baycountry16

I'm getting a series II 3" lift from RC tomorrow, and all this time I had been planning on having my mechanic put it on for me. I've been thinking more and more I might just do it myself. It comes with pretty good directions it looks like. I have a jack, jackstands, and tools, but I would say I am only a little mechanically inclined. It looks like I should probably rent a spring compressor as well. Any thoughts on this?

It would entail me putting on new shocks, steering stabilizer, full leaf springs, coils, new LCA's, new sway bar drop brackets, and a track bar relocation bracket. I figure it will run me about $400 if my mechanic does it, so I could save a lot of money

superj

if that is all that is in the kit, i think you can do it. it is all just remove and replace

TrekkerJmm

Do yourself a HUGE favor and PB Buster ALL the bolts and nuts at least a few days before you go to remove them. Jeeps (especially Cherokees) have a tendency to break shock bolts, leaf spring, shackle and lots more. This is from experience of doing my 2 lift kits otherwise with the knowledge you have it should not be hard at all...just common sense...Tj

Abovetimberline

It is actualy very easy,to make your decision easier there will always be someone on here that can help if you get in a bind,if you have a camera it will help to if you have any questions.
You will learn alot also.

t1320t

Yeah.. hit everything a few days in advance w PB Blaster, it'll make your parts removal much easier.
If you have a decent tool set do some research & get out there and do it man. It's always nice to have a mechanic buddy nearby just in case you have a question.

muddpigg

buy several cans of pb blaster and hose down all the bolts (leafspring, shocks...) several times before you actually attempt the install. plan on the shock bolts breaking and make sure to have extra bolts and some means of removing the broken bits left in the holes, even consider bar-pin eliminators. rent that coil spring compressor (the coil springs ended up being the easiest part for me) and make sure to have a breaker bar handy to coax stubborn/rusted bolts. air tools are your best friend if you have them or access to them. don't be too intimidated, but plan on more down time than the kit recommends and you'll be ok. it always helps to have a buddy lend a hand, especially if you get frustrated - keeps you from unnecessary damage to you or your rig. best of luck. oh and take before and after shots for us - we love pics!

baycountry16

Thanks for all the encouragement. I think I will get a lot more satisfaction out of doing it myself as well. There is just this fear that I will do something wrong or forget to tighten something, and then the jeep will just fall apart while I'm going down the road and I'll get in an accident. LOL.

Is there anything special I have to do with the shocks, or is it literally just swapping them out, same with steer stabilizer?

Do you recommend I get coil compessor?

I will definitely PB blaster everything. I was thinking about doing that as well. I'm guessing all shock bolts, U-bolts, LCA bolts, trac bar bolts, shackle bolts. Am I missing anything?

baycountry16

I definitely plan on taking pics!

baycountry16

I was going to put all day saturday and sunday aside just to make sure I give myself enough time. It will be sitting in the warehouse where I work all weekend because there is a lot of room there, but I need to make sure it is done by Monday because I can't have it sitting in there monday morning. LOL

muddpigg

damn you guys must type real fast! i posted up and lo and behold there were already four guys saying "get that pb blaster"! to the o.p. - everyone here is on point - it's not too difficult to do your own lift and what you save over not having the mech install it can be put to better use in new tires or rims, or armor even. plus someday you will want to go bigger and after this you will have the knowledge to do it yourself, no sweat.

muddpigg

my bud (a certified mechanic) helped me do my R.C. budget boost (pucks and shackles). directions said install time: about 3 hours. **** was welded with rust and therefore took us 8 hours altogether - with pb blaster! however 2 whole days should be more than enough. forget taking it to a mechanic - you got this!

baycountry16

I already got the rims, all I need is the bigger tires, and I'm running out of money now. So I would really like to save the cash and use it towards the tires

baycountry16

One thing I don't have is access to air tools. Is that a big deal? I have a good mechanics tools et w/ a nice breaker bar, but all the pictures I've seen have air tools being used

gintaras

anything is possible with hand tools alone, I have done everything imaginable with hand tools only, rebuilt engines, installed suspensions, clutches, anything you can think of.. I like using good, quality hand tools, it takes a little longer, but you also don't overtorque things either.

fishtaconc

PB Blaster, Breaker Bar, 2-3lb Rubber Mallet, I see you are gonna take pics be sure to take them before its always nice to have a reference for the reinstall