New to the scene, but not to the game.

[joney]

C class. I’d much rather smack one in the rv style class c, for sure.

View attachment 441063

Nice looking ! A shame to have a dumb coyote mess that up. LOL on my mixup.

 

[PoweredByMB]

To avoid the confusion here's my C-Class lol

 

[PoweredByMB]

So Danny your stock calipers still fit? I was going to pull mine off to test fit them before I bought them, but I was under the impression the calipers were necessary

 

[Fix4Dirt]

To avoid the confusion here's my C-Class lol

View attachment 441087

slick!

 

[joney]

To avoid the confusion here's my C-Class lol

View attachment 441087

Gotcha. Sure is pretty!

 

[DemonMudder]

To avoid the confusion here's my C-Class lol

View attachment 441087

Not my style, sad to hear it the coyote did some damage but dang am I jealous of the mileage still lol

 

[PoweredByMB]

Haha thanks guys. Yeah small cars aren't typically my style either, but I commute a long distance to work and needed the fuel mileage.

Those control arms look really beefy. I might give those a try. I've been researching upgraded ball joints to handle the 35's that are going to be going on it. I am absolutely baffled that they don't have boots. I would have figured the dirt would get into the grease and create pseudo-sandpaper that would wear the crap out of them.

The tech in me is screaming to go ahead and upgrade all the suspension while it's out, but the impatient and frugal side of me just wants to put it together as is, and deal with upgrades later. I'm kinda leaning towards the latter. I'd honestly rather get it all together, see how it sits, assess what needs to be done then so I can optimize the choices I make for upgrades. Besides, it's not a daily so the existing parts on it aren't going to see much use until the project is more near completion.

 

[CDW6212R]

So Danny your stock calipers still fit? I was going to pull mine off to test fit them before I bought them, but I was under the impression the calipers were necessary

The stock 2nd gen calipers will work on the later versions with the 12" rotors. I did that swap in 2006 on my 99 work truck. The Sport Trac and 01 Sport got those first, those spindles locate the calipers outboard 1/2". But you don't have to swap the calipers, the pads are basically the same size, so the earlier calipers and pads are actually better, more pad and rotor choices, and often cheaper.

 

[DannyW]

So Danny your stock calipers still fit? I was going to pull mine off to test fit them before I bought them, but I was under the impression the calipers were necessary

They fit. You need the 12" rotors because the bolt holes for the caliper bracket are a bit further from center. The pads would sit with 1/3 gripping air.
Guess when I found that tidbit out..
From the very bottom of the RC Web site...

NOTES - IMPORTANT
17in or larger wheels are REQUIRED.
Does NOT fit 11.25" rotors found on some 98-03 models.
Does NOT fit models with 31 spline rear axle.
Models with 11.25" rotors must upgrade to 12.1" rotors.

And the bit about 17" wheels scared me, since I just put on 5 new 16" raceline bead locks.
But they cleared fine.

 

[DannyW]

Haha thanks guys. Yeah small cars aren't typically my style either, but I commute a long distance to work and needed the fuel mileage.

Those control arms look really beefy. I might give those a try. I've been researching upgraded ball joints to handle the 35's that are going to be going on it. I am absolutely baffled that they don't have boots. I would have figured the dirt would get into the grease and create pseudo-sandpaper that would wear the crap out of them.

The tech in me is screaming to go ahead and upgrade all the suspension while it's out, but the impatient and frugal side of me just wants to put it together as is, and deal with upgrades later. I'm kinda leaning towards the latter. I'd honestly rather get it all together, see how it sits, assess what needs to be done then so I can optimize the choices I make for upgrades. Besides, it's not a daily so the existing parts on it aren't going to see much use until the project is more near completion.

No grease in these.
All Teflon or something, with a type of wiper ring. They stay Shiny.

 

[CDW6212R]

Most factory 16" wheels will fit the 12" rotors, I've had 13 of the 2nd gen Limited wheels on all four of my 2nd gen trucks, the 99 with the 12" rotors. Some odd 16" wheels have less clearance, the Sport Trac wheels for instance did fit those brakes, but they wouldn't clear my custom 12.75" rotors on my 98 Mountaineer. But all 16's should fit the OEM 12" brakes easily.

 

[PoweredByMB]

Well I'm certainly glad to hear that about the calipers. That saves me about $150. I've done a tone of research here on this build, but nothing was ever definitive about the calipers. I was going to buy them just to be safe, but if I don't need them that's even better. Now I just need the pads, rotors and spring perches for the SOA and I'll be in business

No grease in these.
All Teflon or something, with a type of wiper ring. They stay Shiny.

That's really interesting. I wonder if the ball itself is stainless steel. If not I'd worry about it rusting if it sat to long. I actually may try these out and see how they do.

Edit: HOLY #$%&!!! I didn't realize they were $700 lmao after looking closer they look like really good quality, for that price they better be, but you know what they say; you gotta pay to play. I may look towards these later in the build if I decide to stay IFS long term. Definitely like that long travel kit they have even though the price made me cringe lol

 

[DannyW]

Well I'm certainly glad to hear that about the calipers. That saves me about $150. I've done a tone of research here on this build, but nothing was ever definitive about the calipers. I was going to buy them just to be safe, but if I don't need them that's even better. Now I just need the pads, rotors and spring perches for the SOA and I'll be in business


That's really interesting. I wonder if the ball itself is stainless steel. If not I'd worry about it rusting if it sat to long. I actually may try these out and see how they do.

Edit: HOLY #$%&!!! I didn't realize they were $700 lmao after looking closer they look like really good quality, for that price they better be, but you know what they say; you gotta pay to play. I may look towards these later in the build if I decide to stay IFS long term. Definitely like that long travel kit they have even though the price made me cringe lol

Yep, that was a tough pill at 7bills. But after busting my 3rd ball joint I decided uniball was the way to go. 35" 10 ply Nitto's are really heavy. Add forged steelies on there and ball joints shake and quiver in fear.
These UCA's are fully boxed, like 20 lbs each.
While I don't go at it to get 4 wheels in the air ( nod to @DintDobbs lol) the rig does get pushed pretty hard.
I guess it's the old "buy once, cry once" deal. Or at the very least, cry less?

 

[DannyW]

Yep, that was a tough pill at 7bills. But after busting my 3rd ball joint I decided uniball was the way to go. 35" 10 ply Nitto's are really heavy. Add forged steelies on there and ball joints shake and quiver in fear.
These UCA's are fully boxed, like 20 lbs each.
While I don't go at it to get 4 wheels in the air ( nod to @DintDobbs lol) the rig does get pushed pretty hard.
I guess it's the old "buy once, cry once" deal. Or at the very least, cry less?

Oh yeah, I believe it's stainless.

 

[DintDobbs]

@DannyW Now I feel targeted, ha ha! I have 15x10 steelies (and YES, they are stanking heavy!) and in fact those are the reason that I went for the Superlift. I had already paid slightly less than $2000 for new wheels and tires, and didn't want to buy them again just to clear slightly bigger brake rotors that didn't need replaced, as well as lose tire meat. 2" of sidewall is a lot when you knock around like I do. For what it's worth, I had the Superlift installed while replacing upper and lower ball joints and tie rod ends with MOOG, did the front hub/bearings with Timken, and a few thousand (totally, uh, "gentle") miles later, they're still hangin' in there just fine. Others say MOOG is hit or miss, but I'm only running 33's, so take this advice with the proverbial grain of salt.

If you're already running wheels that will clear it, the Rough Country is all-around the better option, plus the upgraded brakes will help with the fat rubbers that beast has got! But DON'T FORGET the front drive shaft, ha ha!

 

[DannyW]

@DannyW Now I feel targeted, ha ha! I have 15x10 steelies (and YES, they are stanking heavy!) and in fact those are the reason that I went for the Superlift. I had already paid slightly less than $2000 for new wheels and tires, and didn't want to buy them again just to clear slightly bigger brake rotors that didn't need replaced, as well as lose tire meat. 2" of sidewall is a lot when you knock around like I do. For what it's worth, I had the Superlift installed while replacing upper and lower ball joints and tie rod ends with MOOG, did the front hub/bearings with Timken, and a few thousand (totally, uh, "gentle") miles later, they're still hangin' in there just fine. Others say MOOG is hit or miss, but I'm only running 33's, so take this advice with the proverbial grain of salt.

If you're already running wheels that will clear it, the Rough Country is all-around the better option, plus the upgraded brakes will help with the fat rubbers that beast has got! But DON'T FORGET the front drive shaft, ha ha!

Just replaced my driveshaft with that beast from RC, another fairly high cost piece

 

[PoweredByMB]

@DintDobbs I am going ti wait to replace the driveshafts until I swap transfer cases to make sure I get the correct length. I don't know if the 4405 AWD case uses the same length as the 1354m or 4406m. I'm thinking of going with the 1354 instead of the 4406 as it seems to be a more straight forward swap with less heart ache. Anyone got options on the 1354 vs the 4406?

 

[CDW6212R]

@DintDobbs I am going ti wait to replace the driveshafts until I swap transfer cases to make sure I get the correct length. I don't know if the 4405 AWD case uses the same length as the 1354m or 4406m. I'm thinking of going with the 1354 instead of the 4406 as it seems to be a more straight forward swap with less heart ache. Anyone got options on the 1354 vs the 4406?

Hunt the BW 4406 thread from Aaron's 98 Mountaineer project. Most of the needed details are in that thread, the 4406 is a more liked choice for the V8 than the 1354. I think much of that is how common the 4406 was, and that the two driveshafts can be had and swapped without modifications. Altering a drive shaft has become very expensive, I hope to do my 6-speed project and first have one front shaft custom made(do the rear later).

The V8 and V6 use different length drive shafts, the front is close but not quite, the rears also have different ends. For the 4406 swap you can use the shafts from two different F150 engine options. That's in that 4406 swap thread.

 

[PoweredByMB]

Hunt the BW 4406 thread from Aaron's 98 Mountaineer project. Most of the needed details are in that thread, the 4406 is a more liked choice for the V8 than the 1354. I think much of that is how common the 4406 was, and that the two driveshafts can be had and swapped without modifications. Altering a drive shaft has become very expensive, I hope to do my 6-speed project and first have one front shaft custom made(do the rear later).

The V8 and V6 use different length drive shafts, the front is close but not quite, the rears also have different ends. For the 4406 swap you can use the shafts from two different F150 engine options. That's in that 4406 swap thread.

I'll check that out thanks. Definitely lots of good info around on swaps which is very helpful. My question is mostly related to the performance, endurance, pros and cons etc between the 1354 and 4406. I definitely want a manual case so the 1354e is out of the question. I just wanted something I could beat the $%^& out of long term that also offers good H/L ratios and hopefully doesn't have the nightmare of the speed sensor issue I saw in 410Fortune and others 4406 swap threads. I'd like my speedometer to still work lol I figured the 1354 would be as close to plug-n-play as you could get for the speed sensor since it come in the explorer and ranger.

 

[CDW6212R]

The VSS you need is not in the BW 4406's after 1998, the bigger trucks had that change in 1999, Explorers changed that in 1998. So watch for a 1998 or older F150 with the manual 4406. The Expeditions and Navigators would all have the A4WD version with the switch on the dash, and a shift motor on the back of the TC.