I needed to loosen and retighten manually (not using an air wrench) my lug nuts mounting the new, stock size, 255/70 R18 off-road tires. So, I thought it a good time to determine how I will install and remove the Johnson 1.5" rods for my two to three day off-roading events -- in an effective, safe and repeatable manner.

A teaser photo -- here is my Defender with the 1.5" rods installed and set at off-road height. I see the extra clearance that I was hoping to have -- so very good:



The rod switching tool kit which I am packing in the Defender, going forward contains the following:

-- WD-40 to lubricate the rubber so it comes off easier.
-- needle nose locking pliers -- very important -- to hold the arm of the potentiomer against the prying force of removing the link. I employed just enough gripping force to hold the arm -- it's plastic and do not want to compress it. The arm is the part to make sure NOT to damage.
-- a jack to raise each rear wheel to the extent of its travel -- provides access to the rear links and arms. The jack is not needed for the front.
-- headlamp to see in the dark of the wheel well
-- two plastic auto body tools to pry the link off the arm and from the anchor rod.

all work should be executed with at least one door open -- so the vehicle does not self-lower while you are working. It happenend -- it was NOT a happy moment !


already packed and ready to go ....

Careful -- Mustn't bend the plastic potentiometer arm when prying the rod off. Used the locking pliers to stiffen the arm and provide a leverage point to pry off the rod. Worked very well.
I always worked free the end of the rod attached to the arm, first -- and connected that end to the rod last. Using the anchor pin to stabilize the tasks helped.


The anchor pin is at the bottom. The plastic arm is coming from the potentiometer -- fragile. The Johnson rod connects the arm and anchor pin

Here are two photos of the locking pliers in place -- along the axis of the arm -- with just enough locking force to stay in place:




Once the potentiometer arm is free, you should keep it located in the same position as when the arm is connected -- to move to to the extent of travel will cause the affected axle to go to its lowest point, if you mistakenly close the doors to the vehicle. NOT GOOD. NOT FUN.

The rear is a TIGHT FIT without removing the tires. But, I found if you jack them up off the ground, there will be enough room to reach in a do what is necessary. It takes a bit of commitment to becoming dirty in the process.


View looking in from above the rear tire with rod in place.

Rear with rod removed -- kind of in a hole back behind the tire.

I think I can reliably change all four within one hour -- so all is great !

Enjoy !

 

Great post!! Thanks, @TrioLRowner . I will definitely build the same kit when I try mine. What jack is that BTW? Do you carry it and the stock scissor jack? Did you toss the stock lug wrench as well? I think I have that SAME trim kit from Amazon.

 

Thank you for taking the time to put this up!

I have to drive several hours out of Florida to go where I'll need them. Looks like it's plenty easy to install/remove on-site rather than drive up with them installed. Very helpful. Thanks again!

 

The hour timeframe compares poorly to the “15 minutes” claimed by ads. Do you think it will always be one hour, or that you’ll get much faster next time?

And by the way, once again, thanks for your methodical approach to this process. I always feel I can trust your reports because you cover the details rather than glossing over parts of the job.

I have a Zeon 12S sitting on the shelf that I’m going to reread your install thread before deciding if I want to tackle it. I’ve done a number of JK Wrangler winch installs, but this is a whole nother kettle of wax. The 12S has the same exact dimensions as the 10S, so I assume it shouldn’t offer any additional problems. I have a 12 because a friend bought it for the front of his F150 three years ago only to find it wouldn’t fit, too wide. It’s been in the box on his garage shelf ever since and he gave it to me this week. That, plus the fact I got stuck in some muck so viscous last week after the remnants of hurricane Ida came through our mountain property that my neighbor’s 4WD tractor couldn’t pull it out (just spun the wheels) and he had to go get his tracked Bobcat excavator to lift the rear out of the mud, and in the process shredded a 12k-rated tow strap!!! Had to use a chain. Mud can be a real sumbitch.

 

Yep, the devil is in the details.

The jack is a failed experiment to replace the OEM scissor jack on the DEFENDER. It is a Powerbuilt 620470 Unijack -- 4000 lb capacity, which has a built in jack stand (nice safety feature). I ordered it from Amazon to replace the scissor jack. The problem is the jack does not have enough lift range for the tire to clear the ground. So, I am still stuck using the scissor jack. But, for installing the Johnson rods the Unijack creates enough clearance.

I have a 22 MM socket and a breaker bar to remove the wheels after being installed with an air-gun.

I really need to give in to reality and purchase an arb jack -- but I go into sticker shock every time I see the price. The rock slider outer bar is the perfect spot to lift from.

If one had direct access to the rods and one was not sensitive to breaking the potentiometer arm; yes, four rods could be switched out in 15 minutes. But to jack up the rear wheels and to give suitable care to use of the needle nose locking pliers, a very focused 10 minutes per wheel is closer to reality. And, I figure 15 minutes of the hour is used for unpacking and restowing the tools. I figure I will be happy each time I get it all done within an hour without breaking something or damaging myself.

The 12S sounds terrific. I am exceptionally happy with the performance of the 10S, so far. I live relatively close to you, and have been fighting the red clay ground for years -- lordy it is nasty stuff!! So for me, a winch is entirely necessary. I do not have one on my LR4, and it led me to not be able to use the vehicle to its full extent.

At its base, the Defender winch installation design is problematic. Personally, I decided I would rather disable the vehicle through an error of my own than to have an unknown mechanic at the local JLR dealer experiencing a bad day and cutting through a wiring loom or whatever.

If you do not rush and are willing to break a few plastic mounting clips, I think installing the winch is within one's patient grasp.

 

Perfect time estimates. That's exactly how I approach things. Too many times people dismiss the logistics around the efforts. I think an hour is a fair rule of thumb for it.

You aren't kidding about the expense of the ARB jack! I own a 2022 Defender, so throwing obscene amounts of money at something that is well suited is already in my profile - but that's a stretch for me. I personally don't like the "Highlift" style jacks and the ARB falls into that camp. It's not that they aren't capable, they are. I've just used them with a bunch of red neck buddies in the woods, in the mud, in the whatever and I never have a comfortable time with them. They are WAY too tippy outside of concrete. I think it's 50/50 whenever used whether they will wind up slamming the side of the 4x4. I've seen and felt some good dings. It takes a lot of Aggie Engineering to make sure they remain vertical in use. I get that all jacks are dangerous if not on a good base, but I find bottle jacks to be much more forgiving.

I'm just about to start my own winch install. Is the danger in cutting thru a loom or in pulling/tearing one during removal? Watching the videos and researching, I see where a trim tool is absolutely a necessity but haven't yet spotted where the "hidden" loom/harness is that can be cut - which scares the "crap" out of me! I thought most of the cutting was done after removal of trim from the Defender.

 

I could be really misunderstanding the issue but it seems like the hole drilling is where it goes wrong?

I'm sticking with my Unibit for that when I do mine. They aren't designed to grab and remove material so they won't wrench and cut the wire behind the panel.
https://landroverforums.com/forum/20...-103185/page6/

 

None of the wiring is "hidden".

But, it may be unidentifed and not visible at the exact moment you use a cutting tool to hack away parts of the plastic and metal of the vehicle -- or you make an assumption regarding the non-existence or existence of a wire noted in the instructions.

It is very easy to get in a rush and lose track of where the wires are, relative to your cutting blade. I was extremely careful to take a break every 15 minutes, not let my blood pressure/stress-level rise, nor make any assumptions, nor put a time limit on how to get to a certain point of work -- all practices which are not possible in a JLR dealership. This is why it took me two weeks or so to do the work.

I figured regulating myself would be better than trying to control a mechanic's behavior.

 

Yeah, I'm seriously debating doing it myself (I predict it will take a month of weekends) or just get a 3rd party Land Rover service team I trust a lot. I think everyone by this point knows about the hidden trip wires in these things and should be taking things slowly or cautiously.