How to Install a Portal Gear Lift on Your 4-Wheeler

What are these mysterious portal gear lifts? Do you need them? How do you install a portal gear lift on your off-road vehicle? You can answer all of those questions here.

How Does a Portal Gear Lift Work?

A portal gear lift replaces your OEM hubs and allows you to gain higher lift at the wheel hub, offering you more ground clearance and more torque after upgrading to larger tires.

Portals also offer gear reduction. This means the drive gear is smaller than the driven gear, providing you with higher RPM output.

How a Portal Gear Lift Affects Your Vehicle's Performance

The main purpose of adding portal gear lifts is to upgrade your machine with larger tires without losing torque or putting stress on the drive train components.

Is a Portal Lift Reliable?

They are very reliable, and they come with decent warranties should you encounter a problem.

How to Determine the Gear Reduction You Need

You can use a gear reduction calculator online to make it easy.

If you're going to do it yourself, you'll need to calculate the difference between the distance your stock tires could travel in one revolution versus your aftermarket tires. That difference determines how hard your engine has to work to power the larger tire. Your gear reduction percentage should be close to the percentage of torque loss.

How to Install a Portal Gear Lift

You'll need:

• manual and powered wrenches
• pliers
• a drain pan
• someone to work the machine while you bleed the brakes
• jacks and jack stands

Open the portal kit and make sure the reduction number matches the one under the drain plug.

Jack up the machine securely with jack stands and remove all of the tires.

Start on one of the sides on the front of the machine.

Remove the brake caliper by removing two bolts, one above and one below.

if you have a brake scraper, remove it too.

Remove the cotter pin from the castle nut, then remove the castle nut and wheel hub.

Remove the tie rod from the spindle. It's held on with just one nut.

Remove the a-arm from the spindle by removing a pinch bolt.

Remove the top ball-joint pinch bolt.

Remove the spindle.

Repeat those steps on the other front side.

Now, move to the back.

Remove the lower radius arm with one nut that's located at the bottom.

Remove the brake line cover from the top of the trailing arm by removing two bolts.

Remove the brake caliper with bolts on the side, then remove the cotter pin from the castle nut and remove the castle nut and wheel hub.

Remove the upper radius arm with one bolt at the end.

Remove four bolts holding the bearing carrier to the trailer arm, and then remove the bearing carrier.

Install the rear backing plate, making sure the slot for the RSL is facing upward.

Line up the backing plate with the four holes on the machine.

Install the rear caliper mounting bracket, making sure the curved portion of the bracket lines up with the curve on the box.

Insert and loosely tighten the bolts. When you get the portal on the machine, you can fully tighten them.

Install the portal to the backing plate with the provided thread locker. You'll apply it to the threads of the axle.

Put all the bolts in the portal and fully tighten them all at the same time.

Reinstall the radius arms. Make sure the top bolt uses the nut without the flange.

Tighten the portal to the backing plate.

Tighten the recessed nut to 110ft/lbs.

Install the recessed nut cap with the gasket lined up inside the nut.

Install the drain plugs to the portal.

Press the studs into the hub rotor assembly. There are several methods of going about that. You'll need to find the pattern you want. This may require a press.

Install the rotor assembly to the output shaft on the portal, and make sure the fins are facing toward the front of the machine

Put the castle nut back on and tighten it to at least 300 ft/lbs.

Keep turning it until the cotter pin hole is lined up. Install the cotter pin and bend the cotter pin around the nut.

Remove the factory adapter plate from the brake caliper, then remove the brake pads. Make sure the boots don't come loose from the caliper.

Place the mounting hardware that came with the adapter plate and the brake pads on the brake caliper. Don't tighten the screws until you mount the caliper.

Mount the brake caliper. Before you tighten it completely, make sure there is a little drag on the rotor.

You want the rotor and the pads to barely make contact. Then fully tighten the bolts.

Repeat these steps on the other rear side.

Then go back to the front.

Remove the brake line from the A-arm and let the brake caliper hang out of the way.

Install the front backing plate with the curved portion facing the back of the machine.

Install the ball joint in the lever to the backing plate.

Install the steering arm to the backing plate. Make sure the bolts are on the inside facing outward.

Apply the thread locker to the threads of the axles.

The portal, hub rotor assembly, castle nut, and drain plug steps are exactly the same as the rear except that you install the caliper mounting bracket while the portal is on the machine.

Install your tie rod and adjust it.

Place the drain pain under the machine and remove the brake line from the brake caliper.

Remove the hardware from the brake line.

Repeat those steps for the opposite side.

Remove the plug and banjo bolt on the master brake cylinder and pull the factory brake lines out.

Install the new brake lines to the banjo bolt starting with the passenger side, then reinstall the banjo bolt to the master cylinder.

Switch the driver and passenger side brake calipers.

Attach the brake lines and install the calipers to the new mounting bracket.

Remove the cap on the brake fluid reservoir and bleed the brakes. Start bleeding on the side farthest away from the master brake cylinder.

Repeat these steps on both sides.

Fill the portals with oil, then put your wheels and tires back on.

You're finished!