Lifting on a budget and need an extra inch or so from your rear
shocks? Maybe ya wanna run some F150 or other shocks in back? No sweat! For
little more than a $1 in hardware and your old rear swaybar parts you can
eliminate the rear shock bar-pins while gaining some flex!
The pictures
pretty much cover the 'how-to' part of this one.
 First, remove your REAR swaybar... Both sides have 4 bolts on each spring plate and two bolts through bushings on uni-frame. |
 Remove the bolt holding the swaybar link from your future BPE. Toss the REAR swaybar or sell it to an art museum... |
 Parts removed shown from left to right:
|
 Press out bushings from old swaybar links in a vice by using a socket to receive the bushing and a bolt with a nut threaded onto it. The nut needs to be close to the same size as the o.d. of the bushing and will press against the bushing as the vice compresses it. You will use this bushing in the upper eye of your shocks. |
 Reuse your old shock bolts or get new ones if you're one of the lucky ones that have them snap off. Get (4) each lock washers and flat washers to go with them. |
|
 Press the bushings into your new shock's upper eye. Note: If you are reusing your old shocks or shocks w/ bar-pins you'll have to use the vice to press the bar-pins out. Be careful not to let anything shoot out from the vice and hit you! |
 BPE mounted to oem shock mount holes with oem (size) shock bolts plus flat & lock washers to cover the oversized BPE hole and keep it in place |
 If you have trouble slipping the shock into the BPE in place, just put a dab of grease on each side of the shock bushing or use the vice to slip things into place. |
 Just a shot of the shock being held up in the air next to BPE... It's much easier (to me...) to go ahead and mount the shock to the BPE and then install them as a unit. |
There ya go! Doesn't get much easier than that!
NOTE! This mod involves removing the REAR swaybar! Many XJ's
were shipped without a rear swaybar - primarily the 'Tow Package' XJ's.
Removing the REAR swaybar will cause some difference in your vehicle's handling
characteristics so use caution and familiarize yourself with this!
NOTE! DO NOT EVER RUN YOUR XJ ON THE STREET WITHOUT THE
FRONT SWAYBAR! YOU ARE A DANGEROUS AND STUPID MORON IF YOU
DO.
Here's a link to a memorable thread on J.U. from someone who
had removed their FRONT swaybar and lived (fortunately) to regret
it.
And here are pictures of his trashed
XJ.
LEAVE THE FRONT SWAYBAR ON & USE
QUICK-DISCONNECTS!
If you have pics of your own repairs or can suggest other methods - please contribute your ideas (and pictures) to this article!
|
Revised on:
November 19, 2006 |
