James Duff 2.5

[kona_mtb]

I'm looking into getting the james duff 2.5 inch suspension lift for my 1992 explorer xl. My question is that im on a limited budget so getting a shop to put the kit in would not be feasible. So is the installation mainly straight? Do you need to alter any other components to fit the lift? From what I have read it seems that the only difficult part is removing the 8 rivets to remove the old suspension? once that is off is it just bolt in the new suspension? Do you need to buy anything that is not included in the lift kit?

If anyone has done this lift kit themselve and would be okay with me asking them a few questions let me know

 

[Maniak]

Its been years since I installed the Duff lift, but yes it was straight forwards. Hardest part was pulling the rivots But in our case we already had the factory Rivots on the RA brackets replaced with bolts when the RA bushings were changed.

It took 2 of us a weekend to do it.. It wasn't that bad. Once we got a rhythm going things went fast. Replacing the Axle pivot bushings gave us a fit for a while and we ended up reusing the factory u-bolts for the rear axle.. Otherwise I can't think of anything..

~Mark

 

[Flip4ford]

for the 2.5 you should be ok-- the brake lines might --and that is a might -- have to be extended-- but probably not.

 

[Maniak]

I forgot to mention that. the brake lines were tight on ours.. I had to get extended ones right away but that was simple..

Oh yea.. you WILL need an alighment

~Mark

 

[kona_mtb]

okay cool. Then in the future if I looked at doing a 3" body lift would I then need to do more extensions? Would this body lift then be more difficult than the suspension lift?

 

[Maniak]

Actually, I"ve never done a body lift. I don't think I've even ever replaced a body mount so I can't say how hard it really is. From what I've read though, those bolts are normally rusted in unless its in a really dry climate (like Arizona or New Mexico).

I do know that with a 3" body lift you will need the steering extension, bumper relocation brackets and you will need to lower the radiator too.

Don't forget, Duff makes a 3.5" lift kit which is just the 2.5" kit with longer springs. It is still align-able.

~Mark

 

[kona_mtb]

It is still align-able.

~Mark

What do you mean. I have done some work on vehicles but never do anything major like a lift so I don't want to fool around with much other than changing out the suspension. With the 3.5 would I need to alter any other components like moving the radiator or extending anything other than brake lines

 

[Maniak]

You were talking about the Duff 2.5" suspension lift at first and then you mentioned a 3" body lift. The 3" body lift does require relocation brackets etc so your steering shaft will reach and the radiator is in the right spot and the bumpers are in the correct spot.

With a suspension lift (Duff kit) you get drop brackets for the Radius Arm mounts and 2 new Axle pivot brackets. These allow the front end to be aligned after you put on the longer springs from the kit. The 2.5" lift and the 3.5" lift kit from James duff use the same parts up front Except the 3.5" has longer springs. When I said it was align-able I meant that even though the 2.5" drop brackets will have 3.5" lift springs you can still get it aligned. If you were to put on 6" lift springs you would not be able to align the front of the truck.

As for the rear suspension, I don't know what if anything Duff does different between the 2.5" and the 3.5" lift kits. On the 2.5" kit it was just an Add A Leaf kit.

~Mark