Installing 4" suspension kit on my own, good or bad idea?

[BLACKBEAUTY]

Like I said, I'm planning on getting a Rough Country 4" suspension lift. II plan on installing it in my garage with some help. I've never done this before, but I've heared the instructions make it easy enough. Is it doable in a weekend? Or is it a pain, I do have access to a full garage.

 

[Justshootme84]

It is very "doable", and I say, go for it!!! I posted a reply recently to a topic on lift install in the "How-to & Tech Articles" forum that may help you, although the R.C. instructions are fairly thorough. IF you have an air impact whrenc and two floor jacks, that will cut your time in half. Only thing I suggest you do beforehand is soak ALL of the suspension bolts with PB Blaster or a good penetrating oil a couple of days prior to removing the stock suspension. You'll also need a sturdy drill, and bits up to a 9/16" for the axle pivot drop brackets. IF you are short on "muscle" to loosen some of the bolts, ask a strong friend to help or get a 4-5 foot long piece of 2" I.D. pipe to act as a "cheater" on your ratchet or breakover or wrnch. Coupling two wrenches together "NASCAR-style" also works but expect to break a cheap wrench or two. IF you have any questions along the way, just post up and you'll get a prompt response, JSM84

 

[Justbust1n]

if your gona be a true Bronconian you need to know whats done and how it is done to your Bronco... go for it man and if you have any problems get on here and ask these guys are usually on here more on the weekends anyways... i think if its the same kinda kit i have ( mine is the 6) you have to drill to holes on your crossmember ( right under your engine) and youll need a floor jack and a chery picker .hummmmmmmmm and youll need to have a grinder for you radius arm brackets to get the stock ones off.... and youll have to redrill those out for the drop radius arms and thats it youll be riding high in no time..... ow if you got the rear end screws there gonna be a pain in the ass youll need a tourch to cut them i have gone threw alot of impact guns trying to get them babies off where the leaf spring connect to the rear end !!! so i usually just cut them off if they even look rusted .... goodluck hope i helped h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[MrTits]

dude, its very doable...you should try and get a couple buddies (you do have friends right?) to come out. the extra hands will make things easier for you. just dont forget the beer.....

 

[Yardape]

Friends are a great help, but if I can recommend something, keep the friends for the lifting and lining up. Do not have a few different people tightening bolts. Do it yourself or assign someone you trust. These can be easily overlooked by the famous "dude I thought you tightened that one" Pay attention to every bolt you install and after a few hundred miles, maybe even 1000 miles, go over every bolt and retorque them. this is extremely important. Do not fluff this off as "it can't happen to me"

 

[WasACop3436]

Definately can be done in a weekend. Definately need an air chisel or grinder to get the rivits off (took more time than the install). Also you will need an angle drill! I rented one and still had to cut about 1/3 off of a 1/2 inch bit to get the pivot drop bracket holes drilled. You will want to replace your pivot bushings and RA bushings while you have it apart. Lastly, loc-tite is your friend!

Chris

 

[sam2002]

Good subject for a post I swiped my own post from the another subject post on yours

I too am thinking of putting a lift on my truck

I think this fits in with your original post

here it is in quotes

good luck with your lift

"Thanks for all the opinions

The 33's fit under the fenders fine they always did ,,,,what I was looking for was a more aggressive look for my truck

sounds like a suspension lift is the way to go ,Ill start by doing my homework on it

looks like there is just the one rivet on each drop bracket? ....are these easier to chisel off or grind off?.....bracket gets replaced it seems like a grinder would do the job?

I dont have an air hammer and have never used one but the compressor I have would run one

Just thinking out loud here but wondering if there are other things that are likely to need to be replaced throughout this process?

126,000 miles on this rig and Ive only owned it for a few weeks so Im thinking right off the top of my head ,,,,cv joints come to mind as well as ball joints?,,,,after reading some of the posts from other topics on this forum Im also looking and wondering about those pesky little brake lines that seem to have some surface corrosion and wondering if they also will need to be replaced and if so this would be a good time to do those also?,,,,maybe there should be a little extra money in the kitty for some of these possible unforseen annoyances that may arise???????any opinions and what are your experiences ?,,,,anything you can share will be greatly appreciated

thanks again for the fine forum

Sam"

 

[Broncosaurus!]

Yes I would certainly recommend extra money for the things you see that should be replaced while youre in there. Another nice thing about having friends around is a vehicle to run to the parts store, and/or someone to run to the parts store for you while you continue wrenching.

Would a shop lift remove the need for the two floor jacks?

 

[Yardape]

A shop lift will work if it is a 4 point hoist, the ramp style will not. All you have to worry about with the hoist is that the whole front axle can be removed without the hoist getting in the way. Once its torn down you cant move the truck so be certain you have the clearance. Thats the way its done in a shop, I have yet to see a truck up on jackstands in a real mechanics shop.

 

[Justshootme84]

Access to a lift would be great, but you will need to support the weight of each axle while it's unbolted from the frame. I've seen some of the radius arms brackets bolted on and others riveted, often on the same rig. One side at least will likely have rivets. These can be drilled out, chiselled out, or ground off. I've had the fasted results using a hand-held 4"-4.5" grinder to remove the rivet head on the outside, then take a punch and small sledge to knock out each rivet. Some may need a small pilot hole drilled thru them to allow them to be punched out. Normal time is 1-hour per bracket, but it's taken up to 8 on some rigs. I recently installed a 4" RC lift on a 95 Bronco (some pics are at superford.org) in about 12 hours. 10 hours of that was working on the frontend. About two hours was needed to change the axle pivot bushings (pics also at SFO). Some parts may be stubborn to remove, and some bolts have Loctite from the factory. You'll need a puller for the Pitman arm, too.

While you're installing a suspension lift, it's often a good time to replace the rubber bushings. I like to use poly urethane, as it will last longer. Like mentioned, many of the bolts use Loctite, and should be re-torqued after 500 miles or so. Extended driveshafts and brake lines are not neceesary in most cases, but be sure to check for adequate spline engagement in the driveshafts at full extension. Worn u-joints will often cause bad vibrations after a lift, as will a worn DC joint or splines in the slip joint of the driveshaft. The rear axle pinion angle should beclost to zero, about 2* below the pinion yoke to allow for axle wrap upon take-off. JSM84

 

[stusainte]

The 4" is very duable I installed one on my 95 XLT by myself in a bought 3 full days take everones advise and soak al the bolts first and make sure you have all the right tools exspecally pitman arm puller I went out and bought an air compressor just for the job so helpfull Oh and make sure if your on your back have a good creeper

 

[pinson27]

Like I said, I'm planning on getting a Rough Country 4" suspension lift. II plan on installing it in my garage with some help. I've never done this before, but I've heared the instructions make it easy enough. Is it doable in a weekend? Or is it a pain, I do have access to a full garage.

A lift can be installed easily in a day,especially Rough Country.The help is going to be very,well.....helpfull.....BUT,be sure to work side by side ensuring that nothing-NOTHING,is overlooked or undertorqed as this could land you on your top at the worst time if you know what I mean.Not to mention,the knowledge that youll gain of your susp. and undercarriage will come in handy on the trail.3 things to remember.....cheater bar, wd40,air impact