Should I upgrade the suspension myself

[Phatm9]

Ill say this I went to dealer and then 4WP for estimate for them to change mi e out - dealer quoted me $630 4WP $580 So I posted both of those quotes on my garage door and they was my motivation for me to do it myself --I put Ruby shocks, springs lower control arms on by myself used 2 jacks and 2 jack stands use at least 3ton jack. Took me whole day by myself but I took my time and watched probably 50 videos on how to have an impact wrench available makes taking bolts off lot easier and quicker. Make sure you have quality torque wrench when you putting things back on. Felt much more accomplished after seeing those quotes - have fun doing it yourself

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[Kraty1]

Do it! My brother and I did it over the weekend and am very pleased with it and the accomplishment as well! Also Menard’s or Home Depot are great for individual sockets as Harbor Freight only has sets (but I agree is great for jacks and other stuff)!

 

[Chocolate Thunder]

If you go to HF for one of the Daytona floor jacks, look closely at them (they all look almost identical) and get the one that lifts the highest. It makes a difference, the ones that lift 18” or 20” don’t lift enough for your suspension to fully droop to get the springs out/in. Get one that lifts 24 1/8” like this one.
https://www.harborfreight.com/3-ton...-floor-jack-with-rapid-pump-orange-64241.html
Also get 12 ton jack stands. You’ll need them because smaller ones don’t go high enough to support the Jeeps wheels off the ground when fully drooped.

They also have a decent 2’ breaker bar that’s inexpensive. You want one when working on suspension.

 

[rustyshakelford]

Wrenches/sockets needed

22mm lugs nuts
18mm wrenche/socket for sway bar end links
18mm for shocks
8mm socket (for rear)
15mm to adjust drag link

Get the axle hanging and remove the wheels. Using jack stands support the frame high enough that the axle is still hanging. Use a jack and take tension off one side and remove the sway bar end links (if you have an Allen wrench set and ratcheting wrenches the top is easy. If not do the bottom)

Loosen the lower shock bolt and adjust the height of the axle to where you can easily rotate the bolt (means it’s not holding any weight) remove the lower nut and bolt, remove the upper shock bolt and shock. Lower the axle with the jack until you can remove the spring and replace with the Rubi spring. Install new rubi shock upper bolt, raise axle with jack until you can start the lower shock bolt. Tighten up shock bolts, replace and tighten sway bar end link and do the other side.

To swap a sport over to a rubi suspension takes me about 90 mins, granted, I have all the tools organized and use power whenever feasible. A lift makes it much easier too. That said, I did one on the ground last week because I could not easily get on my 2 post due to concrete work being done.

If you have any questions let me know. Rear is the same but you’ll need to remove the 3 8mm nuts on each side in the wheel well to gain access to the shock bolt.

Brett

 

[Logger]

DIY all the way. I did mine the other day and I’m a tinkerer at best. Oh, and listen to Brett, I asked him a ton of questions before and during my install and he answered every one of them.

Good luck, you’ll feel great having accomplished it yourself

Suggest getting a good shop to check alignment after your done. Worth the $100.

 

[word302]

Check out Tekton tools on Amazon. Way better quality than HF for about the same cost. Great company and great products.

 

[nick1tucker]

I have rubi springs and shocks sitting in the garage, will order longer LCAs soon to upgrade my sport suspension. I've been debating if I should do the install myself or take it to a shop.

If I wanted to do it myself I would have to invest in a few tools. Impact driver, set of impact sockets, lift jack, etc... which would add up close to what the shop would charge.

How easy is this job? how long would it take me to get it done with the right tools and mindset? how much would a shop charge for the job? $300?

Pros of doing this myself:
1) Costs savings in the long run, as I could use the tools for other jobs such as tire rotations and brakes maintenance/upgrade.
2) Learning experience - confidence to do another lift in the future or go back to sport suspension.

Cons:
1) Could take me a very long time, a day or two that I could spend fishing/hiking/etc...
2) Potential of fucking something up (unlikely?).

i used to change brakes (rotors/pads) of my cars with hand tools before when I was in college to save money, it always took longer than anticipated. I would take the cars to a shop to get the wheels torqued to spec cause I didn't even have money for a torque wrench. I don't do it anymore, as I can easily afford it, it is nice when someone else does the job for me. But now that I have an actual Jeep, adding mods here and there, and have money to invest in proper tools, these kind of easy DIY mechanical work might not be as bad. What do you guys think?

I did it on my 2 door sport, I’m 23 and didn’t grow up working on cars at all, when I was 17 I helped my cousin install a 4 inch lift on his JKU and that took 5 days of 2 confused people who have never worked on a car trying to get it right, the JLUR suspension is so much easier than that ESPECIALLY with an actual car lift. Look up a DIY shop around you, a shop near me in CA charged 35 per hour with use of all of their tools, and a mechanic on hand to give me direction as needed (i tried to remove the shocks without supporting the axle which made that impossible) it’s well worth the extra advice and having the car on an actual lift with all the parts needed.

 

[Chocolate Thunder]

Check out Tekton tools on Amazon. Way better quality than HF for about the same cost. Great company and great products.

Buying them directly through Tekton’s website you’ll get the same prices as Amazon and free shipping, but also credit of 10% of your purchase toward future purchases.

 

[Kraty1]

Wrenches/sockets needed

22mm lugs nuts
18mm wrenche/socket for sway bar end links
18mm for shocks
8mm socket (for rear)
15mm to adjust drag link

Get the axle hanging and remove the wheels. Using jack stands support the frame high enough that the axle is still hanging. Use a jack and take tension off one side and remove the sway bar end links (if you have an Allen wrench set and ratcheting wrenches the top is easy. If not do the bottom)

Loosen the lower shock bolt and adjust the height of the axle to where you can easily rotate the bolt (means it’s not holding any weight) remove the lower nut and bolt, remove the upper shock bolt and shock. Lower the axle with the jack until you can remove the spring and replace with the Rubi spring. Install new rubi shock upper bolt, raise axle with jack until you can start the lower shock bolt. Tighten up shock bolts, replace and tighten sway bar end link and do the other side.

To swap a sport over to a rubi suspension takes me about 90 mins, granted, I have all the tools organized and use power whenever feasible. A lift makes it much easier too. That said, I did one on the ground last week because I could not easily get on my 2 post due to concrete work being done.

If you have any questions let me know. Rear is the same but you’ll need to remove the 3 8mm nuts on each side in the wheel well to gain access to the shock bolt.

Brett

Great explanation! Also don’t forget the 10mm for the brake line clip!

 

[Woodbridge]

I opted to have a specialty alignment shop install my Teraflex Alpine IR LCA's and track bar which they are doing as I type this now. I decided to have them install these only because my 2020 JLUR was going to them for alignment anyway. I did install my Fox 2.0 ATS myself. It's all fairly easy, I'm just not able to do the alignment.

Will report back in a new thread about how my Rubicon handles after,,,

 

[jdubya421]

Here you go. I started here. Unfortunately HF doesnt have any big sets like this.

I have a Craftsman mechanics set that I leave in my Jeep on trails. Comes with three 120 tooth ratchets and every socket and wrench you can need, was only like 120$. I love the thing.

 

[word302]

I opted to have a specialty alignment shop install my Teraflex Alpine IR LCA's and track bar which they are doing as I type this now. I decided to have them install these only because my 2020 JLUR was going to them for alignment anyway. I did install my Fox 2.0 ATS myself. It's all fairly easy, I'm just not able to do the alignment.

Will report back in a new thread about how my Rubicon handles after,,,

Alignment is actually pretty easy to do yourself as well on a straight axle.

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