How to Install a Rough Country 3" Lift (with full leafs)
05-15-2012, 08:02 PM
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Year: 2000
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
How to Install a Rough Country 3" Lift (with full leafs)
3" lifts are extremely popular one main reason - they're about as big as you can go without making serious modifications and spending serious cash.
I truly wish i had photos to go along with this, but unfortunately, I'll just have to rely on my ability to explain.
The parts:
Rough Country 3" full leaf pack kit
-Coil springs
-Front shocks
-Leaf springs
-Rear shocks
-U-Bolts
Additional parts required or recommended:
-Hardware for basically everything (if you're removing a screw or bolt, it's gonna be rusty, might as well put fresh hardware in its place with a nice dab of anti-seize)
-Some form of 1" spacer for the transfer case cross member
-Adjustable Track Bar (some say you don't need one, but I did)
Stage One: Preparing for the job
Rust is obviously a common issue with our beloved XJ's. If you like to wheel through creeks or mud, then chances are your rust and corrosion factor is going to be increased a not-insignificant amount.
Rust is bad for many reasons. One, it weakens the integrity of the metal. So if you're cranking on a bolt, it might just snap. Another, it bonds nuts and bolts together. Combine that with the weakened metal, and you're almost guaranteed to break the bolt when trying to remove it.
What can you do to prevent this? A few weeks before you attempt the job, clean the underside of your XJ well to remove caked on mud.
Then, soak down every nut and bolt you can find related to the parts you'll be removing with a good penetrating solution. The popular choice is PB Blaster. Soak what you can see. Try to also spray ABOVE the nuts and bolts so the PB Blaster will sit on it and hopefully soak down into the threads.
I also sprayed the bushings in the leaf springs as i heard the bolts can get stuck in them - I don't know how much good the PB did, but I didn't have that problem.
People tend to not complain about having issues with the front half of the suspension as far as breaking bolts, but it turns out that the lower shock bolts up front are the only ones that I broke the entire job. Well, i only broke one, but still. Soak those, too.
Since you can never guarantee that a bolt won't break, it's really best to just go and buy all new hardware for the job, just in case. Even if they don't break, you might as well replace it all anyway.
The eye-bolts for the leaf springs can be pricey, but it's never a bad idea to replace those. I purchased mine from a Chrysler dealership.
Stage Two: DOING the job
Air tools and hoist make this whole ordeal much, much easier. I was able to finish my lift in less than 5 hours, not exactly rushing. But, if you plan on doing it on your garage floor with hand tools, you're going to need a LOT of patience.
FRONT:
1. Remove the wheels and set them aside. Support the axle with a jack stand.
2. Reach into the engine bay and remove the upper shock nuts. They won't fall out, don't worry. Access to the one on the driver's side is blocked by the brake master cylinder, so you'll need an end wrench.
3. Unbolt the sway bar mounting brackets. IF you choose to keep the sway bar, DO NOT attempt to undo the sway bar links if you don't have replacements, they will most likely break. If you are not going to use the sway bar after the lift, then undo the links AND brackets, and discard the entire thing. If keeping it, leave the brackets unbolted until the end.
4. Remove the lower shock bolts. I snapped one here, even after using PB Blast for 2 weeks, so be careful.
5. Now that the shocks are free, remove and discard.
6. Remove the lower coil spring retainer tab. The one on the driver's side stripped out on me, so again, be careful.
7. Lower one side of the axle to allow the spring to decompress. The stock springs will come out with minimal prying. After you get one side out, raise it back up, then do the other.
8. Disconnect the lower control arm to allow the axle to travel even farther - pry new coil spring into place. It took two of us to get them in, the passenger side being the more difficult side, but we did not need a spring compressor to do it.
If you HAVE a spring compressor, steps 7 and 8 will be much easier, and you won't need to unbolt the LCA.
9. Install new shocks, the exact reverse of removal.
10. Loosen lower control arm bolts to allow the bushings to settle once the vehicle is on the ground. Leave loose until the very last step.
REAR:
1. Remove wheels, set aside. Support axle with jack stands.
2. Unbolt sway bar from axle ends. You may want to remove the sway bar altogether permanently, I kept mine, but removing it temporarily during the lift kit install can be helpful.
3. Remove U-bolts. These may need to be cut to remove - I did not have that problem.
4. Remove lower shock mount nut. I had no problems removing this.
5. The upper shock bolts are the sticking point for most people. Let's go off on a tangent here.
From the factory, there are nuts welded inside the subframe that two bolts screw up into. Usually these bolts break on removal. You can tap out the bolt, or you can punch out the nut and run new bolts.
Most people recommend tape, string, or a wire to fish the new bolts into place - I used two magnet pens - one to hold onto the bolt, the other to "catch it" when it neared the hole. Worked perfectly.
There is plenty of room to reach an end wrench in there to hold the bolt, but you may have problems keeping the bolt from slipping through the end of the wrench while trying to install the nut. carefully threading it by hand until it's near tight will help.
Either way, this is a very minor problem that's easy to overcome, and isn't nearly as troublesome as it sounds.
I was lucky, someone had already replaced the nuts and bolts before I owned the Jeep. I upgraded them to heavier duty nuts and bolts, but this step took maybe 5 minutes, total.
6. Unbolt the leaf springs. The rear end of the spring connects to the shackle. The bolt is turned so that if you have a hitch, you cannot slide the bolt out from the hole - the hitch will block it. I had to remove the entire shackle because of this. The upper shackle bolt and the front leaf spring bolt do not use free nuts, they use captured nuts that are welded into the frame - or just threaded frame holes. Either way, you need to be VERY careful removing these, because if you damage those threads, you're in trouble.
Mine were very hard to remove, but a breaker bar and some constant rocking back and forth with occasional spraying of PB Blast got them loose. Don't just crank on them until they come loose, they might break. Put the breaker bar on and rock them back and forth. Tighten, loosen, tighten, loosen, spray PB Blast.. repeat until they start to spin freely - and they will, eventually.
7. Once the springs are removed, lower the axle a bit and install the new springs. Do everything in the reverse of what's listed above. Install shocks last, and the sway bar if desired.
8. Tighten the u-bolt nuts to 70n-m or 52 ft-lbs.
9. DO NOT fully tighten the leaf spring bolts until the weight of the vehicle is on the suspension.
FINISHING UP:
1. Once everything is in place, ensure that the shock mounting bolts are tightened.
2. Lower the vehicle onto the ground so the weight rests on the suspension. Rock the vehicle back and forth, up and down to get the bushings to settle into a natural position.
3. Tighten the lower control arm bolts to 156n-m or 115 ft-lbs.
4. Mount the front sway bar bracket - this is far, far easier when the vehicle is on the ground.
5. Tighten the front leaf spring pivot bolts and the upper shackle bolts to 156n-m ot 115 ft-lbs.
6. Tighten the lower shackle bolts to 108n-m or 80ft-lbs.
7. Ensure the front axle is centered, if not, you will need that adjustable track bar.
8. Get an alignment. The toe-in will be changed after the lift due to the caster adjustment that happens when raising the pinion angle.
9. Hit the trails and enjoy!!! Check your bolts for tightness after a couple hundred miles. Keep an ear out for unusual clunking.
I truly wish i had photos to go along with this, but unfortunately, I'll just have to rely on my ability to explain.
The parts:
Rough Country 3" full leaf pack kit
-Coil springs
-Front shocks
-Leaf springs
-Rear shocks
-U-Bolts
Additional parts required or recommended:
-Hardware for basically everything (if you're removing a screw or bolt, it's gonna be rusty, might as well put fresh hardware in its place with a nice dab of anti-seize)
-Some form of 1" spacer for the transfer case cross member
-Adjustable Track Bar (some say you don't need one, but I did)
Stage One: Preparing for the job
Rust is obviously a common issue with our beloved XJ's. If you like to wheel through creeks or mud, then chances are your rust and corrosion factor is going to be increased a not-insignificant amount.
Rust is bad for many reasons. One, it weakens the integrity of the metal. So if you're cranking on a bolt, it might just snap. Another, it bonds nuts and bolts together. Combine that with the weakened metal, and you're almost guaranteed to break the bolt when trying to remove it.
What can you do to prevent this? A few weeks before you attempt the job, clean the underside of your XJ well to remove caked on mud.
Then, soak down every nut and bolt you can find related to the parts you'll be removing with a good penetrating solution. The popular choice is PB Blaster. Soak what you can see. Try to also spray ABOVE the nuts and bolts so the PB Blaster will sit on it and hopefully soak down into the threads.
I also sprayed the bushings in the leaf springs as i heard the bolts can get stuck in them - I don't know how much good the PB did, but I didn't have that problem.
People tend to not complain about having issues with the front half of the suspension as far as breaking bolts, but it turns out that the lower shock bolts up front are the only ones that I broke the entire job. Well, i only broke one, but still. Soak those, too.
Since you can never guarantee that a bolt won't break, it's really best to just go and buy all new hardware for the job, just in case. Even if they don't break, you might as well replace it all anyway.
The eye-bolts for the leaf springs can be pricey, but it's never a bad idea to replace those. I purchased mine from a Chrysler dealership.
Stage Two: DOING the job
Air tools and hoist make this whole ordeal much, much easier. I was able to finish my lift in less than 5 hours, not exactly rushing. But, if you plan on doing it on your garage floor with hand tools, you're going to need a LOT of patience.
FRONT:
1. Remove the wheels and set them aside. Support the axle with a jack stand.
2. Reach into the engine bay and remove the upper shock nuts. They won't fall out, don't worry. Access to the one on the driver's side is blocked by the brake master cylinder, so you'll need an end wrench.
3. Unbolt the sway bar mounting brackets. IF you choose to keep the sway bar, DO NOT attempt to undo the sway bar links if you don't have replacements, they will most likely break. If you are not going to use the sway bar after the lift, then undo the links AND brackets, and discard the entire thing. If keeping it, leave the brackets unbolted until the end.
4. Remove the lower shock bolts. I snapped one here, even after using PB Blast for 2 weeks, so be careful.
5. Now that the shocks are free, remove and discard.
6. Remove the lower coil spring retainer tab. The one on the driver's side stripped out on me, so again, be careful.
7. Lower one side of the axle to allow the spring to decompress. The stock springs will come out with minimal prying. After you get one side out, raise it back up, then do the other.
8. Disconnect the lower control arm to allow the axle to travel even farther - pry new coil spring into place. It took two of us to get them in, the passenger side being the more difficult side, but we did not need a spring compressor to do it.
If you HAVE a spring compressor, steps 7 and 8 will be much easier, and you won't need to unbolt the LCA.
9. Install new shocks, the exact reverse of removal.
10. Loosen lower control arm bolts to allow the bushings to settle once the vehicle is on the ground. Leave loose until the very last step.
REAR:
1. Remove wheels, set aside. Support axle with jack stands.
2. Unbolt sway bar from axle ends. You may want to remove the sway bar altogether permanently, I kept mine, but removing it temporarily during the lift kit install can be helpful.
3. Remove U-bolts. These may need to be cut to remove - I did not have that problem.
4. Remove lower shock mount nut. I had no problems removing this.
5. The upper shock bolts are the sticking point for most people. Let's go off on a tangent here.
From the factory, there are nuts welded inside the subframe that two bolts screw up into. Usually these bolts break on removal. You can tap out the bolt, or you can punch out the nut and run new bolts.
Most people recommend tape, string, or a wire to fish the new bolts into place - I used two magnet pens - one to hold onto the bolt, the other to "catch it" when it neared the hole. Worked perfectly.
There is plenty of room to reach an end wrench in there to hold the bolt, but you may have problems keeping the bolt from slipping through the end of the wrench while trying to install the nut. carefully threading it by hand until it's near tight will help.
Either way, this is a very minor problem that's easy to overcome, and isn't nearly as troublesome as it sounds.
I was lucky, someone had already replaced the nuts and bolts before I owned the Jeep. I upgraded them to heavier duty nuts and bolts, but this step took maybe 5 minutes, total.
6. Unbolt the leaf springs. The rear end of the spring connects to the shackle. The bolt is turned so that if you have a hitch, you cannot slide the bolt out from the hole - the hitch will block it. I had to remove the entire shackle because of this. The upper shackle bolt and the front leaf spring bolt do not use free nuts, they use captured nuts that are welded into the frame - or just threaded frame holes. Either way, you need to be VERY careful removing these, because if you damage those threads, you're in trouble.
Mine were very hard to remove, but a breaker bar and some constant rocking back and forth with occasional spraying of PB Blast got them loose. Don't just crank on them until they come loose, they might break. Put the breaker bar on and rock them back and forth. Tighten, loosen, tighten, loosen, spray PB Blast.. repeat until they start to spin freely - and they will, eventually.
7. Once the springs are removed, lower the axle a bit and install the new springs. Do everything in the reverse of what's listed above. Install shocks last, and the sway bar if desired.
8. Tighten the u-bolt nuts to 70n-m or 52 ft-lbs.
9. DO NOT fully tighten the leaf spring bolts until the weight of the vehicle is on the suspension.
FINISHING UP:
1. Once everything is in place, ensure that the shock mounting bolts are tightened.
2. Lower the vehicle onto the ground so the weight rests on the suspension. Rock the vehicle back and forth, up and down to get the bushings to settle into a natural position.
3. Tighten the lower control arm bolts to 156n-m or 115 ft-lbs.
4. Mount the front sway bar bracket - this is far, far easier when the vehicle is on the ground.
5. Tighten the front leaf spring pivot bolts and the upper shackle bolts to 156n-m ot 115 ft-lbs.
6. Tighten the lower shackle bolts to 108n-m or 80ft-lbs.
7. Ensure the front axle is centered, if not, you will need that adjustable track bar.
8. Get an alignment. The toe-in will be changed after the lift due to the caster adjustment that happens when raising the pinion angle.
9. Hit the trails and enjoy!!! Check your bolts for tightness after a couple hundred miles. Keep an ear out for unusual clunking.
06-24-2012, 10:37 PM
#2
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Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Falls Church, VA
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Year: 2000
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0 I6
Do you by any chance have a list of all the replacement bolts? I can't seem to find one anywhere and I'm about to install the lift. I want to replace all the bolts (safe root)..and figured I make a run by home depot before tackling the lift! Thanks
06-25-2012, 10:17 AM
#3
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Join Date: Apr 2011
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Year: 2000
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
I was kicking myself because it's useful information.You CAN find it on this site, but I did a lot of searching to find it all.
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