It might be marketable... Someone was looking for something like that awhile ago - There is a lot of talk about leveling.

I think most people have just gone with a 2" lift to make the XK look a little higher like it should.

 

Well Done,

Do you have pics of the Commander with that lift/leveling kit?

Did you confirm that the Commander is leveled by measurment rather than a look?

Do you have pics of the kit you made?

Thanks, and I'm really interesting about this idea.

 

i would like to know if it would be possible to install this with the spacer kit? to lift it a little more and a rough estimate on price? thank you

 

Yes that would work with the spacer kit.

 

well in that case make a kit for the rear to for an extra 1inch or 1/2 inch all the way around i would def buy it. let me know

 

I mean no disrespect, but, I don't get it...

Why do I read so much about this leveling? Please educate me as to why I should not like this rake. What adverse effect does it have to the truck?

 

Well,
This is interesting.
OK, first ill try to answer questions,last first.


OGRI- I have spoken to many owners and observed myself that the front end of these vehicles is about 1" lower than the rear as seen from the side. This makes it appear as though the front springs are sacked out [sagging]. This can also be seen when one of these vehicles is coming towards you.
It has no adverse effect beyond how you like your vehicle to look to you.

BSNYDER717,
I must apologize for being vague.

The purpose of what I've done is to bring up the front end 1/2 " I.e. Attitude adjustment.

I have not established a price yet.

AHMED,
I have pictures of the spacers before and once installed. The measurement was taken before install and after. I also have photos of the vehicle after install.

Problem: That poor typing and computer illiteracy problem I have. I can e-mail photos to your address if I have it. Otherwise, someone is going to have to P.M. me with real simple to to understand directions. I am sending shots from a floppy. I still use an old Sony Mavica. So if you want pics AHMED, I'll need you to P.M. your address.

Hope that helps and thanks for responding.
I will need to hear from more of you about this.

Rob

 

The link below will help you with posting pics Robby.

http://www.jeepcommander.com/forums/showthread.php?t=608

 

Here are the pics received from Robby and his explanation about it:

• The stainless steel plates are 1/4 inch thick. I'll explain in a moment.
  
• The black plate with the studs is the original upper mount which was required for sizing/dimensions to make the spacers.
  
• The slot in the spacer is for installation ease. It allows the plate to be slid over the studs without removing the shock to get clearance, otherwise the shock stud is in the way.
  
• I chose T-304 stainless as opposed to aluminum so there would be no possibility of a galvanic reaction. This is of great importance in Northern America as salt is spread on the roads during our winters to melt snow and ice. Ferris and non-ferris metals in the presence of salt water makes a great battery and corrodes the metals that are in contact with one another.
  
• The photos are after install. They may be helpful, but to help you get an idea what it would look like,do the following. Start by measuring and recording the distance from the ground to the bottom of the wheel well flare, centering your measuring tape at wheel hub center. Remove the lower frame cover to expose the front crossmember. Raise the vehicle at the crossmember 1/2 inch measured at the wheelwell at your original measuring point. Now step back and look at it from all angles. If you like the look then these may be what your looking for.
  
• My motivation was to make something that would not distress the suspension system parts nor cause any accelerated wear. Also, anyone with reasonable ability and tools should be able to install these in less than 2 hours.
  
• The 1/4 inch plate becomes 1/2 inch at the spindle because the strut is attached midway of the lower control arm. Therefore 1/4 becomes 1/2.

The Commander with the spacer

Another pic

The spacers

The spacer in place.

 

i am just curious how well do you think it would work if i made one of them that is say an inch thick instead of 1/4 or 1/2 or 3/4 inch. to give you more lift with a spacer kit. Or do you think it will be to much stress on the driveline and everything????i know there is some guys with spacer kits that would love to have another inch or so chime in comeon?

 

but ill be honest robby ill buy it as long as the price is right. thank you and very good looking quality.

 

the reason why i am asking is b.c i am not sure if this would be concidered a body lift or a suspension lift. I mean it technically is just keeping the suspension at its same location and just lifting the body of the veh but i am not sure this is the first veh i have ever lifted and done anything such as a lift to. I am really interested in getting another inch or so if it is possible. i would appreciate any input. Thank you

 

It is not a body lift. The XK has a unibody. When you lift with the spacers, it does change the geometry up front. For instance, when you get a 2" spacer, the spacer that goes up front does not measure out to 2". But after you install, you do get the full 2" lift due to the change in geometry.

 

no i understand that concept but like wouldnt it still be keeping the strut at its normal height and just lifting the body off of the strut mount a little higher?

 

Another pic

Ahhhh.... "I see" , said the blind man! It does look good with the "attitude" adjustment.

 

there may be a market for it. i was thinking about something along those lines....but then just got the 2 inch kit which leveled it off....but now i am glad for the lift and would not want this kind of leveling kit....but some still might....

 

Looks like I may have opened Pandoras box here,I.E. lotsa questions.

OK... Lets try this,

As CrzCajun noted, his 2" lift is accomplished by adding a 1" approximate spacer. This would be interpeted as making the shock/spring assembly 1" longer and because of its lower mounting point being at control arm center [Between ball joint and lower arm pivot] a 2" extension at the lower ball joint is realized. Now that was the king of run-on sentences eh?
Now the reason this is a common lift for these vehicles is because it is the true maximum that can be added before the upper ball joint reaches its design limit.
Any more drop will cause the ball joint stud to strike the edge of the ball housing and cause the joint to become the suspensions extension limiter. As some have found this ultimatly will shear the joint stud and collapse the front suspension.
Also,remember that the tie rods and c/v joints are also approaching their design limits. A solid rock hit into the side of the wheel during extension puts a huge shear moment into the tie rod. Ask the H-3 guys about this, they've got bent tie rods by the boxload. All due to raising the truck too high using the torsion bar adjusters.
Those who have a 2" lift, next time you have the the truck jacked up with the wheels hanging free, turn the steering to full lock either side and note the incredible C/V joint angle that your truck operates at.
I am reasonably certain the lift designer has taken this into account and doubt if it will fail [used wisely] .But now you can see why 2" really should not be exceeded.

Hence,you could use any combination of these plates,I.E. 1=1/2---2=1"---3=1.5"
etc.
However to do that you would have to remove the shock/the upper plate from the spring/and then press out the studs and replace with longer studs.
Now if you were to add these to an existing lift,you will likely start breaking things.
That being said,I'm sure you'll agree, not so good an idea.

And I'm sure once I figure out material expense and machine time,[T-304 is not cheap ] Another companys 2" lift would be way cheaper than 4 or 6 of these plates.

Please remember, the idea here was to decrease the rake angle. This is tough on this body design because the green house [windows] increase in height as does the roof from front to rear. This is the result of theater seating.
All visual references are slightly askew. So side sightlines have to be drawn using the crease running ft to rear that is below the glass. Also the rocker panel sightline can be used.
Notice on the side view, the roofline rises even though the rocker is just shy of level. Thats why I parked it so the sunline being caused by the hangar behind the Jeep is just visible below the rocker panel. I felt this would help for reference.
So, thats why I settled for a little attitude adjustment.
The shock stays on during install, The caster and camber only changed 1/2 degree positive and the toe changed 1/16" inward. I only restored the toe in and it drives like I haven't messed with a thing. The Jeep remains level when loaded and the trailer does not make it look like it needs springs.

Hope I helped,
Rob

 

it still looks nosed down, i don't see a big difference. sorry.

 

no i understand that concept but like wouldnt it still be keeping the strut at its normal height and just lifting the body off of the strut mount a little higher?

You are correct. But remember, a body lift is made to lift the body off of the frame. On the commander, the body and frame are one.

 

Well. this looks better than the original look. but it just need little more to look really leveled.

Rob, if I'm not mistaken, your measurements were based on the fender flare hight, rather than the side molding or the plastic rocker.

Would you please make some measurment on how far the two sides of the moldings from the ground, and what is the difference?

I would suggest to put another 1/4" plate to make it 1/2", I think it will be much better.

if you make 1/2" plate, will it maintain the easiness of installation as described?

 

4.7,

I do not disagree that 1/2" is hardly noticeable over a body length of about 17 FT.

I wish I had a stock one alongside for comparison.

I went to a dealer on Sunday and parked it alongside another. I took a few pics. but they don't show the difference well. It is very subtle yet very noticeable to the eye on the lot.

Next to the stock ones,the most obvious thing I picked up on was the hood was higher. The next thing I noticed is the upper control arm is visible as well as the upper ball joint. Lastly it shows a bit more wheelwell.

Keep in mind my original post was not trying to make it sound as though I had re-invented the wheel. I am trying to determine if there is a highly conservative group of owners within this site that may think I should produce this.

Anyways, I'll still take all the feedback I can get.

Thanks,
Rob

 

Hi Ahmed,

If I understand your question correctly, I did my measurement before lifting the chassis only to determine my starting point. Then I raised the chassis 1/2 inch to see if the look would be what I was trying to achieve.
Every one of these will have a slightly different height. For example,the static height of a 6cyl version may be slightly higher than a v-8.
But by measuring before and then raising 1/2 inch you are only trying to see what the finished appearance will be.

Therefore,whatever your starting point,simply add 1/2"
Simply put; If your starting point is 33" just raise it to a reading of 33.5. Step back and see if you like it.

Regarding the 1/2 "plate thickness; I like the full inch rise look too but,

The shock would have to be removed. The spring compressed to remove the upper shock mount. The studs pressed out of the mount and longer studs pressed in.
As a aside, I already have those longer studs if someone wanted to persue this.
Reassembly and a full alignment required afterwards.

So yes, It's a can do, but labor time [ $ ] will increase.
Also, material expense will double.

If there were enough people desiring a 1" lift I would probably design a different method of achieving that.
Rob

 

Question: If I put 1/2" spacer shall I get 1" lift? ,,,, is always double the number?

 

I think it is important to maintain a little bit of rake, just as it seems that he has with his spacers. If you go higher in the front and level it out completely, then the rear will look like it is sagging if you have any cargo in the back or if you are towing (even something light weight). All modern SUVs seem to have a lot of rake these days, but if you look at most of the older SUVs on the road, many of them are sagging in the back due to old or worn springs.

I think his spacers are perfect for making the Commander a bit more level without making it completely level.

 

Question: If I put 1/2" spacer shall I get 1" lift? ,,,, is always double the number?

Yes, that's the way it works on the front suspension. The 4Runner has a very similar suspension and our spacers give double the amount of lift. The Commander should be the same way...