No doubt. Surprised at how beefy and solid the parts are.
Did you choose a set of shocks?
Yeah, I went with the Rock Krawler RRD TT shocks. They are supposedly a bit softer than the Bilstein and were a little less expensive. I figured I can always upgrade easily if I want to later.
Will do. I’m dropping it off for some warranty work Monday and will install the lift after I get it back. I hate seeing all those boxes staring at me
Curious which part you found dangerous?Got this installed over the long weekend. I got way more than I bargained for but it’s all done except for double-checking and lubing all joints and getting an alignment. To recap, I bought the Adventure Series 2, which includes both adjustable track bars, new fixed lower front control bars and adjustable rear upper control bars. Got Rock Krawler RRD TT shocks, but unfortunately they sent 4 fronts, so I installed the fronts and left my Rough Country N3 on the rear until the new RRDs come in. I checked the specs and the N3 should be fine for now.
I knew I was in for a challenge as this is the most complicated work I’ve done on a vehicle. Lots of moving pieces. Over three days it took 11 hours on the front and 6 on the rear. The biggest challenge by far was getting the front springs on. I watched videos, read the instructions, and still had a lot of trouble. I did this by myself in my own garage with only one decent jack and two 6-ton stands and two 3-ton stands. Spring compressors would’ve made it an easy job and I should’ve rented some but the videos I watched made it look easy enough. Clearly, the people on those videos had tools more suited for this type of work.
Beyond the springs, getting the control arms to fit was a challenge due to needing the move the axle forward but I eventually got that figured out with a strap. Same for the track bar. The starting measurements from RK on the track bars must be geared toward Rubicons because they were both too long, so I had to fix both, which was no easy chore because of the tremendously tight fit for the ends.
I don’t have a big enough crows foot to attach to my torque wrench to get the adjustable ends torqued properly but have one on order. They want a crazy amount of torque - 220 ft pounds, I think. I might take it to a shop and have them inspect everything and do the torques.
I could’ve paid to have this installed but I thought it would be a good learning experience, and it was, but it was also dangerous and my wife wasn’t happy with me. I did have 4 jack stands and two wheels under the frame at all times.
Finally got the track bars even on front and rear. I suspect my toe is off as it slightly pulls to the right. Had to adjust the steering wheel, which was expected. Unsure about the caster or pinion angle but it rides really well.
Previous lift was Rough Country spring/shock lift with 2.5 front/2.0 rear. I gained 1.25 inch total lift in the front, 1.5+ tire to fender gap. Rear is 2 inches total, 2.25+ tire to fender. Have an inch rake in the front, which I’d like to be level but I figure loading with gear will make it look right.
The passenger side is .5-.75 inch lower, which may be due to a full tank of gas. I’m going to watch it and see if it gets better. Not a huge deal but something I noticed.
I’m so impressed with the quality of the RK equipment. The weight difference alone between factory parts is staggering.
I’ll try to do some before and after pics but here are some after for now. I’m happy with the look and the extra clearance and I can now go 37 if I want. Need to find a place to test the flex.
Trying to wrangle those springs into place. At first I couldn't get the axle dropped enough so I was trying to force the springs into place by manually compressing them. That was a losing proposition. I then tried adding blocks of wood on my jack to get more height and that was what truly scared me. It was unstable to say the least. The block of wood slipped off once but luckily I had jack stands for backup.
Yeah be super careful putting anything on your jack. Sounds like maybe you just didn't have the frame up high enough. I basically had my rotor on the ground to get my springs in.
Totally right. Wish I'd had you here to help
Thank you, sir!
I'm not sure what the springs are coated with. I'd give RK a call. You actually get someone who knows what they're talking about on the phone when you call them.Totally right. Wish I'd had you here to help
I finally figured that out after a few hours of fighting with it and trying not to kill myself. Got the jack stands in a good spot and the axle dropped to the ground and the springs went right in. Felt like an idiot. Oh, well. I've learned a lot on this effort and it will be worth the trouble in the long run.
I scratched up one of the springs in several spots so I need to touch it up with paint or something. Any ideas? I may just reach out to RK and see what they say.
