JL JOURNAL : Bumping Up to a Rancho 3.5 Inch Lift

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Literally days before Cindy and I needed to head out to SEMA 2018, we desperately scrambled to make a series of last minute upgrades to our JL Wrangler and specifically, because we were planning to attend the 1st Annual JLX, immediately after the show. Of course, based on past experience, we knew that we'd be needing a bit more lift if only to improve our break over angles and we decided to make that possible with a set of Rancho 3.5" coils and all new RS9000XL long travel shocks. In this episode of the JL JOURNAL, you'll get to see what it took for us to install everything but without going too much into detail as we have in the past. As a reference, I have included a host of links that highlight our previous installations and if needed, they should be able to help you along. We hope you enjoy the video and find the information in it to be useful.


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Reference Videos & Useful Links
Rancho 2.5" Sport Lift Installation : https://youtu.be/0x1wR2m5sKs
Dynatrac EnduroSport 2" Lift Installation : https://youtu.be/5-h2ALf6y_U
EVO 2.5" Lift Kit w/Adjustable Control Arms Installation : https://youtu.be/woO2gzZ-2PU
Driveshaft Installation : https://youtu.be/IzIaxvDLIiU
Rear Track Bar Relocation Bracket Installation : https://youtu.be/sRFna7dgFHA
Torque Specs : https://jlwrangler.com/showthread.php?1167-JL-WRANGLER-TORQUE-SETTINGS-Quick-Reference-Guide

Things to Buy
Rancho 3.5 Inch JL Wrangler Lift Kit - https://amzn.to/2EucFGV
RS9000XL Rear - https://amzn.to/2VR26Um
RS9000XL Front - https://amzn.to/2CbxDc8
Milwaukee 2767-20 M18 1/2-Inch Impact Wrench - https://amzn.to/2Gr6ogM
Milwaukee 2457-21 M12 3/8-Inch Ratchet - https://amzn.to/2TzLlMz
TEKTON 24340 1/2-Inch Drive Click Torque Wrench - https://amzn.to/2Ev9XAY
Basic Socket Set - https://amzn.to/2RWJPqn
Basic Wrench Set - https://amzn.to/2MpfkUG
Ratchet - https://amzn.to/2S6wtYq
Short & Long Ratchet Extensions - https://amzn.to/2S1vKb4

What You'll Need
• 10, 13, 15, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24mm Sockets & Wrenches
• 1/2, 9/16" Sockets & Wrenches
• Crescent Wrench
• Ratchet
• Ratchet Extension
• Ft. Lb. Torque Wrench - 250 lb. Capacity
• (2) Vicegrips
• Floor Jack
• Jack Stands
• Wheel Chocks
• Spring Compressors

Please let me know if you have any questions. :cool:
 

JTCO

Meme King
Crazy that you had to use spring compressors. I cringe every time I see someone use those.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Crazy that you had to use spring compressors. I cringe every time I see someone use those.

Seriously, I don't think I've used a set in well over 20 years and back then, it was to lift an Isuzu Rodeo LOL!

That being said, I could have gotten around them had I just unbolted the control arms. The jam nuts on the lower arms were binding on the mounts and that was preventing me from dropping the axle lower. In the end, all was good and the compressors proved to be a faster and easier way to deal with things. :crazyeyes:
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Great!

On the things to buy list I don't see the shocks.

Watching the video with dinner.

Awesome! I hope you find the video to be helpful. The RS9000XL shocks should have come up in the also recommended list but if not, I'll try to get them listed.
 

MSUConrad

New member
How’s the ride on these new coils and shocks? Going that tall, I’m worried about the on-road manners. Any thoughts yet?
 

RMC2

Member
It is surprising how much lift you get out of a stated 3.5” lift as well as how many extra parts you needed on this kit.

Maybe a 2.5” Rancho kit will be about 3-3.5”.

Great video as always and no sugar coating.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
How’s the ride on these new coils and shocks? Going that tall, I’m worried about the on-road manners. Any thoughts yet?

RS9000XL shocks are adjustable and can be made to ride pretty much however you like. Needless to say, they are quite nice for our taste. At this height, you really need to have adjustable control arms to help dial in your caster and pinion in the rear and a track bar relocation bracket in the rear as well as adjustable track bars will be needed to help things out.

Another great video.

I see the link for the kit includes the CAs; what’s your opinion of them? I know you have the EVO adjustable CAs installed but believe you saw the Ranchos at SEMA.

The EVO adjustable control arms use Currie Johnny Joints and they have always been our preferred setup. The Rancho control arms are new and we do hope to test them out but until we do, I can't say for sure how they'll fair by comparison.

I’m excited to get home and be able to watch this.

We hope you enjoy it and find it to be informative :)

Also, since I’m sure you are needing some space in your workshop and you just took the Dynatrac lift off, I’d be happy to help and you could send it to me! jk or maybe not.

LOL!! We typically send back products that we test so that the manufacturer in question can do more R&D.

watching this again did not help my lift choise overload lol

I'm fighting the inevitable :doh:

LOL!! It's a good kit.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
It is surprising how much lift you get out of a stated 3.5” lift as well as how many extra parts you needed on this kit.

Maybe a 2.5” Rancho kit will be about 3-3.5”.

Great video as always and no sugar coating.

This is correct. If you're wanting a 3" lift, I would recommend that you consider their 2" Sport Lift as that's about what we got out of it.
 

SmokyMTNJeepguy

New member
Off the wall question

Hey, love and have watched all the videos and in the last couple I noticed you have some plastic caps to cover the wheel hubs. Where did you get them, size, etc?
 

Great video as usual. I could relate to hitting your head. I installed our lift on jack stands, and being 6'4" our jeep Dorothy got a few new names. I had to pray a little longer that night lol. I'm interested in how those fox shocks you took off performed.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Hey, love and have watched all the videos and in the last couple I noticed you have some plastic caps to cover the wheel hubs. Where did you get them, size, etc?

LOL!! If you can believe it, they're just as set of these https://amzn.to/2NyjrOP :crazyeyes: :D

Great video as usual. I could relate to hitting your head. I installed our lift on jack stands, and being 6'4" our jeep Dorothy got a few new names. I had to pray a little longer that night lol. I'm interested in how those fox shocks you took off performed.

The Fox 2.0's that you see were specifically made to work with the Dynatrac Endurosport coils. Together, they provided a great ride.
 

CalSgt

Member
Great video as always:thumb:

I never would have guessed that the axle wouldn't drop far enough to get those springs in...
 

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