Lift Kits?

[nvycrmn]

right now i have a 4" rancho lift kit on my 01 expedition. i am running 365 65 r16 (i think that computes to about 35's). i want a 6 or 8in lift kit but the companies i have talked to dont make one. fabtech makes a 6in but it wont fit on AWD expeditions. any ideas???

[JOE]

the problem with lifting a awd truck is the front drive shaft will be on a severe angle and cause a drive line vibration. there are a few ways around this i will research what off the shelf parts are available for your truck if you would please post back year make model engine size. and then we can find the best way of accommodating your needs.

[Bigreen]

Yup...some of the Fabtech 6" kits will vibrate, some will run just fine...just luck of the draw. The upgrade for them would be a CV front driveshaft (probably another $650 ontop of the kit).

I recommend the RCD 5" kit being that its not quite up to that 6" borderline range, as well as it including nitrogen charged Bilstein shocks right out of the box (nice ride quality upgrade). Its even cheaper in some instances.

Contact Brian (D V 8) on here...hes had the Fabtech 6" + 3" body lift, and then took it off and got an RCD 5" from me; he would be the best person to get the best opinion from hands on personal preference.

- Jesse

[BIG TRUCK]

haha just posted this in another thread refering him to you Jesse

and for the record RCD over the Fabtech kit anyday

[BIG TRUCK]

oh and another good question do you or are you planning on getting gears

if you do what ratio

[bg_02_F250]

^^^^ I second talking to Jesse, he really help me out!!!! I owe him for the way my truck looks now!!!


BG

[8upwitHDs]

yepper Jessie is da man.

[nvycrmn]

its a 2001 expedition with the 5.4.
what if i switch out the transfer case and the comp? you think that will do the trick? not to sound like a retard but what is the difference in the front end setup from AWD and 4WD?

[COTTS4x4]

Straight axle it and go big time!

[nvycrmn]

yeah but will that solve my AWD problem? i would love to go bigger. i think 10" would be just about right. i want a good truck that i can mud with but still need to be able to drive (not as daily of course) long distances.

[GATOR CREW]

Yep, JESSE is DA MAN!!!!! :headbang:

[Bigreen]

yeah but will that solve my AWD problem? i would love to go bigger. i think 10" would be just about right. i want a good truck that i can mud with but still need to be able to drive (not as daily of course) long distances.


If you want 10" of suspension...then you need a solid axle...if you will settle for something like 8-9" of combined lift (body and suspension), then you can get by with one of the above stated lift kits + a 3" body lift.


If it were mine, I would solid axle it (D44 sounds best for you, or maybe a D60 if you want to go all out the first time and not have to think twice), as well as swap out the T-case for a BW4406 non-AWD, from an F-150.

You could also do that with the IFS though, but it would be more work to do all that than just get a new CV front driveshaft.

[nvycrmn]

so if i go 8in, i need to go about another inch in suspension then a 3" body. think i should still go with the solid axle?

[BIG TRUCK]

or just add a bodylift to what you have now and run some 37x12.50

[GATOR CREW]

:iagree:

[nvycrmn]

need to fab brackets for brushguard then. 365's are roughly 35's correct? dv8, what are you runnin on your expy for lift and tires?

[Thermo]

If you look at the Rocky Mountain site, they have a 10" lift for your truck. Granted, it is a bit pricy ($2500 plus install costs). I haven't heard anything bad about the kit. Other than that, you are looking at a lot of custom fabrication to get what you are after. I second the solid axle conversion. The IFS will not like having the bigger tires on it. I'm pushing the limits with my 37's.

As for converting your truck back to a 2wd setup like the 97-98 trucks, you would need to get the transfer case from a 97-98 truck, get a new computer (from a 97-98) and then you will also need to get a new switch for in the dash and add a few wires to let the computer be aware of the 2wd position. It all has to do with how the transfer case is mechanically constructed. So, no easy way out of it.

Chris "Thermo" Coleman and Nukie, the radioactive 97 X

[GATOR CREW]

365's =34.7" to be exact



online coversion site....

http://www.onlineconversion.com/tire_size_conversion.htm

[nvycrmn]

the only thing i am worried about with the 10" is how much vibration i will get out of the rearend. think i would have to change my springs. so if i go any higher and put 37's on there, you suggest 4.56 gears in the rear? and i saw a set of tires the other day 315's that looked just as big as my 365's....any reason?

[Bigreen]

If you look at the Rocky Mountain site, they have a 10" lift for your truck. Granted, it is a bit pricy ($2500 plus install costs). I haven't heard anything bad about the kit.


What kit are you talking about? I dont see a 10" on Rocky mountain.


The only ones that i know of anyways are whiplash and full-throttle...ive heard, and said MANY bad things about each. Some being poor design, some being just the fact that the factory components cant handle a tire the size that most would run at 10"


The biggest tire i recommend on that frontend is 38s...which would put you at 9" lift height to clear them with minimal trimming.

[BIG TRUCK]

my current setup is a 5" RCD kit and bilsten shocks w/ 3'' BL and 37x13.50x18 toyos
rides 100 times better than the old setup

6'' Fabtech w/ their crappy shocks also 3'' BL and 38x14.50x16 Nitto Mud Grapplers

[BIG TRUCK]

Hers a pic of the old Fabtech setup and the 38's

http://www.virtualford.org/photopost/data/3/HPIM0736.JPG

[nvycrmn]

that is the look i am goin for right there. but i have AWD so they dont make a 6in that will work on my truck. but that right there is what im lookin for.

[Thermo]

Bigreen, RockyMountain used to sell a 10" lift for the Expeditions/navigators. I remember it because it was the only kit available that would work with the air ride suspensions also. They may have stopped making it. Who knows. I found it a bit excessive anyways, especially with the known issues with any IFS truck.

nvycrmn, the other option that you can look into is getting a fab shop to extend your Rancho kit some. At a minimum you would need them to add some to the halo beneath the front differential, drop the bracket for the torsion bars under the driver's seat (both sides) and extend the front spindles some. You would then also need new springs for the rear to give you the lift back there. Having the brackets for the rear control arms extended would be recommended, but not absolutely necessary (all depends on how much more lift you are talking about). Then you would obviously have to get new shocks too. You will more then likely also have to look into longer driveshafts because of the additional lift. 6" is the max that you can use the factory driveshafts on.

As for tires, I can make 225's taller than 365's, it is all a matter of the second and third numbers in the tire size. The third number is pretty obvious. In your case, the R16 is for a 16" rim. The first number is the tread width (in millimeters). The second number is the height of the sidewall expressed as a percentage of the tread width. So, to use your tires and the tires I used to run as examples, your 365/65R16's are 34.7" tall by 14.5" wide where my 315/75R16's were 34.6" tall, but only 12.5" wide. It is all in the math of metric tires. That is why a lot of the larger tires are in english units because it makes figuring out which tire is bigger a lot easier.

If you need more ideas, just hollar.

Chris "Thermo" Coleman and Nukie, the radioactive 97 X

P.S. Running really wide tires is going to be a real limiter in your case if you are having problems with a lift. Most people have problems running a 35x12.5" tire on their truck with 6" of lift (total) while I am getting away with 37x12.5's on only a 4" lift using an 8" rim. Going with wider tread and/or wider rims can be a show stopper. So, keep that in mind.

[nvycrmn]

if i do go with the 5 or 6in lift with 3in of body, how will that affect my exhaust? for cosmetic reasons (to keep it flush under the bumper) will i have to remove the brackets and have it mounted up higher?

[Thermo]

nvycrmn, most likely you will end up having an exhaust shop bend you two new pipes from the muffler back (assuming you have dual exhaust) and then weld them into the truck in the new, higher location. You can try bending the piping a little bit to compensate, but I thing you will end up causing more damage than good in the end. It will be a few extra bucks, but in the long run, I think it is the only viable option.

Granted, could always do what I did for awhile and simply cut the exhaust off right after the muffler. Sounded great, had a little bit more power, but the VA State inspection place wasn't too happy as they wanted the exhaust to exit beyond the passenger area (worried about getting exhaust into the vehicle, but I know my vehicle is water tight as I have had water up to the pin stripes on the side of the truck). C'est la vie. Gotta see what the local rules are. That will most likely be your limiting point.

Chris "Thermo" Coleman and Nukie, the radioactive 97 X

[nvycrmn]

well hopefully i can find one that isnt too expensive. it cost me enough on the pipes alone. i have a nice deep roar that i would like to keep.

[Thermo]

nvycrmn, it should only cost you about $75 to have a shop cut off the current pipes, bend some new pipes up where you need them. Now, this is assuming you don't have something like 304 exhaust or something like that. Then you will be paying a bit more, but this is a 1 hour job if that. IT is a really straight forward thing to get done.

Chris "Thermo" Coleman and Nukie, the radioactive 97 X

[Bigreen]

and extend the front spindles some

I would never recommend that at all, being they are cast spindles....serious structural concern there on a MAJOR component.


nvycrmn, the other option that you can look into is getting a fab shop to extend your Rancho kit some. At a minimum you would need them to add some to the halo beneath the front differential, drop the bracket for the torsion bars under the driver's seat (both sides) and extend the front spindles some. You would then also need new springs for the rear to give you the lift back there. Having the brackets for the rear control arms extended would be recommended, but not absolutely necessary (all depends on how much more lift you are talking about). Then you would obviously have to get new shocks too. You will more then likely also have to look into longer driveshafts because of the additional lift. 6" is the max that you can use the factory driveshafts on.


Sounds like a completely new lift....might as well sell the rancho and get some money out of it to put towards a new lift; rather than a totally custom setup that will be impossible to get replacement parts for.


If you want the 6" Fabtech and 3" body...its not impossible, actually quite possible.

[nvycrmn]

well i just found out the RCD kit wont work with the AWD....getting irritated

[JOE]

how about an indexing ring for the t case, then your drive shaft can still spin without a vibration. it is not that big a deal to use another kit and fix the vibration issue. and nothing wrong with a body lift also.

[Bigreen]

well i just found out the RCD kit wont work with the AWD....getting irritated

Dont believe it.

[Thermo]

Bigreen, I never said that it was an easy and/or cheap fix by extending the Rancho kit, but that would atleast give him what he wants. As for the extending of the spindle assemblies, I agree that it isn't the best of ideas. But, if properly welded, the cast can be manipulated to give him what he wants with the needed strength. It is that or have someone fab up some custom spindle assemblies. But, for the cost of just the spindle assemblies, might as well do a SAS conversion.

It all depends on what one is willing to spend and what they are wanting the vehicle to do. Seen some pretty high trucks that I wouldn't trust my life to walk under them.

He could try installing the front part of a 6" kit from an F-150 and then since he already has the 4" kit from Rancho on the rear, he could possibly get away with simply sliding in some 6" lift coil springs for the rear. That should keep the rear geometry good and give him the front pieces he needs for a taller lift. The big question is still how the AWD system will handle the added height. I haven't played with the 99-02 trucks enough to say Yes or No to a question like that.

Chris "Thermo" Coleman and Nukie, the radioactive 97 X