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3" rough country lift

Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2019 2:25 pm
by barkleyw
Installed the 3" rough country spring lift in my 89 GW - got it all in - sits nice - looks good - level stance - wheels centered.

Rear axle has the factory brackets welded on it with the holes that align with the springs so the positioning of the springs and axle is correct to my knowledge.

I used the the extensions for the stabilizer bars from BJ's and they mounted fine.

Everything looks great - Except - when I went to put the drive shaft back in I am about an inch short after its extended.

Called RC - poor support - from what I can see everything is set but I will need to extend my drive shaft a bit - everything I read says you should not have to do this with just a 3" lift.

thoughts?

Re: 3" rough country lift

Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2019 6:45 pm
by Stuka
I have put 6" lifts on without extending the rear shaft. Front typically is what needs work.

Does the rear tire look centered in the wheel well? I have had one friend that when he put his lift on, the centering pin on the springs actually ended up in the hole to the front of where it should actually go. So the axle ended up being farther back than it should.

Also, its possible that the shaft has never had to extend that far, and is just hanging up on a wear spot or something inside. You may have to pull on it some.

Re: 3" rough country lift

Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2019 7:21 pm
by barkleyw
ok - dug in a bit deeper - see pics - pulled the driveshaft all the way far enough to see the spline - still need an inch. The differential is pretty much parallel to the ground - almost looks like it should point up a bit towards the transfer case yoke more. The pin is in the hole - see pic. Next..check out the bottom wedge on the leaf spring - is it the wrong way? The thick part of the wedge faces the front of the jeep. It is part of the spring so it may have been put in backwards wherever RC gets them - I think it said Indonesia or something. If I turn that wedge will it bring the angle up and fix my issue? How should that wedge be in there? (The wedge in the spring pack not on the axle plate)
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Re: 3" rough country lift

Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2019 7:35 pm
by barkleyw
I think I figured it out.....right from rough country - appears the shim or wedge is my issue.....

"Which direction should the shims on my leaf springs face?

On vehicles with leaf springs mounted over the axles, the fat or tall part of the shim should face towards the bumper (i.e. the tall part of the shim on the rear leaf spring should face the rear bumper and vice versa for the front.) On vehicles with the leaf springs mounted under the axle, the fat or tall part of the shim should face towards the center of the vehicle."

Re: 3" rough country lift

Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2019 8:15 pm
by Stuka
Your shim are in backwards, as I can see in the photos. That will help some, although not sure if it will help enough.

And, the tire does look a bit far back in the wheel well. Normally Wagoneers have the tire closer to the front fender lip. Its not uncommon to have to trim the bottom corner of the front to fit a larger tire.

Re: 3" rough country lift

Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2019 3:05 am
by barkleyw
Thanks Stuka - I will get the wrenching, turn them around and see where I am at. I really enjoy this forum.

Re: 3" rough country lift

Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2019 2:21 pm
by irondawg
You know what, I just looked at my rear setup and the fat part is facing the center of the frame. I thought something was wrong because the rear parking brake cables are about 1/2 inch too short and RC said once there's weight on the frame (I'm doing a frame off rebuild right now) the lines will reach. I've got a shot of the parking brake lines to show you what I mean. I'll take some shots of the blocks in a minute.

Image

Re: 3" rough country lift

Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2019 3:02 pm
by irondawg
Here's a shot of the shim. As you can see the fat part is facing the center.

Image

Looks like I've got some wrenching to do as well.

Thanks guys!! You don't know how much I appreciate this forum.

Re: 3" rough country lift

Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 7:26 pm
by ghcoe
Have not done the rear springs before, but when I did my front springs I found the centering pin was not centered in the spring. Not sure if even the factory one was or not, but something to check is if the springs are installed the right way.

Re: 3" rough country lift

Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 11:25 am
by Stuka
ghcoe wrote:Have not done the rear springs before, but when I did my front springs I found the centering pin was not centered in the spring. Not sure if even the factory one was or not, but something to check is if the springs are installed the right way.
This was factory for 74+ FSJ's. 73 and older Wagoneers had a shorter spring that did use a centered pin.

Re: 3" rough country lift

Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2019 9:34 am
by MReno
Was the lift you installed (RC 3") a kit with only front leaf springs and rear shims? Were the rear springs factory?

Re: 3" rough country lift

Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2019 5:57 pm
by Jeepin87
What transfer case do you have? If someone swapped the 229 our for a 208 your driveshaft will be way short, IIRC there is about a 4" difference in length 229/228/219 vs 208.

Re: 3" rough country lift

Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2019 5:46 am
by will e
Generally, when doing a lift, if the drive shaft 'barely' extends enough to be installed it is too short.

Re: 3" rough country lift

Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2019 7:51 am
by MReno
Barkleyw, when you installed the rear axle lift blocks, did they get installed on top of the factory lift blocks?

Re: 3" rough country lift

Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2019 12:26 pm
by Stuka
MReno wrote: Tue Dec 03, 2019 7:51 am Barkleyw, when you installed the rear axle lift blocks, did they get installed on top of the factory lift blocks?
No FSJ had a factory lift block. If you have a lift block now somebody added it.

Re: 3" rough country lift

Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2019 8:54 am
by irondawg
A bit off topic but related question...Is anyone adding bump stop extensions?

I've done some math and I think the axle at full articulation with the stock bump stops there's a good chance the shackles would 'flip' and get stuck. Happened to a buddy with a '80s Land Cruiser. He bought some 'anti-reverse' shackles so that wouldn't happen but I figure adding bump stop extensions would work the same. On newer Jeeps with lifts, most kits come with extensions.

Re: 3" rough country lift

Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2019 6:22 pm
by MReno
Stuka, on a second check, what I thought was a lift block in actually part of the plate on the axle that the leaf spring mounts too. So the lift blocks with my kit must sit on top of that to level the rear with the front.

Re: 3" rough country lift

Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2019 8:43 am
by RamJetFSJ
Correct. The lift block goes between the axle and the spring pack.

Re: 3" rough country lift

Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2019 3:52 pm
by Stuka
irondawg wrote: Wed Dec 04, 2019 8:54 am A bit off topic but related question...Is anyone adding bump stop extensions?

I've done some math and I think the axle at full articulation with the stock bump stops there's a good chance the shackles would 'flip' and get stuck. Happened to a buddy with a '80s Land Cruiser. He bought some 'anti-reverse' shackles so that wouldn't happen but I figure adding bump stop extensions would work the same. On newer Jeeps with lifts, most kits come with extensions.
Nobody makes pre-made bump stop extensions specifically for our vehicles. But there are universal ones that can work.

Re: 3" rough country lift

Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2019 4:39 pm
by cpfeifffer
Sorry if this is considered hijacking...

Do I need different bump stops on a 78 Cherokee Chief with a 4” Skyjacker lift and 33x 10.50 tires?


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