Rock Krawler 3" X Factor JT System

[Rock Krawler Suspension]

Uh oh. I contacted a local shop near me and they say they are familiar with the Rock Krawler lifts and they’re willing to let me work with them and a few of their mechanics. They knew about having to notch the brackets for the front lower control arms and drilling the holes for the bump stops. Said they could have me and 3 of them wrenching and be on the road in 3-4 hours. Sounds doable to me since I have all the arms measured but not fully torqued or Loctited yet. We’ll check torques after install and I’ll save the Loctite and matchmarking for final alignment. I’ve taken the time to label all the arms as to where they go and orientation. (Axle/Frame end. Up/Down etc.). I also have the rear axle truss mounted and torqued. I have 2 cordless and 1 pneumatic impact gun, all required sockets and wrenches ready to go plus their tools so I imagine the whole process should be fairly easy. I may just mount the rear bump stops the night before I go to the shop just to shave more time off.
Now if I could just find my 6ft pipe full of whoopass so we can hit 250ft lbs......

If you guys work efficiently, you'll have no problem there. If people are standing around, it'll take longer. Having the rear axle drilled/tapped with the cradle mounted will save a good amount of time. Put 2 guys on the front and 2 on the back and start hammering it all out. I know you're waiting on us, I'm hoping to have your last couple pieces out on Wednesday.

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[RH 67]

Uh oh. I contacted a local shop near me and they say they are familiar with the Rock Krawler lifts and they’re willing to let me work with them and a few of their mechanics. They knew about having to notch the brackets for the front lower control arms and drilling the holes for the bump stops. Said they could have me and 3 of them wrenching and be on the road in 3-4 hours. Sounds doable to me since I have all the arms measured but not fully torqued or Loctited yet. We’ll check torques after install and I’ll save the Loctite and matchmarking for final alignment. I’ve taken the time to label all the arms as to where they go and orientation. (Axle/Frame end. Up/Down etc.). I also have the rear axle truss mounted and torqued. I have 2 cordless and 1 pneumatic impact gun, all required sockets and wrenches ready to go plus their tools so I imagine the whole process should be fairly easy. I may just mount the rear bump stops the night before I go to the shop just to shave more time off.
Now if I could just find my 6ft pipe full of whoopass so we can hit 250ft lbs......

Your lucky.

 

[Duke56]

Your lucky.

Dave!!! Don’t jinx me! It isn’t installed yet.

 

[RH 67]

Dave!!! Don’t jinx me! It isn’t installed yet.

Your good, i feel it.

 

[human29]

Tire pressure sounds ok, but looking at the debris on the rear tire in that photo, it seems that your pressure is still high as the outer edges are much cleaner than the center indicating it is not making full contact. A true chalk test would be the most accurate answer.

Where the swaybar "should be" is widely debated. Especially in an axle mounted rear sway bar application. Ground clearance is a critical factor in this configuration. The difference we found, while testing, in torsional effect was less than 2% by running links that are 15" vs the links that come in the kit at 13". At 15" in length on a 3" kit, the rear sway bar is low and vulnerable offroad. 2% on a 1/2" wire is roughly a couple pounds of spring rate. All of this to say, this is not the problem in your setup but it's your Jeep, you are more than welcome to set it up any way you wish.

Any input on what you think the issue may be? I know the valving in the shock setup is within. 5 lbs of your spring rates. I just was looking for a bypass shock that was adjustable and I have been making changes to all the settings trying to get this worked out.

 

[Rock Krawler Suspension]

Any input on what you think the issue may be? I know the valving in the shock setup is within. 5 lbs of your spring rates. I just was looking for a bypass shock that was adjustable and I have been making changes to all the settings trying to get this worked out.

We know that the spring rates between Teraflex and RK are within 5 pounds of each other in the rear, not the valve profile. Valving vs spring rate is not a simple science in that regard. The rebound side of the shock needs to match spring rate but compression can be anywhere. If Falcon hasn't tuned around a 4 link rear concept, I would absolutely wager that your shock is not correct for the application. Also, those are not bypass shocks, they're a monotube with an adjuster. A bypass shock would allow a metered amount of fluid to move around the valve circuit between two known points, typically having a separate free bleed, rebound and compression typically on the outside of the shock body itself rather than in the top cap.

 

[Duke56]

Oh boy. Am I in trouble if I use Fox 2.5’s with remote and slow/high speed adjustments for the rear??? I already have them for the front.

 

[Rock Krawler Suspension]

Oh boy. Am I in trouble if I use Fox 2.5’s with remote and slow/high speed adjustments for the rear??? I already have them for the front.

I don't believe so, Others have run them without issue. We have not tested that combination either but theres enough consumer data out there to support the combination.

 

[Relentless_Eric]

Let's kick it back and cover basics.

Tire size, brand, model and pressure?

Are you experiencing wandering or body roll?

I have no experience with Falcon shocks in a JT so I can't even begin to speak to their valve profile and how suitable they might be for the application. Maybe somebody else here has tried that combo and can share their knowledge.

13" Has been the length we have used since day 1 on the 3" X Factor and Pro X kits rear sway bar links to provide appropriate torsional effect of the sway bar. It has been effective at reducing body roll and provides correct handling.



You mentioned having a steering issue before the kit was installed, what was done to fix that wander or is it possible we are chasing an issue with the stock components that remain in the Jeep?

I've got the Falcon's on mine. Big mistake IMO, I just can't stand them after putting some miles on them. I should have researched more before choosing shocks but a lot of people spoke highly of them, however I'm not going to be another one.
They're digressive valving so while it tends to handle very flat with little body roll on the street, it rides like complete crap. Every little crack in the road, manhole cover, etc even my tire lugs are felt through the suspension. I know the suspension links deleted all the isolating rubber as well, but I believe a lot of what i'm feeling is due to the digressive valving of the shocks transmitting all small bumps and surface irregularities straight into the cab. Thinking some King coilovers in the front and piggyback rear shocks are in my near future most likely, unless you can give me reassurance that the RK shocks would be an equal or better option for me. Looks like I can upgrade to the Kings for similar/less cost than the RK coilover setup and I've ran Kings for years on my other trucks.

 

[human29]

We know that the spring rates between Teraflex and RK are within 5 pounds of each other in the rear, not the valve profile. Valving vs spring rate is not a simple science in that regard. The rebound side of the shock needs to match spring rate but compression can be anywhere. If Falcon hasn't tuned around a 4 link rear concept, I would absolutely wager that your shock is not correct for the application. Also, those are not bypass shocks, they're a monotube with an adjuster. A bypass shock would allow a metered amount of fluid to move around the valve circuit between two known points, typically having a separate free bleed, rebound and compression typically on the outside of the shock body itself rather than in the top cap.

Ok I will test this further. I did ynot mean to say bypass I meant piggyback shock that was adjustable. I went with these based of the advise from one of your vendors. Wanted the options to change ride based off of load in the bed.

 

[motorod]

Positive report back on my ProX install (DIY). Everything went well, the ride with the RRD 2.25 shocks is great as well (especially for the mrs who is more used to the planted feeling on her Acura). My caster was a bit off when I went to check alignment (Driver: 5.2 and Passenger: 4.8). With the passenger side .3 degrees less than driver, I do feel a pull to the right here on Texas roads. I'll be making adjustments on the LCA to give myself .3-.4 more than driver side (about .8 total). I'm thinking 2 complete turns out. I'm also running the Rubicon edition and did require longer brake lines in the rear, I was probably within .5 inches of the original stock brake line length.

 

[Duke56]

#motorod, How long did it take you for the install? How is the ride now? Smoother on road slow/fast?

 

[sass JT]

I've got the Falcon's on mine. Big mistake IMO, I just can't stand them after putting some miles on them. I should have researched more before choosing shocks but a lot of people spoke highly of them, however I'm not going to be another one.
They're digressive valving so while it tends to handle very flat with little body roll on the street, it rides like complete crap. Every little crack in the road, manhole cover, etc even my tire lugs are felt through the suspension. I know the suspension links deleted all the isolating rubber as well, but I believe a lot of what i'm feeling is due to the digressive valving of the shocks transmitting all small bumps and surface irregularities straight into the cab. Thinking some King coilovers in the front and piggyback rear shocks are in my near future most likely, unless you can give me reassurance that the RK shocks would be an equal or better option for me. Looks like I can upgrade to the Kings for similar/less cost than the RK coilover setup and I've ran Kings for years on my other trucks.

can I have you clarify which falcon shocks you have???

I saw in another post of yours is the falcon 2.1 mono shock??? Non sp2 version???

 

[motorod]

#motorod, How long did it take you for the install? How is the ride now? Smoother on road slow/fast?

I did the front in one day and the rear on another day. I spread the work over a couple weekends and did some in between work to do a new bumper/winch and sector shaft brace, so I couldn’t tell you exactly (taking front bumper off helped a lot on working on the front end). I also used my driveway/standard floor jacks so helped to tale a break for my back muscles. The best thing is that the rear trackbar is gone so that off balance feeling over bumps is gone too. I’m also on 35s and feel like it’s perfect for the highway and desert roads on the way to the hill country. I think it’s as smooth as my last tundra with IFS on entry level King Coilovers.

 

[Duke56]

Thanks for the update. I'm looking forward to getting mine installed. Waiting for a few stray parts to get rounded up and delivered.

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