My $50 electric 110V impact wrench has proven invaluable for those types of bolts. I installed my TF leveling kit without a problem. Remember to unbolt the rear brake line bracket before lowering the diff.

 

I installed mine in my driveway without even taking off my wheels.....super easy install. having a highlift would have made it super easy!

 

Which one do you own? I was interested if one of those had enough power for this type of job.

Thanks everyone for the info!

 

Do you know anyone with a compressor? just rent a real impact from autozone. The elecrtic one we used was a snap on so. Im not saying waste money on a snap on but i sure as hell wouldnt waste 50 bucks on a cheap one either.

 

Thanks! I ended up bidding on a DeWalt DW292 from Ebay and Won for under $50. I am going to install this weekend so i'll let you guys know how it goes and if this electric impact has the torque needed. It is rated at 350 lbs/ft torque so if it really has those numbers, then i believe i should be fine. Thanks!

 

Awesome that should work. Glad you found a deal too.

 

Just be careful when using the driver to install the bolts. you don't want to over torque them.

 

Thanks! I rented a torque wrench from Autozone for the bolt installation. I have seen posts about joints or bearings being unseated? I'm a newb to installs but is there any thing there i need to do specifically?

 

Hi All,

Just following up. Installed the Levling kit + Rubicon shocks + 18/59 springs this weekend. This added a substantial amount of lift, i haven't measure yet, but it is about 3 inches in front and 2 in the back. I installed with a friend and have zero knowledge of suspension parts and I am not in any means a mechanic. But i can follow directions, i would rate the difficults around a 5/10 because of the rusted bolts. Nothing is actually difficult with the amount of writeups out there, but removing those bolts was so difficult i thought i would need to stop and take to a shop.

Some notes from my install:
- I bought an electric torque wrench online, the DeWalt dw292. The thing is a beast, removed all lug nuts no problem and even had no problem on the trackbar bolt (only one i removed) which hasn't been touched since the jeep was assembled (i have 2008). Sadly, the torque wrench is so large that i wasn't able to use it much on the front, and only limited times on the rear.
- The only pieces i had to remove or loosen was the Sway bar links and the shocks. The trackbar and the control arms i did not touch and was able to get the springs and spacers in without a problem. I removed one of the control arm bolts and it did not help me so that is why i didn't do it for the rest.
- The hardest part was the front shocks. I sprayed PB Blaster on the three days leading up to the install and still the bolts would barely move. I tore up my hands wrenching out the bolts and eventually the bolt actually snapped off the top of the shock. This would have been a major problem if i wasn't installing the Rubi shocks as a replacement. I was going to sell my shocks but now they are worthless. I don't know any better way, but you can't fit a socket in there so no way to get a breaker bar.
- The second hardest part was getting the rear springs + spacer in. You definitely need two people for this and maybe even three. Maybe since i didn't loosen the control arms or rear trackbar it was more difficult, but two of us (~185 and 200 lbs) were needed to get enough room. And the spacer doesn't pop in the back so you are balancing the spacer on top of the spring while trying to do this.

Other than that, pretty easy install with the directions, I wouldn't do it again on any jeep that is more than a year old, the bolts are just too rusted on top of the shock to remove, it took everything i had to move them a little bit and then they snapped. I wish there were better directions about the front sway bar links and how to install them.

Last thing, if you do it yourself, i had trouble lining up the new front sway bar links.

So order of install,
Springs + Spacer,
Top of shock.
Top of sway bar link,
Jack up the axel until you can get the sway bar link in.
Lastly bottom of shock.

I had installed the bottom of shock first and there was no way i was lining up the new sway bar link.

Thanks for all your insight, if you have any more questions, please let me know.

Here are the 4 links that I found most useful:

Jeep JK Wrangler 2.5" Budget Boost Installation Write-Up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JycmxpounE Basic Do-it-Yourself Jeep JK Wrangler Front End Alignment

Teraflex leveling kit - Page 2 - Jeep Wrangler Forum

 

You said you didn't touch the control arms. You really should loosen them with the jeep on the ground, jiggle the suspension up and down, then tighten them up again so the bushings seat at the new height.

Congrats on the install!