REAR END REVAMP : Inspecting & Rebuilding a DTD EVO Lever System

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
A little over 5 years ago, Cindy and I had Moby's suspension upgraded from the Gen 1 EVO Coil Over kit to a full blown DTD or Double Throw Down system. In other words, we got an all new EVO Lever frame and cantilever arms installed to accommodate the bypass shocks and while we were at it, we updated all the heims but kept our original 8" rear coil overs as they could still be used. Since that time, we've racked up about 100,000 miles on the EVO Lever and aside from routine servicing of the coil overs, all the other components such as the bushings and heims have all remained the same.
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For a while now, I've known that something was starting to get a bit off on the EVO Lever but I just was too busy wheeling and working on other Jeeps to take time out and address it. The first sign of something being wrong was an obnoxious squeaking that we'd get from time to time but it would always end up going away and that made it hard for me to keep looking for it. Recently, I started to hear an occasional but distinct clunk under acceleration that's when I knew I needed to give things a harder look. And, when I did, I noticed the following. To someone who's unfamiliar with what an EVO Cantilever arm should look like, this passenger side one is leaning and it shouldn't be.
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It might might not look like much but for those who know what to look for, you'd know that the cantilever arm bushing here is blown.
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Thinking that all we were going to need was a new bushing, we called up Mel to order up a new one but he recommended that it might be better to just replace both cantilever arm. With the amount of miles and abuse we've put them through, it would be the better way to go. Needless to say, that's what we did.
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Because of the way the King coil over rod end is situated in the cantilever arm, it was difficult to do a good visual inspection of it and as I started to take things apart, I came across this. Some how, I don't think the spherical bearing is supposed to just fall out like this.
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Here's a closer look at the rod end. As you can see, the spherical bearing of the heim had completely wore through it's housing. You can also see where the rod end itself has a grove cut into it from coming into contact with the cantilever arm.
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You can also see how the small bearing spacers had dug into the cantilever arms and started to wear through.
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Being that our cantilever arm swap just turned into a coil over rebuild as well, I decided to document the whole process and make a write-up out of it. For those of you who own a DTD and work on your own Jeep, I hope this will of some help to you.

What you will Need
(2)EVO DTD Cantilever Arms w/Bushings installed
(2) 2.0 PR Rod Ends 7/8 Thread Standard #21002-040
(2) Spherical Bearings 0.5 #B1012
(4) Retaining Rings, INT .500 BRG, 1.000 #CR2201
(4) 2.0 PR Bearing Spacers 1/2 x 1-1/4 #21017-001
• 3/4, 13/16, 7/8, 15/16" Socket & Wrench
• 3/4" Gearwrench
• 3/16" Allen Wrench
• Coil Over T-Handle Adjuster #25308-100 (2.0 & 2.5)
• Ratchet
• Torque Wrench
• Snap Ring Pliers
• Grease Gun
• Red Loc-Tite
• Pry Bar
• 5/16" Driver or Flathead Screwdriver
• Hammer
• Nitrogen
• Charging Manifold
• Cylinder Shaft Soft Jaw Clamp #100-001-(3/4”shaft)
• Shop Press

Instructions
1. After racking up your Jeep so that your rear tires are off the ground, measure the amount of pre-load you have on both your coil overs and make a note of it. Then, loosen the coil adjustment pinch bolt using a 3/16" allen wrench.
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2. Use a coil over T-handle adjuster tool to loosen the coil adjustment nut until there's no longer a load on the coil.
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3. Use a flathead screwdriver or 5/16" driver to loosen the hose clamps securing your coil over and bypass shock reservoirs to their mounts on the EVO Lever frame or bottom of your tub.
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4. Using a 3/4" socket and wrench, remove the bolt, nut and washers securing the coil over to the cantilever arm.
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5. You may find it necessary to use a pry bar to free the coil over rod end from the cantilever arm.
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6. Using a 3/4" socket and wrench, remove the bolt, nut and washers securing the bypass shock to the cantilever arm.
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7. You will need to use (2) 3/4" wrenches to remove the bolt, nut and washers securing your bypass shock to the EVO Lever frame as there is no room for a socket. A Gearwrench will help make this job easier.
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8. Again, you will need to use (2) 3/4" wrenches to remove the bolt, nut and washers securing your coil over to the EVO Lever frame as there is no room for a socket. A Gearwrench will help make this job easier.
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9. As before, a pry bar may be needed to remove the coil over from the EVO Lever frame.
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10. Use the pry bar again to remove your bypass shock.
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11. Using a 15/16" socket and wrench or crescent wrench, remove the bolt, nut and washers securing the support bar to the cantilever arm.
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12. Using a 3/4" socket and 7/8" wrench, remove the bolt, nut and washers securing the axle link to the cantilever arm.
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13. The bolt, nut and washers securing the pivot point of the cantilever arm to the EVO Lever frame will require the use of a breaker bar to free it. A 13/16" socket and 7/8" wrench will be needed for this job.
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14. With the final bolt, nut and washers removed, you can now pull the cantilever arm out from under your Jeep and see just how bad a blown out pivot bushing looks like.
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15. Repeat the steps above to remove the opposite side cantilever arm and then thoroughly inspect all your other heims and bushings and replace them as needed.
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16. Getting the new cantilever arms installed on the EVO Lever pivot mount is a pain in the ass and you will need to help encourage it in with a big hammer.
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17. Insert the pivot mount bolt and washer an apply some red loc-tite to the threads.
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18. Using a 13/16" socket and 7/8" wrench, secure the cantilever arm to the EVO Lever pivot mount. Tighten the bolt and nut to 150-160 ft. lbs. of torque.
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19. Attach the axle link to the cantilever arm, insert the bolt and washer to hold them together and then apply red loc-tite to the threads.
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20. Using a 3/4" socket and 7/8" wrench, tighten the bolt and nut to 110-120 ft. lbs. of torque.
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21. Attach the support bar to the cantilever arm, insert the bolt and washer to hold them together and then apply red loc-tite to the threads.
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22. Using a 15/16" socket and wrench, tighten the support bar bolt and nut to 170-180 ft. lbs. of torque.
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Here's a couple of shots of what the new cantilever arms look like installed.
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For comparison sake, here's a side by shot of what the blown out pivot bushing looks like next to what it should look like.
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wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
While we were waiting for King to ship us the parts we needed to fix our coil overs, Cindy decided to use the time to clean them and the bypass shocks up a bit. Here's what they looked like before.
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And, here's what they looked like after she gave them a bit of elbow grease.
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23. In order to remove the rod ends from the coil over shaft, you will NEED to have a King Shaft Soft Jaw Clamp and a shop press. There simply is no way to get the grip you need to remove the rod ends without them.
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24. Using a large crescent wrench, remove the rod end from the coil over shaft.
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25. Just when we thought they'd never show up, our new rod ends finally showed up from King and with the spherical bearings already installed. If yours came in separate pieces, you will need to assemble them now.
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26. Using your shop press and King Shaft Sot Jaw Clamp, secure your coil over and install your new rod ends using a large crescent wrench.
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27. Before re-installing your coil overs and bypass shocks, you should check to see what their PSI is using a charging manifold and make a note of it.
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28. Making sure that your reservoir is routed correctly, install your bypass shock onto the EVO Lever frame mount.
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29. Insert the bolt and washer to hold the bypass shock in place and apply some red loc-tite to its threads.
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30. Using a 3/4" socket and wrench, secure the bypass shock bolt and nut to 100-120 ft. lbs. of torque.
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31. More than likely, your bypass shock end will not line up to the cantilever arm. It'll be near impossible to move the shaft by hand so you will need to release the nitrogen inside of it.
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32. With the nitrogen released, you should be able to pull the bypass shock shaft back with your T-Handle Adjuster.
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33. Slide the bypass shock end into the cantilever arm, insert the bolt and washer to hold everything in place and then apply some red loc-tite to the threads.
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34. Using a 3/4" socket and wrench, tighten the bolt and nut to 110-120 ft. lbs. of torque.
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35. Charge up your bypass shock with nitrogen and to the PSI you prefer.
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36. Using a flathead screw driver or 5/16" driver, secure the bypass shock reservoir to it's mount.
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37. Assemble the coil and retaining cup onto your coil over and then carefully install it onto the EVO Lever frame mount.
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38. Insert the bolt and washer to hold everything in place and then apply some red loc-tite to the threads.
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39. It is impossible to get a torque wrench up into the EVO Lever frame to tighten up the coil over bolts. What you will need to do is use two 3/4" box wrenches (or a 19mm wrench if you don't have a second) and then double up the one on the nut end with a 7/8" wrench. This should give you the leverage you need to secure the bolt and nut.
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40. As before, you will need to release the nitrogen in the coil over in order to pull the shaft in enough to mount it onto the cantilever arm.
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41. Use your T-handle Adjuster to pull the coil over shaft in until you can install it onto the cantilever arm mount.
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42. Insert the bolt and washer and then apply a bit of red loc-tite onto the threads.
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43. Use a 3/4" socket and wrench to tighten up the bolt and nut to 110-120 ft. lbs. of torque.
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44. Charge up your coil over with nitrogen and to the PSI you prefer.
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45. Using a flathead screwdriver or 5/16" driver, secure your coil over reservoir to it's mount.
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46. Use your T-handle adjuster to set the pre-load on your coil overs back to where they were.
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Finished at last. Here's a few shots of Moby's revamped rear end.
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For those of you who have a DTD EVO Lever installed on your Jeep and do all your own work, I hope this write-up will be of some help to you. I should note that no torque specs were given to me so I did my best to go off what they would be about based on bolt size and being installed dry. I did go on the conservative side of things so that I wouldn't break any bolts but made sure to use red loc-tite to help things out. I do plan on checking all my bolts and nuts after a 100 miles or so of use. With all that said, please use the information I've provided as a reference only and not as a rule.
 

Ddays

Hooked
This is an awesome write-up and I don't even have one of these. Damn, I wish I did the kind of driving you do so that I could justify one of these setups. I'm really curious - how did this setup even come about? There had to have been a shitload of engineering involved with this system...
 

ak49

Member
can I send Cindy my 2.5 Kings for a clean up? lol what did she use to get them so clean?

I'll probably be cleaning mine up in the next 8-9 months so I'd also like to hear anythings that worked well or things that didn't work well.
 

macaw1

New member
Interesting, looks very expensive and a pain in the butt...I think I'll just stick with my MC GameChanger and 6 packs....;)
 

Brute

Hooked
Thanks Eddie...it was very informative. I noticed that the N pressure on the reservoir is stamped at 150 psi...it looked like you were charging them to about 200 psi on your manifold gauge...is that where you like them, and any worries about over-pressurizing the seals?
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
can I send Cindy my 2.5 Kings for a clean up? lol what did she use to get them so clean?

I'll probably be cleaning mine up in the next 8-9 months so I'd also like to hear anythings that worked well or things that didn't work well.

She used Simple Green and a brush to get the heavy stuff off and then moved over to Mother's Mag & Aluminum and a rag to polish things up. :yup:

This is an awesome write-up and I don't even have one of these. Damn, I wish I did the kind of driving you do so that I could justify one of these setups. I'm really curious - how did this setup even come about? There had to have been a shitload of engineering involved with this system...

If I recall, F1.

Like brand spanking new now. Great job both of you!!

Great write up!!! Looks like your in business for another 100K of hard miles on Moby

Another great writeup and thank you you for these. Now to somehow get this setup so I can refer back to it.

Thank you :cool:

Interesting, looks very expensive and a pain in the butt...I think I'll just stick with my MC GameChanger and 6 packs....;)

LOL!! Right, because two shocks strapped end on end and has a problems with leaks can perform as well as a coil over and bypass shock for over 100,000 miles. :crazyeyes:
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Thanks Eddie...it was very informative. I noticed that the N pressure on the reservoir is stamped at 150 psi...it looked like you were charging them to about 200 psi on your manifold gauge...is that where you like them, and any worries about over-pressurizing the seals?

Camera angle. We're actually running about 180 psi and no, we've not seen this to be a problem. We drive hard and fast across the desert and the extra pressure seems to soak up the hits a bit better. If you've ever seen the end of our PNW JKX video where we're bombing across the whoops at 65+ MPH, it was smooth as anything. A guy running 6 pak shocks tried to do the same thing and got his ass handed to him so bad that his spare tire broke off the tire carrier.
 

Bryan0IIIIIIIO

New member
REAR END REVAMP : Inspecting & Rebuilding a DTD EVO Lever System

I would love a start to finish installation video
For the DTD
 

Brute

Hooked
Camera angle. We're actually running about 180 psi and no, we've not seen this to be a problem. We drive hard and fast across the desert and the extra pressure seems to soak up the hits a bit better. If you've ever seen the end of our PNW JKX video where we're bombing across the whoops at 65+ MPH, it was smooth as anything. A guy running 6 pak shocks tried to do the same thing and got his ass handed to him so bad that his spare tire broke off the tire carrier.

Mahalo...also, what length sway bar end links are you using?...I am assuming that they are EVO HD end links...
 

uberc4

New member
REAR END REVAMP : Inspecting & Rebuilding a DTD EVO Lever System

Nice write up! I definitely need to do maintenance on mine... My coilovers are on the inside which caused a bad rub on one of the bypass hoses. Is there any inherent benefit for the coilovers being on the outside verses inside?


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