Rubicon
Express Extreme Duty 5.5 TJ Lift Kit
By Chad Crowell
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INTRODUCTION
Back
in May, 1998, three weeks after I bought my brand new TJ, I found
myself explaining to my girlfriend why I needed this $1600, 4.5
lift kit when there were other kits out there for half the price.
Its got everything, I told her, so I dont
have to buy other parts to make it work better later.
Now as I stare
at the $2500 worth of boxes in my garage, I find myself recoiling
as she repeats those words to me, wondering why I spent more money
if the first lift had everything I needed. Well, in not so many
words
heres what I told her:
When the TJ
first debuted, lift kits came out in all shapes and sizes. Some
had Acme joints, some had heim joints, some used 4 drop brackets
on the control arm mounts, and some used double track bars.
Some of these are still around, and some arent. One thing
is for sure, a super-flexible lift can be installed on a TJ and
still leave you with a respectable road ride. Thats what I
wanted, thats what I got.
I bought a Rubicon
Express 4.5 TJ kit back when the cartridge joints were a brand
new idea. As a matter of fact, I think I even had the first kit
that used the cartridge joints on the lower arms. My uppers still
had heims. Let me tell you, this kit has worked GREAT! The road
ride is nice, stable, and not too rough. And, off-road, it's amazing.
After two years
of everyday driving and regular wheeling, there has been some wear
and tear. My heim joints have worn out, leaving me with a creaky,
squeaky Jeep. The rubber bushings on the arms have also worn somewhat
from all the use I have given them. I was basically at a point
where I was ready to replace all my upper arms, and replace the
bushings in the lower and track arm.
Then I began
hearing about the new long arm TJ lift from
who else
Rubicon
Express. After reading a few short articles on this lift,
I knew I had to have one. I originally planned to keep my springs
and other hardware, and just add the new skidplate and arms, but
decided in the long run it would, again, be better to get the kit
that has everything so I dont have to buy other parts to make
it work better later. Déjà vu, no?
The truth is,
you can upgrade your current 3 or 4.5 kit to the long
arm kit without buying other parts later
youll reap all
the benefits of the full kit, but wont sit up so high. The
full kit, with its 5.5 springs, allows fitment of 35
tires without a body lift. From what I hear, 36s will
be no problem either. And that is my plan once my 35 General
Grabbers wear out.
So I bought
the kit, in order to avoid replacing the arms in my old lift. Spend
money to save money as they say. What will this kit gain
me? The whole theory of the long arm kit
and from all indications
the theory works, is to decrease the angle at which your control
arms live. Look at a new TJ. Its control arms are
almost perfectly horizontal. This allows the front axle to
move up and back under compression, as when hitting a bump in the
road. This is one reason for the TJs great ride quality in
stock form. When TJs are lifted using the stock suspension
mounting points, the control arm angles are increased, which causes
the front axle to have to move forward and up causing the ride quality
to be somewhat harsh. Another negative aspect of this modified factory
geometry is that the wheelbase is shorter than delivered from factory.
This causes two things: squirrelly handling and tires that are noticeably
not centered in the wheel wells at ride height (this is the reason
lifted TJs require a body lift to run 35s.)
Installing a
standard TJ lift, like the Rubicon Express 4.5 kit, adds control
arms that are slightly longer, and springs that are much taller.
The effect is that the axle sits 4.5 lower from the frame,
and those control arms are now at an almost 30° angle. This, combined
with a stiffer spring rate, makes it much tougher for the axle to
react to bumps as it was designed to do. Now dont get
me wrong
I said in my original 4.5 article that the road
ride was very good after the springs broke in, and I still think
that to this day, but riding in a stock TJ once in a while reminds
me of how nice the ride COULD be.
The RE long
arm kit improves these angles by doing something never before done
on a TJ
using 36 long control arms! The arms bolt to
the axle in the same location, but your frame mounts will need to
be cut off. The arms bolt to a new transfer case crossmember
that replaces your stock one (or in my case the Metcalf Motorsports
flat skid). This allows the use of the long arms, and decreases
the angle at which they live. Even with the 5.5 springs,
they are at a less steep angle, and with the 4.5 springs,
they are even better
close to stock. Word is, even with the
tall springs, the road ride is as good as stock. We will see.
What about off-road
performance? Well, RE does focus the benefits of this kit on the
street, but they were also quick to point out that off-road, the
Jeep will feel more balanced and stable, and respond better to situations
where the tire may stick up against a vertical rock. I knew
exactly what he was talking about
many times I had approached
an obstacle only to find that when gas was applied, the entire Jeep
lifted, wanting to climb, but the tire on the rock moved down and
back instead of up and over as the spring stretched and unseated.
This brings
up another issue: TJ tire pick. I have done this twice in my TJ
and
really dont ever care to do it again. With a tall lift,
turning left slightly and punching the gas can cause the driver
side front tire to come off the ground. Pretty scary if you arent
expecting it. Evidently, this new kit eliminates that feature
altogether.
Drawbacks?
I can only think of two
being that the arms attach to the skidplate,
any work on the Jeep that requires removal of that plate (clutch,
tranny work) will also require removing the axles, or at least disconnecting
the arms from the plate and supporting the vehicle on tall jack
stands. At 38,000 miles, I think a clutch is still at least a year
off for me, and with any luck, I wont need any other underbody
work. The only other modification I can think of at this time is
adding low gears to my transfer case. And that, in my opinion, is
worth the trouble. If you dont work on your own TJ, be aware
that there will be extra shop time needed because of this characteristic.
Also, once you
install this kit, there is (almost) no going back. New frame brackets
for the control arms would have to be welded on, as they must be
cut off during installation. If that doesnt scare you away,
then you should consider yourself a prime candidate for the RE long
arm kit.
NEXT--->>
Intro | The
Plan | Skidplate | Rear
End | Front End | Impressions
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