Wow, still in the process of installing the 4.5" lift on my XJ and I have to admit this has been one hell of an adventure. I don't think I've ever seen so much stuff go wrong with a lift let alone an upgrade to a vehicle.
Now with that said let me say that I do have extensive knowledge of vehicle / vehicle systems (Chassis, Suspension, Braking Systems, Electronics, Engine Performance, etc.). But that's not really what this thread is about. For my credentials just see my bio.
Since I have began this "journey" with my new XJ I have had to cut out the LCA bolts (the two to the Unibody; yes common I know). I've had to remove the track bar bracket and heat, press, and beat the snot out of the tie rod end to get it removed. One of the coil spring retainers started to free spin after new coil spring was installed leaving it "almost" tight.
Moving on to the cross member I found where one of the studs was already broken off from the previous owner. After trying to remove the nuts and studs what I am left with is two studs that are broken off and two points that I was able to remove. Obviously this leaves me in a predicament as I need to install spacers between the cross member. Last night I said screw it for now and bolted it back up as it was (only being able to bolt the two front bolts in place). This left me with a nice gap showing between the rear of the cross member and the unibody. Oh and RC only sent me 2 extended bolts instead of the needed four. I did attempt to cut out a hole on the side of the univody to expose the bracket and stud that was inside the rail (I know now i should have gone through the top or just drilled it out as I'm still going to have to do). Crappy thing is I have a hole there now (outside of the rail).
I decided to move on to the rear today. Of course the sway bar wasn't budging so I took the grinding wheel to that. I had planned on removing it anyway. Upon trying to remove the two forward leaf spring bolts both of them managed to break the welds to the nuts mounted in the unibody rail. I managed to find a space in the cab under the rear seat to cut through giving me access to this nut. But yet again two more freakin holes. Luckily one of the bolts did manage to come out. The other had to be cut out as it was seized to the bushing sleeve. The two rear leaf spring bolts were also interesting.
Due to a receiver hitch being in the way of the driver rear leaf spring bolt I decided to remove the shackle bolt and drop the spring down to better access the rear leaf bolt. That worked out okay. However I did notice as I went back together with the new spring pack in place that the shackle pretty much is in contact with the unibody mount. I am hoping that will change after I set this thing back down on the ground (maybe the geometry will change). The passenger side was a PITA. As I stated earlier I had to cut out the front leaf bolt. The rear had to be cut out as well as it wasn't budging. The crappy thing here was not only was I dealing with clearance issues with the receiver hitch but the exhaust pipe was routed right next to the shackle and rear leaf bushing bolt. So the exhaust had to be cut back.
Oh and here's another interesting thing I came across. As I was removing the clip to relocate the brake line and install the bracket I had to tweak that is, bend the brake line ever so slightly to accommodate the new angle. Even with the easy bending I did the line sprang a leak. So it looks like that will have to be replaced.
So tomorrow I will have to drill out another hole this time on the passenger side to access the nut with the broken weld (as I did with the drivers' side) and replace that nut as well. I am hoping that tomorrow I will be able to get the passenger side leaf in place so at least by the end of the weekend the vehicle will be sitting on all four tires. Then sometime during the week I can figure out a) what I am going to fill in those holes with so water does not enter and b) work on that cross member issue. Then maybe sometime after that I can get around to the break line.
So damn is it me or did Jeep use the bottom of the barrel hardware when assembling these things? Was the robot or installer having a bad day and over torquing the shit out of the nuts and bolts? I have done several lifts on many different makes (some which were a lot older) and never had this many issues. Is it just an XJ thing?
So in conclusion if any of you have ran into all these problems on a single lift let me know. That way I wont feel like the odd man out. Or if any of you can conjure up some word of encouragement they would be much appreciated.
Now with that said let me say that I do have extensive knowledge of vehicle / vehicle systems (Chassis, Suspension, Braking Systems, Electronics, Engine Performance, etc.). But that's not really what this thread is about. For my credentials just see my bio.
Since I have began this "journey" with my new XJ I have had to cut out the LCA bolts (the two to the Unibody; yes common I know). I've had to remove the track bar bracket and heat, press, and beat the snot out of the tie rod end to get it removed. One of the coil spring retainers started to free spin after new coil spring was installed leaving it "almost" tight.
Moving on to the cross member I found where one of the studs was already broken off from the previous owner. After trying to remove the nuts and studs what I am left with is two studs that are broken off and two points that I was able to remove. Obviously this leaves me in a predicament as I need to install spacers between the cross member. Last night I said screw it for now and bolted it back up as it was (only being able to bolt the two front bolts in place). This left me with a nice gap showing between the rear of the cross member and the unibody. Oh and RC only sent me 2 extended bolts instead of the needed four. I did attempt to cut out a hole on the side of the univody to expose the bracket and stud that was inside the rail (I know now i should have gone through the top or just drilled it out as I'm still going to have to do). Crappy thing is I have a hole there now (outside of the rail).
I decided to move on to the rear today. Of course the sway bar wasn't budging so I took the grinding wheel to that. I had planned on removing it anyway. Upon trying to remove the two forward leaf spring bolts both of them managed to break the welds to the nuts mounted in the unibody rail. I managed to find a space in the cab under the rear seat to cut through giving me access to this nut. But yet again two more freakin holes. Luckily one of the bolts did manage to come out. The other had to be cut out as it was seized to the bushing sleeve. The two rear leaf spring bolts were also interesting.
Due to a receiver hitch being in the way of the driver rear leaf spring bolt I decided to remove the shackle bolt and drop the spring down to better access the rear leaf bolt. That worked out okay. However I did notice as I went back together with the new spring pack in place that the shackle pretty much is in contact with the unibody mount. I am hoping that will change after I set this thing back down on the ground (maybe the geometry will change). The passenger side was a PITA. As I stated earlier I had to cut out the front leaf bolt. The rear had to be cut out as well as it wasn't budging. The crappy thing here was not only was I dealing with clearance issues with the receiver hitch but the exhaust pipe was routed right next to the shackle and rear leaf bushing bolt. So the exhaust had to be cut back.
Oh and here's another interesting thing I came across. As I was removing the clip to relocate the brake line and install the bracket I had to tweak that is, bend the brake line ever so slightly to accommodate the new angle. Even with the easy bending I did the line sprang a leak. So it looks like that will have to be replaced.
So tomorrow I will have to drill out another hole this time on the passenger side to access the nut with the broken weld (as I did with the drivers' side) and replace that nut as well. I am hoping that tomorrow I will be able to get the passenger side leaf in place so at least by the end of the weekend the vehicle will be sitting on all four tires. Then sometime during the week I can figure out a) what I am going to fill in those holes with so water does not enter and b) work on that cross member issue. Then maybe sometime after that I can get around to the break line.
So damn is it me or did Jeep use the bottom of the barrel hardware when assembling these things? Was the robot or installer having a bad day and over torquing the shit out of the nuts and bolts? I have done several lifts on many different makes (some which were a lot older) and never had this many issues. Is it just an XJ thing?
So in conclusion if any of you have ran into all these problems on a single lift let me know. That way I wont feel like the odd man out. Or if any of you can conjure up some word of encouragement they would be much appreciated.
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