I ordered the Old Man Emu 2" suspension package from Northridge4x4 a couple weeks ago. The kit arrived a week later in 3 boxes. This kit includes new track bars front and rear. I also ordered new endlinks front and rear as well.

I've been using the great write-up by Wayoflife. Doing this install with the Northridge kit + swaybar endlinks on a 4-door Rubicon (vs the 2-door in Wayoflife's write-up), I've noticed a couple differences. Also took a couple measuements for the curious.

BTW, I work slow as a turtle, so in the past 5 hours I've installed the front shocks/springs/ endlinks + trackbar. Have yet to center the axle with the trackbar or do the rear. Will update as I get this done during the next couple days.

To begin with, I measured my Jeep from the ground to the fenderwell lip right above the center of the tires front and rear for a "before" lift. The measurements were 35.25" front and 36.00" rear.

Anyhow, followed Wayoflife's writeup for the front. Mostly good, save the differences for the endlinks. Before installing the new springs, I took a couple pics and measurements, cause the OME springs make the Rubicon ones look puny. In short, the OME springs (front) are 3" taller.




One thing I did when installing the front springs was to remove the 10mm screw holding the brakelines to the chassis to allow for the added axle droop needed to install the spring. The brake lines get tight, even with the line disconnected from the axle (which gives another 1 to 1.5" slack)



Anyhow, the biggest deviation I've had so far have been the swaybar endlinks. I went with the Currie adjustable links. Well, they are too darn long for a 2" lift (even with a spring difference measured at 3".) The stock endlinks were measured at 5.25" from the centerline of the upper and lower mount holes. Fully threaded, the Currie endlinks were 10.25" using the same measurement.



I used a heavy duty cutoff wheel on a dremel and removed 1.25" on each side of the threaded portion of the endlink. The resulting endlink fully threaded was reduced to 8.25", perfect for the 3" spring height difference that I measured on the springs



When I mounted the new endlinks, I noted that they are "standard" bolts and nuts vs the metric used on the factory Jeep hardware. In short, I had to ream the upper sway bar mount hole about 1mm to get the new bolt/endlink to fit. I used a diamond carbide cutter on my dremel to do this.

Upper swaybar hole that needs to be reamed:


Endlink installed after reaming the upper mount hole:


I have yet to center the axle with the new trackbar or finish the rear suspension. I did measure the front after taking the Jeep off the jackstands. I was shocked to see that the front is now measuring 39.25"! That is a 4" difference from the pre-lift height.

I expect that the front will drop over time from soring compression, but this 2" lift apprears to be yeilding at least 3" in overall gain.

Will post more later as I get the rear done + align the axles
MORE PICS + CONCLUSION ADDED IN POST #10

 

What OME springs are they? If they are the HD springs that's why you got such an increase on the front. With a heavy bumper and winch it will come down some.

 

A heavy duty cut-off wheel and a diamond carbide cutter for your Dremel?!?! You make my Dremel with it's little sanding and polishing discs scared to come out of it's box.

 

What? You mean you don't have the plasma cutter adapter for your Dremel either?

 

I have a Warn 8000 + Warn mount plate installed already..... but yes, they are the HD springs.
BTW, saw the 04 Cobra in your sig. My dad would be jealous. He's been wanting the Whipple or KB for his 03 Cobra.

That's how I started off, but I use my Dremel for a whole lot of automotive stuff.... so I've been adding metal specific bits and attachments over the years.

 

nice project

 

Keep the updates coming!

What are you running for a bumper with the winch? Steel or synthetic line?

Its hard to understand how the HD front springs are yielding so much with some actual weight on them. I understand when the guys that put this lift on with no aftermarket bumpers or winch get 3+ inches but on your rig thats not the case.

 

The HD springs will give you a pretty good lift in the front and will level it out very nicely.

When your Jeep is sitting on the ground make sure your swaybar is sitting at about 5 degrees. From the picture your links are to short.

David

 

Will do. In the pic the axle is fully extended. The sway bar is parallel to the ground then. I have plenty of adjustment room (the rod-ends are bottomed out), so I can lengthen as needed

 

OK. Finished the install today. Here's some updated pics + the rear of my findings on the Old Man Emu 2" lift kit.

To begin, here's a pic of the stock rear suspension:


I began by installing the new Currie adjustble rear swaybr endlinks. I noted that the endlinks measured 12.5" with the rod ends fully bottomed out:


By comparison, the stock rear swaybar endlinks are 9" in length.

This brings an interesting point. A common practice is to replace front endlinks with rear endlinks when installing a lift kit. After taking measurements, I see why.

Stock front endlinks are 5.25" in length. Stock rear endlinks are 9.00" in length. According to the post listed above by Northridge4x4, the swaybar in the front should be set to +5 degrees (using a pinion angle gauge) and the rear should be at 0 degrees. What I noticed using a pinion gauge was that to achieve a +5 degree pinion angle, the front swaybars had to be adjusted to 9.25" on the passanger side and 9.500" on the driver side respectively. Why the difference in measurement......I really don't know, but the pinion angle meter mounted on the swaybar does not lie.

So, with stock rear swaybar links on the front, a 9.00 length yeilds a +0 on the swaybar, which is well within normal specs....... so now ya'll know why this works well on a 2-3" lift

BTW, I measured what the stock front swaybar links would set the swaybar at. With 5.25" links, the swaybar would be 22 degrees down. Not acceptable.

Another point I noticed is that the stock rear swaybar is set very negative (around -15 degrees.) When I spoke with David at Northridge today he stated that the rear should be parallel. Using unmodded Currie rear endlinks bottomed out, they measure 12.5". With the OME 2" lift kit, the resulting swaybar position is +0, or level

In short, you need to shorten the Currie front endlinks by 1" ( they are 10.25" bottomed out unmodded) and the rear's can be used without modding. This is relevent only to the OME 2" lift kit.

Going on, here's a pic of the stock rear spring from my Rubi vs the OME spring. The second pic shows that the OME spring is indeed 3" longer. (same as the front spring.)




When installing the Currie adjustable endlinks on the rear, a bit of reaming is required on the upper rear swaybar mount hole (like the front before). Unlike the front swaybar, the threaded rod end will fit through the hole, but the smooth shank of the rod end will not. I reamed the rear swaybar hole about 1/2mm with a dremel carbide bit to achieve the proper measurement.

Before reaming:


After reaming:


I then completed the OME rear suspension installation per WayofLifes directions. Here's the finished product:


One point of note concerning pinion angles......... I took all of those once the Jeep was back on the ground. The pics above show the JEep on jackstands.....which gives an erroneous perception that the swaybars are at a negative angle.

Once all was said and done I took measurements:

Here's what I got.

Front from the ground to the lower lip of the fender even with the centerline of the front wheel:


Rear from the ground to the lower lip of the fender even with the centerline of the rear wheel:


Measurement from the ground to the bottom of the rock slider even with the rear seam of the front door:



Before Jeep shot:




After Jeep shot





Conclusion: The OME lift kit was pretty easy to install. I received excellent customer support from Northridge4x4 concerning my Q's on the swaybar endlinks and swaybar angles. BTW, even though it wasn't part of the kit, I do feel that aftermarket swaybar endlinks are needed with this kit to ensure proper angle of the swaybars. I had no probs with the trackbar installation from Northridge's kit, though the only trackbar I had to adjust was the rear. The front was dead on. The steering link was also only off by 1/8" afrer install.

Using Wayoflife's writeup, I noted that he said install was 2 hous. Well, I'm an ultra-slo a$$ I guess. It took me 7 hours between taking measurements, drinking beer, and installing the lift

Overall, I noticed a 3.75" gain on the front and 3.5" on the rear. Even after all settles, I believe this lift will be more between 2.5-3" than the "advertised" 2".

I have not had a chance to really road test. Will give my driving impressions later on.

Hope this has proven of help to someone