Spacers and Add a leaf

Ok guys its me again...its time to install my lift. I have searched around a lot and got a lot of good advice on how to put this lift on but am still confused. Most of these are for shackles in the rear but i decided to put on 2 inch add a leafs. For the front and rear what are the processes involved in installing this? I was thinking for the front you could let the front droop and then use a spring compressor to make enough room to squeeze the spacer in and wa-lah your done. but my friend who is pretty mechanically inclined doesnt think that is possible. Is this possible or has anyone done that before or what actually goes into doing this. I went with the 2 inch budget lift because i thougth it would be cheap, easy and practical. but im beginning to think even this budget lift isnt easy. Any advice ono how to do this i'd appreciate it. thanks again guys

yes i did it when i installed my bb spacer, undo the track bar and it will let it droop some more, then use spring compressors CAREFULLY and compress the spring and slip it in, attach trac bar..If trac bar will not match up, shake front of jeep till it settles and it will slid in

WORD OF ADVICE..COMPRESSED SPRINGS CARRY A HIGH RATE OF FORCE WHEN THEY SLIP OUT..BECAREFUL AND WATCH YOUR HEAD

You better have some good spring compressors! Don't even try using small cheapo ones, it's too dangerous and it's not worth risking face or limb. Tighten them down evenly, air tools will make your life 100% easier at this point. For the rear, DON'T REMOVE THE MAIN LEAF from the Jeep, leave this in place. It will save you hours. Just remove the leafs' center pin and u bolts, and be sure to keep the other leafs in order and remember which is the front and back. You don't need to remove the main leaf from the Jeep, once you go at it you'll understand. Drop all the leaves except the main, then stick the AAL in place, then put all the other leaves back in under the AAL in the same order and line up the center pin holes with a screwdriver, Duck tape the whole pack together to keep it compressed, then stick the center pin back in there and tighten it down. Line up your axle, Put your U Bolts back in place, tighen - DONE!

I think it is much easier to remove the front springs by disconnecting the axle end of the track bar and the LCA at the frame end. Make sure the swaybar is disconnected before you start. You should be able to pursuade the spring all the way out without a spring compressor and back in after you put the block in.

I have done it with spring compressors but prefer the way above. If you do use spring compressors put them on before you let the wheel drop so that you do not have to tighten it up and BE CAREFUL KEEP YOUR HEAD and HANDS away from it.

Michael

Ok thanks guys. Yea i am aware of what springs can do if they feel the urge to release and come out at you. I have done it before and what i usually do is use a chain and secure the spring to the lower control arm so if it does come flying out it's only going to shoot as far as the chain allows. Thanks guys. yea i figured you didnt have to reomve the whole front end. this is a simple bolt on and shouldnt be too involved. I thought i could do it with the spring compressor. thanks again

Easier and safer than spring compressors.....

jack up front end and block/jackstand behind the LCA's to let front axle droop
disco the lower shock bolts, coil retainers, and sway bar links
use a small bottle jack (or OEM screw jack) to push one side of the axle down. Place jack on top of the axle and extend it to the framerail above...as you keep extending the jack it will push the axle down and hold it in place while you slip the spring off (unscrew the bumpstop first, and pull it out with the spring).
Install spacer and put it all back together :laugh3:
HTH,
Jeff

Alright guys, well rusty's offroad officially sucks!!! So excited to put my budget lift on this evening. So i get home from work and have a bad feeling and sure enough those dumbasses didnt send me my coil spacers. They only sent the add a leafs. I'm pissed and ready to send them back and tell them to shove them where the sun doesnt shine. But something is telling me to keep them and install them. Is it bad on my jeep to lift the back 2 inches and keep the front stock until i get my spacers. I wont be able to do the front for about 2 weeks or so so will it be bad on my jeep to ride around with the back lifted and the front stock? ...Man im so pissed

I dont think that there is anything wrong with only doing the back, I had mine like that for a week. The only thing it hurt was my pride because everyone was looking at me like i was a dumb a$$. And it felt like I was going to fall out of my seat. lol

I have installed 2" spacers over the factory coils, installed 3" lift coils, installed the 2" spacer over the 3" lift coils, and most recently installed 4.5" lift springs (actually provide 5 1/2" of lift) in my XJ and I've never used spring compressors.

My technique: Jack up the vehicle as much as possible and support by the "frame rails" under the unibody. Remove both front wheels. Let the axle drop and support lightly with a floor jack. Remove the upper shock nut, the sway bar link, the spring retainer, and the front caliper from one side. Let that side drop down all of the way. Place the floor jack under the opposite side's rotor and jack it up. Once you get it jacked up enough the spring will almost fall out. From this point you should have no problem removing the spring and isolator, sliding the spacer onto the bumpstop tower, reinstalling the isolator and spring. If it's too tight to get the spring back in simply jack up the opposite side a bit more. Reassemble, and you're done. Good luck.

You may want to go ahead and do the rear first anyway, then take the Jeep for test drive to check for vibes (unless you have SYE). It will save you alot of time over installing the whole lift, then finding out you have bad vibes and have to remove the whole lift. Ask me how I know. I did the TerraFlex Budget Boost and it was super easy. WD40 in liberal amounts makes those nuts come off alot easier too.

will i need a sye for a 2 inch budget boost?

It would help to know what year your vehicle is.

1995 and older- should be fine with only 2 inches of lift.

1996 and newer- probably fine with only 2 inches of lift, but slight chance of vibes. SYE would be overkill. A 1/2" transfer case drop would be sufficent. When you get over 3" of lift start shopping for an SYE...and don't get the RE hack and tap.

What's wrong with the RE hack and tap?

I have a 2001 xj. I only plan on the 2 inch add a leaf's and a 1 3/4 inch coil spacer in front. It will only set it up pry about an inch and a half higher than stock i assume. I hope it doesnt need a sye for 2 inches because i did this because i figured a 2 inch would gvie it a good stance while not going too in depth (requiring shims, sye ...)

flexyxj said:

What's wrong with the RE hack and tap?

Click to expand...

:lecture: It's a poor design. More a band aid than a fix. Look at any other SYE on the market and you will see that the rear output flange, when tightened down, is sandwiched between the output shaft inner bearing race and the front of the flange. There's a reason for this- splines are not designed to support the forces created by a spinning drive shaft. Mine worked great with 3" lift and 31s, for 2 years. Then the flange became loose on the output shaft, and had to be replaced. At that time I went up to 5.5" lift with 33" tires, and the new flange lasted 6 months. Rather than buy a new flange every 6 months, I called Tom Woods and did it right.

3 years ago I was on this website supporting the RE hack and tap, but now I know better. It's nothing against RE, because everything else I have bought there has been excellent quality and value.

Franknbrew if you could send me an enlarged picture of your cherokee id love to see it. it sounds pretty damn nice!