TeraFlex 2.5" Spring Lift - TESTED
07-21-2008, 10:43 AM
#1
JK Freak
Thread Starter
TeraFlex 2.5" Spring Lift - TESTED
As promised, I am posting up some pics and details of my lift installation and my opinion after running several trails over the weekend. Aside from a few glitches, I'm pretty happy with this setup. I will need a few things to fine tune it, and you can read more on that below. It rides great and has really good flex, especially for using the shock relo brackets.
Measurements: I measured from the ground to the bottom of the back of the front fenders near the front door hinges. On the back, I measured to just in front of the rear fenders behind the back doors. I had a 3/4" Daystar front spacer already on to level the rake. I left this in with the kit to compensate for a future front bumper and winch. For some reason my Jeep leans to the passenger side. Maybe the full tank of gas. Also, I have no front bumper and only the stock plastic rear bumper, cut down to a stubby.
Driver front: 21 1/4" before to 24" after (+2 3/4")
Passenger front: 20 5/8" before to 23 3/8" after (+2 3/4")
Driver rear: 21 7/8" before to 24 1/8" after (+2 1/4")
Passenger rear: 21 1/8" before to 23 1/4" (+2 1/8")
The install was pretty straight forward. The instructions were good. Packaging was good. Shipping and delivery was great, as they rushed it out for me. Unfortunately, in the rush, the rear spring retention clips were overlooked. Joe is shipping those to me now, though.
The rear track bar bracket and it's template could be better, but I'm not sure of the fix. I also know that Teraflex offers a diff bracket now, so maybe they have already recognized and addressed this. The hole you drill needs to be right on the money, and the template lays over the existing bracket which has rounded edges. It is easy to be off a few mm, which will make bolting this up difficult. I also found that the new bracket did not slide all the way up inside the old bracket, which made lining up the pre-fabbed holes of the 2 brackets nearly impossible. A pry bar, hammer and ultimately a broken bolt (needing a new one obviously) got it mounted.
The instructions specifically tell you how to mount the rear sway bar links, and which way to have the bolt heads and the nuts. It states to mount the nuts on the inside of the top to give more clearance from the tire sidewall. This is making the end of the bolt rub on the frame rail just in front of the sway bar bracket at full flex, but just barely. Make sure you bend those brake lines up also. Otherwise, it will make contact and could break the line. My rims are 3.75" back spacing, so clearance to the tire is not an issue. I am going to try to turn these bolts around and see if I solves the problem.
Other than those 2 issues, the rear was good. The shock adapters are beefier than I expected, and I was able to get the coils in without much trouble. The bottom bump stops look like they are in backwards as far as visually lining up where you would expect them to hit when fully compressed. However, at full stuff, they do hit right in the middle of the bottom brackets.
Measurements: I measured from the ground to the bottom of the back of the front fenders near the front door hinges. On the back, I measured to just in front of the rear fenders behind the back doors. I had a 3/4" Daystar front spacer already on to level the rake. I left this in with the kit to compensate for a future front bumper and winch. For some reason my Jeep leans to the passenger side. Maybe the full tank of gas. Also, I have no front bumper and only the stock plastic rear bumper, cut down to a stubby.
Driver front: 21 1/4" before to 24" after (+2 3/4")
Passenger front: 20 5/8" before to 23 3/8" after (+2 3/4")
Driver rear: 21 7/8" before to 24 1/8" after (+2 1/4")
Passenger rear: 21 1/8" before to 23 1/4" (+2 1/8")
The install was pretty straight forward. The instructions were good. Packaging was good. Shipping and delivery was great, as they rushed it out for me. Unfortunately, in the rush, the rear spring retention clips were overlooked. Joe is shipping those to me now, though.
The rear track bar bracket and it's template could be better, but I'm not sure of the fix. I also know that Teraflex offers a diff bracket now, so maybe they have already recognized and addressed this. The hole you drill needs to be right on the money, and the template lays over the existing bracket which has rounded edges. It is easy to be off a few mm, which will make bolting this up difficult. I also found that the new bracket did not slide all the way up inside the old bracket, which made lining up the pre-fabbed holes of the 2 brackets nearly impossible. A pry bar, hammer and ultimately a broken bolt (needing a new one obviously) got it mounted.
The instructions specifically tell you how to mount the rear sway bar links, and which way to have the bolt heads and the nuts. It states to mount the nuts on the inside of the top to give more clearance from the tire sidewall. This is making the end of the bolt rub on the frame rail just in front of the sway bar bracket at full flex, but just barely. Make sure you bend those brake lines up also. Otherwise, it will make contact and could break the line. My rims are 3.75" back spacing, so clearance to the tire is not an issue. I am going to try to turn these bolts around and see if I solves the problem.
Other than those 2 issues, the rear was good. The shock adapters are beefier than I expected, and I was able to get the coils in without much trouble. The bottom bump stops look like they are in backwards as far as visually lining up where you would expect them to hit when fully compressed. However, at full stuff, they do hit right in the middle of the bottom brackets.
07-21-2008, 11:03 AM
#2
JK Freak
Thread Starter
The front was easier than the rear, with the exception of squeezing in the new springs without a coil compressor. The extended bump stops are a little challenging to pop in, but not that big of a deal. I did find that I had a little more room to stuff the springs up there without the bump stops installed. I set them inside the spring while I wrangled it into place and then used a pry bar to push the bump stop into place afterward.
Now my biggest concern is the front sway bar and extensions. Of course, you use the rears to relocate to the front and that seems to make sense. Keep in mind that I ALSO have an additional 3/4" spacer above the coils. My axle shifted about an inch to the driver side. This kit does not come with a front track bar relo bracket or bar. I'm not sure what ramifications this will have, but I will HAVE to fix this. The biggest issue I saw with this during the install was mounting up the rear sway bar extensions to the front. Obviously they did not line up with the bar on the top and the bracket on the bottom. I had to put them on, and then just wrench them over with the nuts. I even swapped the location/order of the bolts and ends. I guess I will have to get an adjustable track bar or bracket to move the axle over so there is no binding.
This is the driver side and much more extreme. You can see the angle it sits at and I'm worried about the lower bushing since the shaft does not go straight through it:
The passenger side is not AS bad and changing the order of the bracket/mount/nut helped but I still dont like this angle:
The instructions could also be a little more clear about the re-installation of the shocks/extensions up front. It tells you which rubber bushing to use and where, and basically has you flop the top rubber bushing with the bottom. It makes sense and goes together well, but then the instructions say to install as you took them off. This contradicts itself. These are pretty stout extension rods, but I'm SLIGHTLY worried that this is a weak point. Maybe there isnt much lateral force on the top of the shock. I'll watch this though.
Now my biggest concern is the front sway bar and extensions. Of course, you use the rears to relocate to the front and that seems to make sense. Keep in mind that I ALSO have an additional 3/4" spacer above the coils. My axle shifted about an inch to the driver side. This kit does not come with a front track bar relo bracket or bar. I'm not sure what ramifications this will have, but I will HAVE to fix this. The biggest issue I saw with this during the install was mounting up the rear sway bar extensions to the front. Obviously they did not line up with the bar on the top and the bracket on the bottom. I had to put them on, and then just wrench them over with the nuts. I even swapped the location/order of the bolts and ends. I guess I will have to get an adjustable track bar or bracket to move the axle over so there is no binding.
This is the driver side and much more extreme. You can see the angle it sits at and I'm worried about the lower bushing since the shaft does not go straight through it:
The passenger side is not AS bad and changing the order of the bracket/mount/nut helped but I still dont like this angle:
The instructions could also be a little more clear about the re-installation of the shocks/extensions up front. It tells you which rubber bushing to use and where, and basically has you flop the top rubber bushing with the bottom. It makes sense and goes together well, but then the instructions say to install as you took them off. This contradicts itself. These are pretty stout extension rods, but I'm SLIGHTLY worried that this is a weak point. Maybe there isnt much lateral force on the top of the shock. I'll watch this though.
07-21-2008, 11:15 AM
#3
JK Freak
Thread Starter
I know those posts are mostly negative, but I was just pointing out "issues" that I encountered. Dont think that I am unhappy with this lift or TeraFlex.
So, since the install, I have done many miles around town, a couple hundred on the the highway up to speeds of 80, and a variety of trails. The ride is fantastic. It has a little more body roll and is a little springy compared to stock. Keep in mind that I have a Rubicon and stock was pretty stiff. I like this setup and ride much better. Even with the sway bar still connected it flexes and reaches into ruts. Driving around town is nice. It wanders ever so slightly, but isnt bad at all. I will have the alignment done, but I think its pretty good.
Disconnected on the trail it was tough to get a tire to lift and also to compress... but I managed! It has good travel and I can only imagine how much better it would be with longer shocks. The tires stayed on the ground and didnt skip or bounce. It didnt creek or bind, and everything operated smoothly. I had no issues with springs popping out, even without the rear spring retention clips. It is solid and performed very well. I would recommend this to anybody.
So, since the install, I have done many miles around town, a couple hundred on the the highway up to speeds of 80, and a variety of trails. The ride is fantastic. It has a little more body roll and is a little springy compared to stock. Keep in mind that I have a Rubicon and stock was pretty stiff. I like this setup and ride much better. Even with the sway bar still connected it flexes and reaches into ruts. Driving around town is nice. It wanders ever so slightly, but isnt bad at all. I will have the alignment done, but I think its pretty good.
Disconnected on the trail it was tough to get a tire to lift and also to compress... but I managed! It has good travel and I can only imagine how much better it would be with longer shocks. The tires stayed on the ground and didnt skip or bounce. It didnt creek or bind, and everything operated smoothly. I had no issues with springs popping out, even without the rear spring retention clips. It is solid and performed very well. I would recommend this to anybody.
Last edited by RubiJK; 07-21-2008 at 11:19 AM.
07-21-2008, 11:53 AM
#7
JK Freak
Thread Starter
I know this kit is pretty new, and its also one step up front entry level. I would suggest adding to the kit at least a relo bracket for the front track bar.
**I would like to clarify again that I am a very satisfied customer and hold TeraFlex products and staff in very high regards.**
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07-21-2008, 11:55 AM
#8
JK Freak
Thread Starter
07-21-2008, 01:53 PM
#10
JK Freak
Thread Starter
I dont know that I would call the steering flighty. It doesnt track PERFECTLY down the road without a LITTLE effort. I believe that is because of the caster(?). I know with smaller lifts it doesnt change this enough to cause any ill effects, but larger does. It rotates the axle slightly and changes your angles. Without new adjustable control arms, this spec cannot be changed during an alignment. I believe the threshold for needing new arms is around 3" and since I left my 3/4" spacer in, I am just above that. I would guess without the spacer it would be even better. Still, this inst bad enough to require any attention, but I will eventually pick up new control arms. I dont think this is a product of the specific lift, but the fact that the steering components and wheel angles have changed a certain amount.
My response about the trackbar is the same... almost. One of the main reasons I got this particular size lift is because it doesnt change things enough to require other mods. I think keeping that extra 3/4" spacer up front has put me right at or close to the threshold of needing other mods. WITH that extra lift, I believe I now NEED the front track bar or at least a bracket. I think this might also be the case without the extra spacer, but that would be speculation. I would pose that question to Joe with TeraFlex, as he has now seen the results from my install. My short answer would be that I think you should get the TB or a bracket, but I dont know if there is anything wrong with leaving your axle slightly out of center??
The rear TB bracket adequately recenters the rear axle, so nothing more is needed there. Let me know if I can help out any other way...
My response about the trackbar is the same... almost. One of the main reasons I got this particular size lift is because it doesnt change things enough to require other mods. I think keeping that extra 3/4" spacer up front has put me right at or close to the threshold of needing other mods. WITH that extra lift, I believe I now NEED the front track bar or at least a bracket. I think this might also be the case without the extra spacer, but that would be speculation. I would pose that question to Joe with TeraFlex, as he has now seen the results from my install. My short answer would be that I think you should get the TB or a bracket, but I dont know if there is anything wrong with leaving your axle slightly out of center??
The rear TB bracket adequately recenters the rear axle, so nothing more is needed there. Let me know if I can help out any other way...