Rubicon Express RE8005 User Manual

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

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS FOR:

RE8005 3.5” ZJ SUPER-RIDE SUSPENSION SYSTEM

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:

RE1150 Rear sway bar end links
RE1171 Sway bar end link adapters (93-95)
OR RE1172 (96-98)
RE1175 Front sway bar end links
RE1341 Front coil springs
RE1343 Rear coil springs
RE1604 Rear track bar bracket
RE3705 Lower front control arms
RE3720 Lower rear control arms

REQUIRED TOOLS:

Basic mechanics' hand tools
Jack stands and floor jack
Spring compressors
Drill motor and drill bits

PRE INSTALLATION NOTE:

Control arm bushings are pre-lubed during initial assembly at Rubicon
Express. As general maintenance the control arm bushings should be
lubed with a silicone base grease
be purchased at your local auto parts store.

as needed. Silicone base grease can

INSTALLATION:

ote: Lift heights of 3.5” may reqN
modifications to the rear drive shaft – see slip yoke vibration in
troubleshooting before proceeding.

1. Raise vehicle and support with s

2. Remove wheels.

3. Remove front shocks.

4. Remove front sway ba

5. Remove front spring retainer clam

6. Disconnect front track bar at axle end.

pitman arm makes axle droop out farther.

7. Remove front springs. Spring compressors may be helpful.

Support the front axle with jack stands. 8.

9. Remove factory lower control arms that are to be replaced.

10. Use factory eccentric hardware at front axle lower control ar

mount.

11. Install the lower control arms with offset tube being mounted a

low as possible (see photo 1). Use the factory bolt and nut at the
uni-body mount (don’t fully tighten bolts until vehicle is back on th
ground).

12. The front springs are the longer ones. Coil spring compressors may

be useful. Rotate the coil to index the spring with lower coil cup.

13. Install the spring retainer clamp removed in step #5.

Install longer front shocks. Bar pins may need to be put through th14.
bottom shock eyes (use light grease).

15. Install sway bar end link adapters per instructions supplied with

adapters. Install sway bar end links (see photo 2 for typical
installation).

16. Re-drill front track bar axle bracket over toward driver's side

center-to-center (or install optional adjustable front track bar).
Reconnect track bar at new hole.

-REAR AXLE-

7.

1 Remove the rear shocks.

Remove the rea18. r sway ba

19. Support the rear axle.

20. Disconnect rear track bar at axle.

21. Remove the factory lower control

22. Remove the rear springs.

23. Remove the plastic dust shield that covers the bolt securing the

track bar to the mount on the axle housing and discard.

24. Remove the Torx head bolt (t55) and disconnect axle end of track

bar, if not done previously

25. Install track bar bracket using the supplied ½” bolt and spacer (the

spacer goes in the location vacated by the track bar to prevent the
bracket from deforming when the bolt is tightened- see photo 3 for
similar installation).

26. With the track bar bracket in place, drill two 5/16” holes in the axle

mount where the plastic dust shield was previously located, one on
top and one on angled surface.

27. Install the 5/16” hardware in the holes drilled in step #27. If

required, use supplied horseshoe
bracket and axle mount at top 5/16” bolt.

uire a transfer case drop kit or

tands.

r end links.

ps.

Disconnecting steering at

m

r end links.

arms that are to be replaced.

shim to take up space between

RI8005 Page 1 of 2

s

e

e

¾”,

rear

28. Install the track bar in the track bar bracket using the Torx bo
removed in step #25. It may be easier to do this later with weight
on the vehicle.

29. Set rear lower control arm length to 17.25” (center hole to cente
hole), for 3.5” lift. Install the lower control arms with the offset tube
at the axle and a
hardware (don’t fully tighten until vehicle is back on the ground).

30. Install springs. Spring compressors may be helpful.

31. Install replacement sway bar end links.

32. Install longer rear shocks.

33. Install all tires.

34. Double-check all nuts and bolts to factor

35. Test drive and note location
center steering w

36. Align vehicle as soon as practical. A good rule of thumb is
factory caster and maximum factory toe-in.

37. Recheck all bolts after 5

excursion.

< AXLE END (TUBE OFFSET DOWN) - PHOTO 1 – FRAME END >

s low as possible (see photo 4). Use the factory

heel.

of steering wheel. Adjust drag link to

0 miles and again after every off road

y torque specs.

PHOTO 2

lt

minimum

r

< UNI-BODY END – PHOTO 4 – AXLE END (TUBE OFFSET DOWN) >

TROUBLES

Rear driveline:

cceleration vibration:A
the transfer case o
accordingly.

Deceleration v
the transfer c
accordingly.

Slip yoke vibr

ke. Very common on vehicles with 2” or more of lift. This can usually

yo
be cured on 3.5” lifts with a transfer case drop kit. Note that pinion
adjustment may also be required - see acceleration and deceleration
vibration troubleshooting above. For best performance, consider a slip
yoke eliminator (SYE) kit and CV drive shaft (note that upper rear
adjustable control arms will be required for adjusting pinion angle for C
type shaft). Adjust pinion so it is 2 degrees below parallel with CV drive
shaft (see acceleration and deceleration vibration troubleshooting
above).

shaft.

High speed wobble:

his is fairly common with y-type steering on lifted ZJ's. It is a condition

T
where front tires will shi
and wheels with excessive offset. Check for worn or loose parts. In most
cases a reduction of positive castor will eliminate this condition. A good
rule of thumb is minimum factory caster and maximum factory toe in.
Note that lift heights increased with coil spacers (or taller coils) may
exhibit wobble that cannot be corrected with alignment.

Bump steer:

aused by improper relationship of drag link and track bar.C
center axle again follow
Next determine the neutral position of the steering wheel. Adjust the
drag link to center the steering wheel.

ase output shaft. Adjust lower control arm to raise pinion

ation:

A transfer case drop kit can usually be omitted with a CV drive

Caus oo high in relation to

utput shaft. Adjust lower control arm to lower pinion

ibration:

Caused by excessive angle on the transfer case slip

ed by the pinion being t

Caused by the pinion being too low in relation to

mmy after hitting a bump. Avoid bias ply tires

ing the instructions supplied with the track bar.

HOOTING

V

To correct,

PHOTO 3

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