05 Lift questions

[randymorris]

After drilling through it, the spring perch should not (mine was not) be 1/4" thick... perhaps 1/8". About 2-2.5mm at most.

It definitely seemed thicker than that,, I should have taken a picture of the hole after drilling it.

 

[JasonJ]

It definitely seemed thicker than that,, I should have taken a picture of the hole after drilling it.

I’ll see if I can do the same. Would be interesting to compare.

 

[randymorris]

The front is coming together, installing the uca on the passenger side, got the lower ball joint in and greased on the same side, now we’re starting on the rack, then tearing apart the other side while power steering is draining

 

[randymorris]

So I figured out how to get the old bump stops out, but I can’t seem to get the new ones in. Any easy tricks, or is it a matter of brute strength?

 

[duderz7]

Start the back then push it in using a 2x4 as a lever on the tire.

 

[tommudd]

It definitely seemed thicker than that,, I should have taken a picture of the hole after drilling it.

All the same thickness from 02-07 no difference at all

 

[tommudd]

So I figured out how to get the old bump stops out, but I can’t seem to get the new ones in. Any easy tricks, or is it a matter of brute strength?

Like mentioned, start back in, then pry up on front, some good lube like Dawn dishwashing soap or KJ Jelly helps a lot
Just pry up in with 2X4, shovel etc

 

[randymorris]

So after reassembly, the driver side is sitting at 21.5 front and rear, passenger side is at 22 front and 21.5 rear. My jba UCAs are pushing in to the tires however. So until I can afford to buy the right wheels, I’m gonna take my old explorer wheels and put those on. They are 16x7 with less backspacing, just not sure the exact amount less, I think they’re 4-4.5 inches of backspacing.

Using a 2x4 made quick work of the front bump stops for sure, thank you!

 

[tommudd]

So after reassembly, the driver side is sitting at 21.5 front and rear, passenger side is at 22 front and 21.5 rear. My jba UCAs are pushing in to the tires however. So until I can afford to buy the right wheels, I’m gonna take my old explorer wheels and put those on. They are 16x7 with less backspacing, just not sure the exact amount less, I think they’re 4-4.5 inches of backspacing.

Using a 2x4 made quick work of the front bump stops for sure, thank you!

Your alignment is out of whack as well now
Plus once driven front tires will straighten up some , when you jack fronts up pulls the tires in
But stock wheels work fine as long as tires are not too wide
Exploder wheels are 4.5 inches of backspacing

 

[randymorris]

Your alignment is out of whack as well now
Plus once driven front tires will straighten up some , when you jack fronts up pulls the tires in
But stock wheels work fine as long as tires are not too wide
Exploder wheels are 4.5 inches of backspacing

So if I take it for a quick spin, they might work themselves off the control arms? I’ll give that a try once we tighten down the last bolt on the driver side and finish bleeding the rack. Had to stop with the impact for the night, didn’t want the entire neighborhood to hate me.

Do you think using the explorer wheels are a good enough solution until I can afford the right wheels?

 

[JasonJ]

So I figured out how to get the old bump stops out, but I can’t seem to get the new ones in. Any easy tricks, or is it a matter of brute strength?

I'm still struggling to get mine out. Lol. What method did you do? I tried hammering a flat driver up in there and prying downward..nope. Grabbing and pulling with channel locks (might need bigger ones). Nope.

Persistent little suckers.

I do have to say, parts don't come off of the KJ as easily as they have on other cars and trucks for me.... When they put this thing together, it wasn't expected to ever come apart without a lot of purposeful effort!

Although my tie rod ends were about to fall apart... So there's that.

Good luck randy!

 

[randymorris]

I got a flathead jammed up the front edge, pried down a bit, and then pulled them the rest of the way out by hand wiggling them back and forth. They almost felt glued in, but I’m sure it’s just cause they’ve been sitting there for 15 years

 

[randymorris]

Ok, everything is fully put back together. The steering no longer complains when turning the wheel, the suspension is definitely more firm, and I measured every corner now that it's where it's gonna stay for a while. I'm at 22 in the front and 21.5 in the rear, on both sides.

 

[randymorris]

Got the alignment done, and I’m now sitting at 22.5” up front both sides and 21.5 both sides rear.

 

[tommudd]

Got the alignment done, and I’m now sitting at 22.5” up front both sides and 21.5 both sides rear.

22.5 in front, what else did you add ? Should be at 21.5 with no additions
22.5 you're up in the problem range

 

[randymorris]

22.5 in front, what else did you add ? Should be at 21.5 with no additions
22.5 you're up in the problem range

The only things I did were the springs and coils with new mounts and coil isolators, and the 1/8th clevis on the drivers side of the vehicle. I put in new JBA UCAs, Moog lower ball joints, new outer tie rods, and new rack and pinion. I didn’t put anything else in the front. Two coil isolators came with the mounts, two came from JBA.

 

[randymorris]

I’m looking into new wheels currently, because with all these new parts and the alignment, I had to put a spacer on just to use my vehicle until I can afford new wheels. The UCA is pushing into the tires. Would 16x8 wheels with 4.5” of backspacing work on this vehicle and fix the rubbing? I found a set of after market wheels for a decent enough price that had the center bore hole info listed so I can get bore adapter rings to fit it to the Liberty properly.

Edit: I know we discussed wheels earlier in this thread and they’ve been discussed elsewhere on the forum as well, and I know you said 16x8 with 5” of backspacing would work, I just don’t know if 4.5” will put the wheel out too far or not work for any particular reason.

Also, in terms of center bore hole, getting the bore adapter rings is the right way to use a wheel with a wider bore hole, yeah?

 

[JasonJ]

Got the alignment done, and I’m now sitting at 22.5” up front both sides and 21.5 both sides rear.

Can you post up your "after" alignment specs? I'll do the same.. Be interesting to compare. Three of my four lower UCA bolts were froze... so caster couldn't be adjusted to within spec. Doesn't seem to be a problem in my road test though.

22.5 in front, what else did you add ? Should be at 21.5 with no additions
22.5 you're up in the problem range

I'm currently at 22" in front left, 22 1/4" front right, 22.5 in rear. Expecting to lose perhaps a 1/4" after settling.. planning a 1/4" clevis after that happens to bring it back up- then re-align.

What's the most clevis you could do without having too little of the shock body in the clamping area? Perhaps 3/8"? That'd give an extra 3/4" of lift, right?

Ideally, I want to be at 22.5 all around when all said and done. How are we adjusting the rear UP again after settling, another rear iso? Or are folks just leaving that alone?

Any pics of the completed project KJ, Randy?

 

[tommudd]

I’m looking into new wheels currently, because with all these new parts and the alignment, I had to put a spacer on just to use my vehicle until I can afford new wheels. The UCA is pushing into the tires. Would 16x8 wheels with 4.5” of backspacing work on this vehicle and fix the rubbing? I found a set of after market wheels for a decent enough price that had the center bore hole info listed so I can get bore adapter rings to fit it to the Liberty properly.

Edit: I know we discussed wheels earlier in this thread and they’ve been discussed elsewhere on the forum as well, and I know you said 16x8 with 5” of backspacing would work, I just don’t know if 4.5” will put the wheel out too far or not work for any particular reason.

Also, in terms of center bore hole, getting the bore adapter rings is the right way to use a wheel with a wider bore hole, yeah?

LOL here we go again, 5 inch with 8 inch wide wheel, unless you want to limit your travel in the rear. 8 inches wide, 5 inches of bumpstop you can pretty much stuff, 4.5 inches of backspacing is enough you have to run at the very least an inch possibly two more inches of bumpstop , just one of the reasons, not sure why people keep going back to 4.5 inches , plus puts tire/ wheel out there far enough to throw more junk up the sides of the KJ

 

[tommudd]

Can you post up your "after" alignment specs? I'll do the same.. Be interesting to compare. Three of my four lower UCA bolts were froze... so caster couldn't be adjusted to within spec. Doesn't seem to be a problem in my road test though.



I'm currently at 22" in front left, 22 1/4" front right, 22.5 in rear. Expecting to lose perhaps a 1/4" after settling.. planning a 1/4" clevis after that happens to bring it back up- then re-align.

What's the most clevis you could do without having too little of the shock body in the clamping area? Perhaps 3/8"? That'd give an extra 3/4" of lift, right?

Ideally, I want to be at 22.5 all around when all said and done. How are we adjusting the rear UP again after settling, another rear iso? Or are folks just leaving that alone?

Any pics of the completed project KJ, Randy?

22.5 and you are getting right there where you will have the UCAs ( yes even with JBAs ) rubbing against the coil springs on every bump
One of the reasons I like to stay at 2.5-3 anymore, had enough of it on the 04 until I went JBA coilovers