Rough country Lift II

[jeepfan555]

Well I ordered the 4" YJ Rough Country lift today. It should be here no later then friday. My question is besides the brake lines and discos, do i need anything else? Bushing grease... Any special tools needed for installation? and also is there any prep work I can do before the lift gets here? One last thing How long is this lift gonna take me to install? Average time, my dad and I are doing the install and he's real good with mechanic stuff.



Ofcourse pics will come when I finish!!!

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Buy a few cans of PB Blaster and start spraying the shackle and frame hanger bolts a few times a day until the lift gets here. Same goes for track bar bolts, swaybar bolts, shock bolts. If you can only spray a few things, get all the bolts that hold the springs on, they are usually a bear. Spray the crossmember bolts if you've never had it removed from the frame.

Buy some silicone spray for the leaf spring bushings.

You should be able to do it in half a day, depending on how hard the springs are to remove.

 

[jeepfan555]

Thanks, I was planning on getting some silicone spray. If the auto store that I go to doesn't have the PB blast what is a good substitute?

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

There is no substitute. It's also at Walmart and similar stores in the auto section.

 

[jeepfan555]

ok PB Blast it is then, thank again.

 

[TwistedCU]

Don't forget to hit the trackbar bolts (front and rear) with PB blaster too. I took a weekend to do my first lift (really a day and a half), but I had never done anthing like it before. My last one was a good day's work. There's no doubt in my mind it can be done in a half day, but stubborn bolts, broken bolts, etc can make it drag out.

The pitman arm will require either a very good quality puller or a cutoff wheel.

Watch spraying the PB Blaster. Remember it is a solvent, so avoid spraying anything you don't want it getting on to (like your brakes).

Have fun, be safe, and looking forward to the pics!

 

[currupt4130]

good luck with the lift and cant wait to see another yj skybound, dont be afraid to bend and twist the mounts a little bit of you have to get the springs out like that. also sometimes its easier to cut a bolt off than get it out, thats the case with the rear springs, at least mine and my buddys were the same. as for the pitman arm, get a puller and get it tightend on there realllll good and if it still wont come loose, sandwich it between a four pound maul and a hammer and it should pop loose. dont forget to double check and retorque EVERYTHING. i did mine and i was so anxious to drive it that i didnt tighten one wheel down all the way and almost landed on a rotor. good luck and post pics afterwards!
-sam

 

[jeepfan555]

thanks guys, I think with the pitman arm I'm gonna have the local alignment shop put it on for me just so I dont have to worry about it.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Hoo hah!

I didn't need the pitman arm with my 3.5" lift. No bumpsteer but I may still use it since the draglink rolls the tierod slightly due to the increased angle.

Pitman arm is easy, rent a free pitman arm puller from somewhere like Autozone. Tighten the puller and then whack it with a BFH. Repeat until it pops loose.

 

[beachjeep]

Cut-off wheels may be your best friend when removing old springs. Did my RC lift with all hand tools, alone in 2 solid days. 2 people with some good air tools, 1/2 day easy. Good to get the things you need now, sucks to have to keep stopping to run to the parts store. Not sure about your RC kit but my old rear (frame mounted) bolts did not fit the new spring eyes with the bushing. Too big. Had to replace. Acutally replaced all 4 with grade 8 just for safe measure. Well, good luck and have fun. dont forget to flip the left rear spring, rear bolt for future easy access.

 

[jeepfan555]

Ok, I finished it. I won’t have pictures for a few days because I am in the process of moving back to school tomorrow but I started it Friday afternoon and finished it Saturday afternoon. Not too bad. I gained a total of 4 and 1/4 inches in the front and 4 in the back. I am having one problem though, I put the new pitman arm in but now it seems that when I drive the steering wheel doesn't come back to the center by it self. It needs to be brought back to center. Anybody????

 

[TwistedCU]

You may need an alignment or you may need a new steering box.

Probably the first of the two, unless - is there a lot of play in your steering wheel or is it relatively tight?

 

[beachjeep]

Yeah, mine did that too, the steering wheel thing. Its due to the tie rods, they have to be adjusted. I had the alignment done at a shop and they couldnt budge the adjusting sleeves though. I actually like the position of the wheel now better for long drives. Its an easy fix if you can just get the sleeves loose though. Good job on the lift, congrats!!

 

[Tug-n-pull]

Yep the allinement shop will reset that for you! Don't take no for an anwer when thay say it is undoable! I went ahead and had them replace my pitman arm and reset the steering wheel all in the original quote. tug

 

[TwistedCU]

You mean the steering will not re-center after turning or the steering wheel is off center???

My response was for the first. If the steering wheel is merely off center, adjusting the drag link will correct it. If the steering is not re-centering coming out of turns, that's a whole different issue (see above post)