All those who are talking sway bar disconnects are correct. Not much flex when the sway bars are still hooked up. The difference between bound-up and disconnected was amazing on my old TJ....
I enjoyed watching the excitement you had as a new jeeper, love that you could afford such a nice upgrade. After viewing your video it was obvious this was a real learning experience for you. I have not looked but I can only hope there was a Part 2 made. People can be cruel with some of their comments . You owe it to yourself to make another one with some of the HELPFUL suggestion that were offered. Thanks for making it.
Kristopher Klassen Avoid Rubicons. Not only are they overpriced for the additional equipment, but those electric discos are very susceptible to rusting out over time. As a result, you'll eventually be replacing them with manual discos or a Currie Anti-Rock, anyway.
The new shocks seem like an odd mounting system. They will definitely be applying extra load to the stock bracket that has now been drilled out. I had a similar concept, bolt on kit on a Toyota pickup when I was younger. After a couple 1000 miles offroad the welds on the lower shock mounts fatigued and one side developed a crack. And a similar story with my father's '83 Chevy Suburban that had a dual shock system using the stock lower mounting point. they just weren't designed for the extra forces of the larger diameter pressurized gas shocks. It's just like your mechanic was saying about your driveshaft, It'll work with the lift, but it's going to wear out and fail on you a lot sooner.
Ha HA. A lot of my off road miles were actually on the Baja course over a couple of camping trips. Totally agree that the end user is responsible. I lean more to reliability focused decisions now even if it means less offroad ability. Don't need to get further down a trail if you can't get back;)
Interesting that you broke one side. Ive seen plenty of single shear shock mounting. Its usually fine as long as it's shock only. If its a spring mounting point as well then i would expect it to fail quickly.
Yeah, Steve, both personal cases with it were just using aftermarket kits that switched from the stock, unpressurized, single shocks to dual, pressurized gas shocks. no springs involved. Both aftermarket kits were marketed as improving offroad handeling and installed with the idea that they would help handle the hundreds of miles of dirt driven each time we go to Baja. They did help stiffen the ride and reduce body roll while loaded down with gear, but they both failed on the 3rd or 4th trip with the kits installed.
Never heard that myth. I also don't offroad "as rough as I can". Yes, things will break. I was just offering a thought, similar to the mechanic in this video, that many aftermarket kits add additional stress to the vehicle. It doen't mean you shouldn't lift your jeep. It's just a trade off to concider.
You really need to disconnect the sway bar. It's as important as airing down your tires. You are missing out on 2 of the most important off-roading advantages you can get by airing down and disconnecting.
I just had to drop a comment because I noticed your North Pole Alaska t-shirt & that’s where I’m watching from! Just bought my first Jeep this week & can’t wait to get it out in the Alaskan wilderness 👍🏼
Joe Mulgrew well he's working with a couple of dumbass kids that don't know their ass from a hole in the ground, but think they are experts. I'd be disinterested as well
This looks great for the conversion that you did. In the video I did notice that you have tension on the brake caliper hose when the spring is fully extended. I did a similar conversion to my Disco 2 and my mechanic added in new brake caliper hoses so there is no tension on it during rock crawling.
Tyfunk 02 should be a very 1st upgrade, my opinion. I dont go far on road. Havent had a sway bar on the tj in years. In fact never had 1 on the old cj. Lmao when we got the tj, couldnt believe it had a REAR swaybar too. Removed ! Gone ! Looks great up in my garage attic. The wife drives her jku pretty far. I leave that 1 alone. Lol . i consider the jku offroad when it is in the garage.
That would not be recommended with the stock driveshaft on a '12+ JK with that much lift. Regardless of the exhaust spacers, disconnecting the swaybar could cause the driveshaft to make contact with the exhaust crossover, tear the boot, and damage both the driveshaft and the pipe. The driveshaft should be replaced first.
It does, but that's irrelevant. The issue is with the lift and the resulting angle of the stock driveshaft. Rubi or not, the driveshaft could make contact with the exhaust pipe that runs underneath it and damage both. Many lifted Pentastar JKs typically need an aftermarket driveshaft if you want to disconnect the front swaybar and have the driveshaft clear the pipe when getting that extra articulation.
I have a very similar Jeep (2013 2-Door Sport S) on a AEV 3.5” lift and 35” Toyo Open Country R/T tires and 3.73 gearing and it really does well on the trail. I use it a lot on the highway too and it rides well, especially after getting used to the handling.
Great side by side comparison of stock vs lifted. Just check to make sure the brake lines are long enough at full droop and that your rear shock is not mounted upside down.
I ran 10 on my suzuki jimny and slid down a rock front left tire came off the rim, wasnt a fun job trying to pry it back on with a crowbar on the trail😂 but yeah you definitely feel the difference, i run 15 psi after that just to be safe, make sure to keep something handy to pry the tires back on just in case
I gave a thumbs up because I liked some of your detail and the fact that you tried to show a lot of what the mechanic was doing. Good video over all. I've been 4 wheel driving a lot and surprisingly I've seen basic 82 4x4 Jeep with some decent tires make it up steeper and more challenging climbing or off roading. YOU DO NOT NEED A LIFT.
It's been about 6 months now. What is your assessment of the lift and tires? How are the adjustable shocks holding up? Are you happy with the larger tires and stock gearing? How is the on road handling with the lift and tires?
Colorado for 60+ years, gone every where I wanted on NASTY roads with 205/55-17's and never seen some place I couldn't get there and back, yes with a winch too. Those shocks are stellar! nice
Love these before and after vids. I purchased my first JKU this year, got her in Gobi (my Gobi Fox). All of my cash is strapped down for my wedding in October. I'll have to wait till next year for a similar setup as yours. How has your gas mileage changed from stock kit? Thanks for Sharing
I heard them say they were trying to emulate the conditions and etc of the stock setup. No disconnects. Tire pressure. Etc. in the future they have lots of things to upgrade to make it a great off roader.
Would like to see a total cost and a review on how the lift affects on-road handeling. Good video. I am looking for more of this style. Showing the difference in performance and the actual install...
3.73 gears are perfect for 35”s. I ran heavy 35” Toyo RTs for 42k miles on a 16 JK with 3.21s and never had a problem. I have a 17 JKU with 3.73s now and honestly I feel the 3.21s were better for highway cruising with the lower RPM range. I can’t tell much difference RPM wise on the highway from 4.10s in a Rubicon and 3.73s, but the 3.73s are much more responsive in the city. Between the 3 gear sets I think 3.73 is the perfect compromise. I like your lift, but think 2.5” would have been a bit better to decrease the articulation of your driveline. With 35s you’re not getting a lot of extra benefit doing 3.5” on the lift. Can always get custom fenders or cut your stock ones for better flex. Oh and as everyone has mentioned. Get a $40 set of quick disconnects sway bars!
35s are overkill for that trail. You should've driven to the other end of Bunce and did the Iron Clads trail. I've taken my old YJ with 33s on all of these trails many times. A locker really makes all the difference even if it's just a front locker. For $250 (Spartan) and an couple hours it's absolutely worth it. Wheeling with the sway bar connected an fully inflated tires makes things much tougher than they need to be! You should get an Anti-Rock from Currie or some JKS disconnects and air down to 15 PSI (plenty safe as is in you won't pop a bead and you can drive on the road safely to air back up). 3.5" isn't too agressive of a lift but you could've gotten away with a 2" lift! This would kept your CG lower. To avoid rubbing the fenders you just remove the front ones from a JK (or get something aftermarket) and remove the rear fender flares.
Did plane crash trail years ago with my stock jk with little trouble. Think I hit my trailer hitch a few times, but nothing major. Need to see how she runs it now with a 2.5". Thanks for the reminder!
Very nice modifications. And as already has been said, you'll improve articulation and increase traction (by keeping all four tires on terra firma) if you add some sway bar quick disconnects. Very cheap in comparison to the amount of kit you've already installed!
Couple quick and easy tips: - Air down more (shoulda got beadlocks if you really want to run off-road). The tires aren't really wrapping around anything at all. - Disconnect the sway bar. They make quick disconnect kits. - Make sure you've got plenty of brake line for your wheel travel. There's nothing quite like pulling out a brake line 3 miles up a steep trail and trying to figure out how you're gonna get down with no brakes. - locker locker locker locker locker - and gears. It would make the trails soooo much smoother and easier even with the "lsd" that wranglers come with (which is really just an open diff controled by the opposite brake - I.E. sucking power)
Great video as usual! So would you recommend a 35" tires on the JK? I am struggeling back and forth between 33" and 35". I am considering 2.5"-3" lift (not 3.5")
Why didn't you disconnect your sway bar? At 14:44 it looks like there is even a bracket to keep your sway bar link up and out of the way. Just saying cuz it would of helped to keep your front tire on the ground more of the time.
Sway bar disco makes a huge difference in articulating on trails. You probably wouldn't have even slipped disconnected. It keeps all tires better planted to the ground giving better off-road stability and traction.
Rear shock mounting seems odd with the reservoir and adjuster orientated down vs up. I'd think having all that under water and mud regularly doesn't seem ideal. Also take those shackles off and spray paint them with a rubberized paint, you won't have to listen to the clanking and you'll preserve the pumper paint.
I enjoyed this video and it's good to see you kept the mistake in about getting the wrong size bolts - we've all done things like that. A shame so many "experts" have seen fit to drone on about "sway bars" whatever they are (anti-roll bars presumably). Constructive criticism is one thing, personal insults says more about the insecurity of the poster rather than the person it was written about.
Those rear shocks leveraged towards the tire off the stock brackets as shown are just a very poor design, and will break the lower stock shock brackets off of the rear axle eventually. (I have built four Jeeps and been wheeling for over 30 years) That along with the rear shock adjustments at the bottom of the shocks are just waiting to be ripped off causing problems. Also no extended rear brake hose according to this video showing the brake hose stretched while articulating the axle? I have used this company's products before with no problems, not sure what happen to them! But I would really make sure that this is what you're after.
Steve Yulenburg Game Bred Duramax Teraflex has a video of them hitting it on rocks to show they designed it to take the hit. But a lot of people are still paranoid about it, I don't blame them, so teraflex now sells a rear lower shock mount shield to armor the mount and res area. I ran an offset bracket for my front shock mounts for 2 years that is similar to this one. I never had an issue and I wheel pretty hard. The front takes way more abuse than the rear generally. With the metal spacer and long bolt thru the original mounting space, it spreads the load to both brackets. If they only used the one side of the mount then I'd totally agree with you.
Hey Falcon, I frankly don't care what you believe... Because the lower rear shock brackets on various Jeep models have been known to fail/snap/shear off of the rear axle due to the force of the shock alone. This is again without the leveraging effect of Teraflex's poorly designed add on to get the shock closer to the tire, leveraging the OEM brackets in a way they were never designed to take all of the force. Google "Jeep broken lower shock mount" and you too will be educated on the truth for the next online conversation. Paranoid? Ah, no it's called using something called common sense. And I again really don't care what a controlled video a manufacturer made up to try and claim an obviously vulnerable product they designed can somehow "take a hit". A giant plastic dial to control the shock hanging down at the lowest point of a four wheel drive is just stupid. Because no matter what anyone claims that to is a flawed design. Hell, at least time tested design of Rancho 9000's have a tiny shock controller dial mounted on the back of their adjustable shocks, a few inches up from the bottom, and that is if they couldn't mount it at the top of the shock in some applications like most of them were, the way it should have been installed to begin with.
Really enjoyed the format of the video, grat way to illustrate the difference between before and after. -Looks like something was leaking / dripping on to the front diff.....
You should add some quick disconnects on the front sway bar. JKS makes some good ones. Get some nice axle flex and better traction. You wont be as tippy.
14:55 May wanna fix that leak dripping on the pumpkin.... also need a brake line drop racket at least.... and disconnect the swaybar!!! the mechanic added a exhaust spacer right? lose the bar
People always want a lift and bigger tires, but for better performance off-road, nothing is more helpful than a rear locker. My first mod would be a rear locker and sliders/protection.
Did you regear your axles? That will help with speed and fuel economy... also Old Man Emu is a much better lift, as it has a lot better on road mannerisms and rides smoother than stock
A lot of folks in the comment section complaining about the guys bothering Devon the mechanic. I get it, I too feel for the Devon trying to do his work in peace lol... but I DO appreciate getting a first person view of the process.
You guys have the manual trans right? The gearing on that really helps make your axle gearing pretty usable. Although if you want to enjoy better power delivery and better crawl ratio you'll move to something like 4.56 in your case. First things first get some quick disconnects for that sway bar and do another video showing how worth it they are. It is night and day I promise.
i thought i read that adding larger tires to wranglers messes with their drivetrain and they have problems? i know my moms rubicon gets the death wobble, and i think hers is completely stock. maybe slightly different size tires. nothing drastic.
Like the 35's and thinking of moving up to them from my 33's when they are ready to be replaced. But if I do, I'm getting 4.56 gears. Did you upgrade your gears?
Can you tell me how much actual lift can be put on this drive line, obviously it's the same set up in the 4 Door, so with the obvious things like tuning and re gearing, how many inches of lift can this engine handle?
Not sure if that lift came with swaybar disconnects or not, but disconnecting the sway bar ends would help a ton with keeping those 35's on the ground but definitely a awsome looking jk!
Hey Tommy, what do you think about making a video about off roading 101 (or maybe 102) but around manual transmission. I know this Jeep is manual and thought you could talk about clutch control, 4hi vs 4lo situations, different approach used between auto vs manual off-road, etc. All my off-road vehicles have always been auto and I just recently bought a wrangler manual. Would love to see that kinda video from you. Thanks.
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I'm concerned about the location of the rear shock reservoirs and adjustment knob. Seems like they'd take a beating.
I think they’re upside down honestly. Watched another channel of this kit installed and they had them flipped
All those who are talking sway bar disconnects are correct. Not much flex when the sway bars are still hooked up. The difference between bound-up and disconnected was amazing on my old TJ....
Guy seemed real irritated by having a camera on his face while working. Also what's this "we" you speak of? I saw one guy doing the work.
He did plenty of work, didn't you see him put the center caps on the wheels?
You just read my mind. Devin's looked quite anoyed by constantly having a camera on his face.
Then Thomas mentioning "we"? Pff.
He's working on a Sunday morning and the job's probably taking twice as long as it should because they're filming.
Anyone else think he lost the bolts on purpose? So the guys would leave him alone?
I got the same vibes and thought the same thought
Congratulations, Tommy! Your Jeep looks great and will be delivering some very good times for you. I'm incredibly stoked for you.
You should of shown the toll drop ledge like you did when it was stock and the sliders almost touched. That would be a good side by side comparison.
joshua Maneely I agree, I kept waiting for him to show the difference. That was kind of a "duh"!
They don't have their sht together
I enjoyed watching the excitement you had as a new jeeper, love that you could afford such a nice upgrade. After viewing your video it was obvious this was a real learning experience for you. I have not looked but I can only hope there was a Part 2 made. People can be cruel with some of their comments . You owe it to yourself to make another one with some of the HELPFUL suggestion that were offered. Thanks for making it.
Sway bar disconnects are a great bang for your buck
Turtle Berdley the lift kit they bought comes with quick disconnects.
Buy a rubicon and electronic disconnect swaybars come standard
Kristopher Klassen Avoid Rubicons. Not only are they overpriced for the additional equipment, but those electric discos are very susceptible to rusting out over time. As a result, you'll eventually be replacing them with manual discos or a Currie Anti-Rock, anyway.
But he did not use them!!!!
Joe Stacks his hand might be to weak to disconnect them you don’t know
Mechanic: I’m missing 2 pins
Them: well get it
Guy: I can’t believe that actually worked they are finally gone
The new shocks seem like an odd mounting system. They will definitely be applying extra load to the stock bracket that has now been drilled out. I had a similar concept, bolt on kit on a Toyota pickup when I was younger. After a couple 1000 miles offroad the welds on the lower shock mounts fatigued and one side developed a crack. And a similar story with my father's '83 Chevy Suburban that had a dual shock system using the stock lower mounting point. they just weren't designed for the extra forces of the larger diameter pressurized gas shocks.
It's just like your mechanic was saying about your driveshaft, It'll work with the lift, but it's going to wear out and fail on you a lot sooner.
Ha HA. A lot of my off road miles were actually on the Baja course over a couple of camping trips. Totally agree that the end user is responsible. I lean more to reliability focused decisions now even if it means less offroad ability. Don't need to get further down a trail if you can't get back;)
Interesting that you broke one side. Ive seen plenty of single shear shock mounting. Its usually fine as long as it's shock only. If its a spring mounting point as well then i would expect it to fail quickly.
Yeah, Steve, both personal cases with it were just using aftermarket kits that switched from the stock, unpressurized, single shocks to dual, pressurized gas shocks. no springs involved.
Both aftermarket kits were marketed as improving offroad handeling and installed with the idea that they would help handle the hundreds of miles of dirt driven each time we go to Baja.
They did help stiffen the ride and reduce body roll while loaded down with gear, but they both failed on the 3rd or 4th trip with the kits installed.
Where is this myth that you don't break things going offroading as rough as you can? Of course things will break. And get fixed.
Never heard that myth. I also don't offroad "as rough as I can". Yes, things will break. I was just offering a thought, similar to the mechanic in this video, that many aftermarket kits add additional stress to the vehicle. It doen't mean you shouldn't lift your jeep. It's just a trade off to concider.
You really need to disconnect the sway bar. It's as important as airing down your tires. You are missing out on 2 of the most important off-roading advantages you can get by airing down and disconnecting.
Yep. That's because he's a noob, just got into wheeling or simply a poser with no real intention of wheeling. Hopefully he will learn one day.
I just had to drop a comment because I noticed your North Pole Alaska t-shirt & that’s where I’m watching from! Just bought my first Jeep this week & can’t wait to get it out in the Alaskan wilderness 👍🏼
This was really cool being able to see everything going into the lift.
the shock reservoir on the bottom doenst seem like a good position...
Deine Mutter yeah i agree...seems like it’s upside down
It is for them....when it breaks guess what happens next😎
Yea this also seemed strange to me.
That mechanic is totaly uninteristed.
Joe Mulgrew well he's working with a couple of dumbass kids that don't know their ass from a hole in the ground, but think they are experts. I'd be disinterested as well
He's like "Shut up! Working here." Actually I'm the same way. I can't multitask.
He's actually a super cool mechanic and probably the cheapest/best value in Boulder. Highly recommend Devon if you are in the area!
Give him a break. Not everyone is used to being questioned on camera whilst they work
It's called being a man intolerant to a couple of douche bags😎.....I felt his pain through the camera
This looks great for the conversion that you did. In the video I did notice that you have tension on the brake caliper hose when the spring is fully extended. I did a similar conversion to my Disco 2 and my mechanic added in new brake caliper hoses so there is no tension on it during rock crawling.
Disconnect your front sway bar!!
Tyfunk 02 should be a very 1st upgrade, my opinion.
I dont go far on road. Havent had a sway bar on the tj in years. In fact never had 1 on the old cj. Lmao when we got the tj, couldnt believe it had a REAR swaybar too. Removed ! Gone ! Looks great up in my garage attic. The wife drives her jku pretty far. I leave that 1 alone. Lol . i consider the jku offroad when it is in the garage.
That would not be recommended with the stock driveshaft on a '12+ JK with that much lift. Regardless of the exhaust spacers, disconnecting the swaybar could cause the driveshaft to make contact with the exhaust crossover, tear the boot, and damage both the driveshaft and the pipe. The driveshaft should be replaced first.
Spanked78 Doesn't the rubicon have electronic swaybar disconnects?
Yes. This isn't a Rubicon.
It does, but that's irrelevant. The issue is with the lift and the resulting angle of the stock driveshaft. Rubi or not, the driveshaft could make contact with the exhaust pipe that runs underneath it and damage both. Many lifted Pentastar JKs typically need an aftermarket driveshaft if you want to disconnect the front swaybar and have the driveshaft clear the pipe when getting that extra articulation.
Air the tires down to 10psi and disconnect the front sway bar and it will be SO MUCH better!!!!!
Over all LOVED the video. More like this please!
I have a very similar Jeep (2013 2-Door Sport S) on a AEV 3.5” lift and 35” Toyo Open Country R/T tires and 3.73 gearing and it really does well on the trail. I use it a lot on the highway too and it rides well, especially after getting used to the handling.
2 years later still helping people thanks m8 i really enjoyed seeing your experience
Refreshing to see someone actually drive a BLD equipped vehicle properly. Most people don't understand it.
Great side by side comparison of stock vs lifted. Just check to make sure the brake lines are long enough at full droop and that your rear shock is not mounted upside down.
air those tires down to 10 psi and you'd be even more impressed! nice job.
Justin King really impressive till the tires come off like mine did 😂 but yeah good shout pal
Benjamin Downward I run 10 all the time without issue
I ran 10 on my suzuki jimny and slid down a rock front left tire came off the rim, wasnt a fun job trying to pry it back on with a crowbar on the trail😂 but yeah you definitely feel the difference, i run 15 psi after that just to be safe, make sure to keep something handy to pry the tires back on just in case
perhaps making use of those swaybar quick disconects that he just bought... that could make some difference too
Angry Canadian theres no such thing as an angry Canadian
I gave a thumbs up because I liked some of your detail and the fact that you tried to show a lot of what the mechanic was doing. Good video over all. I've been 4 wheel driving a lot and surprisingly I've seen basic 82 4x4 Jeep with some decent tires make it up steeper and more challenging climbing or off roading. YOU DO NOT NEED A LIFT.
It's been about 6 months now. What is your assessment of the lift and tires? How are the adjustable shocks holding up? Are you happy with the larger tires and stock gearing? How is the on road handling with the lift and tires?
Great video, but PLEASE DISCONNECT THE SWAY BARS FOR FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!
No chance… it is not a RUBI
Best video on the Fast Lane Car yet. Nice work
It looks like you are stretching your rear brake lines when the real axle is articulating whilst off road.
nitropaul Williams great catch
nitropaul Williams i was gonna say the same thing. Can’t just lift and leave the old brake lines on
nitropaul Williams these guys obviously don't know very much about off roading or working on cars in general.
Disconnect the front sway bar links dude. Helps a bunch off road. Great looking jeep/lift.
Colorado for 60+ years, gone every where I wanted on NASTY roads with 205/55-17's and never seen some place I couldn't get there and back, yes with a winch too. Those shocks are stellar! nice
Love these before and after vids. I purchased my first JKU this year, got her in Gobi (my Gobi Fox). All of my cash is strapped down for my wedding in October. I'll have to wait till next year for a similar setup as yours. How has your gas mileage changed from stock kit? Thanks for Sharing
Love this Tomny. I just bought a 16 JKU Sahara.
Got my whillys 16 last Saturday
I heard them say they were trying to emulate the conditions and etc of the stock setup. No disconnects. Tire pressure. Etc. in the future they have lots of things to upgrade to make it a great off roader.
I hope someone bought that Devon guy a steak, he did not look happy about working Sunday morning....
Would like to see a total cost and a review on how the lift affects on-road handeling. Good video. I am looking for more of this style. Showing the difference in performance and the actual install...
It looks much better now. Did you all do a speedometer correction to adjust for the tire difference?
KYDashcam yes the mechanic did.
I wouldn't worry about the negative comments!! You boys are doing a good job and good videos 👍👍
Great video Tommy, I did a budget version of yours and took it to Black Bear then Moab. It performed great and I love my Jeep
Well done. Informative, good camera work, nicely narrated. Great job, thanks.
3.73 gears are perfect for 35”s. I ran heavy 35” Toyo RTs for 42k miles on a 16 JK with 3.21s and never had a problem. I have a 17 JKU with 3.73s now and honestly I feel the 3.21s were better for highway cruising with the lower RPM range. I can’t tell much difference RPM wise on the highway from 4.10s in a Rubicon and 3.73s, but the 3.73s are much more responsive in the city. Between the 3 gear sets I think 3.73 is the perfect compromise. I like your lift, but think 2.5” would have been a bit better to decrease the articulation of your driveline. With 35s you’re not getting a lot of extra benefit doing 3.5” on the lift. Can always get custom fenders or cut your stock ones for better flex. Oh and as everyone has mentioned. Get a $40 set of quick disconnects sway bars!
35s are overkill for that trail. You should've driven to the other end of Bunce and did the Iron Clads trail. I've taken my old YJ with 33s on all of these trails many times. A locker really makes all the difference even if it's just a front locker. For $250 (Spartan) and an couple hours it's absolutely worth it. Wheeling with the sway bar connected an fully inflated tires makes things much tougher than they need to be! You should get an Anti-Rock from Currie or some JKS disconnects and air down to 15 PSI (plenty safe as is in you won't pop a bead and you can drive on the road safely to air back up).
3.5" isn't too agressive of a lift but you could've gotten away with a 2" lift! This would kept your CG lower. To avoid rubbing the fenders you just remove the front ones from a JK (or get something aftermarket) and remove the rear fender flares.
Did plane crash trail years ago with my stock jk with little trouble. Think I hit my trailer hitch a few times, but nothing major.
Need to see how she runs it now with a 2.5". Thanks for the reminder!
Why is the sway bar still connected, and it will need gears if you Daily drive it. Good video by the way
Exactly it makes 10 x diffrence even on a stock Jeep. quick disconnects are well worth it
Very nice modifications. And as already has been said, you'll improve articulation and increase traction (by keeping all four tires on terra firma) if you add some sway bar quick disconnects. Very cheap in comparison to the amount of kit you've already installed!
Couple quick and easy tips:
- Air down more (shoulda got beadlocks if you really want to run off-road). The tires aren't really wrapping around anything at all.
- Disconnect the sway bar. They make quick disconnect kits.
- Make sure you've got plenty of brake line for your wheel travel. There's nothing quite like pulling out a brake line 3 miles up a steep trail and trying to figure out how you're gonna get down with no brakes.
- locker locker locker locker locker - and gears. It would make the trails soooo much smoother and easier even with the "lsd" that wranglers come with (which is really just an open diff controled by the opposite brake - I.E. sucking power)
Boy, I've never seen JK shocks with the reservoirs on the bottom like that. Seems kind of vulnerable
993mike , I was thinking the same thing.
Those rear shocks need to get turned around. I'd break those adjustment knobs off on the first run.
993mike Me too
993mike they're upside down imo
Going to rip it off by a rock
Great video as usual! So would you recommend a 35" tires on the JK? I am struggeling back and forth between 33" and 35". I am considering 2.5"-3" lift (not 3.5")
Rock crawling without tires pressure down? Sway bar connected?
I have done the t-33 plane crash trail many times. in a mostly stock yj.. and also a tj . it's one of my favorite day trip trails.
Disconnect your sway bar. I have a 16 jku with a 2.5" spacer lift and 33's and I can do more than that with the sway bar disconnected
Ben Drinkin same setup. I dig it. And very much agree
its a sport, not a rubicon!
Daniel Hagen just because it’s a sport doesn’t mean you can’t disconnect. It’s just a few bolts and something to tuck the sway bar up.
Did you need to put a longer driveshaft for the 3.5 inch alpine lift?
So you upgraded the suspension and tires. How about regearing?
Why didn't you disconnect your sway bar? At 14:44 it looks like there is even a bracket to keep your sway bar link up and out of the way. Just saying cuz it would of helped to keep your front tire on the ground more of the time.
Nice. What's next? Sway bar disconnects for more articulation?
Good video. I liked the before, install, and after format. You guys are always a little nerdy but it's cool.
Sway bar disco makes a huge difference in articulating on trails. You probably wouldn't have even slipped disconnected. It keeps all tires better planted to the ground giving better off-road stability and traction.
Rear shock mounting seems odd with the reservoir and adjuster orientated down vs up. I'd think having all that under water and mud regularly doesn't seem ideal. Also take those shackles off and spray paint them with a rubberized paint, you won't have to listen to the clanking and you'll preserve the pumper paint.
I enjoyed this video and it's good to see you kept the mistake in about getting the wrong size bolts - we've all done things like that. A shame so many "experts" have seen fit to drone on about "sway bars" whatever they are (anti-roll bars presumably). Constructive criticism is one thing, personal insults says more about the insecurity of the poster rather than the person it was written about.
Looks good, I'm looking at the same lift. Wondering why you didn't disconnect tho?
Those rear shocks leveraged towards the tire off the stock brackets as shown are just a very poor design, and will break the lower stock shock brackets off of the rear axle eventually. (I have built four Jeeps and been wheeling for over 30 years) That along with the rear shock adjustments at the bottom of the shocks are just waiting to be ripped off causing problems. Also no extended rear brake hose according to this video showing the brake hose stretched while articulating the axle? I have used this company's products before with no problems, not sure what happen to them! But I would really make sure that this is what you're after.
Steve Yulenburg
Game Bred Duramax
Teraflex has a video of them hitting it on rocks to show they designed it to take the hit. But a lot of people are still paranoid about it, I don't blame them, so teraflex now sells a rear lower shock mount shield to armor the mount and res area.
I ran an offset bracket for my front shock mounts for 2 years that is similar to this one. I never had an issue and I wheel pretty hard. The front takes way more abuse than the rear generally. With the metal spacer and long bolt thru the original mounting space, it spreads the load to both brackets. If they only used the one side of the mount then I'd totally agree with you.
Hey Falcon, I frankly don't care what you believe... Because the lower rear shock brackets on various Jeep models have been known to fail/snap/shear off of the rear axle due to the force of the shock alone. This is again without the leveraging effect of Teraflex's poorly designed add on to get the shock closer to the tire, leveraging the OEM brackets in a way they were never designed to take all of the force.
Google "Jeep broken lower shock mount" and you too will be educated on the truth for the next online conversation.
Paranoid? Ah, no it's called using something called common sense. And I again really don't care what a controlled video a manufacturer made up to try and claim an obviously vulnerable product they designed can somehow "take a hit". A giant plastic dial to control the shock hanging down at the lowest point of a four wheel drive is just stupid. Because no matter what anyone claims that to is a flawed design.
Hell, at least time tested design of Rancho 9000's have a tiny shock controller dial mounted on the back of their adjustable shocks, a few inches up from the bottom, and that is if they couldn't mount it at the top of the shock in some applications like most of them were, the way it should have been installed to begin with.
Really enjoyed the format of the video, grat way to illustrate the difference between before and after. -Looks like something was leaking / dripping on to the front diff.....
How bad did the bigger tires hurt the mpg? We don't buy Jeeps for MPG's but, curious? 10 or 11mpg?
You should add some quick disconnects on the front sway bar. JKS makes some good ones. Get some nice axle flex and better traction. You wont be as tippy.
Anyone else notice how well Tommy is doing in front of the camera? Really coming into his own
14:55 May wanna fix that leak dripping on the pumpkin.... also need a brake line drop racket at least.... and disconnect the swaybar!!! the mechanic added a exhaust spacer right? lose the bar
The rims look great , just the right amount of back spacing . how did this set up perform at freeway speeds ?
Disconnecting your front sway bar helps a lot, try it and see what you think.
I see a mk7 golf or Gti in the video
Also cutting and drilling.. hope they sprayed something to prevent corrosion on bare steel
how much for parts and labor on this upgrade?
If you off-road disconnect the front sway bar, you will be amazed at what your Wrangler can really do.
Welcome back Tommy!! Haven’t seen you in a while.
Really enjoyed the video! The Jeep looks awesome!!
This is one of my favorite videos you have done
How much for wheels, tires, lift kit and install ?
Lockers, lockers, lockers! And now with those big tires you should regear your diff too. Sway bar disconnect Tommy!
Nice lift but yes. Disconnect the sway bar lol. And what is all the clanking? Sounds sounds like something was loose?
Great video! How does the lifted Jeep compare to stock on the interstate? Can you maintain 65 MPH to Eisenhower tunnel?
Imchassinyou do you do it up I70 through the Rockies though?
That sawn-off bump stop is gonna rust, since Devon didn't put any coating on the blank metal before installing the speed bumps.
LOOKS GREAT GUYS
Is it not necessary to beef up the half shafts given the additional torque demand from the larger diameter wheels ?
People always want a lift and bigger tires, but for better performance off-road, nothing is more helpful than a rear locker. My first mod would be a rear locker and sliders/protection.
At 3.39 You said the prop shaft cv joints sometimes give problems " specially with the 2 door" !!
What are these probs and why 2 door please ?
I'm surprised your dad wasn't following behind in his Raptor saying "But I can do it faster". 😜
No sway bar disconnect? That may have helped
Did you regear your axles? That will help with speed and fuel economy... also Old Man Emu is a much better lift, as it has a lot better on road mannerisms and rides smoother than stock
That's really a good choice of hardware there Tommy! Nice work. Now for a rear ARB locker and on-board compressor. Maybe put a TORSEN in front?
Bye bye axles and brake lines
What jeep year is this ?
The rear axle is fine but rip the front
A lot of folks in the comment section complaining about the guys bothering Devon the mechanic. I get it, I too feel for the Devon trying to do his work in peace lol... but I DO appreciate getting a first person view of the process.
You guys have the manual trans right? The gearing on that really helps make your axle gearing pretty usable. Although if you want to enjoy better power delivery and better crawl ratio you'll move to something like 4.56 in your case. First things first get some quick disconnects for that sway bar and do another video showing how worth it they are. It is night and day I promise.
I wonder how off your steering wheel is after the 3" lift?
i thought i read that adding larger tires to wranglers messes with their drivetrain and they have problems?
i know my moms rubicon gets the death wobble, and i think hers is completely stock. maybe slightly different size tires. nothing drastic.
Newbie question regarding the adjustment of the tire air pressure: Do you have some sort of on board air compressor or stored air?
Like the 35's and thinking of moving up to them from my 33's when they are ready to be replaced. But if I do, I'm getting 4.56 gears. Did you upgrade your gears?
Can you tell me how much actual lift can be put on this drive line, obviously it's the same set up in the 4 Door, so with the obvious things like tuning and re gearing, how many inches of lift can this engine handle?
Not sure if that lift came with swaybar disconnects or not, but disconnecting the sway bar ends would help a ton with keeping those 35's on the ground but definitely a awsome looking jk!
Did you recalibrate the shift points if it's an automatic? Also why not disconnect the front sway bar links for more articulation?
You guys need to disconnect the sway bar links! You'll get much more flex and performance on the rocks.
Re-gear, disconnect sway bar, air down and get a lift with your reservoirs up out of the way of making contact with big rocks.
You should have put some sway bar quick discos on when you had him do the lift and tires.
Thanks for the ride... The lift seems like a home mechanic can do it. Nice job.
The jeep looks beautiful and more rugged with those 35 "s . Really enjoyed it.
Hey Tommy, what do you think about making a video about off roading 101 (or maybe 102) but around manual transmission. I know this Jeep is manual and thought you could talk about clutch control, 4hi vs 4lo situations, different approach used between auto vs manual off-road, etc. All my off-road vehicles have always been auto and I just recently bought a wrangler manual. Would love to see that kinda video from you. Thanks.
Did you change the gears to accommodate the 35 inch tires? It is a Wrangler sport right?