Rock Krawler 3.5 Flex - Install Issues

xxJWPxx

xxJWPxx

New member
I had my Rock Krawler 3.5" Flex System lift installed today at a local shop and after getting it home noticed a few items for concern. I'm still learning all things lift and am hoping some of you can look at the pics below and confirm my concerns and point out any others I may have missed.

First on the list was the lower control arm joints on the drivers side weren't straight. I noticed this at pick up and mentioned it to one of the mechanics and he said it's normal and it would move/straighten itself out. I don't believe this to be accurate but the shop was closing and I figured I'd see how it looked when I got it home and address it with the shop tomorrow if needed. Now that I'm home both driver side and passenger side front and rear lower control arms are slanted not straight (pic below). I this normal for them to not sit centered/straight? Will driving around damage the joints in this position?

Second item, unless I'm not reading the RK install instructions right is the front swaybar disconnects appear to be mounted upside down. The top nuts on the sbd were also not tightened (see pic below). I can flip these (shouldn't have to) but am concerned that if something like this was overlooked, what else could be done wrong.

Third, I don't see the Teraflex front lower bumpstops installed. It's my understanding they should be on the bottom plate inside the front spring ? The rear bumpstops are installed though.

I also encountered a flashing check engine light while going up a steady incline. Felt like I lost a bit of power at the pedal for a moment. It lasted maybe 30 seconds and then went a way. I checked for codes but none came up?

From what I can tell everything else seemed to be ok. Exhaust spacers were installed, front track bar looked ok, rear track bar bracket, etc. Anything I should look for with these items?

Item 1:
IMG_6281.jpg

IMG_6283.jpg

Item 2 & 3
IMG_6277.jpg
 
Yea those heim joints need to be straightened. Mine are SLIGHTLY crooked, but definitely centered for the most part. And yep, your disconnects are definitely upside down. Man, I'd be fumed if I were you. Give them shit and get it fixed. Then find a new shop ASAP.
 
By the looks of those heim joints and the fact the disconnects were upside down...I would double Check your torque settings on the arms and track bars. Just seems like they were in a rush and careless for some reason.
 
Yeah I installed my rk lift in my back yard and my heims were straighter than that. Id make them fix it and give me some credit or something and have them recheck everything . Last time a shop did that to my truck they gave me 3 free details.
 
Mike_JK_Houston_711 said:
Yea those heim joints need to be straightened. Mine are SLIGHTLY crooked, but definitely centered for the most part. And yep, your disconnects are definitely upside down. Man, I'd be fumed if I were you. Give them shit and get it fixed. Then find a new shop ASAP.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm definitely pissed. Unfortunately there aren't many jeep shops near where I live.
 
They didn't torque the nuts on the control arms. They shouldn't move much if they've been torqued correctly.
 
I have the X factor kit and those jam nuts need to be torqued down pretty good and some of those jam nuts are at angles that are hard to torque. My heim joint will start out straight but sooner or later they will find a way to turn at a angle. You can pop it back vertical and just crank it down. You can also mark your jam nuts by drawing a straight line with a red marker and you will know if your jam nut is coming loose. Other than that when you get it right I've been doing a lot of off roading and everything is solid and I'm very happy with this kit. ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1466745351.370560.jpg
 
I installed the same lower control arms and had the same issue. After calling rk I was advised that yes they can be slightly off center and still function correctly. Problem is that securing those jam nuts is not easy. You really really need to apply the needed torque so the joint doesn't shift. If I were you and especially if I was paying someone to do the work I would take it right back in and demand they take the lower control arms off and install them properly.
 
You need to go over the RK instructions with the manager and explain your problems. They should be embarrassed to just half ass a kit install like that and hope the customer just buys their BS excuses of why it doesn't look right.

Those control arm jam nuts need an average 250-300ft lbs of torque. I made a custom jig so I can remove and center each joint to keep them straight and then torque with a large wrench and then beat that wrench with a heavy mallet and use plenty of red loctite. They won't go anywhere after that. Unless you use heat and repeat in reverse to get them loose for re adjustments. Make sure your greese fittings are on top of your joints.
ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1466747157.705494.jpgImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1466747178.986874.jpgImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1466747203.000190.jpgImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1466747219.289016.jpg
 
xxJWPxx said:
I had my Rock Krawler 3.5" Flex System lift installed today at a local shop and after getting it home noticed a few items for concern. I'm still learning all things lift and am hoping some of you can look at the pics below and confirm my concerns and point out any others I may have missed.

First on the list was the lower control arm joints on the drivers side weren't straight. I noticed this at pick up and mentioned it to one of the mechanics and he said it's normal and it would move/straighten itself out. I don't believe this to be accurate but the shop was closing and I figured I'd see how it looked when I got it home and address it with the shop tomorrow if needed. Now that I'm home both driver side and passenger side front and rear lower control arms are slanted not straight (pic below). I this normal for them to not sit centered/straight? Will driving around damage the joints in this position?

Second item, unless I'm not reading the RK install instructions right is the front swaybar disconnects appear to be mounted upside down. The top nuts on the sbd were also not tightened (see pic below). I can flip these (shouldn't have to) but am concerned that if something like this was overlooked, what else could be done wrong.

Third, I don't see the Teraflex front lower bumpstops installed. It's my understanding they should be on the bottom plate inside the front spring ? The rear bumpstops are installed though.

I also encountered a flashing check engine light while going up a steady incline. Felt like I lost a bit of power at the pedal for a moment. It lasted maybe 30 seconds and then went a way. I checked for codes but none came up?

From what I can tell everything else seemed to be ok. Exhaust spacers were installed, front track bar looked ok, rear track bar bracket, etc. Anything I should look for with these items?

Item 1:
View attachment 209602

View attachment 209603

Item 2 & 3
View attachment 209604
Click to expand...

Sorry to see you had issues man! I know people who tried going back to a shop and they bullshit them again, if you go on ROCK KRAWLERS WEBSITE they have links for how you're suppose to have everything properly installed so if they give you shit you can show them that straight from RK.
 
Notice the mis alignment of my joints when flexed. If yours are already mis aligned then you will be hitting the control arm mounts and defeating the purpose of misalignment jointsImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1466747646.122235.jpgImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1466747669.939510.jpg
 
If you bought the mid arm flex version of this lift make sure they moved the rear sway bar mounts back an inch as noted in the install instructions.
Also, check the clearances of the rear track bar on both the top of diff and the passenger side coil. Mine rubbed something fierce. If its hitting or close just throw the factory bar back on. Its plenty strong.

Those joints wont straighten out as the mechanic claims. As everyone else already said they need to be installed straight in the first place.
 
Thank you all for the info and responses. Going to talk to the shop today about the poor install. I am a bit concerned to even have them fix it as I'm not confident they can get it done right. About an hour after I dropped my Jeep off they called me to tell me that they couldn't install my 35's because my Jeep would go into limp mode if I didn't use a re-programmer on it because of the shift points. I told him I had a manual and had also had a 2014 with 35's that I ran for a few months without a programmer and had no limp mode issues. He then agreed to install the 35's. I had also talked to them about installing c-gussets and they were unfamiliar with what those are.
 
xxJWPxx said:
Thank you all for the info and responses. Going to talk to the shop today about the poor install. I am a bit concerned to even have them fix it as I'm not confident they can get it done right. About an hour after I dropped my Jeep off they called me to tell me that they couldn't install my 35's because my Jeep would go into limp mode if I didn't use a re-programmer on it because of the shift points. I told him I had a manual and had also had a 2014 with 35's that I ran for a few months without a programmer and had no limp mode issues. He then agreed to install the 35's. I had also talked to them about installing c-gussets and they were unfamiliar with what those are.
Click to expand...

Time for a new shop that knows what they are doing. That really sucks.
 
And how about the bump stop's? Am I right in thinking they didn't install the Teraflex front lower bumpstops?

IMG_6296.jpg
 
For what it's worth those joints are in fact ok to be off center. I forget the exact number of degrees. Looking at yours they are pretty far off obviously. Mine are slightly and haven't had any issues
 
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