Wanted 2-3' lift kit.

[Texasryan]

I was wondering about how much a 2-3' lift kit would cost.
And i was wondering how i could do it with 2 people?
Also, there are suspension and Body lift, and i was thinking of a suspension lift.
How would i go about doing that?
Help will be much appreciated!
Thank you!

 

[rickybobby]

you need to start with a search, this topic has been beaten nearly to death with countless answers to your questions

 

[Texasryan]

Oh sorry, Thank you!

 

[MountainMonkey]

2" coil spacers - 100$
153 warrior shackles - 100$
add a leaf - 50-100$

ussualy available in a package on ebay.(might not find shackles on ebay)
and really you can do the entire lift install in an afternoon by yourself with a jack, a big wrench (1 1/8 i think) to remove springs, and a few smaller wrenchs for the leafs and shackles. and a spray can of liquid wrench or something similar will be your best freind.

 

[MountainMonkey]

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Ford-Explore...=Year:1993|Model:Explorer&hash=item3cbca17744


http://www.ebay.ca/itm/1-25-LIFT-RE...=Year:1993|Model:Explorer&hash=item19d0c65f35

less then 200$ on ebay and you got your lift.

 

[Texasryan]

Just buy those 2 parts and then i can lift my truck?

 

[MountainMonkey]

Just buy those 2 parts and then i can lift my truck?

yup thats all you need. get them and a 3" body lift and you can make your explorer bigish for cheap.

i had the same setup for awhile and i found that my x went EVERYWHERE i wanted to go.

 

[MountainMonkey]

and if you go for a kit like this it would be a good idea to get leafspring retainer clips (like 5 or 10$?) to make sure the add a leafs stay aligned with the rest of the leaf pack.

 

[Texasryan]

Hmmm, Alright thanks! I'll look into it! That is really helpful. I didn't wanna spend that much money and all those links are priced in my range. So that's a plus! Hopefully, i can scrape the money together and buy them piece by piece with each paycheck i get!

 

[MountainMonkey]

if you go for it i would get the set with the coil spacers and add a leafs first. it says its a complete lift but i've found the add a leafs dont actually give you 2" of lift. but it still looks ok with the rear sitting a little low untill you can get the shackles.

 

[Naasau]

Don't forget anti-sieze and shiny new bolts on the rear leafs. I don't know about everyone else, but every time I've had to take a set of springs off of an explorer, I've ended up saws-alling through the bolts to get things apart.

Maybe I'm just unlucky, but better to be safe and have new parts than beat up old ones.

 

[Maniak]

We put on a Duff 2.5" full suspension kit on our X years ago. It was two of us. The Axle pivot bushings and removing the rivets on the axle drop brackets slowed us down the most. It would be much faster now as back then we were both afraid of grinders.

You can even get a 3.5" kit from Duff now. IIRC they run about $700 for the full kit which includes stuff for the rear. I might be low on the prices now.. Been a long time since I looked at prices on lift "kits".

If your going to Wheel your rig and want the most flex possible on the rear, one of the tricks is to not use the rear spring "clamps". This is assuming you removed/disconnected the rear sway bar when wheeling.

You can have a local spring shop put on spring guides instead of putting on the spring clamps. This will allow the springs to separate under droop and stay aligned. Think of it as a u-bolt welded to the bottom spring facing up..

You can see the springs pulling apart in this pic which gives us more droop. You can also see the spring guide. At one point we had a bolt at the top of the guide but haven't had it in there for years..

Spring speration by maniak_az, on Flickr

~Mark

 

[MountainMonkey]

might have just bin me, but i had problems keaping the aal in line with the rest of the leaf pack so i used sping clamps to keep them straight. mine kept going sideways and nearly rubbing on my rear tires.

 

[Naasau]

Almost everyone that I've seen talking about the AAL's have the same issue Monkey; so fear not, you are not alone.

 

[MountainMonkey]

Almost everyone that I've seen talking about the AAL's have the same issue Monkey; so fear not, you are not alone.

good to know

 

[jd4242]

Almost everyone that I've seen talking about the AAL's have the same issue Monkey; so fear not, you are not alone.

i had this happen to me the other day wile just jacking my truck up and twisting it all around.scared the crap out of me!!!!

to the OP
personally i would do the body lift first,your gain clearance and im sure your find out down the road you want a better or more suspension lift

 

[Maniak]

good to know

I know your not "supposed' to weld on springs since it can change the temper, but you could get some u-bolts and have them welded to the AAL so the open end is facing up. That will keep them from splaying out.

I welded a set before and didn't break the spring.. You could always take the AAL to a spring shop or a real welding shop and have them welded on.

~Mark

 

[jd4242]

I know your not "supposed' to weld on springs since it can change the temper, but you could get some u-bolts and have them welded to the AAL so the open end is facing up. That will keep them from splaying out.

I welded a set before and didn't break the spring.. You could always take the AAL to a spring shop or a real welding shop and have them welded on.

~Mark

Wile we our on this topic,have you ever head of people taking the overload out the spring pack and welding the overload spring to the perches and just making the aal and the rest of the springs into one pack? A jeep guy told me this,said it helps with axle wrap

 

[MountainMonkey]

I know your not "supposed' to weld on springs since it can change the temper, but you could get some u-bolts and have them welded to the AAL so the open end is facing up. That will keep them from splaying out.

I welded a set before and didn't break the spring.. You could always take the AAL to a spring shop or a real welding shop and have them welded on.

~Mark

the clamps i used i got at lordco and they called them "leaf spring retainer clips" there similar to those round pipe clamps that tighten down with a screw driver but these are rectangle. no welding required.

 

[Maniak]

the clamps i used i got at lordco and they called them "leaf spring retainer clips" there similar to those round pipe clamps that tighten down with a screw driver but these are rectangle. no welding required.

Those clamp the springs together. It you wheel the truck you want to let the spring seperate to give you more flex. It its a street vehicle then the clamp is the way to go.

~Mark