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Bolts, brackets, bumpstops, bushings, boingers, boots and a beautiful set of shocks come in the kit and it is available in a two or four-door version ready to raise the height up by 2.0-in or 3.5-in.
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Ridding the Rubicon of the old leaky shocks and other trail battered parts up front took the better part of an hour and assortment of metric sockets and wrenches.
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The double adjustable front track bar is by far the heaviest piece of hardware in the kit and rightly so with the forces applied to it. Being able to make adjustments without disconnecting it from the frame is a welcome change.
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Everything slid into place with ease, no pry bars or ratchet strap required. Because of the previously installed lift, the brake lines and other electrical bits had already been moved to accommodate the extra height. The stainless braided brake lines in the kit were not needed as a new set had just been installed just before the Eibach kit came in.
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Make sure to give a final torque to all the bolts once the rig is back under its own weight. This keeps bushings from twisting and wearing out prematurely.
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Getting some of the rusty, dented and twisted shrapnel out of the rear of the rig was a bit more of a chore than the front was. Choice words, bloody knuckles and busted bolts were bounced off the walls in the shop for this part.
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Eibach includes all four sway bar links so you don’t have to suffer repurposing used parts. We like the sealed rod ends and typically shy away from exposed units as they only seem to last a few seasons before dirt and road grime destroys them from the inside out. The extended track bar bracket with extra bracing is a small touch that will go a long way to the longevity of this setup.
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This is what happens when hard wheeling meets weak bump stops and probably caused the demise of the rear shocks as they bottomed out. The other side was barely recognizable.
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This is not a front to rear spring comparison shot. The old units look like they came out of the recoil mechanism of a Howitzer, not the back end of a Jeep.
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Rear install went smoothly as well with little fuss.
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The only fly in the ointment was fitting the bolts in the rear shock upper mounts. A little work with a file to open up the holes took care of this small hang-up.
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All together and torqued down, it’s time for an alignment.
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We decided not to use the included cam bolts but did take them with us to the alignment shop just in case the extra caster they afford was needed. Ours did not, and the Jeep aligned within spec and handles great.
Story and photos by Bryan Irons
Installing an Eibach JK Suspension Lift Kit
We had a great analogy worked out comparing a suspension system to breasts and what happens to them over time, but a little voice in our head told us that Editors Mack and Stanley would surely have sent us back to the writing dungeon with a new scar to show the other inmates. We try to avoid their “motivational lashings” at all costs so let’s try another direction, shall we?
It seems that after shelling out some major dough on a new (to us) rig, there is little left in our coffers for any upgrades and for some reason the banks don’t seem to find value in funding our hobbies. This is the case with Jevon; no sooner had the keys to his beautiful 2010 Jeep JK Rubicon come to rest in his hands, he ordered up a status quo discount lift for the extra elevation required to stuff some gnarly off-road tires under the fenders. After years of trail abuse and daily driver duty, the sad suspension was showing its age and Jevon was spending his time with so many “clunks” and “bangs” in the cab, he thought he was in an old Batman series.
To relieve himself of the worn parts and sagging steel in one fell swoop, an Eibach 3.5-in all-terrain lift was given permission to follow Jevon home. We owed him a favour and were short-listed to help out with the install. Our usual “Sorry, just here to take pictures” line didn’t work. While avoiding the “work”, we started poking around the boxes of parts for a bit while eyeballing the pieces currently residing in the Jeep; what we saw impressed us.
We know the Eibach name from high-end street suspension systems and sway bars, to top shelf coilover springs used in off-road desert trucks. It was no surprise to find a lack of discount parts; even simple things like the bump stop extensions - not made from recycled rubber tires but billet machined aluminum with an anodized coating and plated hardware. New sway bar end links front and rear use sealed spherical rod ends to provide years of reliable service and are coupled with right and left hand threaded ends for easy adjustment. The new brake lines included in the kit are top quality braided stainless units for better brake feel and a long service life. Even the brackets for the track bar relocation setup were well thought out and executed to keep the forces on the bar from wallowing the holes out and causing any potentially dangerous movements.
The real meat and potatoes of any lift are the coils, shocks and track bar. We quickly noticed that the included Teraflex track bar was easily two-times the weight of the aftermarket frame rattler Jevon had previously put in. The shocks were set up how we prefer; keeping the main body at the upper section to keep the gas charged canister out of harms way. They were also shipped pre assembled including the shock boots. We normally spend an extra hour fighting bushings and drawing blood trying to assemble the bargain basement shocks in most kits we see. The coils themselves look more like the long gone factory pieces rather then the brand X units you see in the comparison photos. Progressive rates matched to the shocks are everything we ever dreamed of (after puberty, that is). The power coated finishes will keep them from rusting too.
Going over the install here really isn’t necessary as Eibach includes some good instructions with colour photos so that even we could understand them. Plus you have probably read about how easy it is to install a lift on a JK and don’t need to be put to sleep. A few highlights and comparison photos of what we took out really do show the difference between a run of the mill kit and a well engineered and executed one.
Down to brass tacks… Jevon reports that road feel is unsurpassed even when compared to the last kit when first installed. A firmer, more stable road feel is always welcome on a rig you take to work every day. High speed forest service roads and washes were easily soaked up and the tires always felt planted to terra firma. This rig gets wheeled and it was good to hear that the stable ride on road didn’t take away from its off-road flexibility. Coming off ledges was a much less jarring experience, without any thumping or knocks lurking within like before. Being able to toss the keys to a new driver or one with minimal seat time in a lifted rig is a pretty big deal, and one that Jevon feels confident in doing with the new getup.
There really is a difference between a suspension “lift” and a suspension “system”. Having a properly selected group of parts assembled by a team who knows first hand what a proper handling rig should feel like really shows. If we just looked at the number of parts and what is included between different kits on the market, you would be hard pressed to tell the difference between them. Looking at the parts individually and as a system can show exactly what you get for your hard earned buck. This is no cobbled together grab bag of random “one size fits all” assembly line parts, and we really think Eibach should change the name to All-Terrain Systems, as this is no simple lift.
Eibach Springs - www.eibach.com
Teraflex - www.teraflex.biz