Eracer76

I just spent about 4 hours with my dad and brother today...
I cut off the shock mounts from the lower control arm bracket.
I drilled new holes for the sway bar links, up higher in the tab so the bolts
wouldnt conflict with the new location of the shock mounts.
Then we placed the shock mounts up 1 1/2" higher while my brother welded them up.
Then I cut off the rest of the lower control arm bracket that left was hanging below.

So I gained 1 1/2" of ground clearance and rear the axle droop will be improved too!
Everyone says the brackets are close enough to the wheel that it shouldnt be a problem with ground clearance, but mine sure were bashed up before I cut them off

Before I did all this, I checked to make sure my shocks would not bottom out.
I put the Jeep on an RTI ramp, got the tire stuffed with the axle on the bump stop, and I still had 2" of shock shaft showing

While we were at it, I also added in some gussets to the rear track bar bracket

Here are some pics
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drbeddow

Great post ! I've been thinking about this and am happy to see someone jump in and show the way. What shocks are you running? I have Full traction M-Force shocks with my 3" lift and will have to see if they have enough compression for this mod. Have you run it yet and if so do you notice any changes with the increased angle of the shocks?

Eracer76

I'll let you know how it rides tomorrow night...
I only drove it around the subdivison tonight, seemed fine, but Im going to drive it to work tomorrow (70 mile round trip).
Then Friday we leave for the Badlands off road park in IN for a weekend of wheeling, so I'll have a full report then

Edit....
I have the Bilstein shocks that were custom tuned for RE

00pumpkin

Seems like you thought everything through, but before bouncing down the trail I would make an extra effort to make sure your shocks wont bottom out. Even though you had 2 inches of shaft showing on the RTI ramp and it seems like you raised the mounts an 1 1/2", you may still need to add a little to your bump stops. Flexing on an RTI ramp is a slow movement with little force, but a hard bounce while wheeling could give it the extra force to bottom out your shocks and ruin your day.........Just check again to play on the safe side.

Im wondering how the rear end feels now that the swaybar links are technically too long as far as RE spec goes.......probably not too much of a change, doesnt look like you moved them up too far.

Eracer76

Yeah, I'll look into that again to double check.
Even though I had the stock bump stop smushed into the extended pad, you never know how much more the thing will smush.....thats why I left a 1/2" play....
but I may still add a 1/4" to my extended pads, just to be safe like you said

The sway bar was actually sloped down just a tad when the Jeep was sitting on the ground, now its just sloped a tad high, so it shouldnt be a problem.

Eracer76

Here are some pics of the track bar bracket that we added some metal to on both sides...
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Eracer76

Well, I put the 70 mile trip to work and back on it today...
I couldnt tell a difference at all and I drive some pretty bumpy roads in places.

I also found a nice pile of rock that I backed one rear tire onto, stuffed the tire and got it on the bump stop, and I still had 1" of shock shaft showing

smack2020

Thats how it should have come from the factory.

rogu3JK

Man that's a sweet garage floor.

redrock4x4

One thing to mention is that I would make sure your springs won't fall out of place under full droop. You may want to look into retainer clips (I believe Currie is offering them now) to ensure you don't lose the rear springs.