands

reconnect the brakes, lines, wires, ect.

get an alignment done
 

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Dewey

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Done several myself on the garage floor. Just take your time and you'll be fine. If things get tough, walk away for 10-15 minutes and clear your head.
The JL control arm bolts are very tight. Some on here were unable to loosen them by hand. I recommend a decent electric impact wrench, You'd be surprised how much more you can get done when you don't have to fight every nut and bolt.
 
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JeepJL18

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I will not be participating in this forum as of 8/31/2018. It's been a fun ride, but it's time to move on. Take care. - Dustin
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Done several myself on the garage floor. Just take your time and you'll be fine. If things get tough, walk away for 10-15 minutes and clear your head.
The JL control arm bolts are very tight. Some on here were unable to loosen them by hand. I recommend a decent electric impact wrench, You'd be surprised how much more you can get done when you don't have to fight every nut and bolt.
I do love to yell profanities when I worked on my tj. This one has been smooth with stuffs I've installed, mainly because I'm not dealing with 18 years of rust.
 

Dewey

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I do love to yell profanities when I worked on my tj. This one has been smooth with stuffs I've installed, mainly because I'm not dealing with 18 years of rust.
Haha. That reminds me. I created some new profanities when first attempting to install the front bump stops on the Mopar 2' lift. That's when I walked away, came back with a clear head and figured out how to install them in 5 minutes with no profanities. lol
 
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JeepJL18

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I will not be participating in this forum as of 8/31/2018. It's been a fun ride, but it's time to move on. Take care. - Dustin
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Haha. That reminds me. I created some new profanities when first attempting to install the front bump stops on the Mopar 2' lift. That's when I walked away, came back with a clear head and figured out how to install them in 5 minutes with no profanities. lol
Put it this way, if I had a "swear jar", when I had that, I'd be rolling in millions of dollars.
 

bizzle2005

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I put a leveling kit on a f150 and a 2.5in rough country budget lift on my jeep JL last week back to back. Compared to the f150 the JL is a breeze. Did all of them with 2 jackstands and a floor jack. Good luck, you can do this.

EDIT: Btw [Banned Site] has an excellent video that shows you step by step on how this is done.
 

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Tharris

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I really hate paying anyone to do anything for me as far as that go. Like many of us, I get tired of dealing with shitty jobs only to be disappointed while being out hundreds of dollars of labor. I would rather try and fail than to pay a "mechanic", and I use that word lightly to fail for me.

Now that my rant is over (lol), has anyone installed a lift kit, rubicon take-off or any other lift? I presume the steps are as follows:

1. Jack up jeep in front.
2. Disconnect sway bar
3. Take off shocks
4. Take off springs
5. Remove the factory spacers if needed.


Repeat steps to install new stuff.

Then you're done?

Side note, when I remove all those things, is the axle hard to raise back in place? Meaning do I need to put pressure by the jack to raise anything back up to put sway back on, etc?

Thanks

Dustin

"The youtube certified mechanic"
Yes it's mostly just that, however there are alot of little things that will help along the way to know. Depending on what lift kit and shocks you install it could vary from easy to intermediate. Long arm kits would require some fab and welding. If you need help or even want free help with install PM me and I'll give you my number. I just recently installed a lift kit on my jl rubicon and am very familiar with jls and ljs.
 

arcticaaron

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EDIT: Btw [Banned Site] has an excellent video that shows you step by step on how this is done.
I highly recommend watching the video as well.

I just installed an Evo 3.5” lift. Took me the weekend to install with all the distractions of kids and other things going on. Lots of fun though.

You’ll want a 2’ breaker bar for the lower control arm bolts as well as 4 jack stands and two floor jacks and a bottle jack.
 

Trauma PA

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I really hate paying anyone to do anything for me as far as that go. Like many of us, I get tired of dealing with shitty jobs only to be disappointed while being out hundreds of dollars of labor. I would rather try and fail than to pay a "mechanic", and I use that word lightly to fail for me.

Now that my rant is over (lol), has anyone installed a lift kit, rubicon take-off or any other lift? I presume the steps are as follows:

1. Jack up jeep in front.
2. Disconnect sway bar
3. Take off shocks
4. Take off springs
5. Remove the factory spacers if needed.


Repeat steps to install new stuff.

Then you're done?

Side note, when I remove all those things, is the axle hard to raise back in place? Meaning do I need to put pressure by the jack to raise anything back up to put sway back on, etc?

Thanks

Dustin

"The youtube certified mechanic"
I just installed my own Mopar 2" lift kit. I'm very far from being a grease monkey but I have common sense and I'm analytical. I had someone else install my 2.5" lift on my JK and I was never happy. This time around I figured I wouldn't make the same mistake. Installers take short cuts and since it's not their vehicle, they can and will beat the shit out of your vehicle while installing and not blink an eye. So if you want it done correctly, save the money and do it yourself. Word of caution, the Mopar directions are useless. I watched a video by CJ off road that was 12 minutes or so long and really was helpful. Having a helper makes the install so much easier as well. Just make sure you have all of your tools at hand and 2 floor jacks and a couple of heavy duty jack stands. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions. Good luck. You will be euphoric when you finish your own install.
 

JK47

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I just installed my own Mopar 2" lift kit. I'm very far from being a grease monkey but I have common sense and I'm analytical. I had someone else install my 2.5" lift on my JK and I was never happy. This time around I figured I wouldn't make the same mistake. Installers take short cuts and since it's not their vehicle, they can and will beat the shit out of your vehicle while installing and not blink an eye. So if you want it done correctly, save the money and do it yourself. Word of caution, the Mopar directions are useless. I watched a video by CJ off road that was 12 minutes or so long and really was helpful. Having a helper makes the install so much easier as well. Just make sure you have all of your tools at hand and 2 floor jacks and a couple of heavy duty jack stands. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions. Good luck. You will be euphoric when you finish your own install.
Other than the CJ off road installing the springs on the wrong side, not mentioning to loosen ALL the control arm and track bar bolts before install, and tightening them up when the Jeep is on the ground under a static load (which the Mopar instructions do). Yeah not bad, lol.
 
 



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