dynorockcg
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Durham, NC
This is a write-up for the installation of Old Man Emu’s medium duty (2”) lift. It was purchased through Dirk at DPG Off-Road in Rose Hill, Kansas (www.dpgoffroad.com). He gave me great advice along with the info gathered at www.naxja.com. Some products are shipped directly from other companies so they did arrive at different times. The longest shipment time was from OME itself, right at 2 weeks from order date. Other parts came from JKS, DPG themselves, and Rubicon Express. I divided the lift into different sections since I did some disassembly prior to all parts being delivered.
The write-up may seem scattered, but most of the info is here. I was a first-time lift installer and completed it with basic hand tools. I did this write-up simply b/c when I was researching how to install a lift, I had several questions and couldn’t always find answers. I tried to include most sizes of bolts, nuts, allen’s head bolts, and anything else that seemed necessary to complete the installation. I had to make several trips to Sears for a few extra sockets along the way. Hopefully this write-up will result in at least one less trip to Sears/hardware store.
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As everyone says, spray all nuts and bolts with PB Blaster at least every other day for about a week prior to the lift install. Don’t forget the bolts holding the shocks on under the hood.
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I started with dissembling the front drivers side.
Before:
Loosen the nut on top of the sway bar link (15mm). Once the nut gets close to the end, slow way down. The sway bar link was under pressure since the passenger’s side was on the ground (driver’s side was on jackstands). The nut flew when it was loosened all the way off. I would recommend jacking up the driver’s side of the axle slightly to take some tension off the sway bar link. Once the driver’s side is done, there is no tension when doing the passenger’s side so there is no problem. Remove the bottom nut (18mm) holding the sway bar link onto the stud (stud removal described below).
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Loosen the bolt that holds the coil retaining clip in place (13mm wrench). Don’t remove it totally, just loosen it enough to allow it to rotate. I rotated the coil around so it could be removed easier. I read that using the stock bottle jack placed on the control arm/axle area and the frame area above it. It worked great. The coil slid right out.
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The shock was difficult to remove. I removed the bottom two bolts at first (13mm). I ended up removing the air filter box (13mm) so I could access the top shock nut (15mm).
It allowed me enough room to squeeze my hand in and turn the nut. At first, the shaft of the shock was spinning. I replaced the bottom two bolts and the spinning continued. I ended up cutting the plastic shroud around the top of the shock and slid it down the shock shaft. I grabbed the top flange of the shock with some pliers. It kept the shock from turning just enough to break the nut loose. I could then continue and remove the shock nut. I removed the bottom two bolts from the shock mount and then the shock could be removed.
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Coil and shock removed. Sway bar link disconnected.
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I used a pitman arm puller to remove the sway bar link mount stud on the axle.
It is difficult to place correctly, but there is just enough room for the arms of the puller to grab onto the mount. I was able to turn the bolt on the puller slowly with a socket and a breaker bar. I just used the breaker bar so I could stand back in case the puller decided to not stay put. The passenger’s side was more difficult to place since the steering stabilizer mount is right in the same area (no pic), but the puller eventually held and pushed the stud out.
As seen here, the sway bar link mount has been pushed out and the sway bar link is just hand-tightened to stay in place until the disconnects arrive.
--------------------------------
The directions that come with them are very self-explanatory. The JKS disconnects require a 6mm allen wrench. There is a U-bracket that is placed around the end of the sway bar. It should be mounted in such a way that the threaded hole is inboard. A bolt goes through the U-bracket, through the sway bar, and then through the provided washer. The nut can be tightened (10mm).
The bottom stud mount is similar to the stock one that was removed. Tighten the nut (1/2”), slide on the rubber bushing, and that’s it. When using the spring-like pins, ensure that they are placed to they are flat. Adjust the length of the sway bar disconnect links based on the angle of the sway bar, according to the directions from JKS.
I installed the DPG sway bar disconnects cable. Dirk includes directions.
-------------------------------
See part 2
The write-up may seem scattered, but most of the info is here. I was a first-time lift installer and completed it with basic hand tools. I did this write-up simply b/c when I was researching how to install a lift, I had several questions and couldn’t always find answers. I tried to include most sizes of bolts, nuts, allen’s head bolts, and anything else that seemed necessary to complete the installation. I had to make several trips to Sears for a few extra sockets along the way. Hopefully this write-up will result in at least one less trip to Sears/hardware store.
--------------------------------------
As everyone says, spray all nuts and bolts with PB Blaster at least every other day for about a week prior to the lift install. Don’t forget the bolts holding the shocks on under the hood.
-------------------------------
I started with dissembling the front drivers side.
Before:
Loosen the nut on top of the sway bar link (15mm). Once the nut gets close to the end, slow way down. The sway bar link was under pressure since the passenger’s side was on the ground (driver’s side was on jackstands). The nut flew when it was loosened all the way off. I would recommend jacking up the driver’s side of the axle slightly to take some tension off the sway bar link. Once the driver’s side is done, there is no tension when doing the passenger’s side so there is no problem. Remove the bottom nut (18mm) holding the sway bar link onto the stud (stud removal described below).
-------------------------------
Loosen the bolt that holds the coil retaining clip in place (13mm wrench). Don’t remove it totally, just loosen it enough to allow it to rotate. I rotated the coil around so it could be removed easier. I read that using the stock bottle jack placed on the control arm/axle area and the frame area above it. It worked great. The coil slid right out.
----------------------------
The shock was difficult to remove. I removed the bottom two bolts at first (13mm). I ended up removing the air filter box (13mm) so I could access the top shock nut (15mm).
It allowed me enough room to squeeze my hand in and turn the nut. At first, the shaft of the shock was spinning. I replaced the bottom two bolts and the spinning continued. I ended up cutting the plastic shroud around the top of the shock and slid it down the shock shaft. I grabbed the top flange of the shock with some pliers. It kept the shock from turning just enough to break the nut loose. I could then continue and remove the shock nut. I removed the bottom two bolts from the shock mount and then the shock could be removed.
-----------------------------
Coil and shock removed. Sway bar link disconnected.
-----------------------------------
I used a pitman arm puller to remove the sway bar link mount stud on the axle.
It is difficult to place correctly, but there is just enough room for the arms of the puller to grab onto the mount. I was able to turn the bolt on the puller slowly with a socket and a breaker bar. I just used the breaker bar so I could stand back in case the puller decided to not stay put. The passenger’s side was more difficult to place since the steering stabilizer mount is right in the same area (no pic), but the puller eventually held and pushed the stud out.
As seen here, the sway bar link mount has been pushed out and the sway bar link is just hand-tightened to stay in place until the disconnects arrive.
--------------------------------
The directions that come with them are very self-explanatory. The JKS disconnects require a 6mm allen wrench. There is a U-bracket that is placed around the end of the sway bar. It should be mounted in such a way that the threaded hole is inboard. A bolt goes through the U-bracket, through the sway bar, and then through the provided washer. The nut can be tightened (10mm).
The bottom stud mount is similar to the stock one that was removed. Tighten the nut (1/2”), slide on the rubber bushing, and that’s it. When using the spring-like pins, ensure that they are placed to they are flat. Adjust the length of the sway bar disconnect links based on the angle of the sway bar, according to the directions from JKS.
I installed the DPG sway bar disconnects cable. Dirk includes directions.
-------------------------------
See part 2
