LJ Suspension refresh

[RubiLJ81]

Greetings,
Long time lurker but figured I'd finally post something. I have a 2005 Jeep LJ Rubicon that I am recently spent 9 weeks living out of and exploring Montana and the surrounding areas. Currently it is sitting on 285/75/16 BFG KO2's but they are at the end of their lifespan. At the same time I have a set of OME springs with Bilstein 5100 series shocks that have over 60k miles on them and I am looking to improve the ride quality. When I first lifted the Jeep I was running a much lighter rig, but have since added the Gobi rack, Hard Top, RTT, bumpers, winch and camping gear. Needless to say I am ready to rebuild my rig for overlanding and do a few upgrades along the way. The Jeep just rolled over 150K so I'd like to give the suspension an overhaul plus set the Jeep up for life in Montana.

Any recommendations would be appreciated!!!

Cheers
Adam


Here is the Jeep after I put on the lift


This past summer in Wyoming

 

[BulldoginaJeepwithaColt]

Sweet set up! I am. not sure what your budget is either but here is my .02 cents.

Send an email to ARB USA, tell them what equipment etc you have mounted and what your load out is... They will make correct recommendations for your rig.

They have suspension kits, but they can dial you in a lot better maximizing offroad ability while keeping you comfortable on the highway.

Personally, I would maintain the 285 tire size and just upgrade your steering to a Currie Correctlinc or similiar.


I drive a '98 TJ with the Old Man Emu, one inch Daystar body mounts with 285/75/R16 Goodyear MTR's and have zero issues with driveability offroad or highway.

When loaded down, I was bottoming out on hard bumps, ARB recommended a heavier duty coil for the rear and that solved my problem.

The achilles heel with older TJ's seems to be sensors. When operating solo and/or remotely I HIGHLY recommend buying and also carrying spares. In the very least you should carry a spare MOPAR Crank Position Sensor not any of the Duralast, Crown, BMD etc, or any other Chinese knockoffs.

The sensors are easy to access and change out out with basic tools.

 

[RubiLJ81]

Thanks for the advice, I'll see what ARB recommends. My control arms are still stock and the bushings are on their last legs, was going to upgrade to metalcloak, rokmen, or currie but not sure if this is overkill.

 

[BulldoginaJeepwithaColt]

I did the Currie Arms - salty but did improve my ride. Spend the $40 and get the weld on control arm skids for the front lowers if you go near rocks.... trust me!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

 

[RubiLJ81]

Would rather pay for quality and feel the hurt once.

 

[Zeep]

I have the exact same rig as you, but in red. I'm curious as to what OME spring #'s you have been running.
So far, I only have a 1.25" body lift on mine. But I'm considering 2" OME, as the shocks are feeling worn now.
Khaki has always been my favorite color BTW.

 

[Inline6]

on the OME spring topic, there are a few places, besides direct to OME that do a great job of selecting the spring for the job. DPG Off Road comes to mind, Rokmen use to, I am sure there are more.

Just reading a thread on ROF about Metal Cloak springs and some rubbing issues, first I have heard of that.

I am going thought my LJ now and I picked up some Bilstein RR shocks and will be using Synergy springs. At least that is the plan. I have a bunch of springs around from multiple jeeps and will put in what works for me. They, synergy, do not list a rear spring any more. Overall though, less and less options for the LJ/TJ platform. The front springs fro JKs can be used as well, that is what I am doing.

For Steering, can't go wrong with Currie. I went with Synergy this time, for easier adjustability and honestly just to do something different.

Current state of the LJ attached, for credibility (ha). I am yet to get the TT and rear suspension done. It's been one thing after another after getting into a 15 year old rig to freshen things up. The TT is form UCF and the rear I am trying to decide to stretch or leave it alone.

trying to have a good mix of drivability and rockability on this one. My TJ just became a trailer queen over the years.

 

[MOguy]

Thanks for the advice, I'll see what ARB recommends. My control arms are still stock and the bushings are on their last legs, was going to upgrade to metalcloak, rokmen, or currie but not sure if this is overkill.

If your stock arms worked for the last 150K I would say just get some more stocks ones. Spend the extra money elsewhere. If you do replace them I would make sure the ones you choose are rebuildable and at what cost.

The stock arms have rubber bushing so it doubtful the others will improve you ride over new stock ones. Many people notice an improvement in ride after going to after market arms but that is usually because the old ones are worn out. Shocks and tires will have the biggest influence on your ride quality. If you do lift your Jeep anymore you may want to get an adjustable arms at that point. If you are looking for a decent off-road up grade check into a belly up kit. That extra few inches in the middle is huge if you hare going over rougher terrain. At that point you would also want to consider adj arms.

What about your comfort items, sleeping bag, bed pad, better seats?

 

[RubiLJ81]

I have the exact same rig as you, but in red. I'm curious as to what OME spring #'s you have been running.
So far, I only have a 1.25" body lift on mine. But I'm considering 2" OME, as the shocks are feeling worn now.
Khaki has always been my favorite color BTW.

Had to look and see what I installed
Fronts are OME933
Rears are OME949

After talking with ARBUSA they recommend I change the rears out to the 996 series coil so I am going to order them today. It's designed for a 400lb load rather than the 200 of the current springs.

Highly recommend the OME springs, I've been very happy with them for 4 years. As far as shocks go I might look to replace the 5100's this spring. Checked them and they are all still good, but I'd like to get something a little more tuned for my Jeep.

 

[Zeep]

The OME's get a lot of respect from the various forums, especially on the LJ's.
Have you considered that the ride quality issues stem from worn CA bushings, rather than the shocks?
Why not replace the bushings, before replacing anything else. That would help to isolate your issues.

BTW I'm running a Savvy tummy tuck on my LJ.

 

[TripLeader]

I put an OME lift on mine in January.

I went with DPG Offroad, as they sell kits for it. I went with the "Ultimate" kit.

 

[RubiLJ81]

Definitely plan on replacing the control arms and rear springs before I upgrade the shocks. Any vibration issues with the Savvy tummy tuck? A tuck is definitely on my list of things to do, I'd like to drop back down to 32's and ditch the "shovel" under the transmission.

 

[MOguy]

Definitely plan on replacing the control arms and rear springs before I upgrade the shocks. Any vibration issues with the Savvy tummy tuck? A tuck is definitely on my list of things to do, I'd like to drop back down to 32's and ditch the "shovel" under the transmission.

You will need adj arms to adjust your drive line to eliminate vibrations if you do a belly up.

I have a belly up that is completely flat and a motor mount lift. I also needed to do a body lift so everything would fit. I was even able to lift my gas tank up about an inch or more. I am not sure if Curries is completely flat.

My belly up lifted my driveline up about 3 inches. If you currently have a 3" lift you will basically have a 6" lift, as far as drive line angles go. I had to do a slip yoke eliminator ( you won't) and get a new rear drive shaft, you might have to. I have a JE Reel. Your stock front one will be fine but as it ages and the center joint wears out I wouldn't bother fixing it when you can just get a Tom Woods for about $300.

I ran old school tera flex adjustable lowers in the front and rear and my rears where adj all the way in. I ran this way for many years but my rear tire did sit forward in the rear tire wheel. I probably lost 2-3"s in wheel base. I would recommend adj upper and lower in the rear so you can maintain your wheel base.I am still getting away with stock uppers up front (not the original ones) and lower adjustable. I have been running the RC adj flex arms for about 7 years and I have been very happy with them.

 

[RubiLJ81]

Good info thanks. Sounds like I should just spring for the adjustable control arms now in preparation for future mods. I am already running 1.25" bodylift and a set of 1" browndog motor mounts. I'll probably stay away from a completely flat tummy tuck and do the UCF lowpro kit.

Switching gears I was making a cooking table to attach on my tailgate and noticed that the bottom of my tailgate has some rust I was going to try and attach the table without drilling into the tailgate but now it's self tapping sheet metal screws for the hinges.

 

[Inline6]

the UCF low pro kit requires a bit of fabrication for the transmission/exhaust mount. Just about to do mine, when I looked at the. parts. Need to cut and weld the original mount. Not a bit deal, just didn't notice it when I bought it. Its on my list of things to do over the next couple weeks.