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Rock krawler 3.5 install?

5K views 33 replies 10 participants last post by  Bluedeuce 
#1 ·
I will be installing their x-factor lift this weekend on my 15 Sahara JKU. I've slowly read through the detailed instructions twice and am pretty confident installing it myself.

They give starting lengths to adjust the respective components based on which height lift you are installing. Are these starting points pretty much on the money or will I find I need to adjust them further once everything is bolted on? I guess I'm inquiring if or how I'll even know if further tweaking is required.

Also are there any tips or tricks of the trade to make this install a no problem satisfying success? I believe I have all the necessary tools and did spray the existing hardware with pb blaster last week. I also put in the exhaust spacers yesterday.
 
#3 ·
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Understand the actual lift IS ONLY the coils. Every other part is installed at ride height or after the new coils are in. Dont try and install everything up on stands like some do.

After you get the new coils in drop the jeep back down to the ground w/ either tires on or stands under the axles.
Set track bars (center axles next) install the rear track bar and center the axles laterally.

Below was a short write up i did for another member on CA install.


Ok, you will have to decide on rear lower lengths ( or how far you want to move the axle back), ideally +.25 is perfect at 3.5". Mine is set back 1/2" and some go as much as 1" back. Just remember more than .5 is honestly unnecessary and can cause other interference problems.

Heres the gist of it basically you want to set the lowers matching in length. Then W/ the lower arms Mounted up, the uppers can be adjusted to match the mounts. Basically you set/hold pinion with jack and adjust the arms out to each mount, NO measuring required.

Front
1/ take each lower arm and center the joints up. Measure from eye to eye 23 1/4
2/ pair the arms together and feed 2 bolts through to match lengths (video) http://s1031.photobucket.com/user/k...8-43F8-A20A-ABFD24800F77_zpsbmueudjp.mp4.html
3/ mount lowers leaving bolts loose
4/ position a jack under the pinion. You want to read + 2° using a angle on the flange (pinion angle)
5/ take the drivers side upper arm and install the frame side mount (or non adjustable side) 6/ rotate the joint out to match the opposite mount hole (both bolts should slide in/out with little effort)
7/ take the passenger side arm and do the same thing. (All 4 upper CA bolts should slide in/out without effort)
8/ drop jack and measure pinion again +1° or + 2° is acceptable (4° - 5° caster)
9/ tighten jam nuts TIGHT (you can remove one arm at a time to do so .. Make sure you don't mess with the setting.
10/tighten all bolts lowers 125 uppers 75 ft lbs

Rear
Rear setup is the same, lowers first, mount, then uppers matching the mounts. After lowers are set and installed the axle needs to be put on stands and tires removed to get to the upper arms.
1/ set lowers to 20" - 20 3/4 ( + 1/4 to 1" )
2/mount lowers leaving bolts loose
3/ axle on stands remove tires
4/ pinion angle. pinion in the rear is relative to DS angle. You want the pinion to be -2° lower then the driveshaft. 5/ use jack to hold -2°
6/ start with the drivers arm and match the mounts (like you did with the front)
7/ do the same with the passenger arm
8/ recheck the angle before tightening things up. All 4 arms 125 ft lbs

If you notice i gave no lengths for the uppers ... You dont need to set them .. Matching the mount locations removes any bind that may be present with same length uppers. With the lowers matching up the uppers do not meed to be the same lengths.
People often set Whatever the manufacturer recommends and has to deal with alignment issues because no 2 jeeps are alike.
I set my arm up following the above steps and my alignment was almost perfect. Plus messing with jam nuts is a pain in the ass. Do it right the first time and save yourself the

I see a lot of jacked up arm instals on here. More times then not its a shop that should know what they're doing. The owner complains of poor handling etc. one person ripped her upper mount off, prob due to setup and binding. Take your time, read this a few times and understand it. Once understood the process is not difficult.

Good luck
 
#5 ·
Big thing for me was making sure the coils were correctly installed. The front coils wind into the grove. The back coils the wind faces the rear of the jeep. Everything else was common sense. I didn't use a spring compressor to put the coils in, just manipulated the axle. Jack up one side of the axle while lowering the other side, the springs pop in and out with no effort. I think I remember using 4 or 5 jackstands for each end. Alignment, let a pro do it after. The one thing the shop missed was properly centering my axle, so check that.

I took my time over two weekends to get it right (did it all by myself). Only thing I had to redo were the rear springs.

When in doubt ask RK or Ken (the guy in the post above).
 
#6 ·
Thank you Ken and danrb for generously sharing your knowledge and Insight to a newbie like myself. I've been answering "stupid" questions on wildlife photography forums since Al Gore invented the Internet. Now I know what it's like not to have all the answers.
 
#7 ·
RK forgot to enclose the rear coil shims. I have been planning my work schedule for weeks around doing the install this weekend. Is there any reason either safety or mechanical that I can't do the front first still commute to work and wait until next weekend to do the rear?
 
#8 · (Edited)
I couldn't answer if it would or wouldn't be safe, but I did do my fronts first. I didn't drive it cause the nose was so far up, it looked like it was gonna jump. Wonder if you'd be able to see over the hood. lol

If it was me I'd wait, however if you do decide to do it, send us pics.

P.S. I don't know what the springs are like now from RK, but I got 4 inches in the front with an aftermaket Poison Spyder bumper. If you still have a stock bumper you'll get more lift in the front.
 
#9 ·
The rear coils are the easiest so you could install it and when the wedges come put them in. You may not need them. But if you do its easy to do rear coils.
 
#14 ·
I have read everything you guys supplied and chimed in with in addition to RK's install instructions multiple times. Believe it or not the only thing I am fuzzy on is do I put loctite on the jam nuts before install or after they are bolted on ? Thank you for all your help to date.
 
#15 ·
just before you tighten them. Ideally with locktight you have it on the threads snug it down then back off and torq it.
 
#17 ·
Ken, The front took me a bit but was a piece of cake. I took your advice and "only" moved the rear axle back 1/2". Does that mean I am drilling new holes for the sway bar 1/2" behind the existing ones instead of the 1" RK says in their instructions ?
 
#21 ·
I kept waiting for some kid to ride by on his bike to pester me like I used to do to the old dudes. I would have gladly paid him to watch and hand me tools. Getting up and down has been the hardest part.

I'm not liking the rear brake lines routing. I think they could have been made shorter. I'll figure that out once once the tires are on.
 
#24 ·
I finished and took it to the go to alignment shop here in Orlando. The owner said I did a good job on the install for not knowing what I was doing and he didn't have to make any changes other than dialing in the alignment itself.

He said it doesn't drive as good as he had hoped and suggested adjustable ball joints down the line if it bothers me. Granted it doesn't feel like my wife's 535 but it seems improved from before. A quick search on Google yields a lot of people saying not to install adjustable joints. Any opinions from this crowd?
 
#33 ·
a few buddies of mine have a rock krawler 3.5" lift installed, originally this is the lift I was gunna go with but I started leaning towards the teraflex outback kit with adjustable control arms, softer springs and the falcon shocks that teraflex is releasing in January. Im kind of leaning back towards the rock krawler 3.5 x factor lift. Any one have any say in which is more bang for your buck? I know each lift is different but I would hate to spend a couple thousand just to install and kind of wish I bought the other lift. Thanks guys!
 
#34 ·
I can't make any comparisons but I've now had the lift installed for 2 weeks and I'm pleased with the ride on the street up to this point. I might mention that I have the Rancho 9000 shocks installed. Not sure if they are what I'm going to stick with forever but I bought them a couple months ago before the lift so I'll use them for a while. Going to put it through its paces at least as far as FL goes this weekend.
 
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