ExplorerEB96's X under the knife

[JDraper]

Well, today I started putting the Superlift 4" lift into Karol's truck. Took me about 2 to 2.5 hours to completely gut the front suspension and drivetrain. Here are a few pix

Here's the front left side gutted

 

[JDraper]

Front right side:

 

[JDraper]

Front axle. Now I know why everyone hates the stock axle....It's lighter than the front axle in my Zuk fer cryin out loud!!!

 

[JDraper]

Gotta love that under truck storage

 

[JDraper]

Aaaaahhhh, relaxing after the work is done

 

[Muskrat]

Jeff, I'll give you $50.00 for the doors off that firebird

Nice work, but you need to finish the day with a cold Guinness

 

[Hokie]

No no no... One can NEVER go wrong with AmberBock! Are you going to get longer driveshafts or just reuse the stock ones? And are you doing SOA or lift springs in the rear? Definately keep up the good documenting! Also, does anyone know if the Superlift kit is reversible? (Not that I would want to take it out, but its always a nice to know you could if you had to)

 

[JDraper]

1. Me no do Guiness
2. U toucha Sue's Firebird, U answer to Sue. GOOD LUCK!!!
3. Stock rear driveshaft. Longer front driveshaft
4. Lift springs......for now.
5. It would be easily reversible. Everything is bolt up.

 

[ExplorerEB96]

Got the 1 Rated torsion bars finally!

Will be shipping them to you either today or tomorrow...!! hey you make tearing my explorer apart look like fun!!

Karol

btw.....if anyone wants to buy my B rated bars ....just ask Jeff.....well lesse how the rated 1 bars fit before you make a final deal.....

 

[Muskrat]

hehe, just bustin Jeff

 

[JDraper]

Well, more progress today. Spent about 4 hours working on it and got the axle back in and all the right side suspension except the tbars and the shocks . Superlift screwed up on the shock choice and they don't fit.

A couple of tips for those thinking about doing the install. The bolts that come to hold the new axle brackets to the frame are ok for the driver's side, but too short for the passenger's side. I had to buy a bolt about a 1/2" longer from the local hardware. Make sure you get a grade 5 bolt. Second item is the sway bar end links. There is a spacer that goes into the lower control arm that comes with the kit. It's too thick. You'll have to grind it down to about half thickness so that the end link does not rattle.

Now for some more pix. Here's the rear crossmember installed:

Pic #1

 

[JDraper]

Front Crossmember installed:

 

[JDraper]

Here's the right side hub, knuckle and LCA installed.

 

[JDraper]

Here's the swaybar end link installed:

 

[JDraper]

I had to relocate the vacuum control module for the front axle since the vacuum tubes weren't long enough to reach the new axle position. This is mounted on the right side of the radiator cross member. You can see in the shot that I only had to move it about 4" to the center of the truck.

 

[JDraper]

Now the problems. Here is the shock rubbing the axle.

 

[JDraper]

Rub #2

 

[JDraper]

Now, here's why the shocks rub. This is a pix of the stock shock and the Superlift shock. You can see that the stem on the stock shock is considerably longer, allowing for axle clearance.

 

[Hokie]

Originally posted by JDraper
Well, more progress today. Spent about 4 hours working Make sure you get a grade 5 bolt.

Only grade 5? I would think everything should be grade 8 (or 10.9 Metric)

 

[JDraper]

Originally posted by HokieBert
Only grade 5? I would think everything should be grade 8 (or 10.9 Metric)

Nope. Grade 5. Grade 5 may have a lower tensile strength than grade 8, but it's elastic yield point is higher, meaning that it's not as strong in pure tension, but under shock load, it won't snap off as readily