6. On the right you can see the front driver-side 8-inch-lift coil spring mounted to the stock bumpstop using the new upper coil mount. The mounts weld to the bumpstops after removing the stock rubber piece. On the left you can see the new front track-bar mount and track bar. Like many of the other weld-on components, the track-bar mount is not welded in permanently until the axle is in place so its fore and aft mounting can be fine-tuned so it doesn't interfere with the steering links or the coil spring. Also notable is that the track bar is held on each end by a caliper mounting system so that the arm is held securely on two planes.
7. The optional upper front shock-mount kit requires you to remove the factory upper front shock mounts. With them out of the way and the frame ground flat, the new mounts simply bolt on. The kit includes sleeves for the mounting bolts so that when the bolts are tightened, the frame is not crushed. Also noteworthy is that the Doetsch Tech shock absorbers feature built-in bumpstops.
8. Here you can see the new passenger-side steering arm that's included with the Over The Top steering system. It mounts using six bolts. The knuckle arms are cut from machine-grade steel with horizontal grain and they come with a lifetime warranty.
9. This is how the passenger-side track bar/lower coil spring/shock mount/control arm assembly looked after we mocked it up and tack-welded it for testing. Once we were convinced that all of the mounting locations were correct we welded it permanently.
10. We had to relocate the brake proportioning valve slightly rearward in the vehicle because it could be contacted by the lower rear passenger-side link during full suspension travel. Here you can see our crappy temporary homemade bracket that we made so we could get the vehicle on the trail for testing. We also had to cut off, rebend, and reflare the rear brake lines. The kit came with new 5-inch front brake-line extensions.
11. On the left you can see the new rear axle vent tube. The old one was in the way of the Y-link mount, so a new one had to be drilled and tapped. You'll notice that the end of the Y-link is adjustable so you can fine-tune the pinion angle. It also features a large Johnny joint. Rocky Road says that the Y-link eliminates spring wrap or other torque twisting.
Results
The first thing we noticed after installing the Rocky Road Outfitters 8-inch front and rear coil suspension kit and Over the Top steering system was the total lack of creepy steering. This says a lot. Bumpsteer is eliminated, the entire steering system is mounted high to avoid trail damage, and no funky tweaking even when fully flexed was most welcome. And talk about flex; our little Samurai is a flexy beast. Rocky Road says that depending on wheel and tire choice, you can expect close to 40 inches of articulation, and we believe it. We're still debugging our just-completed Samurai, but we're very impressed by the overall articulation we've seen so far, and we expect it to improve further as the suspension components break in. The ride is also vastly improved, even with the heavier front springs we ordered to compensate for an upcoming V-6 swap. Bottom line: We got the results we expected, and our little Samurai is now a serious playa off-highway. It looks pretty cool too.