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Jeep Wrangler YJ
YJ Build Threads & Member's Rides
My '94 Hunter Green “No Compromises" Build
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<blockquote data-quote="machoheadgames" data-source="post: 427672" data-attributes="member: 18789"><p>Jumping back to summer 2017, after 3.5 years of running the Rough Country 2.5” Lift, my leaf spring bushings were fully shot. They had actually been in bad shape for a year or so, meaning the bushings provided maybe a 2-year service life. That’s not so great. Rough Country sells bushings, but there are some politics involved in their process that I really don’t like. They sell their springs with really cheap rubber bushings pre-installed. They are the type that are built into a sleeve and then pressed into the spring eyes. Those inevitably die. When you reach out to Rough Country about your worn bushings, their “solution” is to sell you a set of their poly bushings which I’m sure they probably buy from someone else (I have no issue with them sourcing parts from others). What I have issue with is why do they sell poly as a replacement to their crappy spring bushings? Why don’t they get rid of the POS bushings, and just supply the poly bushings in their kits to begin with? It seems like a money scheme to me, to sell their lift as it is and then provide “great” customer service two years later when you come back needing bushings by selling you upgraded ones for a relatively fair price. Seems messed up to me. Not only that, but the actual installation process is beyond the expertise of most. Since the original bushings are pressed in, the bolt sleeves have to be pressed out, the rubber ripped out of the larger sleeve, and then the outer sleeve has to be cut with a Sawzall or something in order to get the spring eye fully empty. Not that it’s impossible to do, but it does take a good portion of a day to do this 8 times and someone with two year old springs simply shouldn’t have to.</p><p></p><p>Anyways, I had decided that 35’s would be in my future most likely, so I opted to try out BDS Suspension, which was highly spoken of for the most part.</p><p></p><p>The parts I used:</p><p></p><p>BDS 3.5” Heavy Duty Springs at all 4 Corners</p><p></p><p>Bilstein Shocks for 3-4” Lift</p><p></p><p>Rubicon Express U-bolt Kits</p><p></p><p>M.O.R.E. 3/8” Lift Shackles</p><p></p><p>8-degree pinion shims which were NOT enough.</p><p></p><p>The result of this install was underwhelming for sure and more frustrating than anything. One of my BDS springs sagged immediately, they overall rode very roughly especially compared to Rough Country, and overall I was just unhappy with all the money I spent. I called BDS to inform them of the sagging leaf and that the springs they recommend were way too rough. Their response was to drive the Jeep to the nearest BDS certified shop (50 miles away), possibly order a new spring, wait a week or two to get it, then drive back, and have to do the install myself. I pretty much ate my losses and didn’t bother with pursuing that. I’d recommend not buying from BDS. I decided that a third suspension overhaul would be in my future a few years down the road.</p><p></p><p>Here are the results of the suspension swap. The Jeep did grow taller, over the years I have figured out that Rough Country 2.5” and 4” kits both sit around 3” higher than stock. Every 4” RC kit I’ve seen looks the same as a 2.5”. Anyways, the BDS pushed me up to the 4.5” Range even though the springs were labeled to be 3.5”. I was sitting about as tall as a Jeep on Rubicon Express’s 4.5” kit usually sits.</p><p></p><p><strong>Pictures from the Install...</strong></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH]116705[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH]116706[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH]116707[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH]116708[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH]116709[/ATTACH]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="machoheadgames, post: 427672, member: 18789"] Jumping back to summer 2017, after 3.5 years of running the Rough Country 2.5” Lift, my leaf spring bushings were fully shot. They had actually been in bad shape for a year or so, meaning the bushings provided maybe a 2-year service life. That’s not so great. Rough Country sells bushings, but there are some politics involved in their process that I really don’t like. They sell their springs with really cheap rubber bushings pre-installed. They are the type that are built into a sleeve and then pressed into the spring eyes. Those inevitably die. When you reach out to Rough Country about your worn bushings, their “solution” is to sell you a set of their poly bushings which I’m sure they probably buy from someone else (I have no issue with them sourcing parts from others). What I have issue with is why do they sell poly as a replacement to their crappy spring bushings? Why don’t they get rid of the POS bushings, and just supply the poly bushings in their kits to begin with? It seems like a money scheme to me, to sell their lift as it is and then provide “great” customer service two years later when you come back needing bushings by selling you upgraded ones for a relatively fair price. Seems messed up to me. Not only that, but the actual installation process is beyond the expertise of most. Since the original bushings are pressed in, the bolt sleeves have to be pressed out, the rubber ripped out of the larger sleeve, and then the outer sleeve has to be cut with a Sawzall or something in order to get the spring eye fully empty. Not that it’s impossible to do, but it does take a good portion of a day to do this 8 times and someone with two year old springs simply shouldn’t have to. Anyways, I had decided that 35’s would be in my future most likely, so I opted to try out BDS Suspension, which was highly spoken of for the most part. The parts I used: BDS 3.5” Heavy Duty Springs at all 4 Corners Bilstein Shocks for 3-4” Lift Rubicon Express U-bolt Kits M.O.R.E. 3/8” Lift Shackles 8-degree pinion shims which were NOT enough. The result of this install was underwhelming for sure and more frustrating than anything. One of my BDS springs sagged immediately, they overall rode very roughly especially compared to Rough Country, and overall I was just unhappy with all the money I spent. I called BDS to inform them of the sagging leaf and that the springs they recommend were way too rough. Their response was to drive the Jeep to the nearest BDS certified shop (50 miles away), possibly order a new spring, wait a week or two to get it, then drive back, and have to do the install myself. I pretty much ate my losses and didn’t bother with pursuing that. I’d recommend not buying from BDS. I decided that a third suspension overhaul would be in my future a few years down the road. Here are the results of the suspension swap. The Jeep did grow taller, over the years I have figured out that Rough Country 2.5” and 4” kits both sit around 3” higher than stock. Every 4” RC kit I’ve seen looks the same as a 2.5”. Anyways, the BDS pushed me up to the 4.5” Range even though the springs were labeled to be 3.5”. I was sitting about as tall as a Jeep on Rubicon Express’s 4.5” kit usually sits. [B]Pictures from the Install...[/B] [ATTACH alt="IMG_0634.JPG"]116705[/ATTACH] [ATTACH alt="IMG_0635.JPG"]116706[/ATTACH] [ATTACH alt="IMG_0636.JPG"]116707[/ATTACH] [ATTACH alt="IMG_0637.JPG"]116708[/ATTACH] [ATTACH alt="IMG_0638.JPG"]116709[/ATTACH] [/QUOTE]
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Jeep Wrangler YJ
YJ Build Threads & Member's Rides
My '94 Hunter Green “No Compromises" Build
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