bd100
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 31, 2022
- Threads
- 28
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- 757
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- Location
- USA Midwest
- Vehicle(s)
- JT, WK2, ole' Ram
- Thread starter
- #1
JT Sport, stock suspension.
With the factory shocks and bump stops the suspension was crashing fairly often. After a week in the San Juans and Moab, the stock front shocks were leaking. The back was sagging from the weight of cargo and trailer hitch. And we have a local gas station with a deep gutter where the truck would bottom out with a nice crash sound if you pulled into the street too quickly.
Timbren SES rear bump stops helped some with the trailer and cargo weight. On my truck, they don't quite touch the suspension when unloaded, so in day-to-day use the SES bump stops are mostly unnoticed. A bit of a pain to install, but it should be a once-only thing.
Bilstein 5100 shocks helped some with crashing the suspension on the bumps, but it would still crash when pulling out of that one gas station too quickly.
I finally got around to installing the front Timbren Active Offroad bump stops. What used to be a crashing event pulling out of the gas station has now turned into a thumping event. A great improvement. Hopefully the family will approve next time we get off road.
Others have already posted details of the install methods. I first tried the spring compressor method but after cranking them in part way and not getting very far I decided to go the more tedious but safer route of dropping the axle low enough to unload the springs.
Undid the lower shock and sway bar bolts. Also unbolted the brake line brackets (two on the driver's side, one on the passenger). Was able to leave the axle vent tube alone, and didn't touch the track bar or control arms. Used one floor jack in the middle of the axle (with a small block of oak to reach into the narrow space available on the tube), used to lift the whole front end at once to put the frame on jack stands, and then to control the height of the axle as it came down. A second floor jack was used to push up on the far side while pulling down on the near side, by hand, to open the suspension enough to get the spring out.
Other bump stops install by pressing into the base, but the Timbrens bolt through from above. Had to use masking tape on the nut to hold it in while fishing around for the bolt to thread onto. It worked, though. Need a long 8mm hex to tighten it up.
One other time saver was the use of a battery powered ratchet to buzz out the shock bolt. Even when the nut is off a bit of pressure will keep the fully threaded bolt from wanting to slide out, but it can be screwed out quickly with the ratchet.
As far as the choice of Timbren vs others, the Timbren stuff is rubber vs poly for the others. I've had poly shock bushing fall apart in the past, and am hoping that the rubber bump stops last. Timbren claims they are better in super cold weather, for example, but others claim their poly bushing also work.
The Timbren SES bump stops, which I used in back, are longer and intended to help carry a load when needed. There will be some loss in articulation. On the JT they may help share the pressure of a hard hit over a larger piece of the frame, but who knows how true this is in real life. Older trucks with leaf springs had an advantage in spreading the pressure across multiple points on the frame, whereas these newfangled trucks with coil springs tend to concentrate the load to a small part of the frame. The JT makes it worse by connecting the shocks to the frame in the front of the axle, too.
The Timbren Active Offroad bump stops, which I used in front, are longer than stock, but not as long as the SES version, and shouldn't limit articulation as much. So far they seem to be a big improvement.
But why does Jeep use such wimpy bump stops in the first place? Why should any of this even be necessary? This and the JL are their star off-road vehicles, after all!
With the factory shocks and bump stops the suspension was crashing fairly often. After a week in the San Juans and Moab, the stock front shocks were leaking. The back was sagging from the weight of cargo and trailer hitch. And we have a local gas station with a deep gutter where the truck would bottom out with a nice crash sound if you pulled into the street too quickly.
Timbren SES rear bump stops helped some with the trailer and cargo weight. On my truck, they don't quite touch the suspension when unloaded, so in day-to-day use the SES bump stops are mostly unnoticed. A bit of a pain to install, but it should be a once-only thing.
Bilstein 5100 shocks helped some with crashing the suspension on the bumps, but it would still crash when pulling out of that one gas station too quickly.
I finally got around to installing the front Timbren Active Offroad bump stops. What used to be a crashing event pulling out of the gas station has now turned into a thumping event. A great improvement. Hopefully the family will approve next time we get off road.
Others have already posted details of the install methods. I first tried the spring compressor method but after cranking them in part way and not getting very far I decided to go the more tedious but safer route of dropping the axle low enough to unload the springs.
Undid the lower shock and sway bar bolts. Also unbolted the brake line brackets (two on the driver's side, one on the passenger). Was able to leave the axle vent tube alone, and didn't touch the track bar or control arms. Used one floor jack in the middle of the axle (with a small block of oak to reach into the narrow space available on the tube), used to lift the whole front end at once to put the frame on jack stands, and then to control the height of the axle as it came down. A second floor jack was used to push up on the far side while pulling down on the near side, by hand, to open the suspension enough to get the spring out.
Other bump stops install by pressing into the base, but the Timbrens bolt through from above. Had to use masking tape on the nut to hold it in while fishing around for the bolt to thread onto. It worked, though. Need a long 8mm hex to tighten it up.
One other time saver was the use of a battery powered ratchet to buzz out the shock bolt. Even when the nut is off a bit of pressure will keep the fully threaded bolt from wanting to slide out, but it can be screwed out quickly with the ratchet.
As far as the choice of Timbren vs others, the Timbren stuff is rubber vs poly for the others. I've had poly shock bushing fall apart in the past, and am hoping that the rubber bump stops last. Timbren claims they are better in super cold weather, for example, but others claim their poly bushing also work.
The Timbren SES bump stops, which I used in back, are longer and intended to help carry a load when needed. There will be some loss in articulation. On the JT they may help share the pressure of a hard hit over a larger piece of the frame, but who knows how true this is in real life. Older trucks with leaf springs had an advantage in spreading the pressure across multiple points on the frame, whereas these newfangled trucks with coil springs tend to concentrate the load to a small part of the frame. The JT makes it worse by connecting the shocks to the frame in the front of the axle, too.
The Timbren Active Offroad bump stops, which I used in front, are longer than stock, but not as long as the SES version, and shouldn't limit articulation as much. So far they seem to be a big improvement.
But why does Jeep use such wimpy bump stops in the first place? Why should any of this even be necessary? This and the JL are their star off-road vehicles, after all!
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