so i was reading about how it's not all that hard to do a suspension lift under 4" on your own jeep. i thought this meant that even i would be able to do one. i went ahead and ordered my lift, tires, rims, and a cool little gps for the center console.
i have no experience working on cars of any type. i've never even changed oil in a car. i got the kit in the mail and it said i needed the following items:
1. sockets
2. drill bits of various sizes
3. floor jack
4. jack stands

i read the list and thought, wow this is gonna be a breeze. all i had to do was buy the tools. i went to walmart and bought sockets that didn't have the correct sizes, drill bits that were too small, a jack stand that would not lift my jeep high enough, and the only thing i got right was the jack stands. it only took a few more trips to get the rest of the stuff. that list wasn't what you would call comprehensive

step one was to disconnect the sway bar...

so what is a sway bar anyway? i had to search the internet to learn what it was. even then i tried to disconnect the ball joint on the sway bar at first. after about one hour i did it. step 2 disconnect the track bar. ok... back to google.

well in the end i had to call a friend to help me. after my friend got to my house it took us a total of seven hours to finish everything. i'm totally happy with the result, but i would not recommend this as a solo project for a total neophyte such as myself. it really was fun though and i think that if you are a complete newb you should have a knowledgeable friend to help you.

 

thats almost exactly how my first lift install went on my tj. I had m friend to help me on that one. did my jk by myself and it went a lot smoother after helping friends with theirs and such. glad to hear you got some help and got out of that hole it seems like you where in. ive been in that position too

 

17 hrs by myself on a 4in Superlift, don't feel so bad, I think I hold the record. I did do a bit of beer drinkin and staring at stuff though. haha. Kudos, now you know alot more about your jeep than before, which is priceless.

 

Billion, I bet you got a huge sense of satisfaction out of it, though!! Congrats! Nothing like just diving in and figuring it out.

I installed a supercharger in an F-150 I used to own, and never did it before. Fortunately the instructions were very detailed, and my Dad helped me. It required pulling everything out so all that left in the engine bay was the block, heads, and battery!! It took us all weekend, but it was awesome when it started right away after we were finished. I get much more satisfaction doing the work myself, not to mention the money that's saved.

 

Nothing like that satisfaction of doing it yourself, if you have alot of time on your hands. A 4 in. lift installed at a reputable shop will take about 2 1 /2 hours. spend $150 and forget it.

 

Feels great to do it yourself
If you get stuck, take pictures and sign on JK-forum. Someone will be able to help you out.

 

Could have saved yourself a whole lot of pain by browsing the lift install write-ups on this site. Even if there isn't one for the 'exact' lift someone is doing, most of them are close enough to save people a whole lot of headache.

Glad you got it installed and actually had fun doing it yourself!!

Don't know about anyone else, but I think this is an awesome pic for us noob installers (also from the write-ups section)

 

If you know someone that can put a COMPLETE 4 inch lift on in 2.5 hours, I will hire him (with a lift and air tools that is unbelievably fast)