Old Man Emu 2-2.5" TJ Suspension Lift Install!

Plus Teraflex 3/4" Spacer Lift and Rubicon Express Sway-bar Disconnects!!

By James Hasler

 

Our project vehicle began as a lowly, stock, 4-banger Jeep Wrangler TJ owned by Andrew Smith. But by day's end, it was transformed into a full blown "Emu'd" Trail Jeep.

A little background on the components…

Old Man Emu (made in Australia) is recognized around the world for designing high quality suspension components that stress ride and travel over lift. Due to Australian law, a vehicle's chassis may not be lifted over ~ 2". So, if you're looking for major lift, Old Man Emu is not for you.

The Old Man Emu (OME) TJ kit is available with a multitude of shock and spring combinations that will suit your particular vehicle. They have different springs for 6 cylinder TJ's vs. 4 cylinder, hard top vs soft top, etc. They also have kits for all of the other Jeep models. In this case, Andrew chose the springs for the 4 cylinder, soft top model as he didn't anticipate carrying a lot of weight in back or adding a hard top and he wasn't planning on adding a winch or swapping in a Chevy V-8 in the near future.

Since we were going to the trouble of disassembling the suspension, we also installed a set of Teraflex 3/4" coil spring spacers to get additional ride height. The spacer don't effect ride quality, so it was a good way to get more lift than the OME kit offered while still retaining the OME's ride. Teraflex also offers a 1.5" spacer for those who really want the additional height.

Finally, we installed a set of Rubicon Express' sway-bar disconnects to maximize wheel travel off-road while retaining good highway manners for the commutes to HP.

The first step in installing a suspension lift is to get help!! In this case, I volunteered my time, air tools, sweat and occassionally blood in exchange for 2 meals, plenty of beer and a few laughs.

First up, Andrew proceeded to injure himself while driving the project vehicle into the garage. While he was nursing his finger, I proceeded to jack up the rear axle and place the frame securely on jack stands. You want to make sure that the vehicle is high enough such that the axle can be dropped down to remove/insert the springs.

Next, the ol' impact wrench was used to remove the rear tires. The axle was then lowered until the shocks were close to limiting axle droop. The shocks were then removed and the axle was dropped as low as it would go.

With a little persuasion( who me?), Andrew decided to remove the rear swaybar as it limits rear articulation while doing little for the on-road handling. This entails removing both links as well as the bar swaybar itself.

The next step involves jacking up one side of the axle and pushing down on the other…we did this in order to remove the stock spring. A spring compressor would be handy here and is a necessity if you're doing this install alone. Luckily, Andrew stopped drinking beer and taking pictures long enough to help me out. The other side was done the same way.

With the springs out, the bumpstop can be pulled from it's mount and the bumpstop cap can be unscrewed and removed. Both the OME kit and the Teraflex kit come with rear bumpstop extensions. If any tire larger than 31" are going to be used, install the bumpstop extensions. Since Andrew was running 31's stock without rubbing, we did not install the bumpstop extensions as new tires are not in his future.

Next up was to install the Teraflex spacers. First remove the stock, rubber spring spacers. Then, get some soap and lube up the insides of the spacers so that they are as slick as a…just make 'em slick…Then, push the bumpstop caps into the bottom of them and reinstall them using the original bolts. Next up, install the new OME springs and shocks! Here is the right rear done!

The Old Man Emu kit comes with a beefy, zinc plated bracket to raise the rear trackbar's axle bracket in order to keep the rear axle centered under the vehicle. We first disconnected the rear trackbar (or panhard rod) and proceeded to install the bracket. The bracket involves drilling 2 holes into the stock mount and installing the supplied bolts. (An angle drill would be VERY useful here.) Reattaching the trackbar to the new bracket was tricky as it didn't want to line up, but with a little persuasion and a BFH (big friggin' hammer!), we got it to line up and our heart's stopped racing. Here is a picture of the left rear suspension. Notice the gold colored trackbar bracket and that I'm doing all the work...

The front installs exactly like the rear. Here's a shot of the front suspension sans springs or shocks.

Once again, install the Teraflex bumpstop extensions if you plan to run 33's like the kit is intended…Andrew wanted maximum travel for his 31" BFG's, so we ditched the extensions. He also wanted to level the front a bit, so instead of removing the stock rubber coil spring spacers, we retained them and just installed the teraflex spacers below them. This gave us an additional 0.5" in front.

Here's a shot of how we got the new, longer OME springs in place!! We jacked up one side into the wheel well and sat on the other brake rotor while squatting over the spring and injuring our backs...

Here's a shot of the completed front suspension...note the Teraflex spacer above the coil...

OME doesn't have a trackbar bracket in the kit for the front like they did for the rear, so we did nothing and the axle is slightly shifted to the driver's side...just don't tell Andrew or he'll take a tape measure to it and tell us EXACTLY how far it is shifted. However, if that is a concern to you, companies like Rusty's Off-Road and Rubicon Express sell adjustable trackbars that will allow you to accommodate for the lift. Another option is to have the stock bar straightened or to drill a new hole approximately 3/4" to the drivers side on the axle bracket for the trackbar.

Next, install the 6 spacers for the transfer case so that the rear drive shaft u-joints are happier! This entails dropping the skid plate/cross member one side at a time and installing the spacers and the new longer bolts.

Finally, install the Rubicon express swaybar links. This involves removing the links and replacing them with the new links. The top stud will require a BFH, pickle fork or a gear puller as it is "lock-tited" in place from the factory…I know, I know…you remove the bolt and it doesn't fall out. Believe me…it is not threaded!!! You just need to beat on it!

In our case, we got 4" of lift in back and 4.5" of lift in the front, but it should settle to around 3" in back and 3.5" in front. The ride is astounding for a lifted Jeep. It is arguably better than stock and it soaks up big bumps much better than before.

Wait until the suspension settles and then go get an alignment so you don't prematurely wear your front tires…

And finally, here's the Trail Jeep (TJ) getting some flex on a rock ramp!

Update!!!

After fourwheelin' with this setup on a couple of runs, Andrew noticed that the top bolt of his Rubicon Express sway-bar links were rubbing his frame due to the front axle being shifted over. Therefore, it is probably not optional to do something about the front trackbar.

In our case, we decided to relocate the front trackbar by drilling a new hole 9/16" closer to the driver's side. Now, the axle is centered, the sway-bar link no longer rubs...

The steering wheel will be cocked to one side now, but a simple readjustment of the draglink is all that is necessary to straighten it out.