Look at the front lower axle side control arm mounts. The holes that the bolt passes through are slotted. When the bolt is adequately tight, is there movement?
JKS JSPEC suspension kit
- Thread starter bobthetj03
- Start date
Look at the front lower axle side control arm mounts. The holes that the bolt passes through are slotted. When the bolt is adequately tight, is there movement?
I had excessive movement in my track bar bushings .
It was a combination of soft rubber and luckily I didn't have it tight enough to keep the elongated sleeve from moving on the bolt.
I use the word "stock" loosely ..o 'reillys...under 20 bucks . Huge improvement . They are stock size , which the RC is as well.
Any more pics or reviews from people that have installed this lift?
Do stock control arms need to be beefed up running this type of bushing since the arm itself doesn’t have the flex built into he arm like the stock control arms have?
Do stock control arms need to be beefed up running this type of bushing since the arm itself doesn’t have the flex built into he arm like the stock control arms have?
I think the silence in response to your question is because its a bit of an unknown. I was waiting to see what people said. I've heard rumors that some people have broken mounts with Clevite bushings and I've heard some people say they will never be a problem. So I don't know the answer. I suppose its a matter of how much you flex your system.
I have chosen to go the route of the DDB bushing found in the Rancho D2 arms. Its a risk though because they are an even greater unknown. But I am hoping that everyone is being honest in their advertisments about the amount of misalignment offered in the DDB style of bushing.
Life got in the way and I finally got to take the Jeep out on its first drive last night after I got my new drive shaft and finished setting adjustments. It drove and felt good. I still have a little tweaking to do as I do have a little steering wheel shimmy I need to figure out. I havent had a chance to get a good pic outside of the garage yet so here you go!
I installed the JKS JSPEC 3" coils this weekend. They replaced my 10+ year old BDS 2" coils. For reference the JKS coils are 8lbs softer in the front (150lbs vs 158lbs) and 10 lbs softer in the rear (190lbs vs 200lbs) at ride height. No other changes were made! Shocks and all other components remain the same.
For height I gained about 1 1/4" over the BDS. I have the stock front bumper with a winch on it and my rear bumper is a steel aftermarket. I also have a hard top installed. Using an OME 10mm spacer up front to account for the winch, I am sitting almost perfectly level at about a 3" lift. I never wrote down my measurement, but I believe my front coil was at 15" counting the spacer. I'll double check and report back.
The soft section of the front coils are nearly in full coil bind at ride height. Maybe 1/16" space between them. I was hoping they would have more soft coil travel. So I am pretty much riding right in the transition zone on the front coil. The rear appears to have more room before I get any bind.
Initial ride impressions across some rough patches in my yard (small rural property) were very positive. I felt that the side to side rocking of the LJ was noticably smoother and less harsh. Whether that is due to the dual rate springs or just having more travel before I get into bumpstops, I can't say for sure. I didn't think I was hitting my bumpstops before, but I never checked. Dual rate springs are supposed to help with body roll, so maybe they do!
On road ride and handling is similar to my BDS coils, as would be expected from coils that are within 10lbs of each other. However, because the front coils are right in the transition zone, it does feel like they are more firm when hitting big dips. The rear moves more than the front, but also felt more firm and responded better to big dip events. Body roll on pavement felt similar to before. Which is good since my center of gravity is 1" higher. Small impacts felt slightly more harsh. Maybe due to control arm angles? Maybe my imagination.
Overall I am quite happy with my JKS 3" coils.
For height I gained about 1 1/4" over the BDS. I have the stock front bumper with a winch on it and my rear bumper is a steel aftermarket. I also have a hard top installed. Using an OME 10mm spacer up front to account for the winch, I am sitting almost perfectly level at about a 3" lift. I never wrote down my measurement, but I believe my front coil was at 15" counting the spacer. I'll double check and report back.
The soft section of the front coils are nearly in full coil bind at ride height. Maybe 1/16" space between them. I was hoping they would have more soft coil travel. So I am pretty much riding right in the transition zone on the front coil. The rear appears to have more room before I get any bind.
Initial ride impressions across some rough patches in my yard (small rural property) were very positive. I felt that the side to side rocking of the LJ was noticably smoother and less harsh. Whether that is due to the dual rate springs or just having more travel before I get into bumpstops, I can't say for sure. I didn't think I was hitting my bumpstops before, but I never checked. Dual rate springs are supposed to help with body roll, so maybe they do!
On road ride and handling is similar to my BDS coils, as would be expected from coils that are within 10lbs of each other. However, because the front coils are right in the transition zone, it does feel like they are more firm when hitting big dips. The rear moves more than the front, but also felt more firm and responded better to big dip events. Body roll on pavement felt similar to before. Which is good since my center of gravity is 1" higher. Small impacts felt slightly more harsh. Maybe due to control arm angles? Maybe my imagination.
Overall I am quite happy with my JKS 3" coils.
OP
Short answer; Rancho 9000 in front and Bilstien 5160 rear.
Longer answer: I over extended my front 5160 a year or two ago and threw on my old Rancho 9000 as a temporary fix until I got the Rancho rebuilt. On compression, the Rancho set on #2 was very similar to what my Billies felt like. The Billies have slightly better rebound dampening in front than the Rancho. In the rear, they are two entirely different feeling shocks. Not the ideal setup, but it was the same before and after.
In the rear I have the Bilstein 5160. The Rancho 9000s had terrible rebound control in the rear, so that is why I switched to the 5160 years ago. The Rancho in front was always a decent shock.
Its been my experience that getting the rear end of a vehicle under control is more difficult than the front. The control of the 5160s is fantastic with this spring. On a big dip event (a bridge crossing a river) I can feel the front compress and rebound to ride height. The rear will compress a little more than the front and rebound slightly past ride height and then drop right into ride height. No additional movement at all.
For comparison I have a 2011 Pathfinder (body on frame, independent front and rear suspension) with Monroe shocks I put on about 20,000 miles ago. When hitting this same dip, the front of the pathfinder compresses and returns in a manner similar to my LJ. But the rear of my Pathfinder will compress much further and do 2 or 3 swings past ride height before settling in. Its been like this since new with factory shocks and Monroe. My LJ had similar response with the Ranchos in the rear. But with the 5160s and JKS 3" it just hits the dip and recovers. It previosly had slightly more movement in the rear with the BDS springs and the same 5160s. So some of it is likely due to the dual rate spring.
OP