Help with front too high after OME install

[Squamish_Steffen]

Hey all,

I had OME springs and OME/Bilstein shocks installed last week with the help of a local offroad shop. I'm having problems with the front and could really use some suggestions for specific things to try...

They are 927 springs with two conduit nuts per side, which is about 3/8" of spacing. After trying to break in the springs, the fronts are still around 23". Sounds like other folks have had similar issues, with the front being too high due to tightened bolts off the ground. My lift guy doesn't see what it could be... He said he loosened the top clevis bolt and re-tightened. Also the swaybar links were attached with weight on the ground. The CV's looks way too angled right? Not sure what else I can look for. The swaybar links are also not lining up very well and I can't keep them tight, even after over-torquing them down, so they make noise on small bumps. That what my mechanic says anyway. You can kind of see the angle of the blue washers vs the bolt in this image.

KJ 23 IFS

• Squamish_Steffen
• Sep 14, 2020

I can take any other photo that you feel will help to diagnose.

Next step is to remove the clevis spacers I guess. I'll have to figure this out myself after-all as the shop costs 1h of labor per side for this. Can I do this with a single jack? Just loosen the clevis bolts and push/pull the shock out to remove the spacers??

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Squamish_Steffen]

I should also mention that I painted the springs red. They are OEM 927's and originally black.

If you're curious what the KJ looks like with 23" front and 245/75r16 wheels:

Tanto 23 Front

• Squamish_Steffen
• Sep 14, 2020

From a purely aesthetics perspective, I'd say it looks good and level without cargo, though wouldn't suffer from lowering the front a bit.

 

[tommudd]

With 927s and nothing else you would have 21.5, the two conduit nuts are another 1/2 inch so total should be 22 , not 23
3 conduit nuts is 3/8 inch
Have you had it aligned by someone that actually knows what they are doing yet?
Were all things tightened with full weight on the ground ?
Have you actually taken it out and twisted it up yet to settle in the springs
Never see what you have happening in all the lifts that were done at my place.
Others have had similar issues ???????????????????????
None that I have seen in over 16 years on KJ forums unless there was something installed wrong

Use a different top plate or anything up there, can't see

 

[Squamish_Steffen]

Thanks for replying man.

With 927s and nothing else you would have 21.5, the two conduit nuts are another 1/2 inch so total should be 22 , not 23
3 conduit nuts is 3/8 inch

Exactly. Though those conduit nuts look like more than 1/8" each to me but yea, close enough.

Have you had it aligned by someone that actually knows what they are doing yet?

It was aligned by someone who regularly aligns lifted vehicles. Maybe an extreme adjustment was made which is trowing things off... they could not get the camber even close to acceptable of the passenger side...

Were all things tightened with full weight on the ground ?

I can't say for a fact. All I can do now is re-tighten things. Are there any other bolts you would suggest apart from the upper and lower clevis bolts?

Have you actually taken it out and twisted it up yet to settle in the springs

I mean, depends on your definition. I've spent some hours driving into deep gravel holes, cycling speed bumps, throwing weight in the back, slamming on the brakes. I don't have an ideal articulation track or anything but I've been trying to find compression...

unless there was something installed wrong
Use a different top plate or anything up there, can't see

Re-used the stock top plate. I'll take a photo of the upper shock.

 

[Doing10to20]

Just take those conduit nuts off..that should get you under 23

 

[Doing10to20]

Jeep looks good tho! Looks clean dude...I hover around 23 all around and havent had any issues on or offroad

 

[tommudd]

I've ran over 23.5 for over 125,000 miles ( at least ) on the 04
but then have JBA UCAs, JBA coilover lift , so no UCA/coil spring contact etc
CVs were not happy when front wheel/wheels popped up in the air, but otherwise stays together

 

[Aceofspades]

The JBA arms help a lot with alignment.
Why not add some isolators to rear ?

drive it over a big bumpy field or lawn somewhere. Let it settle in

 

[Squamish_Steffen]

Ok so this project is driving me BANANAS!!

I took the two clevis spacers out today. When putting it back together I lined everything up (clevis bolts and sway bar bolts) but left them lose; I mounted the tire and dropped the vehicle. I then jumped on the hood a bit and shoved the car from the drivers side to get the spring moving as much as possible; then tightened everything up.

I looked closely at all the things I could think of:

• The lower clevis bushing looks old but no play.
• The LCA ball joint moves.
• The UCA ball joint moves.
• I found the sway bar bolt hole had worn large and allows for significant play even when the endlink bolt is super tight. I'm guessing this is the source of my knocking noise over light bumps.
• The top-plate looks appropriately seated and bolted to the frame.
• The spring is seated nicely in both the top and bottom rubber isolators.
• The clevis fork is all the way up on the shock.

With the 927 spring and 2 x 1/8" clevis spacers I was at 23.25". In my opinion the suspension is not happy at this height. At max droop, the measurement is 24.0", thats when the UCAs meet the spring. The inner CV boot also crinkles at that droop and the tie-rod end ball joint is pretty much maxed also.

After removing the clevis spacers, I'm still at 23.25" ... WTF!!!?! How can that be possible...

As mentioned before, the ride is extremely stiff. Drives like a race car designed for a smooth track with no bumps. This can't possibly be the ride that everyone here says they love.

I did not measure the spring free height before assembling unfortunately, but they each had little white stickers saying "927". The invoice also confirms 927.

Theories anyone ??????

Do I actually have different springs? (Maybe mislabelled form the factory or something)
Is the shock faulty? (Bilstein 4600 series, #24-139168)
Could the coilover be assembled weird? The shop said there is basically no adjustment on the 4600-Bilsteins and no way to goof up the assembly with coil.
Maybe a stiff ball joint?
Something funky with the sway bar?
... I'm losing my mind

 

[Squamish_Steffen]

I have tons of photos. Let me know if any others would be useful to show.

927 Top

• Squamish_Steffen
• Sep 20, 2020

 

[tommudd]

Something not right for sure, with only 927s you should be at 21.5 inches not where you are
and the ride should be firmer than the stock weak springs but not rock hard at all

 

[Doing10to20]

Ok so this project is driving me BANANAS!!

I took the two clevis spacers out today. When putting it back together I lined everything up (clevis bolts and sway bar bolts) but left them lose; I mounted the tire and dropped the vehicle. I then jumped on the hood a bit and shoved the car from the drivers side to get the spring moving as much as possible; then tightened everything up.

I looked closely at all the things I could think of:

• The lower clevis bushing looks old but no play.
• The LCA ball joint moves.
• The UCA ball joint moves.
• I found the sway bar bolt hole had worn large and allows for significant play even when the endlink bolt is super tight. I'm guessing this is the source of my knocking noise over light bumps.
• The top-plate looks appropriately seated and bolted to the frame.
• The spring is seated nicely in both the top and bottom rubber isolators.
• The clevis fork is all the way up on the shock.

With the 927 spring and 2 x 1/8" clevis spacers I was at 23.25". In my opinion the suspension is not happy at this height. At max droop, the measurement is 24.0", thats when the UCAs meet the spring. The inner CV boot also crinkles at that droop and the tie-rod end ball joint is pretty much maxed also.

After removing the clevis spacers, I'm still at 23.25" ... WTF!!!?! How can that be possible...

As mentioned before, the ride is extremely stiff. Drives like a race car designed for a smooth track with no bumps. This can't possibly be the ride that everyone here says they love.

I did not measure the spring free height before assembling unfortunately, but they each had little white stickers saying "927". The invoice also confirms 927.

Theories anyone ??????

Do I actually have different springs? (Maybe mislabelled form the factory or something)
Is the shock faulty? (Bilstein 4600 series, #24-139168)
Could the coilover be assembled weird? The shop said there is basically no adjustment on the 4600-Bilsteins and no way to goof up the assembly with coil.
Maybe a stiff ball joint?
Something funky with the sway bar?
... I'm losing my mind

Crazy dude...I dont mind a stiff ride but not that stiff lol..glad i went with 926s then..put a winch up front add the extra weight might help

 

[tommudd]

927S ARE NOT STIFF,
over 60 sets installed at my place and never any one complaining about stiffness
another issue , just wish they were closer to actually see it

 

[sota]

something is definitely kaddy wumpus for your setup.
I'm running 790/948 springs and I'm in the low 22" range, and these suckers are STIFF without some kind of weight in the back.

 

[Squamish_Steffen]

I'm running 790/948 springs and I'm in the low 22" range, and these suckers are STIFF without some kind of weight in the back.

Have you by chance seen the 790's and 927's in person? Wondering if they look almost identical or not...

I sent an email to ARB, but doubt they can help... I don't think the springs are engraved at all and I can't measure the free height once assembled to the shock of course.

Considering ordering the 925 shocks. They will cost me $400 and take three weeks to arrive tho. I also kept the stock front springs.

I created two short videos to overview the components:
Front passenger, behind the wheel.
Front passenger, in front of the wheel.
Please let me know if you can spot anything weird!

 

[tommudd]

I have ran both ( the 927s and 790s ) so yes have seen them side by side and look the same
925 shocks ??? You mean springs and why 400 ??
I have the 925s on the 05, just due to that is the only vehicle my Mother can get in, they are ok, but like the overall ride and handling of the 927s way better

The noise over bumps is more than likely UCA/Spring contact

 

[Squamish_Steffen]

I have ran both ( the 927s and 790s ) so yes have seen them side by side and look the same
925 shocks ??? You mean springs and why 400 ??

Yea sorry I meant springs. They cost $260 CAD from a vendor here, ordering direct from ARB USA. But freight and boarder customs will be significant. Vendor estimates ~$400.

I spoke with ARB USA but they can't really help. They just scolded me for not following their "application guide" which just says 925 for stock, 926 for up to 150lbs front accessory load, and 927 for above that, all supposedly yielding 1.5" lift at those conditions. I called a different off-road shop in the adjacent city who vends OME and they just scolded me for matching an OME spring to a Bilstein shock. Jeez.

My best theory is that I have received 790 springs, mislabeled as 927's. +4" of lift still seems excessive tho...

 

[Squamish_Steffen]

Hey, do you folks use the lower spring isolator in the assembly ?! Or let the bottom of the spring rest on the aluminum plate?? (See OP photo)

 

[Squamish_Steffen]

Ready for upgrade v2
Got these shipped to my door in 2 weeks for $398 CAD after everything from Essex Distribution in Canada, but they actually ship from Washington state so probably even cheaper for the Americans here. (The OMEs were $650 CAD from Amazon/Tdot)

H&R Springs In Box 2020

• Squamish_Steffen
• Oct 20, 2020

First impression is much better than OME, which I wasn't necessarily expecting. They are powder-coated nicer than the OME in a dark blue. There is also a logo and part number painted on. They are packaged nicely and come with some paper docs. I'm feeling optimistic the ride will be improved but we'll just have to see. I'll report back when its done.

I'll also post a side by side photo of the stock spring vs 927 and H&R.

 

[sota]

you know, I just noticed you put conduit nuts up front. why?