Project 2004 Liberty pickup

[CrazyDrei]

Decided to load up the back with approximately 1,000 lbs of junk and trash to take to the street yesterday, ended driving around the yard and kept the load in the back for a couple hours. Doors and tailgate still open and close effortlessly. Unibody has not imploded from all the awesomeness, yet...

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I left a little tab on the door and roof where I though I was going to attach the back of the cab to, now I don't like it. It looks out of place and gets in the way. It adds nothing structural so I think I'll be cutting it off in the near future when I start trying to figure out how to build the back of cab.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[first&lastKJ]

I like what I see so far.

 

[65Corvair]

It's the start of a cool build. Keep posting updates when you have them.

 

[CrazyDrei]

Taking a week off from tinkering with the Jeep!

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Merry Christmas and a happy new year everyone!

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[duderz7]

Why...did you get shrapnel in your eye perhaps?

 

[CrazyDrei]

Why...did you get shrapnel in your eye perhaps?

duderz7,

Shrapnel removed, tactic changed, so far, so good.

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Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[duderz7]

Was hoping I wasn't right. Glad you're taking more precautions now.

 

[CrazyDrei]

Santa spoiled the kids rotten again this year, and dropped off new tires for my Liberty too.

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I was not allowed to bring all 4 of them into the house. More on the tires soon, all I can say for now is that they are not 31s!

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[sleazy rider]

Pass the popcorn....

 

[CrazyDrei]

Trash day test drive.

Loaded the Liberty with approximately 1,000lbs of trash and drove it around for about an hour or two. No issues with the unibody collapsing and imploding. All doors and tailgate still open and close effortlessly.

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So if you really think about it, that 1,000 lbs payload is a total freebe. I removed over 500 lbs fro the back of the liberty and the extra 500 lbs comes from having two average sized adults in the back seat. Not surprised at all that it drives absolutely normal even with 1,000 lbs in he back.

Having 2,000 lbs will be a real test soon.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[CrazyDrei]

Trimmed away another 4" of the roof to get a cleaner look. Will probably end up cutting more when I build the back of the cab.

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Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[CrazyDrei]

I know for a fact that 33" tires will fit on the Liberty with absolutely no problems or clearance issues once the eBay spacer "lift" is in. I also want to see how these same 33" tires will fit on the Liberty just the way it is right now, stock.

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Did I mention that the 33" tires I am putting on the Jeep are agricultural R1 or tractor tires? Grab that popcorn and watch some serious heads explode from all this awesomeness

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I only mounted one tire, just to see if what i want to do is even remotely possible. 33" tractor tire on Jeep rim next to the stock 235/70R16 tire.

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Mounted tractor tire next to the factory tire on the left. Unmounted tractor tire with an unmounted 235/70/16 tire in front of it on right. This does not look very promising...

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Jeep is jacked up, tractor tire is actually bolted up to the Liberty.

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OMG, it actually fits in the wheel well with no rubbing as long as the truck is unloaded.

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1" clearance behind the tire. 1/2" clearance in front of the tire, and a little less than stock clearance above the tire (read: it will rub under full suspension articulation).

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Front bolted up. Way more room than in the back, I was not expecting that.

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Scrub radius of the 33" tire is greater than that of a 28" stock tire and the pinch-weld lip will be gently massaged out of the way.

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I knew that the tire would fit but was definitely not expecting to have that much clearance between tire and fender.

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Windshield washer reservoir is also in the way and will be removed when I install the eBay strut spacers.

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This thing looks pretty sweet if you ask me.

Next step is to install the eBay spacer lift, mount the other 2 tires and bolt up the tractor wheels up!

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[duderz7]

Looks great as long as there are no bumps or turns in your path, have fun!

 

[CrazyDrei]

eBay coil and strut spacers: part 1

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All jacked up, just kidding, only rear coil spacers are in and front is jacked up to show maximum droop.

My starting point of the stock suspension ground to fender heights are as follows:

Rear pass: 33.75"
Rear drive: 34.25"
Front pass: 31.25"
Front drive: 31.75" (no fender flare)

I am using the ground to fender height because it is the most practical and realistic values to real life application where as center hub to fender height is an irrelevant value. An example of this is my 2000 Suburban which has a factory center hub to fender height yet I have exactly the same approach angle, departure angle and break over angle as a stock 2017 2 door Wrangler Rubicon.

Enough of the soapbox, lets have some fun.

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This is my starting point. 235/70R16 tires.

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eBay 2.5" front and 2" rear spacer kit. Construction and materials look simple and solid only time will tell how they fare in the long run.

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So I read a whole bunch of forum threads on how to install the spacers, most of which were done by someone else or a shop or a dealer. Watched a whole bunch of YouTube how to videos and they included extra steps that seemed completely unnecessary.

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I tinkered for about 30 minutes with the rear passenger side spacer and figured out how to install the drivers side in about 10 minutes, and that includes taking the wheel off and putting it back on.

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Step 1

Jack up by axle
Remove wheel 19mm
Remove upper shock bolt: 15mm
Support frame with a jack stand
Lower axle until coil is loose
Remove coil by tilting bottom off isolator and out.

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Step 2:

Remove OEM isolator
Clean coil perch
Place coil spacer on perch
Place OEM isolator on coil spacer

You do not have to unbolt the diff support bolt unless you do this for a living and like to charge your customers more in labor.

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Step 3:

Rent coil compressor like these, most places rent them for free
Compress the coil at 12 o'clock and 4 o'clock, do not do 12 and 6, creates clearance issues
Bolt can be facing up or down, facing up is easier for me

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Step 4:

Insert compressed coil into position, slide top in first, then bottom
Raise the axle and attache shock bolt
Raise the axle some more until coil is within 1" of the top perch
Release one of the coil compressors completely

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Step 5:
Rotate coil so second compressor is easily accessible
Release the second coil compressor

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Step 6:

Lower the axle completely
Attach the wheel to hub

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Bam! And just like that you installed a 2" rear coil spacer under 10 minutes.

For those who like numbers that have little meaning:

Center hub to fender:
Rear driver 23.5"
Rear pass: 24"

Ground to fender:
Rear driver: 36"
Rear pass 35.75"

All these numbers will change once the strut spacers are in and once again after they are seated.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[jeeptorino68]

Center of hub to bottom of flare IS a useful measure because it eliminates tire size variations. Not every tire manufacturers tire measures exactly as marked on the sidewall. Measuring hub to flare allows everyone to compare actual lift heights without accounting for tires...

 

[sleazy rider]

I’m waiting to see your approach on the front 2.5” StreetRay’s spacers. Pass the popcorn. There’s a set in my saved items on eBay too.

 

[CrazyDrei]

Center of hub to bottom of flare IS a useful measure because it eliminates tire size variations. Not every tire manufacturers tire measures exactly as marked on the sidewall. Measuring hub to flare allows everyone to compare actual lift heights without accounting for tires...

jeeptorino68,

If you are concerned about your vehicle looks on pavement or the actual cosmetic height difference between different lift kits as a comparison then yes center hub to fender (H2F) is valuable and the only way to compare lift kits. However once the lift kit is actually installed on the vehicle there are too many other factors involved in comparing and standardizing the actual performance versus the looks.

H2F height is a great tool for your average consumer to use when comparing the looks of different lift kits. Unfortunately it is as useful to me as figuring out if a monkey or an elephant can do simple arithmetic more accurately.

I saw an individual on some forum constantly asking the same question and expecting different results. Question was what's better for mud and deep ruts 31" tires and 400 ramp travel index or 33" tires and 350 ramp travel index. The answer is ultimately doesn't matter since a John Deere with 52" tires and 100 ramp travel index will be puling you out.

 

[CrazyDrei]

I’m waiting to see your approach on the front 2.5” StreetRay’s spacers. Pass the popcorn. There’s a set in my saved items on eBay too.

****** rider,

I soaked the entire front end with PB blaster last night, can't wait to dig into it today. I don't like struts and don't have the tools to work with them, it should be interesting.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[sleazy rider]

The spacer mounts between the shock and fender. No strut/spring disassembly required, but the assembly is now 2.5" longer and requires some ingenuity to get in. You will have to trim the studs on the shock to make it fit in the spacer.

 

[CrazyDrei]

Rescued and fit two Yamaha Raptor 700Rs in the bed of my Liberty this morning.

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Typical morning, made kids breakfast, sent them out to play on their quads. As I'm preparing for the day my 4 year old knocks on the door and says that his quad is stuck on the snowmobile trail in our yard.

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Apparently I forgot to charge the batteries last night and 1/2 mile from the house one battery died.

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Second one made it most of the way back to the house before that battery died too.

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Kids were so happy that our Jeep pickup was able to come rescue them and save them a long trip back home.

I did not think that I could fit two quads in the back on this bed, who knew.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!