Rock Krawler 3" X Factor JT System

[Rock Krawler Suspension]

When will the option with coilovers be available? Cant find them at suppliers or add them to the cart on your website

February 14th is the release date for data for all of our retailers. They can be ordered from a retailer any time after that. If you want to get in earlier than that, call our office and we can get an order going for you.

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[RH 67]

So I just looked at my torque wrench and it only goes up to 150 ft lbs. Uh Oh.
Ordered one that goes too 250 ft lbs.
Reminds me of the days when I had to remove/install VW rear hubs.
It had a castle nut on it that was torqued to 220 ft lbs.
I’d use a Sears Craftsman breaker bar and the handle from the floor jack PLUS a helper sitting on the end of the jack handle and a 5 lb sledge to break it loose/put on.
We would put the socket/breaker bar on the nut then the jack handle on the breaker bar, then the friend SITTING on the jack handle and then beat the snot outta the bar with the 5lb sledge. Eventually it came loose and helper dropped to the ground. Lost count of how many breaker bars I’ve broken and returned for new (Lifetime Warranty). Usually had to get a new helper each time because they remember landing on their a$$.

LOL! I had quite a few VW buses in the day and i can relate. With the RK control arms make sure you have a good vice and a solid work bench. Another difficult thing unless you have several people helping was keeping the joint straight with the control arm while tightening the jam nut. The biggest issue was securing the control arms in a vice no matter how tight i clamped them in the vice at a certain pressure they would pop out and i tried two different vices. Just do the best you can because unless you have a jig to hold these control arms it will be next to impossible to get the written torque values, i talked to several installers from two of the most respected off road builders (not 4WP) here in SoCal and this is what they told me.

 

[RH 67]

I would still use them, we have not tested without them and don't plan to.

This is what i was told at Genright. They said their welds would hold without them but to keep them in place.

 

[RH 67]

Do we need brake line extensions with these 3” kits?
I just read a post somewhere that said we do.

I have the RK shocks, those along with the sway bar links the brake lines are right at their limit.

 

[Rock Krawler Suspension]

I have the RK shocks, those along with the sway bar links the brake lines are right at their limit.

Exactly, the rear shocks stop at the limit of the brake lines.

 

[RH 67]

FYI: When i checked my toe i had none measurements were equal front to rear it felt and drove good but when adding larger tires there needs to be some toe, so i started at 1/8" and worked my way down and after several hours of setting and driving i settled on 3/32". This worked for my truck and tires another setup could be different, between 1/8 and 3/32" should get most trucks good. I`m no alignment expert just letting everyone know my experience.

 

[Duke56]

Adam,
My temporary Rancho rears max out at 27.25 fully extended. Still waiting for Fox to come out with their 2.5’s for the rear as you know.

I mounted the front reservoir brackets for the Fox shocks and the RK rear bumpstop brackets today.
Drilling and tapping the rear diff tomorrow morning. Might also mod brake line brackets. Doing all I can before kit arrives

Dave,
I checked my toe when I first got my JT home from the dealer thinking something was loose on the steering.
I bought mine with the OEM MT’s. My toe was spot on at 1/8”. Turns out wandering issue was tire pressure at 42 psi. I aired down to 30 and it rides totally fine and much smoother on road.

 

[RH 67]

Adam,
My temporary Rancho rears max out at 27.25 fully extended. Still waiting for Fox to come out with their 2.5’s for the rear as you know.

I mounted the front reservoir brackets for the Fox shocks and the RK rear bumpstop brackets today.
Drilling and tapping the rear diff tomorrow morning. Might also mod brake line brackets. Doing all I can before kit arrives

Dave,
I checked my toe when I first got my JT home from the dealer thinking something was loose on the steering.
I bought mine with the OEM MT’s. My toe was spot on at 1/8”. Turns out wandering issue was tire pressure at 42 psi. I aired down to 30 and it rides totally fine and much smoother on road.

You should be good at 1/8" just double check after the lift. Good luck with the cradle install tomorrow.

 

[Duke56]

Dave, all that has been shipped to me for the kit so far is the front control arms. Still waiting for the rest to show up. I ordered the 3” bumpstop kit separate because I did not order the lift kit with shocks. I’m just doing as much prep work as I can so it’s just swapping out OEM parts for RK’s. The only thing that will slow it down is having to take the time for clearing out the bracket for the front LCA’s And drilling front bump stop hole. We will do that when it’s on the hoist. So for today I’m just drilling and tapping the holes in rear diff. and mounting the rear bump stop brackets while I’m there.
I don’t foresee any off-road travels before finishing the install of the lift so I highly doubt the rear bumper and stop bracket will get to meet each other.
When the rear cradle bracket shows up, I’ll install it at home too before we rent the hoist.

So the “short” list (LOL) for rented hoist time is:

Tools we’re using include 2 cordless impact guns and 1 pneumatic impact gun and 4ft pipe for BIG BOY PANTS ON torques

1. Remove wheels, front shocks, control arms, track bars, springs. (24 nuts front, 22 nuts rear). Upper rear shocks can stay in. (40 minutes)
2. Clear out Front LCA brackets while holes get drilled for front bump stops. (20 minutes)
3. Adjust front track bar length while front bump stops get mounted. (5 minutes)
4. Install new front and rear spring seats and springs. (20 minutes)
5. Loose assemble front track bar, front and rear control arms and shocks. (20 minutes)
6. Put front and rear axles at ride height and torque all joints and control arm pivots and front track bar. (check em 2X). (30 minutes)
7. Wheels on and lugs torqued. (20 lugs, 15 minutes)

Total estimated time (includes jaw jacking between us 2 nuts doing all this) = 3 hours?

Am I close on time??

 

[RH 67]

Bob, time wise for what your doing 3-4hrs with two persons. Don`t forget to torque control arms while the truck is on the ground.

It took me for the complete install about 15-16hrs. When i was at Genright getting the cradle welded they asked who did the install and i told them i did it, they were impressed when i told them the time it took me for them they said it would have been a 10-12hr. job Redlands Motorsports said the same time wise. Take your time check and double check your measurements and all should be good.

 

[Duke56]

I looked at the bosses on the rear diff and I’m wondering why we need to go from an M10 to a 1/2-13 UNC?
Drilling and tapping those holes bigger will make the wall thickness of the bosses thinner/weaker.
Is there any evidence by RK that 4 M10’s aren’t strong enough? Photos of failure/breakage?
My design practice as a tool engineer and as called out in the Machinery Handbook say that minimum material thickness should be no less than the diameter of the fastener which looks to be what’s there now using an M10.
I think that upgrading to 4 M10 grade 8 bolts with blue loctite and welding the cradle to the axle tubes would be good enough.
Welding the bracket to the axle tubes should also take away any severe loads put on the bolts and the grade 8’s should have adequate tensile strength. I’m not trying to weasel out of drilling and tapping but just asking to see why RK went bigger.

 

[MaximusJTRubi]

Finished the pro-x install. Minus the front upper and lower control arms that were delayed for whatever reason. I love it. Rides awesome. Its like a 3” lift with stock ride quality. Can’t wait to see what it will feel like on the trails.

 

[RH 67]

I looked at the bosses on the rear diff and I’m wondering why we need to go from an M10 to a 1/2-13 UNC?
Drilling and tapping those holes bigger will make the wall thickness of the bosses thinner/weaker.
Is there any evidence by RK that 4 M10’s aren’t strong enough? Photos of failure/breakage?
My design practice as a tool engineer and as called out in the Machinery Handbook say that minimum material thickness should be no less than the diameter of the fastener which looks to be what’s there now using an M10.
I think that upgrading to 4 M10 grade 8 bolts with blue loctite and welding the cradle to the axle tubes would be good enough.
Welding the bracket to the axle tubes should also take away any severe loads put on the bolts and the grade 8’s should have adequate tensile strength. I’m not trying to weasel out of drilling and tapping but just asking to see why RK went bigger.

I thought the same but figured they had their reasons?? Include welding, the four bolts plus the U bolts something else is going to break before that cradle moves.

 

[Duke56]

My thoughts exactly. A 1/2-13 grade 5 bolt is equivalent to a class 8.8 metric. A U.S, grade 8 = class 10.9 metric, Don’t know what is supplied with the kit but a grade 5 has 3 lines on the head of it and a grade 8 has 6 lines. Metric bolts have their class number on the head. I’m thinking of upping the grade of bolt and leaving the OEM tapped holes alone.

EDIT:
I consulted some torque tables and I would need to use a Class 12.9 M10 to get the same torque value as a 1/2-13 Grade 5 bolt.
Not impossible to get them but I will probably drill and tap anyway.

 

[Duke56]

No front control arms????
Hmmmm
Could I put the Front control arms on before I get the springs and links??
Would the caster be off terribly or still be in spec?
It kinda bugs me having new parts lay around while I have time to do something with them other than look at ‘em.
Plus I would be able to make the clearance cuts for the front lower arms.
In the meantime I’m just sitting around and reading this forum.

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