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Please check my "lift math"

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omnitonic

omnitonic

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Easiest way I found to do it is pull the loop the cable is hooked on out as much as you can with a pair of pliers and clamp a pair of vise grips on it against the backing plate. That should give you enough slack to unhook. Then take a 1/2” box wrench slip over the cable and tap it over the clip it should pop right out.....
Well damn, I didn't think of that. I went so far as to machine a tool I thought was going to revolutionize the world, and it might if I made some improvements, but it didn't work. I decided I was screwing around too long in the shop, so I just broke the tabs. That's what I did on the Ford too, except in that case I had new parts with new tabs. Oh well. The zip ties will hold fine.

I'll file that away though. Your solution is basically the same kind of idea as mine. I made a squeezy thing to clamp all three tabs at the same time. I just didn't make it well enough, and it didn't actually work. To think, I could have just used a damn 1/2" box end wrench.
:headbang::CWL:
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This thread has proved to be both entertaining and educational.
 
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omnitonic

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It went from drizzling to pouring again. While I was connecting the rear links, the sky opened up. I got at least a gallon of water right down the crack of my bedraggled ass.

Why does TeraFlex use so many allen head machine screws? I struggled with every one of those damn things.

The manual says that that e-brake retainer that's three long extensions away from the rear diff is a 15mm bolt, and it was actually 13mm. It was so far out of reach, it was actually tricky to just fit a socket well enough to test the fit. That was bitchy. Pushing the e-brake cables up and looping them back over themselves in order to pull them down in a different routing was also seriously sucky.

While I was dicking with the spring on one side, the spring on the other side fell out crashed to the ground.

When I did the last lift, I messed up one of the lower spring retainer doodads. I kind of just faked my way through that. I got them solidly locked in up at the top anyway.

I left one of the LCA bolts tight. It's in such a narrow space the only way to access it is with a wrench. I couldn't get it loose, which means I damn sure wouldn't be able to get it back up to the correct torque. Checking it with a torque wrench is also going to be utterly impossible. About all you can do is beat the shit out of a wrench with a dead blow hammer and hope for the best on that one.

The TeraFlex springs are overall about 2" longer than the Rubicon springs I had. It's probably going to have that little wheels too much lift look. I might have been fine just staying on the Rubicon lift, but I figured a real 2.5" lift was a good thing to do with my 35s, since I most definitely plan to off-road the thing every chance I get. Not really rock crawling though. Just dirt roads with horrible ruts, and minor rocks no bigger than a good sized sea turtle.

Okay, I think it stopped pouring. Time to put the rear tires back on, and install the track bar. Then I need to do something about the massive toe out up front, and recenter the steering wheel. Oh, and install the new turn signals into the new fender flares and get those installed.

Sheesh. I might just go to bed early and work on this again tomorrow. Now is when I would be leaving for work if I hadn't taken an emergency personal day. I got a lot done. Of course if I had to work tonight, I wouldn't be getting back for at least 12 hours, and that would be a LONG night.

Hmmmm. Okay, blather blather. I'm enjoying the warmth and dryness too much, but I need to go back out there and finish this.

Deep breath!
 
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omnitonic

omnitonic

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Also, there is no way in hell I can reach some of these LCA bolts with the wheels on. I'm going to jack the rear axle up to ride height and settle for that. I could get a wrench on there with the wheels on, but there is physically no way in hell I could get enough leverage to torque it.
 
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I got the rear within 1/8" side to side. It's hard to get it exact, because the track bars only have so much granularity. You have to give it a minimum of a half turn. You end up with the hole close, but not close enough, and have to compromise somewhere. Oh well, I think I got about 1/8" up front too, and that's plenty damn close enough. Not bad for my first time trying anything like this.

To reiterate, I used the method where you move the body with a ratchet strap, then set the track bar there. The strap holds everything in place while you dick around with the adjustment. I got the idea off Youtube, and it's a damn good idea!

Those bolts that are impossible to torque, I just used a dead blow and beat the shit out of them in the opposite direction with the rear jacked up to approximately ride height. I didn't move them very far either time, but I tried to loosen and then retighten them. I don't see any way to get a torque wrench on there without pulling the rotor and backing plate off.

I still can't drive the Jeep, because I have go in and torque all that stuff. It is so hard to put nearly 200 ft. lbs. of torque on a nut and bolt combo that I am just going to hit everything with an impact and get it close. I used to work in a tire shop, and I'm actually quite good at getting close to a target torque with an impact. When I checked my tires, every lug nut was within 1/4 turn of reaching full torque. That's how you do it!

I need to get it professionally aligned anyway, and I'll just ask them to torque everything for me. The pro mechanic will probably just hit everything with an impact again.

I estimate the total hours I will have in this job by the time I'm done will be close to 20. It was a lot harder than the Rubicon takeoff lift that I got done in like three hours.

Also, I have a whole bunch of takeoff parts for sale now. Those Rubicon springs only have like 5,000 miles on them, and I could have run 35s if I didn't flex out too much on the trail. I just spent all this extra time and money so I could enjoy having trouble getting in and out of my stupidly tall Jeep. :CWL:
 
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omnitonic

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I've gotten into those brackets several times. Without fire or heavy abrasives that would potentially melt the soft brake lines, there is no way in hell I am getting those things off. I've wheeled on it three times now, and I have concluded that I am just going to move on.

TeraFlex was huffing crack when they told me to just take some pliers and gently pry those brackets apart. Yeah, if they weren't made of hardened steel. Do you want me to actually cut my brake lines to obey your shitty instructions, TeraFlex?
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