First trip post lift install.... help

resqman911 · May 31, 2015

So I took the Jeep out today to test out the lift and new shoes. 2.5 RockKrawler and 315/70/17 Duratracs. It was awesome but was not without a couple problems.

Literally 5 minutes into the trail this happened....

I'm not sure what I did wrong on my install. Electronically disconnected the swaybar right as I hit the trail, hit a couple spots where I flexed and heard something make a noise got out to find this, not sure if I damaged the swaybar mechanism or not, just removed the links and continued on.

The Jeep was performing really well the addition of a couple inches and some new tires really made a dramatic difference and it rode so much nicer, not nearly as jarring on washboard and ruts, so much more confident now.

So a little bit further down the trail heard a new noise and got out to find that I had torn the boot on my front drive shaft. I didn't think with a 2.5 inch lift I had anything to worry about, clearly I was wrong, it appears to have hit the small cross-member and torn. not even sure what purpose that cross-member serves. Not sure if the drive shaft is shot now, can I but a new boot on it?

Overall I'm really happy, glad I put it through a test run close to home before I ventured out further. Any help on what I did wrong on my install would be appreciated.

olram30 · May 31, 2015

Longer front links and new front drive shaft should fix this. If you have a factory evap skid, your rear shaft boot could be next.

wayoflife · May 31, 2015

olram30 said:
Longer front links and new front drive shaft should fix this. If you have a factory evap skid, your rear shaft boot could be next.

LOL!! Beat me to it.

Front links are clearly too short for the amount of droop you have. As mentioned, factory front shaft needs to be replaced. You can relocated your evap to keep your factory rear shaft though.

resqman911 · May 31, 2015

Seems weird, these are the links RockKrawler sends with the kit, Did I install something wrong? set-up? and I thought on 2011 with only 2.5 inches of lift that factory shafts were fine? Can I run the Jeep with the torn boot for a couple weeks?

wayoflife · May 31, 2015

resqman911 said:
Seems weird, these are the links RockKrawler sends with the kit, Did I install something wrong? set-up? and I thought on 2011 with only 2.5 inches of lift that factory shafts were fine? Can I run the Jeep with the torn boot for a couple weeks?

Did you install longer shocks than what is recommended with their kit? If not, you did nothing wrong and they are lame for selling you a kit with parts that will cause your sway bar links to over extend like this. As far as what you "thought" about drive shafts go - I might ask, what gave you the impression to think that?

olram30 · May 31, 2015

resqman911 said:
Seems weird, these are the links RockKrawler sends with the kit, Did I install something wrong? set-up? and I thought on 2011 with only 2.5 inches of lift that factory shafts were fine? Can I run the Jeep with the torn boot for a couple weeks?

Not really their fault, but I have seen a few rk links taco up like this on here. The drive shaft isn't really their fault either. Torn boot should be fine for awhile.

olram30 · May 31, 2015

wayoflife said:
Did you install longer shocks than what is recommended with their kit? If not, you did nothing wrong and they are lame for selling you a kit with parts that will cause your sway bar links to over extend like this. As far as what you "thought" about drive shafts go - I might ask, what gave you the impression to think that?

They are weird with their shocks. But their links should be longer. Also these look adjusted all the way to their shortest length.

wayoflife · May 31, 2015

olram30 said:
They are weird with their shocks. But their links should be longer. Also these look adjusted all the way to their shortest length.

LOL!! I didn't see any threads and so I didn't think they were adjustable :crazyeyes:

olram30 · May 31, 2015

If I remember, even on their 1.5" springs, they recommend 3" bump stops and the longer bilstein shocks. Really weird to kill that much up travel.

resqman911 · May 31, 2015

I bought a package deal from Northridge, the front shocks are rated for up to a 4 inch lift, I asked Northridge about this when I received the parts, they said that they recommend these shocks to give you the most flex possible with this kit, I'm thinking they may want to also give you longer links to accommodate that flex. I'm also guessing that had I had shocks on there that did not allow so much droop my drive shaft would not have made contact with the cross-member and torn the boot. Lessons learned I guess.

How do I know if I damaged the electronic swaybar?

resqman911 · May 31, 2015

And the links were not adjusted to the shortest length but close, wasn't sure how to determine the length I should be running so I just adjusted them to make the swaybar level while the Jeep sat on flat ground.

wayoflife · May 31, 2015

resqman911 said:
I bought a package deal from Northridge, the front shocks are rated for up to a 4 inch lift, I asked Northridge about this when I received the parts, they said that they recommend these shocks to give you the most flex possible with this kit, I'm thinking they may want to also give you longer links to accommodate that flex. I'm also guessing that had I had shocks on there that did not allow so much droop my drive shaft would not have made contact with the cross-member and torn the boot. Lessons learned I guess.

How do I know if I damaged the electronic swaybar?

LOL!! Figures. So yeah, now that you have shocks that will "give you the most flex", that means they are way too long for the links you got with the kit. Also, being that they're so long, they allowed your front drive shaft to tear its boot.

wayoflife · May 31, 2015

resqman911 said:
And the links were not adjusted to the shortest length but close, wasn't sure how to determine the length I should be running so I just adjusted them to make the swaybar level while the Jeep sat on flat ground.

Your links should be set at about 5° above level at bare minimum and more IF you have shocks that allow for A LOT more droop.

resqman911 · May 31, 2015

Thanks for the help, really appreciate it. Any recommendations on drive shafts?

wayoflife · May 31, 2015

resqman911 said:
Thanks for the help, really appreciate it. Any recommendations on drive shafts?

Me personally, I would recommend a JE Reel or Coast 1350. I know there are a lot of Adams fanboys out there who will chime in and they're good shafts too. Depending on where in CA you are, you can probably get one made at a drive line shop too. I would NOT recommend a Tom Woods shaft unless you pay for upgraded u-joints. A 1310 will be cheaper and being that it is up front, you might be okay with it but just know, the only u-joint on your factory shaft is a 1330 which is STRONGER than a 1310. Just something to think about.

resqman911 · May 31, 2015

One more question. I thought I read somewhere that you could run rear swaybar links up front if you were running a 3 inch lift, is that an option? Can't remember where I read this.

olram30 · May 31, 2015

resqman911 said:
One more question. I thought I read somewhere that you could run rear swaybar links up front if you were running a 3 inch lift, is that an option? Can't remember where I read this.

I run my factory rear links up front. I also run the evo drag link flip that raised them a little more. Try them out and see if they are the correct angle.

resqman911 · May 31, 2015

Thanks again.

Wethy · May 31, 2015

resqman911 said:
I bought a package deal from Northridge, the front shocks are rated for up to a 4 inch lift, I asked Northridge about this when I received the parts, they said that they recommend these shocks to give you the most flex possible with this kit, I'm thinking they may want to also give you longer links to accommodate that flex. I'm also guessing that had I had shocks on there that did not allow so much droop my drive shaft would not have made contact with the cross-member and torn the boot. Lessons learned I guess.

How do I know if I damaged the electronic swaybar?

not speaking from experience, but i imagine just inspect the unit. then try to engage/disengage the motor.

BlueBox · May 31, 2015

The links that come with the 2.5 kit are long enough, just need to be adjusted. I'm running the same setup with 3.5-5" shocks up front. I've got my swaybar pointed 10 to 15 degrees up on level ground ( as far as I can go withou worrying about the swaybar hitting the spring perch on full stuff) and I've got plenty of length at full droop to keep the link from flipping.

You can make this setup work, just need to adjust and then test flex.

First trip post lift install.... help

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