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Ever
get high centered on a rock that everyone else crawled over with
ease or just needed that extra clearance to defeat that obstacle?
Well that is where a suspension lift comes in. To gain that
precious clearance and squeeze bigger tires a suspension lift is
the way to go.
BDS Suspension is the route we went for our suspension lift, their
"you break it buy we will replace it free" warranty is
the best out there. However, warranties aren't the world and the
main reason we went with BDS Suspension is because our Jeep must
get to and from the trail no matter where the trail is so we
needed a smooth riding yet flexy spring.
All things combined left us with BDS Suspension and after a quick
exchange with one of the helpful BDS Suspension sales team members
the kit was on it's way.
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We
lifted our body up with our Hi-Lift then used jack stands
for extra support, then used floor jacks under the axle.
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The
kit consists of four 3.5" arched springs, four shocks, drop
pitman arm, transfer case drop, bump stops, u-bolts, and brake line,
track bar, sway bar brackets.
We started off by disconnecting the battery, of course do this with
every major modification you make. Next the truck was put into gear,
the parking brake applied and the tires blocked with wood. You will
need very little tools to complete this modification. Listed are the
tools you will need.
- Full socket set w/ socket wrench. You will need a large 1 5/16
inch socket for the pitman arm bolt
- Set
of wrenches
- Torque wrench
- Pitman arm puller
- Wedge tool
- Hammer
- WD40, Liquid Wrench, or similar
- Floor jack and two jack stands
- Grease gun if you want to grease your bushings
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In the directions it was stated to start with the rear so that is
where we began. We first started by Hi-lifting the body up enough to
put a jack stand under the rear frame then we put a floor jack under
the axle between the spring pack and differential. This modification
can be dangerous if not done properly and one main safety precaution
is knowing that everything is secure.
Now with the body supported and axle supported it is time for the
fun to begin. Using the tire iron we took the lug nuts off then
removed the tire. The shock is the next to go, using a wrench to
secure the top bolt in place we used a socket wrench to take the nut
off. If the bolt does not come out easy once the nut is off then you
have to much pressure on the springs so you must either raise or
lower your floor jack to ease the pressure. Once that bolt is out
the bottom bolt is done the same way.
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Next,
using the same procedure for the shock bolt loosen the top and
bottom shackle bolts. Do not take these off, just make them very
loose. Do this to the front spring hanger as well, again loosening
and not taking the bolt out.
The u-bolts are the next to go. We used a breaker bar and a socket
to get the nuts off the u-bolts. After taking all four u-bolt nuts
off the spring plate came off and then the u-bolts come off. The
spring might drop some so make sure your hands and feet are not in
the way. You might want to put a block of wood under the spring
before you take off the last nut so it does not come down real hard
incase you still have a lot of pressure on it.
After the spring comes down take off the bottom shackle bolt and the
spring hanger bolt then remove the spring from the Jeep. If you wish
you can install the rear track bar bracket to extend your track bar.
Using the supplied bracket disconnect the track bar from it's
current bracket on the drivers side, pound the current bracket
outwards until the new one will slide into it, bolt in place, then
reattach the track bar and bolt that in place.
We choose to totally remove the track bar from our Jeep as it limits
flex and does not effect much on road however this is not our daily
driver.
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Taking
off the u-bolt nuts.
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Track bar
bracket installed.
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Now
the new BDS shock must go on, this will require either a vise or a
hammer and grease because you must put the bushings into the shock
as well as a metal sleeve. Once that is all in place bolt in the
shock doing opposite of what you did to take it off. Once the shock
is all tightened it is time to put on the new spring pack.
There are two different spring packs, one for the front and one for
the rear so make sure you get the right one. You will need to put
bushings in the new spring pack as well as metal sleeves. Next, put
the spring pack under the axle and line up the eye with the shackle
and insert the bolt. After the bolt is in place and nut secured hand
tight then line up the spring pack to the spring hanger and bolt it
in, again only hand tightening the nut. If you have trouble getting
the spring into the spring hanger try greasing it up.
New u-bolts come with the kit so you will need to find the right
size ones as well as the new nuts for the u-bolts. There is also
metal shims for the rear that needs to be underneath the spring pack
between the spring pack and the spring plate, this is only for the
rear. Now put a jack under the spring, not on the spring plate
though, and jack it up so that the lip on the spring pack slips into
the hole in the axle. Now the new u-bolts go on, if you want to put
in the new bump stops they go on first then the u-bolts however we
choose not to install the new ones as it would limit flex for us.
Now torque the nuts to the correct pounds. Make sure that you
tighten these in equal amounts, do not fully torque one then the
next, do it equally.
Now torque the spring hanger and shackle bolts and you are set. You
do this exact setup for the driver side now however you must install
a brake drop down bracket. This is very simple, find where the brake
line is anchored to the frame and take out the clip so you can
remove it from the anchor. After freeing the line from the anchor
bolt the brake drop down bracket to the anchor using the supplied
bolt and nut and reattach line and clip.
Page
Two of Install >>>
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