Modifications

The modifications that a person has to do are

Change the pitman arm with an extended one that comes with the kit. Make sure that you have the correct type of puller to be able to remove it. Other wise you will have to cut the old pitman arm off, like we had to do, which was not a problem as we had decided to use the existing pitman arm for a modification. (We now have a puller)

Then we changed the front and rear coil springs, make sure you have a set of coil clamps and be careful, just makes it easier to remove and replace the coil springs. We were lucky enough to use the two post vehicle lift, which made things so much easier. We also added an extra set of front coil spring pads to compensate for the extra weight of the Milemarker winch and bigger tires.

Then you have to remove and fit new flex brake lines that are also in the kit. Use a small container or tray to catch the brake fluid that will run out when you change these pipes, if you get brake fluid on your vehicles paintwork, use water to wash it off straight away.

The Rancho RS 9000 shocks do not come with this kit, you have to order them separate, we fitted this type of shock due to the fact you can change their settings by turning a switch on each shock while on the trail. On the front we fitted two disconnects made by JKS, which can be disconnected in a few seconds while on the trail, this allows your vehicle to have more articulation down and upward travel, they are very easy to reconnect, but remember you must also drill a small hole, the instruction booklet shows you where, under the wheel arch on the left and right side of the Jeep, to be able to attach the loose rod to the underneath of the wheel arch so that it does not dangle loose, but please wear a pair of gloves when you do this, or end up with bloody knuckles.

Now the front track bar that they supply for the front will not work, it is for the left hand model, we later sourced one from Australia, what we did was make a (dropped bracket) on the right hand side of the existing standard track bar, where it connects onto the chassis, giving it a 2 .5" drop, we used a piece of 50x50- 5mm thick angle iron, welded a piece of 10mm thick flat bar on the one end. Then drilled a 12 mm off set hole through the flat plate. Now remember with this bracket being so short, you must first fit a HT bolt through the hole then you can weld the other end, we welded the one end of the steering pitman arm that we had cut off originally to the other end of the angle iron, the reason being the hole for the steering rod is tapered and it is the same size as the drag link ball joint. Once you have finished welding the pitman arm section to the angle iron, you can then cut off the extra part that you will not need, this worked out beautifully add a bit of black paint this did not take much time to do. Some of you might say that steering parts should not be welded, well you are correct, but due to the problem that we have, we only did this to see if it would work. But it did not.

Then came the problem with the rear drag link, the bracket that was supplied also did not fit, thus with a little cutting with the plasma cutter, we again used a piece of 50x50 -5mm angle iron and two 10mm flat bars which we welded on to each end, remembering this bracket also had to give the chassis a 2.5" drop, we then bolted it in place, again using HT 12mm bolts, spring washes and lock nuts, this modification was also a great success. See photos of the front and rear drag link modifications.

We then fitted the new Mickey Thompson 31" 11-50x15" Baja Claw tires and new Classic 2 alloy rims, the black plastic front and rear wheel arch fender flares were removed and new extended 7" new fender flares fitted.