Liberty lift confusion!

[judderman]

Thank you judderman!

I know Tom's right - it's all here. However for a newcomer it is SO much easier to see it all in one place rather than crawling through over a decade of scattered information I appreciate the followup.

OME 927
OME 948
Bilstein 28-185660
Bilstein 24-139168
Hockey pucks x4
Terraflex bump stops
JBA Bilstein shock adapter kit

Make sure you have a shop put the coils on the front struts because it’s basically impossible without good equipment.

Spray everything you will be taking off with penetrating oil the days leading up to the change

I only needed to drop front sway bar links and upper ball joint to get the strut out of the clevis, and to put it back in a good crowbar to open it up and ratchet straps to hold it in line were also necessary alongside jacking into place.

 

[tommudd]

FRONT SHOCKs , we do not have struts by the way, coilover shocks
always remove nut from upper ball joint, so much easier and of course tie rod ends, and brakes
what few minutes those things take in removing saves you time down the road

 

[blemoine]

Big ups to both @tommudd and @judderman!!!

 

[RockyMountainEdition]

I may have missed the reason for the 2 hockey pucks in the rear as added bump stops, but wondering why the need for them. Are the factory bump stops not good enough? Or do they not make contact soon enough because the coils are taller?

 

[judderman]

The latter; as I understand it the factory ones don’t contact soon enough as the coils are taller and the shock is longer, but someone will probably have a more correct answer than this!

 

[Mgaylord]

33-185857
is what I have used in the lower 4600 series

I run the 5100 series on rear of my 03 now 24-185660 with 2.5 inches of lift

I just wanted to confirm that this is the correct shock number. Also if you could give me some input, I am lifting a 2002 Jeep liberty limited, for some reason from 02 to 03 something change in its suspension and I just want to make sure that this setup will be fine on the 2002 Jeep liberty.

 

[tommudd]

I just wanted to confirm that this is the correct shock number. Also if you could give me some input, I am lifting a 2002 Jeep liberty limited, for some reason from 02 to 03 something change in its suspension and I just want to make sure that this setup will be fine on the 2002 Jeep liberty.

NOTHING, repeat nothing at all changed in the suspension from 02-07, nothing

Only thing the first few KJs that were built prior to April 12, 2002 were 3/4 of an inch taller

I have installed the same OME lifts on all 5 model years of KJs and you get the exact same amount of lift on each year, no difference
and yes If I printed a certain number shock then it is correct
Not including my 3 , I have done over 60 KJ lifts and 98% were the OME setup

 

[Mgaylord]

Awesome thank you very much. I was going to order the complete Rocky road outfitters kit but I like your ideas better

 

[tommudd]

Awesome thank you very much. I was going to order the complete Rocky road outfitters kit but I like your ideas better

RRO do not

 

[Mgaylord]

Thank you

 

[Doing10to20]

Cant go wrong with RRO,their stuff works ‍ whether you like them or not

 

[tommudd]

LOL
but customer service is terrible
products not fitting correctly
people waiting now over 15 years for parts that were built wrong and returned but they never returned their money
their so called great lifts have an OTT that is not needed at all
shall we go on ?
Having heard of their terrible service and products even before I started building KJs and then seeing their products , well Glen is a ..................

 

[Mgaylord]

NOTHING, repeat nothing at all changed in the suspension from 02-07, nothing

Only thing the first few KJs that were built prior to April 12, 2002 were 3/4 of an inch taller

I have installed the same OME lifts on all 5 model years of KJs and you get the exact same amount of lift on each year, no difference
and yes If I printed a certain number shock then it is correct
Not including my 3 , I have done over 60 KJ lifts and 98% were the OME setup

Tom, to pick your brain some more, I have the 16x8 moab jeep wheels that are going on my liberty with this ome setup. I wanted to go with 265 75 16 tires. I local tire shop says I will get too much rub? The tire shop recommended 265 70 16. With your experience, what is your take on this?
Thank you for all your help.

 

[tommudd]

Tom, to pick your brain some more, I have the 16x8 moab jeep wheels that are going on my liberty with this ome setup. I wanted to go with 265 75 16 tires. I local tire shop says I will get too much rub? The tire shop recommended 265 70 16. With your experience, what is your take on this?
Thank you for all your help.

With 265-75-16s you would need more lift, plus a regear to 4.10s
I'm running 265-75-16s on 4.5 inches of lift ( JBA adjustable ) on the 04 with 4.10 gearing, still lacks some power etc
I'm running 265-70-16s on the 03 with 2.5 inches of lift( JBA adjustable ) - ( plus 4.10 gearing which is just right )
So yes stick with a 245-75-16 or 265-70-16, both same height, 265-70 is just wider and sits on the 8 inch wide Moabs better

 

[tommudd]

2

 

[Mgaylord]

With 265-75-16s you would need more lift, plus a regear to 4.10s
I'm running 265-75-16s on 4.5 inches of lift ( JBA adjustable ) on the 04 with 4.10 gearing, still lacks some power etc
I'm running 265-70-16s on the 03 with 2.5 inches of lift( JBA adjustable ) - ( plus 4.10 gearing which is just right )
So yes stick with a 245-75-16 or 265-70-16, both same height, 265-70 is just wider and sits on the 8 inch wide Moabs better

Awesome you guys are great. I'm new to this stuff so tried to read a lot before asking so many questions. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Mgaylord]

NOTHING, repeat nothing at all changed in the suspension from 02-07, nothing

Only thing the first few KJs that were built prior to April 12, 2002 were 3/4 of an inch taller

I have installed the same OME lifts on all 5 model years of KJs and you get the exact same amount of lift on each year, no difference
and yes If I printed a certain number shock then it is correct
Not including my 3 , I have done over 60 KJ lifts and 98% were the OME setup

I still haven't lifted yet, (no time ) I have everything sitting in the liberty ready to go. I do have another question. Is there an advantage of using bilstein 5100 24-282642 adjustable's over the 4600's? Also is there any plus for doing a sub frame drop to help the CV angles?

 

[Mgaylord]

I still haven't lifted yet, (no time ) I have everything sitting in the liberty ready to go. I do have another question. Is there an advantage of using bilstein 5100 24-282642 adjustable's over the 4600's? Also is there any plus for doing a sub frame drop to help the CV angles?

Also I will be using jba uca's. I really want to shoot for a little more than 3" above stock height. Adding rear upper isolators etc

 

[tommudd]

I still haven't lifted yet, (no time ) I have everything sitting in the liberty ready to go. I do have another question. Is there an advantage of using bilstein 5100 24-282642 adjustable's over the 4600's? Also is there any plus for doing a sub frame drop to help the CV angles?

Late answer but forget the subframe drop, not needed at all
You do not need the 5100 adjustables if using a full spring lift
at 2.5 / 3 inches CVs are fine, I've ran over 4 inches of lift with stock CVs, no cradle drop

 

[Mgaylord]

Late answer but forget the subframe drop, not needed at all
You do not need the 5100 adjustables if using a full spring lift
at 2.5 / 3 inches CVs are fine, I've ran over 4 inches of lift with stock CVs, no cradle drop

Awesome thank you