Rear End installation

Rear Suspension

Additional Parts:
Anti-seize
Teraflex Shock Relocation Brackets
Brake bleed kit
Brake fluid

Tools Needed:
Drill
5/16" Drill bit
Snap Ring Pliers
3/8" Ratchet
4" extension
13mm Socket
15mm Socket
16mm Socket Deep Well
18mm Socket
19mm Socket Deep Well
1/2" Socket
11/16" Socket
3/4" Socket
15mm Combo Wrench
18mm Combo Wrench
1/2" Combo Wrench
3/4" Combo Wrench
Phillips Screwdriver
Flat tip Screwdriver
Vise
Floor Jack
Jack Stands (6 tons for the height)
T-55 Torx
T-40 Torx
Big Hammer (3lb blacksmith works)

Now that we have the front completed, we can work on the rear.
Rear Shock Removal:
1. OME LT shocks compared to Factory and Standard OME shocks.
2. The rear shocks are held in by a bolt at the bottom and (2) 13mm bolts at the top.
3. I first disconnected the bottom bolt with a 15mm and 18mm socket and wrench. This will give you enough room to move the shock around so that you can get to the top bolts. The picture shows the Teraflex shock relocators already installed.
4. Use a 13mm and a couple of extensions to reach up above the gas tank to get to these bolts. They are not very fun, especially if you have had the Jeep into the dirt at all. The hardest bolt to get out is the one next to the frame.

Rear Sway bar end links Removal:
1. You will need to remove the Rear sway bar links before you play with the axle. These links are only plastic and can be snapped at the eyes fairly easy. Use a 15mm and 18mm socket and wrench to remove the sway bar to link bolt.
2. Use a 15mm socket to remove the link to frame bolt. There is a capture nut on the back side, make certain that you remove this if it doesn't just fall out on you. Put all these pieces somewhere that you can find them again later.

Rear Track Bar Removal:
1. Jack up the rear suspension and place it on jack stands just in front of the Rear Lower control arm frame brackets. Now let the suspension down and remove the tires. Don't remove the floor jack from under the axle just yet. Now remove the rear track bar so that you can install the track bar bracket. The axle ends uses a T-55 Torx and the frame side is a 15mm and 18mm. You will also need to remove the plastic cover from around the axle end of the track bar. I found that if you play with the axle position it is easy to get the bolts out of the two ends of the track bar.
2. The extra holes in the picture are from the OME bracket that was installed previously.

Rear Spring Removal:

1. Now that we have everything removed we need to get the spring out. Let the axle down all the way. You may or may not need to do this dependent upon how much droop you get out of the axle. I was able to just pull them out and I was going from an already lifted vehicle so stock springs should come out with no problems. Let the axle down all the way and place the floor jack under the opposite side brake disk. Make certain you are only lifting the disk, not any other parts. Now jack up the disk and compress the spring on this side. Watch until you just take the frame off of the jack stand. Once you do that let the jack out until you are resting on the jack stand again. Now the spring will be loose on the other side, so have a buddy (beer belly friends work the best) put pressure on that disk and now pull the spring out. Yes, you could use spring compressors to do this, but after having one break a finger for me I don't like to use them.

Rear Track Bar Installation:
1. Once you get the track bar out, you can let the axle down completely. Now to install the track bar bracket. This was a pain to put in. You will need to drill 2 holes in the original bracket, in the holes that the clips that were holding the plastic cover were located. Now don't go drilling these right away. I said it before every jeep is different, and you need to use the bracket as your guide. Of course you will either need an angle drill, or a short electric drill. First thing you do is bolt the bracket on in the original location utilizing the supplied bolt (3/4" socket and wrench), spacer and nut. Getting your fingers into the little holes to put on the washers and nuts can be fun and entertaining for those watching you. Now mine didn't fit. I took a look at the axle bracket and realized that I needed to do a little grinding on the very sloppy weld. Once I got the weld ground down I could put the bracket on.
2. Here is the parts for the RE CV track bar bracket.
3. The RE adj. Rear track bar, with a close up of the Heim.
4. As you can see the front track bar will not fit in the rears bracket.
5. I was able to get the bolt and spacer into the original location of the track bar. This bracket went on easier than the last because I had already ground down the sloppy weld on the factory bracket. The holes actually lined up on this one since I had already drilled them off center for the last RE bracket. If this is a first install of the RE bracket this is what I did. I saw that the holes did not line up with where Rubicon Express said you needed to drill, close, but not right on. I needed to drill the top hole first. So I jacked up the opposite brake disk and was able to get a drill in. Now this time I just went with the big drill bit 5/16" so that I could drill the hole. I was going to hit the hole slightly off center, so I needed the big drill bit. Once you have the hole drilled you can insert the spacer (if required) under the Rubicon Express bracket and then insert the bolt (1/2" socket and wrench) and tighten it down. If you manage to drop the nut or washer, it will fall into the axle bracket and takes a little bit of work to get out. Luckily I had some hemostats that worked very well. Once I got the bracket aligned I was able to drill the bottom hole. This was slightly off center like the top hole, so I just drilled straight through with the 5/16" drill bit. Now insert the bolt (1/2" socket and wrench) and tighten down. Once you get all the bolts in and tightened down you can reinstall the track bar.
6. You will need to tread the Heim joint into the RE track bar. The Heim joint is left-hand threaded, so you will need to screw it in the opposite direction. Counter clockwise. I ended up screwing it almost all the way in.
7. Bolt the track bar into the frame bracket using a 15mm and 18mm wrench.
8. Once I got the axle back on the ground I was able to center the rear axle and measured from bolt hole to bolt hole to get an initial setting for my track bar length. The rear RE track bar uses an Heim joint on the axle side.
9. I screwed the Heim in and set it for my initial distance. My final measurement was 32 5/8". Don't tighten the lock nut down yet.
10. Then lift the axle up to get the axle end to line up.
11. Now I inserted the spacer into the Heim and positioned the Heim into the bracket. There are 2 spacers that go on each side of the Heim. The spacers are stepped. You need to install them with the skinny side towards the Heim. This will allow the Heim to rotate fully.
12. It can be a little bit hard to get the bolt through while aligning all the spacers. As you can see in these pictures I have the spacers installed incorrectly. This was just a test fit up.
NOTE: Centering the front axle is easy. You don't have to bounce or anything. First measure from the frame to the rim/ or tire as close to right above the axle. This will eliminate the possibility of the body being off center on it's mounts and having a slight turn in the tires. Now once you have this measurement, you will know how far you need to move the axle. Second, once you have this measurement. Adjust the Trackbar to 1/2 the difference in distance. Once the track bar lines up with the axle bracket, install the bolt and nut. Then just drive it around and remeasure. Repeat above as necessary.

	N-m	Ft. Lbs.	In. Lbs.
REAR Track Bar Frame Bracket Nut	100	74	-
REAR Track Bar Axle Bracket Bolt	100	74	-

Rear Bump Stop Installation:
1. Now I installed the rear bump stop extensions. You will need to pull out the rubber bump stop from the cup. If you look on the cup, you will see 3 indents. I just grabbed mine, and gave it a sharp tug to the side and it came right out. Now if it doesn't you will need to stick a thin screw driver up along side the bump stop and pry down on it at these 3 points to walk it out.
2. Once you get the bump stops out, you will need a 15mm socket and the small extension to get the bolt out of the bottom of the cup.
3. Once you remove the cup, replace the stock bolt with the RE bolt and place the spacer on the bolt, and reinstall the cup. Use an 11/16" socket to bolt these back in place.
4. Now all you need to do is reinstall the bump stop into the cup. Give it a firm push to get it all the way in.

Rear Spring Installation:

1. After you get that done, it is time to put in the new spring. I was able to slip the spring right in, but if you can't I included a quick way to do it. Put the floor jack under the opposite brake disk and jack it up as far as you can, but be careful you don't lift it off the frame. Now insert the spring up around the bump stop cup. I was able to do this without spring compressors. The RE arms allow the rear end to really flex. Watch your fingers as you slide the spring over the bottom perch. Now push the spring completely onto the spring perch. Once you have both springs installed, jack the axle back up and reinstall the tires.

Rear Shock Installation:

1. Take the Jeep off of the jack stands and put the tires back on the ground. Installing the OME shock is just the reverse of the above. I had already installed the Teraflex Shock relocators and these used the original factory bolts to hold them onto the factory bracket..

2. The shocks have bar pins that need to be inserted. Pay attention to the bar pins, and don't just dump them into a big pile. The front bar pins are shorter than the rear and the rears you need to make certain that you put them on the top since both ends have eyes. A vise makes putting the bar pins in easy, but if you don't have one take a big deep well socket and put it on one side against the ground, and then drive the bar pin in from the other side. Simple directions is put washer on bar pin, drive bar pin through bushing, put washer on bar pin, put external snap ring on bar pin. Make certain the snap ring goes into the groove.

Bar Pin Installation:
Way #1 (Tools required: External Snap Ring Pliers, 2 Deep well sockets(16mm and 19mm work well), Hammer)
Insert one washer onto the bar pin so that is sits on the shoulder, wedge the end of the bar pin in the bushing, now using a deep well socket as a support for the bushing drive the bar pin through the bushing. It should look like this before you hit it. Deep well on the ground with ratchet side down, then shock bushing, then bar pin sticking up. Drive the bar pin all the way in. Flip the shock over and put the other washer on. Use a set of exterior snap ring pliers, insert the prongs of the pliers into the two holes and gently pry the snap ring open. Open it just far enough to slide down over the bar pin, you need to kind of get it over the round part of the bar pin, vice the flat mounting area for the shock bolts. The snap ring will not go into the grove on the bar pin. Now take another deep well, that will just fit over the bar pin, give the deep well a couple of smacks with the hammer working the snap ring down and into the groove.

Way #2 (Vise, External Snap Ring Pliers)
Basically the same way as #1, but you can use the vise to press in the bar pin, and hold the washers in, while you install the snap rings, this way you can actually install them right into the groove, with out having to use a deep well and a hammer. Only problem is you lose that satisfying thunk of the hammer.

3. Once you have the bar pins installed, you can carefully insert the upper bolts through the bar pin and thread them into the upper mount one at a time. I found that it is easiest to do the outer bolts closest to the frame first. Once again you will need the 13mm socket with the long extensions to get to these. After you get those tightened down you can insert the bolt through the bottom shock eye. I needed a 3/4" socket and wrench to tighten this one down because of the Teraflex shock relocator bracket.

4. The passenger side rear shocks sits fairly close to the exhaust, so I get a rattle ever so often. This will be fixed when I do the custom exhaust.

	N-m	Ft. Lbs.	In. Lbs.
REAR Shock Absorber Upper BOLT	35	26	-
REAR Shock Absorber Lower Nut	100	74	-

Brake Lines Rerouting:
1. RE includes a new rear brake line with their long arm kit. I took a look at the brake line and then looked at what was installed. Two completely different blocks that bolt to the axle. The factory one includes the breather for the rear diff in it, while the RE does not.
2. I also notice how much of a rats nest the rear lines were. Now this made sense on the stock vehicle, but since the long arms are going to be installed with lots of arm travel I needed to reroute the rear brake line a little. If you haven't replaced your arms yet, you will find a bracket connecting the Emergency brake line, rear UCA and the rear brake line together. You will need to disconnect this.
3. I unbolted the brake line from the UCA bracket by removing the bolt with a T-40 Torx socket. I will have to figure out a bracket for this since it no longer has a mount when I cut off the UCA bracket for Long arm clearance.
4. I then used a small adjustable wrench to grab the brass fitting on the rubber line and a 7/16" wrench to undo the hard line. Once I got this apart I threaded the brake line back through the mess of stuff and ran it back under everything along the upper arm. Just reconnect and then bleed the rear brakes.

	N-m	Ft. Lbs.	In. Lbs.
COMBINATION VALVE BRAKE LINES (estimated for hard to flex line connection)	19	14	-

*Rear Sway bar end link Installation:*
1. Here is a comparison of the factory and RE extended length rear sway bar links. I need to check the position of a stock Rubicon's rear sway bar and compare it to the position of mine. I think that the RE links are a little short. I may eventually modify these to be similar to the links on the Currie Anti-Rock.
2. Use a 15mm socket to install the link to frame bolt. There is a capture nut on the back side, make certain that you don't cross thread this. I don't know how easy it would be to get one from the dealership. Now use a 15mm and 18mm socket and wrench to install the sway bar to link bolt. Don't tighten these up yet.

	N-m	Ft. Lbs.	In. Lbs.
STABILIZER BAR LINK NUT/BOLT	54	40	-

Skid Plate	Brake Line Standoffs	Long Arms	Front End	Rear End
Additional Parts	Magna-Flow Muffler	Tom Woods Drive Shaft	Issues	Final Notes

This page last updated: 16-Apr-2008

Content and Design © 2002-present WanderingTrail, Ronald Seegert
Common Sense and Safety should always be observed when working on your vehicle or doing modifications. Jackstands, wheel blocks, disconnecting the battery are a few of the basic safety precautions that should be used and may not be mentioned in the write ups on this site. You are responsible for your own installation, these write ups are a helpful guideline and should not be taken as an official installation instruction. My write up may be different from the kits currently out there, so alwasy double check the manufacturers installation instructions when installing anything. I try to keep the site up to date with changes that have occured as I discover them, but may not have the latest unless someone lets me know. If you feel that an install is above your capabilities after reading my write ups, I recommend getting together with a club and getting some help. Only a few times have I needed to employe some actual help from a shop to get something done. Usually welding or A/C work. While I have spent many years working on mechanical systems, I am not an expert, nor do I pretend to be one. I hope these write ups have been useful to you.
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