Those thinking about a Daystar lift with XREAS - My thoughts and install experience
- Thread starter Runn4est
- Start date
The rear was as advertised, an I think the front was a little higher. I will measure hub to fender and then you can compare that to your current setup. Although every vehicle will vary, at least you can get an idea.
chef744
New member
Oh thank god you still have the pictures! Lol. I am about to install Toytec spacers.. looking for as much info as I can..
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[MENTION=124959]Runn4est[/MENTION]
I wanted to install this lift as well, but I've been told I need to know the size of my bump stops before ordering (4.6" or 5") I drive a '15 LE too, which parts did you order?
Thanks!
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I pieced my kit together -- I bought the rear for cheap from a member then the front from Amazon. The full kit on Daystar's site says KT09134BK, but I don't know the individual part numbers for the rear -- only the front -- KT09133BK.
Did you end up measuring?
22 1/4 hub to fender all around.
BTW, did this a few weeks ago. Still settling a bit but loving it so far. This was the spacer on top kit 2.5/1.5 kit.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008Y8YCJ0/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Before
After
Hardest part was getting the shock back in after the spacer.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008Y8YCJ0/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Before
After
Hardest part was getting the shock back in after the spacer.
When deciding to buy and install a Daystar 2.5/1.5 spacer lift for my LE with XREAS, I realized that there really isn't too much info for doing this other than that it can be done. There is a lot of back and forth between not disconnecting the UBJ vs unbolting the bottom 2 bolts under the LBJ, etc. but again, nothing really on the actual install with XREAS. I wanted to share my experience which I hope will prove useful to others looking to take the same path as I did. Or maybe this thread will wither away into the abyss because no one cares for spacers.
So why did I go with a spacer lift when many say, oh just get the real deal the first time, scrap XREAS? Well, our XREAS is in perfectly good working order and still under warranty for one. We like the ride that it provides and this is still a primary DD vehicle. Because it's not used very often off-road (although my wife is hooked now), I wasn't too concerned about lifting without getting any extra travel...yet...but since we have the low hanging LE trim, I wanted to get a little more clearance. And lastly, I do all of my own work on our vehicles, so $120 for the spacers really wasn't much of a dent in our wallet. Since the install, I am very happy with it. It still rides like the stock XREAS, and we got that extra clearance we wanted. In our first outing off-road at the Rausch Creek 101 course, we never hit a skid while several of the jeeps were scraping. We also managed to keep the front lip safe too. As far as I'm concerned, this lift has done exactly what we need it to do for the time being.
I'd like to apologize in advance for not having pictures. I was in a time crunch while installing and forgot to snap pics along the way. I will post some pics later if I can find some that may help. This is also my first real instructional type post so sorry if it's not great. Oh, and do everything at your own risk.
Before anything, crack the lugs on the fronts and then get both wheels off the ground. I was fortunate enough to have a lift, but Jack stands work too -- I actually did the rears on jackstands the next day (that time crunch again...). Remember you want to get it nice and high so there is room for the suspension to drop when disconnected. Remove the wheels.
Make sure you disconnect the the brackets for the ABS lines so you have more room to hang.
Disconnect your sway bar from the hub, and from the frame. To do this you will need to remove the front skid first, which is just a few bolts. I personally just let it hinge down, but you may prefer to completely remove it. Antman's oil change thread should identify the bolts for you if you are unsure. Daystar does not say to disconnect at the frame as far as I could tell but they are removing the entire unit from the vehicle, and since XREAS has the lines connected to the shocks, you need to be able to maneuver it in different ways to keep everything in tact. I just did one side at a time, so it was not fully disconnected.
<img width="40%" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12358189/IMG_20160610_195149.jpg"</img>
<img width="40%" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12358189/IMG_20160610_195006.jpg"></img>
Next, remove the 3 nuts from the top of the strut mount. I would highly recommend ratcheting wrenches vs 3/8th socket ratchet for this. You will still likely be moving little by little but you’ll get there eventually.
<img width="40%" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12358189/IMG_20160610_194818.jpg"></img>
From here I began to unbolt the bottom shock mount.
<img width="40%" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12358189/IMG_20160610_194931.jpg"></img>
Once that bolt is removed, loosen the upper ball joint (UBJ). You will need to remove the cotter pin first, and then get to cranking. When the nut comes off, you will have to separate the joint. I did NOT use a BJ separator, just a hammer. I gave the UBJ some love taps on the side of it and it “popped” off. Make sure you don’t just let whole assembly freely drop.
<img width="40%" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12358189/IMG_20160610_203409.jpg"></img>
Because I had a lift, I placed both legs under the hub and used them to cradle the assembly. If you can’t position yourself like that, you may want to get creative with a bungee cord or ask for an extra set of hands. At this point the suspension will be hanging pretty low and you should be able to start wiggling the strut out. Start with the bottom mount, and pull it towards you. Then you will want to start directing the bottom toward the sway bar (front of vehicle). Because you have loosened the bar, it should tuck down there pretty easily. DO NOT DISCONNECT AND BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVEREXTEND THE XREAS LINES.
<img width="40%" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12358189/IMG_20160610_195234.jpg"></img>
Grab the top and start to pull that toward yourself, pushing up on the UCA so the strut will fit under it. You should now be in a perfect position to start assembling the Daystar products which is explained sufficiently in their documents.
Getting the strut back in is a little tougher now that it’s a couple inches taller, but it should still be pretty straight forward. You’ll have to start by getting the bottom aligned in it’s mount, and then push the top back into the strut mount (lifting up on the UCA). You may have to apply some downward pressure on the LCA to get the strut in. Once it’s back in place, bolt everything back up and repeat on the other side!
For the rears, the instructions from Daystar are sufficient since you really don’t need to move the rear shock much (just unbolting the bottom).
When you’re all done, sit back and admire
Don’t forget to get an alignment!
<img width = "50%" src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12358189/IMG_20160604_122900.jpg"</img>
great write up ... any chance you could get the photo links to work? much appreciated!
I don't have pics uploaded on something that will allow embedding right now. For a work around I've created an album for this. I'll add a comment to pics so you can associate them with the write up.
https://goo.gl/photos/31gZ3qHJuHTWucW29
Pics were placed in the same order they're referenced in the post now!
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I didn't have to rotate anything.
rhariz21
New member
resurrecting an old post because I am stuck..
I am installing a toytec 2.5 spacer lift on my limited. I got everything disassembled without removing the xreas lines but for some reason my spring compressor (https://www.amazon.com/OEMTOOLS-25550-MacPherson-Spring-Compressor/dp/B000CMDPLM) doesnt fit between the coils! they are too big. this is the first time ive ran into this problem. anyone with similar issues??
I am installing a toytec 2.5 spacer lift on my limited. I got everything disassembled without removing the xreas lines but for some reason my spring compressor (https://www.amazon.com/OEMTOOLS-25550-MacPherson-Spring-Compressor/dp/B000CMDPLM) doesnt fit between the coils! they are too big. this is the first time ive ran into this problem. anyone with similar issues??
trailvarado
New member
With the Daystar kit, there was no need to pull the springs, but when I installed my suspension on my 4th gen I did run into a similar issue with the toytec 620# springs. I compressed the springs to assemble the strut and when the strut was assembled, the coils were skinnier than the tool. I just had to finagle it out by tilting the ends. Hopefully you were able to figure it out, sorry for the late response.
trailvarado
New member
I'm doing this today with the toytec 3/2 spacer, I'm very excited but also very nervous haha
Take your time, and it will all be good. I realized I didn't explain how I "tilted" them out. I completely unthreaded the compressor and then tilted the end pieces and took them out. When disassembling, you may have to put the end pieces on first, then thread them.
trailvarado
New member
I'm going to grab a spring compressor now, seems like the safe idea but I'm definitely doing it now. You say you do mild off-roading what's your experience with this kit?
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It's been a good one, but I'll say, compared to my 4th gen, it's not as good and that's only a modest entry level suspension setup. Last year's trip to the cove, we [accidentally..maybe on purpose?] got into some pretty hairy stuff -- borderline black trails and although we moved slower, with the help of good spotters, we made it.
You get the extra ground clearance on the body (not overall GC), and on the LE that was pretty important for us. We managed to keep it all in tact before we swapped out the front end. Have yet to wheel the 5th gen since the swap though.
Because you don't increase the travel, it still gets decent teeter totter (hanging a wheel) in the flexier portions of trails, whereas my 4th gen stays planted a little better. I checked at full droop and the CVs do not bind.
rhariz21
New member
Just saw this. For some reason the springs were different on each side. passenger was super easy but the driver i had to take the ends off my compressor and spiral them through the spring to get them to fit.
Was weird but worked
