WK2 Grand Cherokee leveling kit install (Rocky Road Outfitters)

[McCannUSA]

So I finely got around to installing my Rocky Road Outfitters leveling kit today on my 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee WK2. I was very pleased with the quality of the kit and the install process. I was lucky enough to do it at my cousins shop, who is a heavy machine mechanic. While the install doesn't take any real "specialized" tools, it did require the use of some pretty big sockets that I don't think very many home mechanics would have. Overall the process took about 3 hours and was very straight forward. Although being a brand new vehicle, everything came apart really easy, so that helped. The kit did a great job of leveling the vehicle. You will see the difference in the pictures but it is even more dramatic in person. I will head in for an alignment but the ride is exactly as before. If your not doing a full lift, I would highly recommend this leveling kit.

Here are pictures of what you get in the kit.


Here is the before and after stance of the vehicle.

Before:


After:


And photos in progress:



The drivers side is the hard side. You will have to remove drive axel to remove the strut. The passenger side was much easier. With 2 people you should have no problem with removal and install.

 

[Leclerc.27]

Glad it went well - I ordered the RRO lift and level kit and after a month + waiting for it to be shipped, it should be in this week. I'm a little hesitant because I heard it could be a P.I.T.A. Any advice you have would be great. Rig looks awesome!

 

[McCannUSA]

Glad it went well - I ordered the RRO lift and level kit and after a month + waiting for it to be shipped, it should be in this week. I'm a little hesitant because I heard it could be a P.I.T.A. Any advice you have would be great. Rig looks awesome!

You will love it when it gets there. It really is straight forward, the only thing I would say is that in the directions it says "you may need to remove the drive axle" when it should say "you WILL have to remove the drive axle" (drivers side only). There is no way I could have gotten the strut out without removing it, the lower control arm doesn't even come close to falling down far enough for the strut to clear it and come out. The drive axle comes right out though and went right back in with no problems. You will definitely need two people to do it, just to many things to hold, push, pull, screw, etc all at once to do it on your own. The passenger side is a breeze. Takes half the time as the drivers side and you will need a front end alignment for sure when your done. Well worth the time and money! If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

 

[Leclerc.27]

You will love it when it gets there. It really is straight forward, the only thing I would say is that in the directions it says "you may need to remove the drive axle" when it should say "you WILL have to remove the drive axle" (drivers side only). There is no way I could have gotten the strut out without removing it, the lower control arm doesn't even come close to falling down far enough for the strut to clear it and come out. The drive axle comes right out though and went right back in with no problems. You will definitely need two people to do it, just to many things to hold, push, pull, screw, etc all at once to do it on your own. The passenger side is a breeze. Takes half the time as the drivers side and you will need a front end alignment for sure when your done. Well worth the time and money! If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Awesome, thanks for the sage advice. I was planning on a two-person anyways, due to lack of technical experience on my part, as well as being a beer friend. I will definitely pull that axle, I've actually heard that the LCA doesn't make life easy. Thanks again! Rig looks great.

 

[Leclerc.27]

You will love it when it gets there. It really is straight forward, the only thing I would say is that in the directions it says "you may need to remove the drive axle" when it should say "you WILL have to remove the drive axle" (drivers side only). There is no way I could have gotten the strut out without removing it, the lower control arm doesn't even come close to falling down far enough for the strut to clear it and come out. The drive axle comes right out though and went right back in with no problems. You will definitely need two people to do it, just to many things to hold, push, pull, screw, etc all at once to do it on your own. The passenger side is a breeze. Takes half the time as the drivers side and you will need a front end alignment for sure when your done. Well worth the time and money! If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

I actually do have a question - did you get/would you have gotten a ball joint separator or spring compressor or any other random tools like that? Thanks!

 

[McCannUSA]

I actually do have a question - did you get/would you have gotten a ball joint separator or spring compressor or any other random tools like that? Thanks!

Nope, you won't need to mess with the coil spring at all other than just to pull the entire strut assembly out and mount the spacer to the top of it. Once you do remove it, take the 3 nuts that were holding the top in place and screw them back on to the posts and tighten them all the way down so that when you cut the post you can unscrew the nuts to clean the treads. Don't use the nuts that come with the kit for that part because they are the type with the plastic locking insert and you only want to use them once. If you look in the last picture, the tool that is laying on the ground with the hook on one end is the tool we used to pop out the drive axle. It is just a hook shaped flat pry bar.

 

[PicNick]

Looks very nice! I'm looking at either getting the RRO 2.5"/0.5" lift kit or Protune 2.5"/1.5" lift. This has me leaning more towards the RRO since it looks like a lot of rake got taken out with your setup. Plus I can't find any reviews of the Protune so I'm guessing it's an ebay brand

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[Leclerc.27]

Looks very nice! I'm looking at either getting the RRO 2.5"/0.5" lift kit or Protune 2.5"/1.5" lift. This has me leaning more towards the RRO since it looks like a lot of rake got taken out with your setup. Plus I can't find any reviews of the Protune so I'm guessing it's an ebay brand

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RRO has the lift and level combo now, which I think is a great step. Everything up and everything leveled out - makes a big difference. I will say, if you plan on getting it, give yourself a solid month minimum from order to receipt of the kit. RRO is notoriously slow, poor at keeping the buyer informed and bad at returning inquiries about orders. BUT, once it gets here, they are very well made pieces. I can’t speak to the Protune, however.

 

[PicNick]

RRO has the lift and level combo now, which I think is a great step. Everything up and everything leveled out - makes a big difference. I will say, if you plan on getting it, give yourself a solid month minimum from order to receipt of the kit. RRO is notoriously slow, poor at keeping the buyer informed and bad at returning inquiries about orders. BUT, once it gets here, they are very well made pieces. I can’t speak to the Protune, however.

That's VERY good to know. I was planning on waiting to order closer to my trip to Gatlinburg, but I guess I should go ahead and order if I'm getting it from them. I managed to convince my fiance to take an off roading class with me on our honeymoon in October, so I'm trying to get the rig ready for then

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[Leclerc.27]

That's VERY good to know. I was planning on waiting to order closer to my trip to Gatlinburg, but I guess I should go ahead and order if I'm getting it from them. I managed to convince my fiance to take an off roading class with me on our honeymoon in October, so I'm trying to get the rig ready for then

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Excellent - order now! I had to call in a handful of times; a week after I ordered I had yet to get a shipping confirmation so I called in - they said that it was backordered, and because they were a small shop, they were unable to tell me when parts might be in/shipped out. I called again a couple/few weeks later and they said I'd be on the next batch out the following week. I wasn't. Called again late that week and they said for sure next week. Finally got the stuff in and it was really poorly packaged in terms of protection, but they're beefy parts so it's seemingly all good. I hadn't thought to do a part inventory before...butttt....now I'm going to do that as soon as I get home.

 

[Silverback_WK2]

I had a shop do my RRO leveling kit. Then did wheels/tires and a 4 wheel alignment on my WK2.
Very pleased with the results as well.
Yours looks awesome!!!

 

[McCannUSA]

Excellent - order now! I had to call in a handful of times; a week after I ordered I had yet to get a shipping confirmation so I called in - they said that it was backordered, and because they were a small shop, they were unable to tell me when parts might be in/shipped out. I called again a couple/few weeks later and they said I'd be on the next batch out the following week. I wasn't. Called again late that week and they said for sure next week. Finally got the stuff in and it was really poorly packaged in terms of protection, but they're beefy parts so it's seemingly all good. I hadn't thought to do a part inventory before...butttt....now I'm going to do that as soon as I get home.

I was really surprised to hear this! Maybe all the good reviews of the kit have them way behind. From the time I ordered mine to it showing up in the mail was no more than 9 to 10 days max, the spacers were wrapped individually and there were so many packing peanuts in the box that I almost threw away the bag of nuts. I hope they get it figured out.

 

[Leclerc.27]

Glad you got everything in good form and timing! I read the company reviews people left before I ordered and almostttt didn't order it based on those. The reviews (for me) held true, but the parts seem very well machined/made, so I'm calling it a wash. Your rig looks excellent excellent with the lift, so I can't wait to toss mine in.

I was really surprised to hear this! Maybe all the good reviews of the kit have them way behind. From the time I ordered mine to it showing up in the mail was no more than 9 to 10 days max, the spacers were wrapped individually and there were so many packing peanuts in the box that I almost threw away the bag of nuts. I hope they get it figured out.

 

[McCannUSA]

Glad you got everything in good form and timing! I read the company reviews people left before I ordered and almostttt didn't order it based on those. The reviews (for me) held true, but the parts seem very well machined/made, so I'm calling it a wash. Your rig looks excellent excellent with the lift, so I can't wait to toss mine in.

My haste in ordering things must have finely paid off! LOL I don't think I ever read their reviews, I was to busy hitting the "buy now" button.

 

[Leclerc.27]

My haste in ordering things must have finely paid off! LOL I don't think I ever read their reviews, I was to busy hitting the "buy now" button.

See good part, order up! I do the same thing. Glad it all worked out for you, dude! I ordered a pickle fork just in case and got a new impact driver and torque wrench just to do this project...what a good excuse to refresh gear all around.

 

[tedc10]

My haste in ordering things must have finely paid off! LOL I don't think I ever read their reviews, I was to busy hitting the "buy now" button.

@McCann what size tires are you running with the level? I just purchased level and will be tire shopping immediately after install! Do you think 275/55R20 will fit? Thanks!

 

[McCannUSA]

@McCann what size tires are you running with the level? I just purchased level and will be tire shopping immediately after install! Do you think 275/55R20 will fit? Thanks!

Yes, that is the size I'm running and I have plenty of room around the wheel well. No rubbing at all turning fully to the left or right. The only place it is close is on the back side of the tire where the nut is at the top of the spindle but I have no problem with it rubbing on it and that is with the stock rims which have no off set. If you were to go with an after market rim or use spacers to set the wheel out further you could go with an even wider tire for sure.

 

[tedc10]

Awesome, music to my ears! Thanks a lot!

 

[PicNick]

@Leclerc.27 Have you gotten your lift/level installed? If so, how are you liking it?

 

[Leclerc.27]

@Leclerc.27 Have you gotten your lift/level installed? If so, how are you liking it?

Thanks for checking in! I’ve been busy with Chief undercarriage stuff and getting new wheels, so I put it on the back burner. I blew a disc in my neck and just got it replaced last Wednesday, so I called a shop to see if they could do it; I won’t have the strength or mobility for a couple months. $783 quote. Woof.