'04 Rubi Swaybar Link install doesn't seem right ??

Thanks for the reply guys. To answer a few questions that were raised:

- no, it's not parked on an incline. It's in my driveway on level ground.

- I don't find the ride rough and I haven't noticed it bottoming out at all.

- if I were to flip the swaybar, that would put the taper for the link top connection the wrong way around, wouldn't it ?

- no heavy bumper (stock) and no winch, but I do run a plow in the winter (not on right now) so there is a plow receiver mounted on the front. I estimate it weighs about 150 lbs. It can be seen in the last photo - On the hydraulic jack.

I did some experimentation based on the ideas you guys supplied about the sagging suspension. The rube only has 95,000 km (~59,000 miles) on it so I didn't think the springs would be shot but maybe that's the whole issue.

With it sitting on level ground (my garage), I measure 18" from the floor to the bottom of the front bumper at its midpoint. I have a repair manual and figured there must be a body height spec somewhere, but I don't see one. As it sits, it looks to me like the swaybar angle is somewhere in the area of 10 degrees (Camera is level in this shot):



If I jack the body up to get 22" bewteen bumper bottom and floor, then the swaybar angle is in the other direction - but the link swivel is almost perfectly inline with the link:



However, now the back end looks low - I know, springs back there too...



I like it stock and don't want to get into lift kits, bigger tires, etc, because I know if I start there would be no end - I know, that's the fun of it right :lildevil:

So now the question becomes, what springs and is it a job that I can tackle myself or is it one of those jobs you'd rather pay to have done ?

What kind of body lift can I expect to recover with new springs. Seems that somewhere between 3 & 4 inches would be perfect.

And if I'm in there anyway, might as well do the shocks too.... Hmm, Dear, I got some Christmas ideas for you

Regards, John.

Plowing is really hard on all front end components on a Jeep. With what you're doing and what you want, I'd not waste any money on lift components as that will just compound the issue. Find some stock take-offs, your standard factory Rubi springs and swap them out as the issue arises. Not sure if you did the plowing, or the PO but check everything up front for wear-depending on how long and how hard it has been plowed with, could be beneficial to go through everything up front and replace as needed-joints, tre's, CA joints/bushings, etc., etc. Not saying it's bad to plow, just that you typically see parts worn out a lot faster when you do so. Generally requires more maintenance and upkeep if you want your rig to live a long happy life.

A standard spring swap or basic lift is really pretty simple to do yourself at home in the garage or driveway even if you want. Can be done with just a few basic hand tools, jack, jack stands. If you've never done it before, an eager attitude to learn and your favorite beverage will go a long way. You'll know a lot more about your rig when you're done, appreciate what you just did and will be able to use all that money you saved on paying some one else to install to buy other mods as you discover you need them. While it's not required by any means, but if you find a good local Jeep club or few guys with Jeeps, may make a friend and see if they'll help. Could learn a lot more that way and find a good wheeling buddy too. Either way, it's not a difficult job by any means and is a great way to spend an afternoon on the rig.

Best of Luck,

Mike

I agree with you that the amount of plowing you do isn't likely hurting much at this point.

Your springs probably aren't "shot", but after 95,000 km it's not surprising that they have
sagged a bit - especially with a 68kg weight hanging off the front end.

In fact, they may not be sagged at all but that plow mount is just pulling the front end down.
I'd guess that even if you threw some other used Rubicon springs on there it would do the
same thing. if not right away, then before too long it would be sagging again.

If you want the bumper to be up 4" then you'd probably need 2 to 3" lift springs.
If so, then there are more parts to buy and install to make it work, including rear
springs, shocks, track bar accommodations etc.

I'd suggest a 1 or 2" coil spacer in the front, just to make it sit like stock again.

To find out how much lift you need, with the jeep on level ground, measure the space between
the bump-stop bumper and the stop, jack up the front bumper to where you want the jeep to sit
(forget the sway bar links at this point), and now measure the bump-stop space again.
The difference is the size of the coil spacer to use - or the size lift spring to install if it is 2" or more.
I don't know if anyone makes 1" lift springs but there are plenty of 2" options.

If you set the jeep's stance back to a stock-like level, then you won't need new shocks or any
other suspension components.

Remember, if you set it up dead level then it will be nose-high when you put gear in the back.
Most people set the nose down 1/2" to an inch.


Hope this helps