DWM Seeks AJP For Wild Weekend, Maybe More

[profdlp]

I would imagine I need an electrical parts store for the conduit nuts. What size am I after?

 

[Gyro]

2 inch at lowes,home depot places like that .
Three per side max.= 3/4 inch of lift

Gyro

 

[profdlp]

2 inch at lowes,home depot places like that .
Three per side max.= 3/4 inch of lift

Gyro

I assume these replace the Clevis Spacer for Front Struts I have listed in my opening post, right?

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Yep

 

[profdlp]

Everyone, I can't thank you enough. I know I had a million questions, but this is a first-time thing for me and I didn't want to mess it up.

I threw a poll up top just for last-minute peace of mind. Please vote. I plan to place my order sometime tomorrow unless I need to adjust something. (Your response to the poll will make me sleep easier.)

And just because I wanted to say it, this has been a long awaited thing for me. I bought the Jeep in May of 2013 when I was six months away from finishing my degree. It took me ages after graduation to get a decent job, at which point I immediately started saving for this. Then it seemed like one disaster after another happened, mostly involving my (now) fiancee's car. New radiator, ball joints, head gasket, tire replacement. It kept on coming. I also knew the places at which she was getting the work done were ripping her off, but I was 400 miles away in Virginia and couldn't do much about it. She has to have a car for her job, so each emergency meant that my savings for the lift parts got raided. That was a long eighteen months. On top of that, someone tried to steal my Jeep a while back, tore it up pretty good, and I was out $500 for the deductible and another $500 for an alarm system.

Two things have compelled me to finally say the hoots with it, quit being so overly responsible, and go for it. In late June one of my nieces lost her husband suddenly. He left behind three kids aged 3 to 9. A month later my fiancee lost her dad. he had purchased a brand new car last fall, then got sick and only put 700 miles on it before he was unable to drive any more.

Both of those people had plans for the future and never got to fully realize them. I've spent the last few weeks wondering if I would be laying in a hospital bed at some point asking myself why I didn't do all the things I was "going to get around to someday". I know this sounds kind of maudlin (and maybe a bit selfish), but I have been trying to help a lot of other people out and I guess I finally reached the point where I really needed to do something to make myself happy for a change.

You guys are the greatest, and I appreciate your patience with me. THANK YOU!

 

[dude1116]

Post up your final list. Going through all these posts is a doozy!

 

[profdlp]

Post up your final list. Going through all these posts is a doozy!

First post in the thread has links to the specific parts, just under the poll:

http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/f203/dwm-seeks-ajp-wild-weekend-maybe-more-60553/

Here is the summary:

1. Bilstein 24-139168 Shock Absorber
2. Bilstein 24-185660 Monotube Shock Absorber, Rear, 46mm
3. Bilstein Bushing Kit
4. ARB 2927 Old Man Emu Coil Spring
5. ARB 2948 Old Man Emu Coil Spring
6. JBA Upper A-arms for 02'-07' lifted Jeep Liberty's
7. Y Link Extension fits 2.5" - 4" lifts
8. Teraflex Front Bump Stop for 02-07 Jeep® Liberty KJ
9. Bushings For Rear Shocks
10. JBA Strut Spacer Plate Set - Need 2
11. Upper Isolator - Need 4
12. A&R Sports Classic Ice Hockey Puck - Need 4
13. Conduit Nuts - 2" - Max three per side

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Are those rear shocks right? Seems odd to use YJ spec ones since those weigh 2/3s of what a KJ weighs. Thought we used Dakota Quad cab/ Durango rear shocks.

 

[jeeplib05]

Are those rear shocks right? Seems odd to use YJ spec ones since those weigh 2/3s of what a KJ weighs. Thought we used Dakota Quad cab/ Durango rear shocks.

Yes they are
They're just more narrow than the shock mount we have
That's why you throw the bushing kit on top and a washer on each side of the lower shock (which all come with the kit from JBA) and you're done
I have them on mine and they're great

 

[jeeplib05]

Are you still going with the Y-link extension?
Also, everything you have in your parts list is all you need except the bushing kit for your rear shocks which you'll need from JBA
The other thing I noticed was you have "Need 4" for your upper iso's
If you're using the OME springs and only adding 3 ring clevis then one upper iso per side will have you sit level
If you're adding top plate (which you have listed in your parts and are 1/4" thick giving you 1/2" of lift) then I would stick with one ring per side
If you're really wanting that extra 1/4" then maybe at the MOST two rings and that would have you sit at about 3 1/2" lift wheel-fender once settled in the front
Then, if you choose to get only one iso per side then the rear would sit at about 3 1/4" which, IMO, looks better to have the front slightly higher than the rear than vice-versa if it's not level
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong because if I am then I need to get me some top plates :happy175:

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Yes they are
They're just more narrow than the shock mount we have
That's why you throw the bushing kit on top and a washer on each side of the lower shock (which all come with the kit from JBA) and you're done
I have them on mine and they're great

Wow never knew that

Back when I ran Bilsteins I didn't use a bushing kit, just torqued them down and the "frame" tabs conformed to them:gr_grin: Or, you could just use some plain old washers, make your own bushing.

 

[jeeplib05]

Wow never knew that

Back when I ran Bilsteins I didn't use a bushing kit, just torqued them down and the "frame" tabs conformed to them:gr_grin: Or, you could just use some plain old washers, make your own bushing.

That's what I did at first
I had about 3-4 washers on each side but when I torqued the bolt it smashed the shock bushing and caused it to bubble out and started to warp
I didn't want pre-mature failure so I got the bushing kit and all is well now

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Do they seem like a stiff enough shock?

 

[profdlp]

Are you still going with the Y-link extension?
Also, everything you have in your parts list is all you need except the bushing kit for your rear shocks which you'll need from JBA...

They have several to pick from:

http://jeepinbyal.com/liberty-2002-2007-kj/ball-joints-and-bushings.html

Which ones do I need?

The other thing I noticed was you have "Need 4" for your upper iso's
If you're using the OME springs and only adding 3 ring clevis then one upper iso per side will have you sit level
If you're adding top plate (which you have listed in your parts and are 1/4" thick giving you 1/2" of lift) then I would stick with one ring per side
If you're really wanting that extra 1/4" then maybe at the MOST two rings and that would have you sit at about 3 1/2" lift wheel-fender once settled in the front
Then, if you choose to get only one iso per side then the rear would sit at about 3 1/4" which, IMO, looks better to have the front slightly higher than the rear than vice-versa if it's not level
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong because if I am then I need to get me some top plates :happy175:

I think I will order four of them anyway, though I think your advice makes sense. The main reason is that they are only $25 a pair and they will give me the flexibility to adjust things here and there if I need to. Despite my many questions, I have read a lot of lift threads and seem to recall a lot of people coming back after they are done wondering why things aren't level, or something like that. For little stuff where there is some debate as to how many to use, having a couple spares won't bother me as long as they are not outrageously expensive.

 

[jeeplib05]

Do they seem like a stiff enough shock?

They are definitely stiff enough
From what I've read, the one shock that feels even stiffer are the Sensa-Tracs
That'd be way too stiff for my liking
Whenever I hit a bump, big or small, I have little to no bounce at all
When I was installing them, it would take almost all of my strength to compress them to align with the lower shock mount hole
This is what I did (with the upper shock mounted already but not torqued yet):
I found it easier to just put a washer on, slide a long screwdriver through it and the shock hole and pry it up where it aligns
Then, throw my other washer on and slide the bolt through
Kind of confusing but basically once you get to the point where you have the end of the bolt touching the screwdriver head and washers on each side, you push the bolt in and screwdriver out at the same time so it stays aligned the whole time
There may be an easier way but that's what I found helped me

 

[jeeplib05]

They have several to pick from:

http://jeepinbyal.com/liberty-2002-2007-kj/ball-joints-and-bushings.html

Which ones do I need?



I think I will order four of them anyway, though I think your advice makes sense. The main reason is that they are only $25 a pair and they will give me the flexibility to adjust things here and there if I need to. Despite my many questions, I have read a lot of lift threads and seem to recall a lot of people coming back after they are done wondering why things aren't level, or something like that. For little stuff where there is some debate as to how many to use, having a couple spares won't bother me as long as they are not outrageously expensive.

To your question:
What you're going to want to do is click on the Bilstein shocks for a 2.5" lift
Then you'll scroll to the bottom of the description where it explains that you need the bushing kit
There's a link you click on where it says "One kit per pair of shocks"
Order that part :waytogo:

And also, I agree that it's better to have more than less so get whatever you'd like!
That way if you want to go higher in the future all you have to do is throw those in there
I've sat damn near level all around after lifting so you'll just have to wait and see

 

[profdlp]

To your question:
What you're going to want to do is click on the Bilstein shocks for a 2.5" lift
Then you'll scroll to the bottom of the description where it explains that you need the bushing kit
There's a link you click on where it says "One kit per pair of shocks"
Order that part :waytogo:

Thanks! The link was not obvious and if it hadn't been for your instructions I would have never even known that it was there.

I think these are the right ones:

http://jeepinbyal.com/index.php/bilstein-bushing-kit-one-kit-fits-2-shocks.html

And also, I agree that it's better to have more than less so get whatever you'd like!
That way if you want to go higher in the future all you have to do is throw those in there
I've sat damn near level all around after lifting so you'll just have to wait and see

Yeah, we've all had those jobs where we wished we had one more 2x4 or another box of screws. There's an old theory that no job can ever be completed until you make your third trip to the hardware store... :happy175:

 

[uss2defiant]

At the end, I hope you can summarize what you bought and the links!

 

[tommudd]

Wow never knew that

Back when I ran Bilsteins I didn't use a bushing kit, just torqued them down and the "frame" tabs conformed to them:gr_grin: Or, you could just use some plain old washers, make your own bushing.

Washers do not make up for the larger diameter hole in the bushing itself, thats what the bushing kit takes care of

 

[tommudd]

They are definitely stiff enough
From what I've read, the one shock that feels even stiffer are the Sensa-Tracs
That'd be way too stiff for my liking
Whenever I hit a bump, big or small, I have little to no bounce at all
When I was installing them, it would take almost all of my strength to compress them to align with the lower shock mount hole
This is what I did (with the upper shock mounted already but not torqued yet):
I found it easier to just put a washer on, slide a long screwdriver through it and the shock hole and pry it up where it aligns
Then, throw my other washer on and slide the bolt through
Kind of confusing but basically once you get to the point where you have the end of the bolt touching the screwdriver head and washers on each side, you push the bolt in and screwdriver out at the same time so it stays aligned the whole time
There may be an easier way but that's what I found helped me

Sensa Tracs do not feel stiffer, now the SeansaTrac coilovers of course do