Hey guys, long time lurker. Figured I'd toss up my experiences with installing my 2" lift in case others run into some similar difficulties.
Installed a 2" lift made up of Rusty's springs and Rancho RS5000X shocks (PN 39 and 41) on Monday and Tuesday night. Removing the top nut on the old front shocks was a bear since the shocks were still the factory shocks from '98 as only one was replaced in '99 (PO totaled her in '99 and one shock was replaced as a result of the damage). To get the top nut off, an angle grinder was brought out to make two flat spots on the rod to hold with a vice-grip while attacking the nut on the top with a socket wrench and a few soaks of PB Blaster. Thankfully the passenger side came off much easier. Installation was a dream thankfully, with the exception of watching my stock bump stocks starting to disintegrate any time they were bumped. Did have to use the jack to lift up the opposite end of the axle when installing the new coils and decided to rent the Spring Compressor tool from Autozone for day 2. So much easier.
The test drive went pretty smooth. First I have to say I forgot how nice it was to drive a vehicle with shocks that actually damped to any degree lol. I did notice a very small amount of vibration during acceleration in the accelerator and occasionally in the steering wheel. Initial thought was that it was an alignment issue but it was only present when in gear with the clutch engaged and most noticeable during acceleration. 95% sure this is the vibration from drivetrain alignment issues that I've seen mentioned in other threads.
MML has been ordered with new extended bumpstops to replace my stock ones that are disintegrating away and are now too short. All should be arriving Friday.
From research, I think MML is the right way for me to go since I will want to do a tummy tuck sometime down the road and really don't want to shell out for an SYE and driveshaft at the moment. Tcase drop was thought about but I will fall back on that only if needed. I'd rather not sacrifice some of the extra ground clearance I just got with the lift.
In the meantime, I can't stop looking at my Jeep and smiling with the new lifted look.
Installed a 2" lift made up of Rusty's springs and Rancho RS5000X shocks (PN 39 and 41) on Monday and Tuesday night. Removing the top nut on the old front shocks was a bear since the shocks were still the factory shocks from '98 as only one was replaced in '99 (PO totaled her in '99 and one shock was replaced as a result of the damage). To get the top nut off, an angle grinder was brought out to make two flat spots on the rod to hold with a vice-grip while attacking the nut on the top with a socket wrench and a few soaks of PB Blaster. Thankfully the passenger side came off much easier. Installation was a dream thankfully, with the exception of watching my stock bump stocks starting to disintegrate any time they were bumped. Did have to use the jack to lift up the opposite end of the axle when installing the new coils and decided to rent the Spring Compressor tool from Autozone for day 2. So much easier.
The test drive went pretty smooth. First I have to say I forgot how nice it was to drive a vehicle with shocks that actually damped to any degree lol. I did notice a very small amount of vibration during acceleration in the accelerator and occasionally in the steering wheel. Initial thought was that it was an alignment issue but it was only present when in gear with the clutch engaged and most noticeable during acceleration. 95% sure this is the vibration from drivetrain alignment issues that I've seen mentioned in other threads.
MML has been ordered with new extended bumpstops to replace my stock ones that are disintegrating away and are now too short. All should be arriving Friday.
From research, I think MML is the right way for me to go since I will want to do a tummy tuck sometime down the road and really don't want to shell out for an SYE and driveshaft at the moment. Tcase drop was thought about but I will fall back on that only if needed. I'd rather not sacrifice some of the extra ground clearance I just got with the lift.
In the meantime, I can't stop looking at my Jeep and smiling with the new lifted look.