I just got my lift today, I went with the Rough Country 3inch aal. It's going to be my first time installing one, is there any special tools I will need to get this done? I'm open to suggestions to make this go alot smother

 

common hand tools and a buddy help. I hope you put penetrating lube on all the bolts already...

 

How long you figure it will take him? Just curious for when I head down that path.

 

No I have not put any lubricant on yet, I got two cans of pb blaster, I guess I should go do that now

 

Yupp... PB Blaster is your friend!!!

 

pb blaster a few days ahead. be ready for your rear shock mount bolts breaking. right on the crossmember. if it happens, don't be scared. just rotate the location by 90 degrees redrill them and reattach them using rear sway bar bolts. you won't be needing the rear sway bar. your cornering flex is going to be unbelievable without rear sway bar.

 

it took me about 6-7 hours to do it in a shop lift. but that was including a lot of lifting and lowering the jeep to check how it looks and then taking the wheels to a tire shop, getting tires put on them and bringing them back.

 

yup i broke all 4 of my Rear Shock Bolts..........

 

Be prepared to break the upper shock mounts in the rear. I welded on new nuts because I found it to be the best way. I first welded the new nut to a washer and put those on the side. Then I used a hole saw to chop out the factory weld nuts. After that, I inserted the nut/washer combo with the nut side in and welder the washer to the outside, pretty much like the stock weld nut. The washer kept the nut from falling in, but you could do it with just a nut if you wanted to, it would just be annoying to keep it from falling in the hole. They work great and have been holding up for a couple months. Assuming the shock bolts don't break, it can be done in about 4 hours if everything goes good.

 

a torque wrench is your friend too not many people have them but spend your money on a decent one. you want to make sure everything is torqued down to spec and recheck it after you do drive a few hundred miles or after your first big offroad trip

 

a little cheapy 20 dollar wal mart floor jack will help. and a tie down that has the little winch on it, like for securing stuff on a trailer. you can use it do pull your axle over while you put on your trac bar.

i guess spring compressors would be good too so you don't have to copmletely drop the axle but you don't need it. just unhook the lower control arms, shocks, sway bar, and trac bar for the front and everything slides right in place.

 

i bought a air hammer with chisel bit to break the tack welded nuts for the shock bolts off.

 

Anything else?

 

no. i think i had everything in my normal toolkit to do this. i know that when i use to live in a mobile home park, we weren't supposed to do auto work in the driveway so i didn't have a large toolkit and did my comanche with a 150 piece craftsman set (i think)

 

a piece of wire and some tape in order to thread new bolts into the holes for the top of the rear shocks if you break the nut plates out. i used 1/2 inch bolts and a long wrench to hole the heads as i tightened the nuts. its a PITA. if you are changing the steering stabilizer you might want a tie rod end puller to remove the drag link end.
make sure all of your hardware is in the kit. ie Ubolts x 4, center bolts for the leaf springs x2, leaf spring clamps x2-4.