Hartman's front suspension upgrades!

[Hartman]

Actually I think it's 75, but yes they are heavier than normal because they are wider than normal.

 

[Jefe]

Jefe, unfortunately I think my whole rack is going to need replacing soon I think. Do you have any experience in doing this?

Thats one of the reasons I did the SAS I had a lot of play in the R&P and heard they were a pain in the rear to replace.

I'm not being easy on it either, as my wheels weigh 80 lbs. a piece w/tires.

Dang . . thats almost as heavy as my tires w/ rims. I've just got a lot more rubber.

 

[X24]

According to the mechanic that put mine in it takes them nearly a day to do a rack, but who know's how true that is...

 

[EXRob]

80 lbs! Is that normal for 20's? That seems way too much for a V-6 to be pulling.

Believe it or not my 17" Cobra R's with Toyo Proxes 255/60/17 weigh 60-65lbs!!

 

[Hartman]

Check it out, smoothed out calipers painted red. Not sure if I like the red, I may paint them gray instead.

 

[X24]

How did you smooth out the calipers?

 

[Hartman]

I just used a flapwheel on my grinder. Cleaned them up pretty fast.

 

[etc]

Nice, I gotta replace all that garbage soon too.

 

[99SportX]

That looks awesome

 

[Jefe]

According to the mechanic that put mine in it takes them nearly a day to do a rack, but who know's how true that is...

Shoot, it only took me 10 mins to get mine out . . . with the help of Mr. Sawzall.

Seriously though. Once you remove the inner tie rods and steering shaft it should only take you 10-15 minutes of playing tetris to figure out how to get it out of there.

 

[expo5.0]

my wheels weigh under 25 lbs a piece... tires can't weight that much. i'm really surprised teh cobra package is that heavy. not surprised at all that hartmans are that heavy, but they look great.

 

[Hartman]

I've set aside this Saturday afternood and all of Sunday for this project. I'm scheduling an alignment for Monday. Hopefully things will go smoothly, although I know I'll have problems.

 

[99SportX]

Good luck man. Hopefully you won't have any major problems. Are you dropping out the front axle too? Sounds like a busy weekend even if you aren't.

 

[Hartman]

Yes I am dropping the axle. I'm hoping I don't run into any problems such as the truck not moving when I take the axle out.

 

[X24]

So does this mean your truck will be lower on monday or are you only doing this to eliminate the parts and weight?

 

[Hartman]

No my truck won't be any lower. I'm just taking out parts and replacing them with new basically.

 

[Hartman]

A few hours ago I had some free time and I decided to remove all the easy stuff on the suspension so I didn't have to do it tomorrow. I got all the brake stuff off, stocks, and sway bar off. Those came off pretty quickly so I decided I'd try to disconnect the upper control arm from the knuckle. With a little force, the pinch bolt came out, and with a little hammering, the balljoint seperated, which surprised me because I didn't expect it to come out without a fight. I figured I was on a roll so I grabbed the ole gear puller and stuck it on the tie rod. That, too, came off very easily. So things are going pretty good right now. I should be well on my way tomorrow, although I know I have the lower balljoints to deal with. Also, I was taking a look at the axle, and it looks like the mounting points are really in tight places, and I'm not sure how I'm gonna get to them, but I'll figure it out.

Pics when pics are worth taking.

 

[99SportX]

Seems like you are off to a good start. I personally would find the front axle intimidating. How do you support it when removing the bolts?

 

[Jefe]

Seems like you are off to a good start. I personally would find the front axle intimidating. How do you support it when removing the bolts?

The front axle housing is rather light, since its aluminum. Just put a floor jack underneath and take out the three bolts. Very easy.

 

[Hokie]

I took the front drive shaft out of my X. i get about 30 more miles to the tank.

Did you do a 2wd spindle swap like Hartman?

Is it possible to drive on a 4x4 spindle without the cv in there? I wouldn't think it would be.