Just Bought Rusty's 4" kit....Anything I should Know?

[Michael]

Okay guys. Just bought a Rustys 4" kit for my beast and am looking for any advice. I have done this before but not on a wag. Anyone that has any advice or ran into any trouble with theirs I would love to hear from you. TIA. ;)

[waggin'ear]

Is it the 4 spring or blocks/AAL?

I put in the the Block/AAL on my '82, and you know how the saying goes. "if I can do it, a monkey can do it faster and better"

Other people have talked about grinding shackles or spring eyes, but I did not run into any probs.

If it's the 4 spring, the main concern is the bolt for the front part of the driver's side rear spring. This bolt is secured with a captive nut (there's gotta be joke here somewhere), which tends to break loose requiring one to make a window in the frame to remove it or drop the gas tank (which you should not have to do if thing go well).
good luck

[360GW]

Problems:
Front track arm too short
driveshafts may need to be longer, maybe
bolts will be difficult to get loose
brake lines,maybe
shocks,maybe

[Michael]

It is the springs all the way around. I was expecting bolts to be a pia, but I would think with only 4" of lift the drive shaft and the track rod should be okay. I guess I will find out next weekend.

[waggin'ear]

I did not have to make any driveline modifications (ie lengthen drive shaft etc, and i don't have a dropped pitman arm.

It pretty much just bolted right on and drove away. That was several thousand miles ago.

[Michael]

Waggin'- you give me the answer I like to hear. I thought that but will find out soon enough. Thanks

[Kimbrough]

I got Rusty's too. I do,in fact, love it but here's some things to watch out for:
*Unbolt the trac bars front and rear before putting on the new springs.
*I dropped my gas tank anyways to clean all the mud and crud trapped in there and drilled holes in the "skid plate" for better drainage. Also cleaned up the frame a bit where the brake lines are.
*The front sleeves on the rear springs were @ 1/4" too wide to go into the steel boxes. Might have to grind them down a bit.
Good luck!

P.S. Michael - nice rig!!! What kind of wheels are those?

[ January 02, 2002: Message edited by: Kimbrough ]

[Michael]

Hey thanks... Well I will tackle it next weekend. I really did not want to cough up the cash but my aal's are destroying my springs and the thing is make some aweful noises. It feels like they are about to break, and by the way they look it probably will if I do anymore wheelin'. The wheels are Discount tire specials. PCW or something. I really like them. And they are very light. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to the lift.

[Michael]

Kimbrough-

By the way...How is the flex?? Also how is the ride? I am hoping it is better that these aal's I have under it now... :eek:

[Dylan]

Hey Michael you've got a nice rig,i'm jealous!
I wouldn't want to see you suffer any snafus or parts dilemnas with your lift kit so why don't you bring it over and we'll slap it on my rig to make sure everything's well and good.......and then maybe I could field test it for a spell.Dylan.

[derf]

One thing people always say to me is to shoot the bolts with real penetrating lube (not just WD-40) twice a day for a week. I have a good size breaker bar so getting those bolts out shouldn't be a problem.

[Ralph]

Congrats on the lift kit. You've got a nice looking GWag. Maybe I'll get to see it if I can get home this spring (I went to Arlington HS).

On the track bar, you're likely to run into a problem with that much suspension lift, simply because the track bars aren't long enough. You can get rid of the track bars altogether but you'll lose a bit of stability, at least theoretically -- I don't know anybody who's complained about not having them. To keep them and keep them useful, two solutions that I know of are:

1. You can drill slots where there are presently holes on both the frame mounts and axle mounts. This will allow the bars to be moved to a more vertical angle, so you won't have to worry about getting longer ones. I've seen this done with a Skyjacker 4" lift, and it works very well.

2. I haven't actually seen this, but in the earlier days of this club someone described having removed the track bars, cut them in half, threaded the cut ends, and used tie rod adjusting harnesses to create adjustable-length track bars. That sounds to me like the correct way to do it, and it shouldn't be that expensive.

[Big J]

If you can, be sure take some "after" pictures for us all!

[Kimbrough]

Michael -
The flex is great! Springs are nice and soft due to their tapered design. smile.gif
Toss the trac bars if ya wanna do any wheelin'. I haven't noticed any bad handling with my kit without the bars. For extra flex i installed Warrior product's sway bar disconnects for a Wrangler with a 4" lift. They fit perfect!

[Michael]

Hey guys thanks for the replys. Oh by the way. It took a lot of man hours and elbow grease to bring the shine out of my rig. Lots of it. The same to get it running when I got it. Anyway. Cool, I was thinking I would have to ditch the track bars. Because with the 1-2" of lift I have now they are fully extended.

Dylan- ha ha ha ha...How about you help me get it dirty...LOL You to derf. What do you say. Once I get it on we go do a trail test.
Derf you feel up to somemore wrenching next weekend?

Thanks guys
Michael

[derf]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Michael:
Derf you feel up to somemore wrenching next weekend?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You have my number. Just tell me where and when.

[Michael]

I will call you once the lift comes in. It should be here Monday or Tuesday. And I am planning on either Friday night... more than likely Saturday. Once again I will call you.
Give me a call if we are on this weekend also to wrench on yours.

[Agent Orange]

Lots and Lots of penetrating oil. I spent 3 hours removing the rear bolts and the one bolt with the captive nut. Had to drop the gas tank because the bolt wouldn't come out. I also had to cut the springs down because they were to wide for the boxes. Oh and just because one person doesn't need a pitman arm doesn't mean you won't. Porkchop has great steering with his SOA, but mine is crap, even though I have new arms and drop pitman arm. LOL and can't wait to see the pics.

[Michael]

Jce- thanks for the info. I will wait to see if i need the pitman arm. All my steering except the steering wheel is new..LOL.. But like you said it does not mean that it will work for me. I will have my grinder ready because I have been told more than once that they are too wide. Thanks again.

[Rye]

I'm very interested in how this goes for you... I plan on buying the same kit in 2 weeks. I got to go to Pensacola for training first then I'll get the lift. I can't wait :D