shocked by shock and spring replacement cost

[Mightytalldude]

That reminds me - I still need to center the wheel as it's off to the left a few degrees!
Makes sense since the springs raised the front about an inch. I guess I have another few minutes of work to do on it.

Quarter to half turn tighten. Look at the threads to turn the correct way the first time, unlike me.

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[Alabama Mud Machine]

That reminds me - I still need to center the wheel as it's off to the left a few degrees!
Makes sense since the springs raised the front about an inch. I guess I have another few minutes of work to do on it.

Looks like the next mod is the Rubicon fenders...For that extra 1.5" of clearance when flexing-out.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Quarter to half turn tighten. Look at the threads to turn the correct way the first time, unlike me.

HA - thanks, we've all been there! Even with all of the alignments I've done, it's not like I've never turned a tie rod sleeve the wrong way..............

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Looks like the next mod is the Rubicon fenders...For that extra 1.5" of clearance when flexing-out.

Endless cycle, eh?
Seems that when I think I'll just do some basics, little stuff, then I decide maybe I need to take another step.

 

[Alabama Mud Machine]

Endless cycle, eh?
Seems that when I think I'll just do some basics, little stuff, then I decide maybe I need to take another step.

I hate that I was talked into buying a Jeep... It's becoming something I really enjoy. I still have unfinished offroad trucks that don't run sitting in storage, and what I've spent on my JTR would have fixed both and gotten them running... Oh well... HAHAHA!

JEEP = Just Empty Every Pocket

 

[Mightytalldude]

Correction, just empty every pocket(s)
Wife's and mine.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

My wife says that she's about ready to trade her Grand Cherokee - she does this roughly every 2 to 2.5 years. This time she says she'd thinking of a Wrangler - but she doesn't want to give up her cargo space and luxury. On the other hand, she says if she can get a really neat purple color, she'd consider the Wrangler. Oh the fun I could have with that LOL.

 

[Texops]

Glad to hear you are getting it all installed ok .

 

[ShadowsPapa]

OK, here's what I did-

I carried my tools to the garage. I wasn't sure what to expect but figured almost all metric except for the 7/8" socket to remove the wheels. I took two of my 3 floor jacks to the garage - that's a 200' haul across gravel up to the garage from my shop. So two trips with a jack on the 2-wheel dolly each time. Then I carried two of my larger jack stands to the garage (another trip, 200')
Next I removed the drawer from my tool box that has most of my metric wrenches and took that to the garage, then I took out a section of my socket storage from the top of my box that has the most common size metric half-inch drive sockets and carried that up. Brought up my mechanics seat and cordless Milwaukee impact.
Of all of that stuff, I used only two wrenches and I think 4 different sockets, an impact swivel and a couple of short extensions.

One end at a time - front first. I loosened the lug nuts - breaker bar and socket.
I used two jacks, one under the pumpkin and a smaller one under the right lower control arm bracket on the axle. I figured the pumpkin being off-center wouldn't raise the axle level or give me the control I wanted.
Truck up, set stands under frame, let it down onto the stands and let the axle droop a bit more, but jacks still under axle.
Removed tires.
Using impact and socket, removed shocks.
If I was doing it again, I'd plan better what to remove on each side with the tires turned either left or right. You do need to turn the wheels to get into some spots easier. With them left you can remove certain things on either side, then turn them right and remove other stuff.
I saw I'd need to remove the brake hose brackets from the lower control arms so did that.
Sway bar links disconnected at the axle end, didn't touch the upper end of the links.
I did not even touch the control arms themselves, left them fully in place.
I removed the bolt for the axle end of the track bar - right side near the bracket for the lower end of the right sway bar link.
For the FAD wiring, I found that if I removed one of the wire straps that is secured to the axle that the wire would pivot up and give me plenty of slack to lower the axle enough to remove and replace the springs. So I did not disconnect the FAD wire - in one of the pics (the worst one, sorry) I show where I removed the wire strap from its hole in the axle bracket - carefully with needle nose pliers, pushed it out of the hole. It's barbed in the hole so if you push the barbs flat toward the bracket on the back side, it can be manipulated out and re-used without damage.
The Overland springs came out pretty easy, the Rubicon springs going in were a bit stiffer and a bit taller so I sort of pulled down on the axle a bit while putting the spring in place on each side. Not a lot, didn't take that much really.
I then reversed the process and put it all back together -
As with ANY steering or suspension part that involves bushings, do NOT tighten things until the truck is on the ground or you at least have the weight of the truck on the axle. Never tighten anything with a bushing with the axle or wheels dangling, hanging down! You pre-load the bushings which will lead to failure later, if not sooner. Always do final tightening with truck weight on the parts it normally rests on. You can jack the axle back up until it starts to raise the truck off the stands, but best on the floor.

Next to the back end. This was much easier. No messing turning wheels back and forth to get an impact in place or reach with a socket, etc. Things were in plain sight.
Again, axle end of track bar, axle end of sway bar links, and shocks.
To get clearance to remove the springs the brake hoses BARELY made it. They were maxed out. But it wasn't a lift so I didn't need to unbolt the calipers and raise them to get hose slack.
To get the rear axle down far enough to remove the springs, I found a piece of pipe that fit up into the middle of the rear axle snubbers/stops, the pipe length was so that when I put the pipe up inside, it just barely stuck out the bottom of the rubber stops. I used a bottle jack on the axle "shelf" where the snubbers or stops would hit and jacked up against the pipe in the rubber stop and pushed the axle down JUST enough to get springs out. Careful so as to not stress the rubber brake hoses to the calipers.
The worst part was holding the top spring pads up in place with the "nipple" up in the hole and clock the springs so the end of the coil was in the proper place against the stop on the top spring pad. That almost took 4 hands. If doing it again I'd clean up those pads really good and use 3M 008001 super weatherstrip adhesive to hold the pads in place up there!

I was going to take pics of each step and each part I took loose, etc. but it got hot and I just didn't take the time. (shop is air conditioned, garage is not)

These are the tools I carried to the garage - the ones in the middle are the only ones I used out of the drawer and out of that section of sockets. Geesh, could have carried those up in my pocket!

Yeah, this is all I really needed for tools - couple of wrenches, 4 sockets, swivel and extensions and breaker bar (torque wrenches I carried up later)

Two jacks, two stands, broken creeper and a seat -

FAD wire showing where I removed a clip and the lower one that swiveled up a bit to give me plenty of slack without disconnecting -

Bugs the heck outta me that there's this much rust on the suspension parts already!

I keep my sockets on rails mounted on "Masonite" hardboard so I can easily lift sections out to take closer to the work. The tool box itself is a mess, dates back to about 1975. It's too heavy even for two men to lift, when I moved I had to use my engine hoist to set it into the back of my truck to get it to my shop from the garage - that's just the TOP section.
The empty spot is where the sockets I carried to the garage to do the spring swap belongs -
(I have a 3/4" drive socket set, and some larger and specialty sockets in a drawer. Too many to fit here)

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Glad to hear you are getting it all installed ok .

Thanks - now a way to regain some of the height I lost in the rear with the max tow springs. The Overland springs are a lot longer. I lost a good half inch or so in the rear (gained a strong inch in the front - less rake but I sure didn't want to lose height in the rear)

Just need to recenter the steering wheel now since the front height changed, the wheel is off.

 

[Alabama Mud Machine]

My wife says that she's about ready to trade her Grand Cherokee - she does this roughly every 2 to 2.5 years. This time she says she'd thinking of a Wrangler - but she doesn't want to give up her cargo space and luxury. On the other hand, she says if she can get a really neat purple color, she'd consider the Wrangler. Oh the fun I could have with that LOL.

A purple Wrangler... Your tag could say “EGGPLNT”

 

[ShadowsPapa]

A purple Wrangler... Your tag could say “EGGPLNT”

She means the bright jelly bean purple, she loves what she calls the "Bubble gum" colors, meaning like the bright cheerful colors you see on some Wranglers, gumballs, jelly beans and so on. Metallic is good. Not the deeper purple. I don't think she'd like the 2021 Wrangler colors I looked up last night.. She saw the brilliant lime green of the past couple of years and about 2018 there was a really neat purple Wrangler in the show room she loved - but she wasn't convinced it would replace a GC - and the price was about 50 grand on that one compared to the loaded GC she got for over 10 less.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Quarter to half turn tighten. Look at the threads to turn the correct way the first time, unlike me.

Ah, left hand threads. Tricky. Not what I'd have expected to shorten it up.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Looks like the next mod is the Rubicon fenders...For that extra 1.5" of clearance when flexing-out.

That's scary - to my bank account.
Now that I see the front up about an inch - I think, gee, what if that was another half inch higher..... I need to distract myself and get back to my shop work and work on my other cars and ignore the Jeep for a while. |
I DO want to gain back what I lost in the rear putting max tow springs in. But it does look good with just a tiny bit less rake than it had originally.

 

[Alabama Mud Machine]

That's scary - to my bank account.
Now that I see the front up about an inch - I think, gee, what if that was another half inch higher..... I need to distract myself and get back to my shop work and work on my other cars and ignore the Jeep for a while. |
I DO want to gain back what I lost in the rear putting max tow springs in. But it does look good with just a tiny bit less rake than it had originally.

I have already accepted the realization that it never stops... $$$

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