Lift install

[The Duke]

OK, so I'm gonna work on putting my rough country on tomorrow.
Is there any order, etc that I should follow with the install? Instructions that come with it prety to good to follow?

Also, should I install my Aussie at the same time or do that seperately?

Any special tools/supplies to have on hand?

TIA!

[luckeeluke]

That might be too much to do in one day. I'd get the lift done and do the Aussie another weekend. The Aussie too me the better part of a day by the time I secured the jeep on jackstands,pulled the axle shafts out- etc. messed around with the axle disconnect, took out the carrier, installed the Aussie, put every thing back together and made sure everything was in specs and I didn't miss any steps. Both projects have a lot of steps. Depends on how much time you have. You probably don't want to rush through them.

If you can get the lift on then the Jeep will be functional. If you have half the lift on and half the Aussie in and you need the Jeep to get to work that could be a problem.

With removing stock suspension/installing the lift you might run into rust or broken bolts, or little problems here and there. If you are using non-air tools (like me) it takes longer and requires a lot more muscle.

[luckeeluke]

front or rear Aussie? The rear Aussie might be a little faster install than a front one. I have only done a front Aussie and that's all I can really comment on.

doing the aussie and/or the lift you might want to allow time to check over stuff like front axle u-joints, tierods, driveshaft u-joints, sometimes it is easier to replace that stuff when everything is apart- especially the front axle u-joints.

I found the front hub bearings to be the hardest part to get free when I replaced the u-joints for the first time.

u-bolts, shackle bolts, main leaf bolts, pitman arm, track bars. could all give you a litte trouble. Might want to soak everything "lift related" down with PB Blaster or Liquid Wrench before bed or tomorrow morning early.

good luck . . .

post up if you run into any snags or problems tomorrow . . . somone will be able to help hopefully

[luckeeluke]

wow I must be tired, can't spell or write at all. I guess it would help if I read over it after I'm done too.

:rolleyes: :D

[luckeeluke]

and I didn't have that much beer either . . .

;)

[The Duke]

Thanks! I'll just work on the lift today. I kinda had the same thoughts. Just wanted to confirm.
I did soak most stuff in rust inhibitor already--I think I got everything.

I'll post pics when I'm done.

[mrbeerbaitnammo]

Originally posted by The Duke:
Thanks! I'll just work on the lift today. I kinda had the same thoughts. Just wanted to confirm.
I did soak most stuff in rust inhibitor already--I think I got everything.

I'll post pics when I'm done. You aint done yet..lol ;) tongue.gif :D

[luckeeluke]

graemlins/ditto.gif :eek:

people will tell you it takes 2 hours to do this project and 4 for that or whatever. It almost always takes at least double or more, especially if you haven't done it before or you haven't worked with those bolts before and freed them up on a previous project.

Little snags/issues turn into 4 or more hour projects. Somedays I wonder what I did in the span of a day working on the Jeep :confused: Others I move right along and things go well.

[The Duke]

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NOTHING went the way it was supposed to.
Started with 1.5 hours of grinding to get my old sway bars off. Next I took the u-bolts off.
Here is where I potentially messed something up. I still had the floor jack under the axle and when I took the last bolt on the drivers side out, the axle popped up. When it did it must have done something to the driveshaft because it started oozing grease out near the u-joint. It this a bad thing or is it "normal"?
Next, I have almost every socket but the one that I needed. 7/8". So, I had to run to the store and get one.
Next after I got every thing off that side, I started to put the new hardware in. I installed the MORE shackle with out issue. Next, I put the rear bushings in the new spring.
Now I ran into the REAL problem. I now discovered that the bag with the hardware was missing a whole bunch of stuff and what was there was not the right stuff. The bolts are 1/2 - 3/4" too short and do not fit properly in the sleeves AND there are no washers and no nuts in the bag!!
Since I found this out at 8 O'clock Sunday evening, I cannot get any new hardware anywhere, so I intend to contact Rough County tomorrow and see if they will send me replacement hardware.

P.S. Sorry for the long post.


graemlins/bangwall.gif graemlins/bangwall.gif graemlins/bangwall.gif graemlins/bangwall.gif

[luckeeluke]

I feel your pain.

Damn hardware . . . stores they should be open until midnight every day of the week.

Hopefully things will get better

graemlins/49.gif

Is the grease oozing out of the actual u-joint? Or something else on the driveshaft? Or is it the pinion seal leaking? I guess just check the u-joint/driveshaftt out for any play/damage and if you can regrease it, if the u-joint has a fitting.

[brokentj]

Duke, I pose the same question to you: As someone who just did this, do you have any advice for anyone that is going to install the same lift this weekend?

[The Duke]

Right now my garage looks a little worse than this
http://home.wi.rr.com/kaufmart/pics/small.jpg
and I am still waiting for Rough Country to send me replacement hardware. I would have just gone and bought new hardware, but I didn't have time (I work anywhere from 8-10 hours a day and also run my own biz on the side) to work on it this week anyway.

brokentj:
If your handle describes what you are installing on (a TJ) then I can't help you much. If it is a YJ , I can try to give you some pointers. I would strongly advise using somesort of bolt loosener (PB Blaster, etc.). I just used WD40, but i gave it 4-5 applications about 3 weeks ahead of time. I put some PB baster on some the day it started.
If you haven't already done so removing the stock sway bars takes a a bit of time (the first 1 is hard, the 2nd is easier).
Otherwise, I already had a lift, so i didn't have to worry about the track bar relocator, etc.
when you take the springs out, be very careful. When you take the last nut off the u-bolt the spring will, well, spring. Put your floor jack just under or just touching the axle--DON'T lift the axle!! That's what I did and I possibly damaged my front driveshaft.
Getting the spring out is as far as I got....

One last thing to make check before you even get started, CHECK THE HARDWARE BAG!!! to make sure everything is there.
Fortunately,. if absolutely neccessary, I have another means of transportation, but if you don't, be aware, it make take 2 or more days to complete.

[ChadYJ92]

Your driveshaft is probably fine, when the axle moved it probably compressed the slip yoke a little bit which forced some grease out. I'm guessing the grease came out by the u-joint on the front end of the shaft? Just add some grease to the zerk whenever you are done and it'll be fine.

When you are installing the Aussie (I think I read that it's for the front) removing the hubs may give you some problems if they have never been removed before. Once you get the three bolts loosened, thread them in their holes and turn them at least a few times to make sure the threads are fully engaged. Then hit the bolts (I'd put a socket on the bolt head to prevent damage to the head) with a hammer and it should pop the hub loose. Then unthread the bolts and you should be good to go. Those bolts are 12 point 13mm, make sure that you have the correct socket before you start.

If you don't have an impact wrench, the 36mm hub nut can be really tough to get loose. In the past I put a tire iron in the knuckle area to lock the axleshaft in place. Then I stood on a breaker bar with a 3 foot cheater bar on it. I broke one breaker bar but eventually managed to get it.

Like Luke said, you might have to remove the carrier to get the Aussie installed. My ring gear was thick enough that I couldn't get the crosspin out of the carrier, so I had to remove the carrier so that I could take the ring gear off. If you remove the carrier, make sure that you know which bearing cap goes where and how it's oriented. I even make sure that I put the bolts back in the same hole they came from. That might not be necessary, but I prefer to err on the side of caution.

I've never had a leaf spring "spring" on me during removal. As long as there is no load on the suspension it should just drop to the ground. It looks to me like you jacked up the axle and then removed the spring. That would definitely cause some problems, otherwise that wouldn't normally happen.

[Piston Head]

when your doing the front i believe i used a 1 1/16th inch socket or maybe it was 1 1/8th it may technically be 36mm but it's so big that it doesn't have to be perfect, but for pulling the hub after you take out the 3 12point 13mm's a 3 finger puller make it alot easier than trying to beat on the bolts.

[luckeeluke]

For the axle nuts I ended up using a 24 inch breaker bar and actually got them loose with a lot of pressure on that. I think I might have used a small piece of cheater bar too- I dunno. The other thing that I do for the axle nut is put the tire back on and lower the front or each corner to the ground. Just so there is some pressure on it or you can put it alll the way back on the ground. If you are planning to start the Aussie with the suspesnsion unfinished then Chads92YJ method with the iron in the knuckle will work better. I leave the center cap out of the wheel so I can put some muscle with the breaker bar. It works better if you saved your stock tires and rims and can grab one or two of them. They won't stick out as far, so you can level out the breaker bar. If you are planning to start the Aussie with the suspesnsion unfinished then Chads92YJ method with the iron in the knuckle will work better.

Some people will tell you that you don't have to loosen the axle nut and that you can just pull the shafts out with the hubs on- and you can. I never liked that way because I don't like putting anymore stress on seals or leaving the axle shafts hanging out of the housing with or without the hubs on them. For some reason I always take the axle nut off
and seperating the shafts from the hub.

[The Duke]

graemlins/soapbox.gif graemlins/bangwall.gif

OK, so I finally got the replacement hardware from Rough Country. IT'S WRONG AGAIN!!! graemlins/barf.gif

This time the bolts they sent me are so short that they don't even go the whole way through the bushing sleeves.

I dunno, but my experience with Rough Country is not turning out to be a positive one so far.......... graemlins/bangwall.gif

[luckeeluke]

can you use stuff from the hardware store? Like a grade 5, grade 8, or stainless bolts that may come in the length/diameter you need.

A small hardware store with a selection of Midwest fastener stuff in the little pull drawers- should do it. If you have the correct sleeves then you can probably find some bolts, nuts, and washers that would work.

Did the Aussie go any better than the RC hardware?

That's unfortunate they sent you the wrong ones. :mad:

[The Duke]

Wahoo!!! I fanally got the front end finished. I found out that it was actaully a combination of my own stupidity and RC's sending the wrong parts, but i figured out a way to make it work.
One question: does anyone have a pic of what the front end should look like with the MORE 5/8 shackles?
I didn't get any additional lift from them (maybe the RC spring are softer thus producing less lift?)

I decided to wait until i had the front axle stationary again until I tried doing the Aussie (as soon as I started, I saw that it wouldn't work).
So, now I have to do the rear end and then the Aussie...I should finish the rear off on Sunday and hopefully get the Aussie in the next weekend.