Sneaky
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Kelso, Washington
I started my lift last week taking my time and working a couple of hours a day. Today I got it all done. I had a couple of crazy issues but nothing too serious. The lift seems to be pretty good quality. I was really worried about the rear springs. I've seen all the terrible shackle angles and heard of all the terrible ride stories. When I ordered my lift I was told the springs are now longer and softer. Upon getting the rear installed and on the ground I was pleasantly surprised that the shackles are pretty much vertical. Not perfect, but better than I've seen in the past. I didn't have all my bolts break on the rear shocks either. Just the two on the drivers side. Some drilling and taping I got them as good as new again.
The ride is actually not bad from the rear.
As for the front... Setting up the cross member wasn't too bad. As for the special bit sizes I just used a 1/2 inch step bit and followed up with a 3/4 inch step bit for the rear holes that got the crush sleeve. I was kinda confused why use anything other than a half inch bit for a hole that a half inch bolt needs to go through... The rear hole for the 3/4 sleeve was absolutely perfect. However the hole alignment for the cross member was a bit off and was a little frustrating to deal with.
Next was to cut off the factory lower control arm brackets.
After that task it was time to set up the lower control arms. My best advice is to set the length close as possible then instal and measure again. This is the only way to make sure the x-joints are square and you get a perfect measurement.
Then was the other typical stuff like springs, shocks, trackbar, pitman arm, and the sway bar disconnects. By the way these lower bolts didn't just pound out. I had the cut the heads off so I could get some heat into the bolts then was able to pound them out.
Now comes the really frustrating part of this whole lift instal. It was time to bleed the brakes. Should be easy to do this. I've got a lot of experience and have a few trucks for getting it done quick and right. However, after 64 ounces of fluid and not seeing air bubbles my brakes still went to the floor. WTH! So, I swallowed my pride and started looking on google for answers. Every post had a reference to the calipers being removed and put on the wrong side... This was impossible for my application since I just taken and replaced the line on each side, not possible to mix up the calipers... But wait! I noticed the previous owner did new brakes and these calipers were new looking. Sure as crap, I looked and mine were upside down. The pads had a left and right on them, this indicated new loaded calipers from the PO who got them mixed up. I swapped them out and got the brakes bled in five minutes max. I'd sure like to know how the PO got these bled...
The ride is actually pretty good. I wish the 1 ton rode this nice I've even got Bilstiens on it. Future mods for the suspension is Bilstien 5100's and bump stops. I've got to get flares and bumpers first. I've got drive line vibrations but will be fixing that this week. If got the short JB Conversions SYE showing up tomorrow. Then ill have to find a shaft that will work.
All in all, I am pretty happy with the lift. I expect that later I will have to replace or rebuild bushings and replace sagging springs. However I knew that going into this and am ok with that. The price of this lift can't be beat and it got me what I needed on my budget being unemployed and a full time student. Not only that but I've seen this lift in action on other XJ's and was impressed with how it's performance.
The ride is actually not bad from the rear.
As for the front... Setting up the cross member wasn't too bad. As for the special bit sizes I just used a 1/2 inch step bit and followed up with a 3/4 inch step bit for the rear holes that got the crush sleeve. I was kinda confused why use anything other than a half inch bit for a hole that a half inch bolt needs to go through... The rear hole for the 3/4 sleeve was absolutely perfect. However the hole alignment for the cross member was a bit off and was a little frustrating to deal with.
Next was to cut off the factory lower control arm brackets.
After that task it was time to set up the lower control arms. My best advice is to set the length close as possible then instal and measure again. This is the only way to make sure the x-joints are square and you get a perfect measurement.
Then was the other typical stuff like springs, shocks, trackbar, pitman arm, and the sway bar disconnects. By the way these lower bolts didn't just pound out. I had the cut the heads off so I could get some heat into the bolts then was able to pound them out.
Now comes the really frustrating part of this whole lift instal. It was time to bleed the brakes. Should be easy to do this. I've got a lot of experience and have a few trucks for getting it done quick and right. However, after 64 ounces of fluid and not seeing air bubbles my brakes still went to the floor. WTH! So, I swallowed my pride and started looking on google for answers. Every post had a reference to the calipers being removed and put on the wrong side... This was impossible for my application since I just taken and replaced the line on each side, not possible to mix up the calipers... But wait! I noticed the previous owner did new brakes and these calipers were new looking. Sure as crap, I looked and mine were upside down. The pads had a left and right on them, this indicated new loaded calipers from the PO who got them mixed up. I swapped them out and got the brakes bled in five minutes max. I'd sure like to know how the PO got these bled...
The ride is actually pretty good. I wish the 1 ton rode this nice I've even got Bilstiens on it. Future mods for the suspension is Bilstien 5100's and bump stops. I've got to get flares and bumpers first. I've got drive line vibrations but will be fixing that this week. If got the short JB Conversions SYE showing up tomorrow. Then ill have to find a shaft that will work.
All in all, I am pretty happy with the lift. I expect that later I will have to replace or rebuild bushings and replace sagging springs. However I knew that going into this and am ok with that. The price of this lift can't be beat and it got me what I needed on my budget being unemployed and a full time student. Not only that but I've seen this lift in action on other XJ's and was impressed with how it's performance.
Last edited:
! time to renew.
