Rubicon Express RE6160 User Manual

RUBICON EXPRESS 3290 MONIER CIR. RANCHO CORDOVA, CA. 95742 916-473-4600

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS FOR:

RE6160 XJ CHEROKEE 2” SUSPENSION LIFT WITH ADD-A-LEAFS

Safety Warning:

Suspension systems or components that enhance the off-road performance of your
vehicle may cause it to handle differently, on and off-road, than it did from the
factory. Care must be taken to prevent loss of control or vehicle rollover during
sudden maneuvers. Failure to drive the vehicle safely may result in serious injury
or death to driver and passengers. We recommend you always wear your seatbelt,
drive safely and avoid quick turns and other sudden maneuvers. Constant
maintenance is required to keep your vehicle safe. Thoroughly inspect your vehicle
before and after every off-road use.

Installation Warning:
We recommend that certified technicians perform the installations of our products.
Attempts to install these products without knowledge or experience may jeopardize
the safety of the vehicle. These instructions only cover the installation of our
products and may not include factory procedures for disassembly and reassembly
of factory components. Read instructions from start to finish and be sure all parts
are present before disassembling the vehicle. Included instructions are guidelines
only for recommended procedures and in no way are meant to be definitive.
Installer is responsible to insure a safe and controllable vehicle after performing
modifications. Do not perform test drives on public roads with partially completed
installations. Always double and triple check your work before use.

KIT CONTENTS:

2-RXT2421 Front shocks
2-RXT2210 Rear shocks
1-RE1334 Front coil spring spacer pair
1-RE1415 Rear add-a-leaf pair
1-RE1482 Rear leaf 5/16” center pin pair
1-RE1515 Rear brake hose

REQUIRED TOOLS:

Basic mechanics' hand tools
Jack stands and floor jack
Spring compressor (optional)

INSTALLATION:

1. Support vehicle and remove wheels.

2. Remove old shocks.

3. Support the rear axle with jack stands.

4. Remove rear brake hose and install supplied stainless steel rear
brake line.

5. Remove the u-bolts.

6. Remove rear springs.

7. Loosen any spring alignment clamps. Use c-clamps to clamp spring
pack on each side of center pin. Remove center pin. Use vise grip
pliers on center-pin head. Carefully remove c-clamps. Insert add-a­leaf into spring pack. Add-a-leaf will go into spring pack in such a
way as to maintain the pyramid shape of the spring pack (see photo

1). Insert new center bolt through the spring pack with the head on
the same side as the old one (spring perch side). Use c-clamps to
assist tightening of center bolt. Tighten to 20 ft/lbs. Replace any
spring alignment clamps.

8. Reinstall springs and u-bolts. Don’t fully tighten spring eyebolts until
vehicle is back on the ground.

9. Bleed brake system (rear only)

-FRONT AXLE-

10. Support front axle with jack stands.

11. Remove front spring retainers (at bottom) and springs.

12. If using spring compressor, remove factory coils.

13. If a spring compressor is not being used, disconnect sway bar end
links and track bar, allowing axle to drop far enough to remove
factory coils.

14. Install spacer between frame and rubber spring isolator (see photo

2). On some models factory bump stop and cup may need to be
removed to allow installation of spacer.

15. Install any previously removed parts.

16. Install shocks. The fronts require the supplied bar pins to be
installed through the bottom shock eyes (use light grease). The
rears require the supplied bar pins to be installed through the top
shock eyes (use light grease).

17. Torque all bolts to factory specs (or specs supplied with parts) and
double check your work.

18. Test drive and note location of steering wheel.

19. Adjust drag link to center steering wheel.

20. Align vehicle as soon as practical to minimum factory caster and
maximum factory toe-in specifications.

21. Retighten all bolts after 50 miles and again after every off road

excursion.

Photo 1

RI6160 Page 1 of 2

Photo 2

REAR DRIVELINE:

Acceleration vibration:
the transfer case output shaft. On leaf sprung vehicles, install axle shims
to lower pinion accordingly.

Deceleration vibration:
the transfer case output shaft. On leaf sprung vehicles, install axle shims
to raise pinion accordingly.

Slip yoke vibration:
yoke. Very common on vehicles with 2” or more lift. Lifts of 2”-3.5” can
sometimes be cured with a transfer case drop kit (pinion adjustment may
also be required- see acceleration and deceleration vibration
troubleshooting above).

HIGH SPEED WOBBLE:

Fairly common with Y-type steering on lifted XJ’s. It's a condition where
front tires will shimmy after hitting a bump. Avoid bias ply tires and
wheels with excessive offset. Check for worn or loose parts. In most
cases a reduction of positive caster will eliminate this condition. A good
rule of thumb is minimum factory caster and maximum factory toe in.

BUMP STEER:

Caused by improper relationship of drag link and track bar. To correct,
center axle again following the instructions supplied with the track bar.
Next, determine the neutral position of the steering wheel. Adjust the
drag link to center the steering wheel.

LIFT KIT TROUBLESHOOTING

Caused by the pinion being too high in relation to

Caused by the pinion being too low in relation to

Caused by excessive angle on the transfer case slip

RI6160 Page 2 of 2