some final questions before lift

well i might be installing my lift this weekend. but i've got a few questions before i ratchet the first bolt...

info on the kit: re 6130, adj upper & lower ca's, hd track bar & bracket (rest is in my sig.)

1) what size lift jack and jackstands would be good to get?

2) do i retorque everything to the stock torque settings in my fsm?

3) i'll be doing a sye kit so i'll be w/out a rear ds till it arrives. how far is it save to drive just on my front axle?

4) the jks disco's are sitting in a shop the next town over. the guy's out of town and might not be back till monday. will the sway bar still fit/work w/out extensions till i get my hands on the disco's? if not, i guess i can tiptoe to his shop come monday (or thumb a ride).

5) oh, one more -- am i correct in guessing that i won't need a spring compressor for reinstalling the new, taller coils? i'll be removing the uppler and lower ca's so i figure i won't need the compressors to take the old ones out, but maybe to install the new taller ones? maybe? no?

thanks in advance

FitchVA said:

well i might be installing my lift this weekend. but i've got a few questions before i ratchet the first bolt...

info on the kit: re 6130, adj upper & lower ca's, hd track bar & bracket (rest is in my sig.)

1) what size lift jack and jackstands would be good to get?

2) do i retorque everything to the stock torque settings in my fsm?

thanks in advance

Click to expand...

My lift is on a truck... :spin1: ..

1) I have a 2.5 ton lift jack, depending on where I lift from I have to place a 2x4 on the lift plate. My stands (3 ton max) reach a max of 23" high (took a while to find a good hight)

2) I would torque to FSM spec's.

you drive all day long on your front axle. Just make sure that you have the sye kit installed before you do. And im not sure how fast you can go on it. I know that you can engage 4wd up to 55 or somthing, Ive never done it that fast. But anyway, you can do it just watch your speed.

FitchVA said:

well i might be installing my lift this weekend. but i've got a few questions before i ratchet the first bolt...

info on the kit: re 6130, adj upper & lower ca's, hd track bar & bracket (rest is in my sig.)

1) what size lift jack and jackstands would be good to get?

2) do i retorque everything to the stock torque settings in my fsm?

3) i'll be doing a sye kit so i'll be w/out a rear ds till it arrives. how far is it save to drive just on my front axle?

4) the jks disco's are sitting in a shop the next town over. the guy's out of town and might not be back till monday. will the sway bar still fit/work w/out extensions till i get my hands on the disco's? if not, i guess i can tiptoe to his shop come monday (or thumb a ride).

5) oh, one more -- am i correct in guessing that i won't need a spring compressor for reinstalling the new, taller coils? i'll be removing the uppler and lower ca's so i figure i won't need the compressors to take the old ones out, but maybe to install the new taller ones? maybe? no?

thanks in advance

Click to expand...

Answers:

1) I'd get the biggest jackstands you can find. I can't remember if mine are 3 ton or six ton, but bigger is better.

2) Yes.

3) On a '98 it will be fine (just put it in 4-Hi). Drive gently as the front is not designed to take all the load.

4) Stock swaybar will handle a few inches of lift to limp to a shop. I don't know what the lift height is on this kit, but you should be ok up to 3".

5) I hate spring compressors. I think they are dangerous and take forever. With control arms and shocks disconnected, you should be able to droop the axle far enough to install the coil by hand. Use a crowbar (or leverage bar) under the coil for added leverage if needed. Of course, smaller coils can really be a PITA. I recently added 7.5" RE coils to my setup without disconnecting anything but the coil clamp, just slid 'em right on . But I wouldn't mess with coil compressors and have never found them to be the least bit useful on any XJ lift install for 2" to 8".

Nay

sorry...the re 6130 is a 4.5" lift.


as for the coil compressors, i was just wondering if they would be needed to help get the new ca's in with the larger coils. :dunno:

FitchVA said:

sorry...the re 6130 is a 4.5" lift.


as for the coil compressors, i was just wondering if they would be needed to help get the new ca's in with the larger coils. :dunno:

Click to expand...

I disagree with Nay on this one. The spring compressor is very helpful. BUT, get the ones with the locks on them. They clamp the compressor to the spring so that it will keep it from dislodging. They will make installing a longer coil much easyer. they will also help the CA line up easyer. The front axle will tend to want to move as you jack/compress the front springs if there is not a compressor. The best ones are the ones that bolt on to each side of the spring. They are only dangerous if you let them!

i think i'll try it w/out the compressor. if i start having issues, i'll run out and get one.:thumbup:

This is probalbly getto and usafe, but I used a ratchet strap on a buddies 3" to compress them enough to get them in.

Ghost said:

I disagree with Nay on this one. The spring compressor is very helpful. BUT, get the ones with the locks on them. They clamp the compressor to the spring so that it will keep it from dislodging. They will make installing a longer coil much easyer. they will also help the CA line up easyer. The front axle will tend to want to move as you jack/compress the front springs if there is not a compressor. The best ones are the ones that bolt on to each side of the spring. They are only dangerous if you let them!

Click to expand...

I used coil compressors once. It took two of us 3 hours to change a set of coils (these were RE 4.5" ZJ coils). Then I decided to change out my coil isolator a couple weeks later, and I just used a leverage bar to pop them over the various brackets that make changing out a coil a PITA. The entire job took me 30 minutes by myself.

As for installing control arms, get a hand winch to locate the axle. There are plenty of mounting spots, and this is the best way I've found to release load on control arms so you can get bolts in and out easily. I can change a set of LCA's in about 20 minutes using a hand winch. It takes that much time just to get one coil properly compressed with coil compressors, and I'm not risking taking my head off with a heavily loaded coil right where I'm trying to work.

Nay

I installed the same lift on a '99 XJ last winter...

1. I agree with the post about getting the biggest jack stands that you can. However, I found it helpful to have a pair of smaller ones to rest the axles on. Don't underestimate how much you need to jack everything up. Sure, it is only a few more inches taller but those axles will be able to hang a whole lot lower than the stock suspension.

2. I torqued everything to factory specs - I have not had anything come loose.

3. I limped around Roanoke a few times with just the front drive shaft. As long as you take it easy there should not be a problem.

4. I don't know... However, if it does fit it will be nowhere near the correct placement. You will get about 5.5" of lift out of that kit.

5. We used a spring compressor when installing my lift. However, if you do not have air tools using a spring compressor will be slow going.

I recommend you check the hours for Northwest Hardware on Williamson and Automotive Fastners. If your kit comes like mine did you will be buying a lot of nuts and bolts.

I also recommend that you triple-check that you have the correct parts. More that half the parts in the RE kit I installed were missing or incorrect.

Have you tried removing the rear upper shock bolts yet? Make certain you have access to a drill as you will probably break a couple of those bolts. If you search the formums you will find a lot of tips about this.

The lower bolts for the front sway bars (on the axle) press out. You will know the one because they will not have standard hex heads. One of mine would not press out. I ended up having someone use a torch to cut it out.

Good luck.

-Brian

FitchVA said:

well i might be installing my lift this weekend. but i've got a few questions before i ratchet the first bolt...

info on the kit: re 6130, adj upper & lower ca's, hd track bar & bracket (rest is in my sig.)

1) what size lift jack and jackstands would be good to get?

2) do i retorque everything to the stock torque settings in my fsm?

3) i'll be doing a sye kit so i'll be w/out a rear ds till it arrives. how far is it save to drive just on my front axle?

4) the jks disco's are sitting in a shop the next town over. the guy's out of town and might not be back till monday. will the sway bar still fit/work w/out extensions till i get my hands on the disco's? if not, i guess i can tiptoe to his shop come monday (or thumb a ride).

5) oh, one more -- am i correct in guessing that i won't need a spring compressor for reinstalling the new, taller coils? i'll be removing the uppler and lower ca's so i figure i won't need the compressors to take the old ones out, but maybe to install the new taller ones? maybe? no?

thanks in advance

Click to expand...

Looks like everything's been covered already. Check your parts to make sure it's all there; Brian sounds like the exception to the rule since most of the time the RE kits are very complete.

Since you're already going to be removing the axle locating hardware (control arms and trackbar) it isn't tough to pop the new coils in without compressors. Tape the bumpstop extensions about 2/3 the way up the coil while inserting it so they will fit inside. Once the coil is in place you can remove the tape and get the bump extensions bolted down.

i double checked everything last night. they shorted me to zerks fittings. :smsoap:



this should be a very intersting weekend. nothing like having to computer nerds wrenching on a rig. party1:

thanks to the very few that offered to help. we're taking this on as a personal challenge. come hell or high water, we're getting this sum 'beyotch on...


oh yeah, brian, do you ever make it out to any of the dinners at logan's on wednesdays? i've been too busy to make any. but hopefully, i'll be able to make the next one. and i can show off the xj, that is if it's off jackstands :cheers:

I try to make the SWVA4W meetings on the first Wednesdays. I've been travelling a lot this year so I've missed a few. Right now I am scheduled to be in town for the July 7th meeting.

It looks like I will be in town this weekend. If you want an extra pair of hands let me know. I am not terribly knowledgeable as I am also a computer geek - but I have recently done almost the exact same install.

-Brian

FitchVA said:

oh yeah, brian, do you ever make it out to any of the dinners at logan's on wednesdays? i've been too busy to make any. but hopefully, i'll be able to make the next one. and i can show off the xj, that is if it's off jackstands :cheers:

Click to expand...

cool. we'll see how it goes friday night and saturday. if we run into any major issues, i might have to give you a ring.

did you do your own sye install? that's the thing i'm most nervous about. i might just pay dc to install that for me.

I had the same fears about installing the SYE. It really is quite easy. If you are like I was it will take five or six hours to install the first one you do. I kept double and triple checking everything. I also was too hessitant to damage the parts I was removing. If you know what you are doing it really is only a two or three hour job.

Oh, go to Sears and by a pair of the biggest snap ring plyers, and a pair of the the biggest lock ring pliers, they sell. Do not waste your time on the cheapo interchangable ones sold by AutoZone/Advance/etc. The hardest part of the SYE install is getting all those little @&*# rings off.

-Brian

FitchVA said:

cool. we'll see how it goes friday night and saturday. if we run into any major issues, i might have to give you a ring.

did you do your own sye install? that's the thing i'm most nervous about. i might just pay dc to install that for me.

Click to expand...

Hey you s... take lots of pictures as this hopes to do a little lift in the future! Make sure you have the necessary, proper "refreshments" aid the install! :shhh: :eyes:

eace:
Travis

yeah brian, i read one of your other posts about the sye kit. i had planned on getting the biggun's as you suggested.

and travis, as you know from www.dakotausa.com, i am a picture whore :spin1: so no worries in that department

:guitar: