I realize that 31" tires will fit under a TJ without a lift; but only for on-road use.  On the trail, however, they will rub on the fenders, especially if the sway bar is disconnected.   I wanted to make sure the tires would clear all frame and body parts under full articulation and/or turn situations.  On the other hand, I wanted only enough lift to achieve that goal and to avoid having to made additional modifications, such as installing a new drop pitman arm or extended brake lines.  I chose the Explorer Pro Comp 2" lift, which came with four new coil springs and four ES3000 shocks.  I chose this kit because the price was right, it lifted my Jeep enough to fit the 31" tires for trail use, and it claimed a 15% increase in articulation.

I installed the lift kit one Saturday in my garage, mostly by myself,  using basic hand tools (socket wrenches, etc) and my factory service manual.  The only "specialty tool" I purchased for this project was a set of (two) coil spring compressors, which I got from J.C. Whitney for $12, plus shipping. 

The rear looked easier, so I started there.  With my hydraulic floor jack placed under the rear pumpkin, I lifted the rear end, supported the frame with jack stands, and removed the tires.  Then I removed the rear shocks (two bolts at the top, one nut & bolt at the bottom of each shock) and disconnected the rear track bar at the axle (one nut & bolt).  I lowered the axle until the rear springs were free and removed them.   Since the new springs are taller than the stock springs, using my spring compressors to slightly compress the new springs made them easier to install.  I raised the axle and reconnected the track bar (this took two people; with both feet pushing on the side of the frame, I pulled the axle sideways towards me while my wife installed the bolt).  Next I installed the sleeves in the shock bushings (hair spray makes a great lubricant and won't harm the rubber bushings), then installed the new shocks.  Bolted the tires back on and the rear end was finished.  It took about an hour and a half.

The front end took over twice as long!  After supporting the front end with jack stands and removing the tires, I disconnected the sway bar and the front drive shaft.  At first I was afraid to mess with the drive shaft, but after removing the four small bolts from the U-joint housing, the slip yoke allows you to compress the drive shaft and pull it out of the way of the front axle.  It's really no big deal.   Next I removed the front shocks (two nuts & bolts on the bottom, one nut on the top of each shock).  The top bolts are accessible from inside the engine compartment, under the hood.  For the passenger side, you have to remove the air cleaner assembly (three screws inside of the box).   The front coil springs have a retaining bolt at the bottom which must be removed to release the spring.  Lowering the front axle with my floor jack, the front springs were loose, but I couldn't get them out without using the spring compressors.  I learned that it is much easier to install the spring compressors while the springs were already compressed (i.e., before lowering the axle), then slowly lower the axle.  The springs came right out.  The new, taller springs had to be compressed considerably in order to install them.   After they were in place, I raised the axle to compress the new springs so that I wouldn't have to unscrew the spring compressors as far.   Next I installed the new shocks, reconnected the drive shaft, and prepared to install my new sway bar quick disconnects.  The picture to the left shows the new driver's side front spring and shock.  Actually, this picture was taken after the spacers were installed (see Part 2 of this article below).  The spacer is the thick black "puck" at the top of the coil spring.

The whole kit took approximately 5 - 6 hours for me to install.  It probably would go much faster with two people.  The ride is now quite a bit more harsh than stock.  The actual lift I got from the Pro Comp lift was 2 inches up front, but only 1.25 inches at the rear.  With my sway bar disconnected, my ramp travel index (RTI) at the Jun 98 Daniel Boone Jeep Jamboree was approximately 800 (double that of a stock TJ).  Boy, was I ever proud of the Trail Jeep now! 

For more information about the Explorer Pro Comp 2" lift kit and other related products, visit their web site at www.explorerprocomp.com

This small, inexpensive modification has made the biggest improvement to my TJ's trail performance than any other single product.  Simply disconnecting the sway bar significantly increases your Jeep's flexibility (articulation).  I chose the Rubicon Express quick disconnects for their 3-piece design.  The top and bottom parts permanently bolt to the sway bar and the front axle, respectively.  The center piece is secured to the upper and lower brackets using two linchpins each.   When disconnected, the center piece removes completely, so there are no dangling parts to secure.  Another advantage of this system is the center tube comes in different lengths.  So if you originally install a set on your unlifted Jeep, then later decide to install a lift kit, you won't have to purchase a whole new set of quick disconnects, only new (longer) center tubes!   One problem I've encountered with the design of the RE quick disconnects, is with the top bracket (which permanently mounts to each end of the sway bar.  They are rather large, and at full turn and axle flex, the tires hit the brackets.  For a while, I permanently removed the entire sway bar altogether.  With the stiffer Pro Comp springs and the ES3000s, I really couldn't tell much difference whether the sway bar is connected or not!  But since installing the RS9000s, I've had to reinstall it.

The left picture below shows the sway bar connected for highway use.  The sway bar in the right picture, of course, is disconnected.  When disconnected, you can pivot the sway bar up and down.  In the picture on the right, I've pulled it down so you can see both ends of the quick disconnects.  During actual use, however, I push the sway bar up into the fender well.

For more information about the Rubicon Express sway bar quick disconnects and other related suspension products, visit their web site at www.rubiconexpress.com

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Within four months after installing the Pro Comp lift, I had added quite a bit of extra weight to my rig: an XD9000i winch, Hi-Lift jack, Olympic rock bumpers (front & rear), Tomken gas tank skid plate, Tuffy security drawer, and homemade trail rack.  As a result of the additional weight, my 2 inch lift has "sunk" down to about one-half inch!

To regain my height, I installed a set of four Teraflex 1.25" coil spring spacers which I purchased from Macromotive in Arizona.  The spring spacers replaced the existing rubber spacers at the top of each spring seat.  Since you need to remove the springs to install the spacers, the procedure was exactly the same as installation of the Pro Comp kit.

Since I knew what I was doing this time, installation didn't take quite as long.   Once done, the spring spacers gave me an additional lift of 1.25 inches up front and 2 inches at the rear. The total final actual lift (Pro Comp springs, minus settling and added weight, plus spring spacers) is now just about 2 inches front and rear.  Perfect!  The ride is a little firmer again, but not as bad as when the springs were new.  I haven't had an opportunity to recheck my RTI to see if the new spacers made any difference; I don't think it did.  Below is a close-up of the driver's side front spacer at the top of the Pro Comp spring.

For more information about the Teraflex 1.25" coil spring spacers and other related products, visit their web site at www.teraflx.com

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Here I am, exactly one year after installing the original Pro Comp lift kit, still fiddling with my suspension set-up!  Now, when anyone asks what kind of lift kit I have, I tell them it's the new "Rancho Pro Flex"!  Anyway, since my TJ is my daily driver, which means I use it on road much more than off, good street manners are very important to me.  With the stiffer-than-stock Pro Comp springs, coupled with the ES3000s, my TJ rode more like a YJ!  ;-)  The RS9000s are amazing!  My TJ now rides more like my wife's Caravan than a Jeep!  And I really like the convenience of the in-cab remote control.  Here's everything you get with the system:

Rancho only sells two configurations of the RS9000 for the TJ: for a stock vehicle, and for a vehicle with a Rancho 2½-inch lift.  Therefore, I presume that you could not use RS9000s on your TJ if you had a Rubicon Express 4.5" lift.  Anyway, several people have asked me what are the correct part numbers for each configuration.   So I called Rancho Tech Support.  For a stock TJ, the correct P/N is RS9239 for the front and RS9240 for the rear.  For a TJ with a Rancho 2½-inch lift, it's P/N RS9239 for the front (same as for the stock TJ) and RS9241 for the rear.  I, of course, am using the latter on my rig.

Installation of the shocks was very straight forward.  Remove the old ones and install the new. First, however, it makes installation of the air hoses for the remote control easier if you remove the manual adjustment valves from each shock and install the new pressure fittings before you install the shocks. For the fronts, I positioned the shocks so that the air hoses faced the center of the Jeep.  For the rears, the hoses face forward.  That seems to afford the most protection from possible trail damage.

After running my RE quick discos for over two years, they were ready to be replaced.  As you can see from the pictures above, there's a lot of metal-to-metal contact in the RE design, which makes them prone to wear.  They also got to be terribly noisy over time.  So when it came time to replace them, I looked for a product with features that would solve the shortcomings of the RE units.  Teraflex's New-Generation Quick Disconnects were just the thing.  There's no metal-to-metal contact anywhere.  This, coupled with greasable joints at both ends, result in extremely quiet operation.  The Teraflex units also feature a unique storage system while they are disconnected.  Below left is a picture of the disconnects in their "stowed" position.  As you already know, disconnecting the sway bar greatly increases axle flex (specifically droop).  Therefore, as a final "nice" touch to this product, Tera includes in the kit a pair of brake line relocation brackets!  Below center is the stock brake line bracket.  Below right is the brake line extention included in the Tera kit.  As you can see, the brake line is lowered a good inch.  This is a first class product at a reasonable price!  I highly recommend it!!

           

For more information about the Teraflex New-Generation Quick Disconnects and other related suspension products, visit their web site at www.teraflx.com

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