RE 5.5" ?'s

For those of you with the RE 5.5" lift, are there any special tools needed for the install:dunno:. i.e. (TRE seperater or remover, pitman arm puller, etc.). Also does this lift need a drop pitman arm, or will the angles be alright? And finally, what length are you guys and gals with the adjustable uppers running them at? Just need an idea of whats going to be needed and what I am getting myself into this weekend, hopefully

Nothing special is really needed. Air tools, two jacks and four jack stands make it easier. The biggest problems I ran into is taking off the old bolts and I coated them with PB blaster two or three times a couple weeks before putting the lift on. The upper rear shock bolts will break, the cross member studs are a pain to get out as well as the lower studs for the sway bar links. This was my first lift, I did all the work by myself, painted the axles while they were out and it took me about 30-35 hours.

I am using the stock pitman arm without any problems and I have the fixed control arms so I cannot help with the length of the adjustables. Good luck...!

two items that I wish I had when I did my lift a few weeks ago was rock rails. They would have made installing the drop brackets MUCH easier. I had to have the jack stands so far back that the jeep was almost teetering back and forth, I also got to see the droop in the rear as well. Jacks and stands would be the next most important thing, higher the better.

-Scott

thanx guys for the info, already have rocky road offroad step rails installed, those were the first to go on. I am hopeing that the nice UPS man comes soon, those 33" trxus look lonely over there in the corner of the garage oh yeah, is there any differance in the transfercase crossmember (bolt/stud wise) if your jeep came with the factory drop kit. I have 98 with the 242 and upcountry. thanks in advance

Air tools would be a wise thing to have. An air hammer is a good thing for stubborn bolts. Having extra bolts and washers isn't a bad idea. I wasn't happy with re-using some of that old stuff. You don't need to drop your pitman arm. When you break a few bolts off you may want to have a drill and tap and die set. I needed them for the bolts on the rear shocks that ALL broke. The spring hold down on the front is very easy to strip, so a tap and die is nice to fix that mess.

It isn't that bad of a job depending on how things come off. PB blaster is a good idea, at least the day or two before if nothing else. I used a spring compresser on one side, but you can do it without it if you don't do a side at a time. They say the back is easy, but I had less trouble in the front.

Take your time and enjoy. There are some good instuctions on the net if you didn't already look. jeepin.com has some and there are others.

Enjoy,
Curt

CartsXJ said:

thanx guys for the info, already have rocky road offroad step rails installed, those were the first to go on. I am hopeing that the nice UPS man comes soon, those 33" trxus look lonely over there in the corner of the garage oh yeah, is there any differance in the transfercase crossmember (bolt/stud wise) if your jeep came with the factory drop kit. I have 98 with the 242 and upcountry. thanks in advance

Click to expand...

My Jeep came with upcountry, but is a '96. The stud that is there needs to be removed. It is threaded and isn't easy to get off. An air hammer and vise grips are a good idea. If no air hammer then a hammer. I did away with any drop in my t-case due to my SYE.

Curt

so does anybody out there have a measurement for the length of their upper arms?

16.25", then let the alignment shop figure it out (mine were perfect at 16.25").

When installing the drop brackets, leave all the bolts loose while you're attaching the braces.

You might have to open the holes up in the rear spring perches.

Other than what's been covered above, it's a fairly simple kit to install.

With the drop brackets I set the control arms to the same lenght as the stock one's I removed has worked great for the last 3000 miles.
Barger