OOdynamite

Sure enough the bushings had seized on the top bolt for this shackle. As I started to run through the nightmare of chopping up my shackle, Chris told me to keep turning and that the pressure might actually break the rust and free the bolt from the bushing so that the bolt could back out the hole. So I kept turning, and then it popped free!! But not it the way I expected... The bushing stayed on the bolt and just came out with it ripping the hole open! So we ran to ace and got a new bolt and such (grade 8 of course) and installed the new shackle.

OOdynamite

Now that the rear was done (still ignoring the broken shock bolts, hoping that will just go away), we moved on to the front. Removal of the shocks, sway bar links, brake line brackets, lower control arms, and coil springs went well. When we removed the axle track bar mount, the bushing seized up on the bolt. We got it out, but the bolt was trashed. Then we couldn't get the trackbar out of the axle mount area! The prybar made short work of that.

OOdynamite

The next step was one of the single most scariest moments of my life, the installation of the new coil springs. We were able to get the passengers side in without compressing the spring, at the expense of almost breaking my finger. But since there was already a coil on the other side of the axle, we had to compress the drivers side coil. This was a horrifying experience. My face was about 4 inches away from the spring as I was maneuvering it into position on the axle. If it had decompressed, I would not be here right now. But alas, it went in with a little convincing.

OOdynamite

The next project was putting the new control arms in. We started on the drivers side, mounted the body side first. Lining up the axle end took longer then expected, but we finally got it. the passengers side went in with no resistance at all.

Ah, I forgot to mention that the front DS had to be removed from the axle in order to remove the control arm from the body. No biggy.

OOdynamite

We then put the front shocks in, nothing special, not hard at all. We also put in the sway bar discos, which I got from Lyon on the forum here, thanks Lyon. I left them disconnected however.

That was all for yesterday, obviously, we got most of the lift done, and I would finish up today.

OOdynamite

I thought the lift would be done in just a few hours today, but of course, that's not what happened.

First I redrilled the track bars axle mount, not hard. I got it on the ground and hooked up the "quick" discos. Quick being about 5 minutes of me on the ground swearing and hitting it with a hammer. I the lined up the track bar with the help of my brother, and bolted it up. Chris showed up and we torques everything to spec. Had to run out and grab a new battery cuz mine kicked the bucket. Martin (Thedude on the forum) showed up and we all talked jeeps for the better part of an hour. After Martin took off me and Chris drove up to ace hardware (for like the 6th time in 3 days) and got the drill bit and hardware required to knock out the rear shocks. Chris dropped me off and I was on my own and feeling confident. The plan was to drill through the upper nuts and bolts left over from removing the rear shocks, placing a new nut and lock washer on what would be left of the old nut, and putting a bolt up through. After attempting to drill up through the nut and not succeeding, I got really really pissed off and frustrated to the point of tears. Why the hell could everyone else just hit the nuts with a hammer and have them punch right out?!? So in my new found anger I grabbed a giant punch (pics of that tomorrow) and a big hammer and started swinging, and finally one of the nuts popped off. That was the single most gratifying moment of my lift, just knowin that all I needed was to do that three more times and I was done. My stepfather helped me pound the other three out and I could not stop smiling.

OOdynamite

Next I ran up to ace and grabbed some 5/16x1 1/4 inch grade eight bolts. I also got some washers and nuts. I feed the bolts through the holes using some tough wire, and with the help of my little brother, mounted the shocks up. Dropped the jeep to the ground and called it done. Here's a teaser pic, many more pics tomorrow.

I did get a chance to drive it. A couple things:

1: I notice some vibes between 30-35 MPH, and then at 50-52 MPH.
2. My tires chirp when turning sometimes, and when going over bumps

I hope to have the tcase drop and front end alignment done on thursday, and I believe that will fix all my problems.

I'll also say it didn't feel as top heavy as I expected when driving it. It does kick like a mule when hitting a bump, cuz the suspension is so much stiffer the stock.

OOdynamite

All in all I'd do it all over again. I made a new friend, and learned more then I could have ever imagined. And even though it was very physically demanding, extremely frustrating, and just a giant pain in the boody, it was totally worth it. I get the pride of saying, "I did that" (with the help of friends of course). Considering the fact that less then a year ago I had never changed the oil in a vehicle, and now I (again, with the help of friends) completely changed out the suspension on a vehicle. It's all cuz of this forum, without it, non of this would have happened. I want to take this moment to thank everyone on here for providing me with all the knowledge I now have a jeeps (and vehicles and general). This is a great site with great information and great people, thank you.

So, now that the mushy crap is over, tomorrow I'll put up a bunch of pics of my jeep and how it sits, and keep y'all updated with the upcoming mods as always.

BotakBeng

Looking good!!!!
Be sure to post alot of pics.

FMXFreak

Wow! Sounds like you've been busting your *** over this lift! But don't worry I know the feeling....stupid rust makes everything seemingly impossible. Had to pull off my hitch to drop my tank and 6 bolts were snapped off. It will be worth it soon though. Good luck!!

EDIT 2 more of your posts showed up after I posted this??? But looks like your done awesome!

4x4cherokeexj

I have to laugh when people have problems with the rust.
Very nice build. and very nice cherokee!! Looks great overall!

OOdynamite

Thanks guys, that means a lot. And yea, I would say that busting my butt would be an understatement lol. But again, it was all a great experience and completely worth it. Can't wait to get my 31's.

I also hope the tcase drop fixes my vibes.

sanchezcruz_20

Rig is coming along nicely. Job well done. Looking forward to seeing a few more pics of the finished product.

OOdynamite

Thanks man, all that's left is the tcase drop. I hope I don't run into the same problem as you...

I'll go snap some pics now

OOdynamite

Ok, well every time I go to upload a pic it says "error". So here's the pics of the jeep from what it let me upload.