Lowering a ‘99, shocks and rear sway bar and split collets install
I finally decided to lower my ‘99 after asking numerous questions here, I want to thank Bill Kemp and others for their help, encouragement and suggestions.
I purchased the lowering kit from Explorer Express (http://www.explorerexpress.com/catalog/x-suspension.html ). I know some say you can get parts cheaper ( but, by the time you purchase the camber adjusters, the Locktite and factor the time involved chasing parts in, the money saved is not much anyway ), further, I really like that company and want to support it; I also purchased their rear sway bar kit as well as their split collets, and 4 Edelbrock ISA shocks ( http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive/ias_shocks.html ) for lowered Explorers. Total cost with UPS shipping and insurance to my door was $769.79.
The “Brown Santa” truck arrived with my goodies and I immediately tore into the box and perused the detailed installation instructions and determined that all the components were present and accounted for.
All bolts and nuts on the truck that were involved in this project were thoroughly sprayed with Liquid Wrench and allowed to stand overnight then reapplied first thing in the morning, before the installation began.
I decided to do the rear first, since it was more involved and the lowering blocks were a fixed size ( 1 3/8”; and the front drop could be adjusted ). The truck was jacked up with a floor jack under the differential ( carefully avoiding contact with the rear cover to avoid causing leaks ) and jack stands were placed under the frame just in front of front spring mount with the wheels about 6 inches off the ground. Next, the spare tire was removed ( this is a good time to refill it to about 40 psig ). The lower bolt on each shock was removed followed by the top two nuts ( the stock shocks have threaded studs on the top mount, therefore negating allowing a ratchet to remove them; the top nuts are not in a very easy access location. On the driver side a “tray” must be unbolted and moved out of the way to access the top two nuts; this was a nuisance. ); the shocks were removed and discarded. Next I removed the 6 bolts holding the stock sway bar in place then simply slipped it out and straight to the garbage can. The new sway bar ( much thicker and heavier ) was first fitted with the new poly bushings ( the insides of which was greased with the supplied “goo” ). All the old hardware was reused, except for the new poly bushings. Now the 4 nuts on the stock U bolts were removed and the differential was jacked up enough ( a couple inches ) to allow the lowering blocks to be placed under the axel and properly aligned; the new U bolts were installed and torqued to 90 ft lbs. Now the reverse of removal of the sway bar was performed to fit the new one in place. Locktite was applied to the screws and the split collets were attached on the inside of the bushings using an Allen wrench. The shocks were installed with the new supplied hardware at this time ( the urethane bushings on the new shocks make for an extremely tight fit in the mounting bracket and are somewhat difficult to get in place ). This was done on both sides. The spare tire was reattached and the jack stands removed. That’s all there is to the rear.
The front was now tackled. I put the truck in a very level place in my garage and measured the height from the front fender lip above the center of the tire to the ground on each side. I placed a tape marker on the position for further measurements after the install. I decided to do the adjusting on the flat ground rather than on jack stands. The torsion bar adjusting bolt was loosened on each side; this was rather easy. Then the truck was driven around the block over bumpy roads to settle the suspension. The height was again measured as before; this was repeated until the desired drop ( 1 3/8 “ ) was achieved. Locktite was applied to the adjusting bolts. Now the front end was jacked up and supported on jack stands, the wheels removed, the shock access “shroud” were removed, and the front shocks were removed ( the top nut was a bear [ due to tightness not access ], so I just cut off the shaft below the nut on both front shocks with a Sawzall; the bottom two were very easy to remove ) and replaced with the Edelbrocks using the supplied hardware. The front shocks were much easier than the rear to replace.
Next, I made several calls to alignment facilities to get that work done. I was amazed that the first four ( including Firestone and Goodyear stores as well as Sears ) I called talked to me like I was from Uranus; they had no idea how to work on a lowered truck, nor would they; Firestone even said that it could not be done. Then I called another shop and talked to a gentleman that knew what I wanted and made an appointment for a couple of days away. I took the truck to Lanning Tire in Sarasota, FL, at the scheduled time for the alignment. I decided to allow them to not only do the alignment but also install the camber adjusters ( included in the Explorer Express kit ). After watching their mechanic replace the adjusters, I was indeed glad that I didn’t do this task. The alignment specs provided by Explorer Express are as follows and were used on my truck:
Camber neg. 0.5 to 0
Caster max possible within 0.5 degree from side to side
Toe in 0.0.63 total
The total cost of the alignment and camber adjuster installation was $95.00. I also allowed them to rotate and balance my tires while my truck was there.
The proof is in the pudding they say, or in this case, the ride and the handling. The ride height was lowered by 1 3/8 inches; visually the truck looks better in my opinion ( especially when parked next to a stock Explorer ). The ride comfort appears to be much harsher on bumps, but this might not be a fair comparison since the truck was running on original Ford shocks and is approaching 60k miles. The real bonus is the vastly improved cornering; the body roll control is impressive. High speed ( 70-80 MPH ) stability and lane changing is greatly improved. Front end “dive” under hard braking is hugely reduced. The handling is far better than that of any SUV I have ever driven.
I did not purchase the bump stops from Explorer Express with the rest of the goodies. My theory is that I will drive the lowered truck a few days and “see/feel” if they are actually needed. They didn’t appear to be needed in the first test drive, however, if needed ( I have yet to test with 4 passengers and a rear full of dive equipment and a full tank of gas ) , I shall order and install them.
The only problem that I see ( at present ) is that care must be exercised when parking to avoid dinging the X Spec front air dam on curbs. I am certain that is someone else drives my truck they will damage the air dam.
Hopefully the lowered truck will yield better gas mileage; this will be determined on a road trip very soon, I shall report the results.
I highly recommend this suspension enhancing project ( total cost including alignment and adjuster installation of $864.79 ) to anyone with a street Explorer. The truck not only looks better ( in my opinion ) but also is most pleasurable to drive. And if your trying to sell this project to a spouse or parents, the truck is definitely safer to drive with reduced body roll, etc. I am definitely happy with the results.
I finally decided to lower my ‘99 after asking numerous questions here, I want to thank Bill Kemp and others for their help, encouragement and suggestions.
I purchased the lowering kit from Explorer Express (http://www.explorerexpress.com/catalog/x-suspension.html ). I know some say you can get parts cheaper ( but, by the time you purchase the camber adjusters, the Locktite and factor the time involved chasing parts in, the money saved is not much anyway ), further, I really like that company and want to support it; I also purchased their rear sway bar kit as well as their split collets, and 4 Edelbrock ISA shocks ( http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive/ias_shocks.html ) for lowered Explorers. Total cost with UPS shipping and insurance to my door was $769.79.
The “Brown Santa” truck arrived with my goodies and I immediately tore into the box and perused the detailed installation instructions and determined that all the components were present and accounted for.
All bolts and nuts on the truck that were involved in this project were thoroughly sprayed with Liquid Wrench and allowed to stand overnight then reapplied first thing in the morning, before the installation began.
I decided to do the rear first, since it was more involved and the lowering blocks were a fixed size ( 1 3/8”; and the front drop could be adjusted ). The truck was jacked up with a floor jack under the differential ( carefully avoiding contact with the rear cover to avoid causing leaks ) and jack stands were placed under the frame just in front of front spring mount with the wheels about 6 inches off the ground. Next, the spare tire was removed ( this is a good time to refill it to about 40 psig ). The lower bolt on each shock was removed followed by the top two nuts ( the stock shocks have threaded studs on the top mount, therefore negating allowing a ratchet to remove them; the top nuts are not in a very easy access location. On the driver side a “tray” must be unbolted and moved out of the way to access the top two nuts; this was a nuisance. ); the shocks were removed and discarded. Next I removed the 6 bolts holding the stock sway bar in place then simply slipped it out and straight to the garbage can. The new sway bar ( much thicker and heavier ) was first fitted with the new poly bushings ( the insides of which was greased with the supplied “goo” ). All the old hardware was reused, except for the new poly bushings. Now the 4 nuts on the stock U bolts were removed and the differential was jacked up enough ( a couple inches ) to allow the lowering blocks to be placed under the axel and properly aligned; the new U bolts were installed and torqued to 90 ft lbs. Now the reverse of removal of the sway bar was performed to fit the new one in place. Locktite was applied to the screws and the split collets were attached on the inside of the bushings using an Allen wrench. The shocks were installed with the new supplied hardware at this time ( the urethane bushings on the new shocks make for an extremely tight fit in the mounting bracket and are somewhat difficult to get in place ). This was done on both sides. The spare tire was reattached and the jack stands removed. That’s all there is to the rear.
The front was now tackled. I put the truck in a very level place in my garage and measured the height from the front fender lip above the center of the tire to the ground on each side. I placed a tape marker on the position for further measurements after the install. I decided to do the adjusting on the flat ground rather than on jack stands. The torsion bar adjusting bolt was loosened on each side; this was rather easy. Then the truck was driven around the block over bumpy roads to settle the suspension. The height was again measured as before; this was repeated until the desired drop ( 1 3/8 “ ) was achieved. Locktite was applied to the adjusting bolts. Now the front end was jacked up and supported on jack stands, the wheels removed, the shock access “shroud” were removed, and the front shocks were removed ( the top nut was a bear [ due to tightness not access ], so I just cut off the shaft below the nut on both front shocks with a Sawzall; the bottom two were very easy to remove ) and replaced with the Edelbrocks using the supplied hardware. The front shocks were much easier than the rear to replace.
Next, I made several calls to alignment facilities to get that work done. I was amazed that the first four ( including Firestone and Goodyear stores as well as Sears ) I called talked to me like I was from Uranus; they had no idea how to work on a lowered truck, nor would they; Firestone even said that it could not be done. Then I called another shop and talked to a gentleman that knew what I wanted and made an appointment for a couple of days away. I took the truck to Lanning Tire in Sarasota, FL, at the scheduled time for the alignment. I decided to allow them to not only do the alignment but also install the camber adjusters ( included in the Explorer Express kit ). After watching their mechanic replace the adjusters, I was indeed glad that I didn’t do this task. The alignment specs provided by Explorer Express are as follows and were used on my truck:
Camber neg. 0.5 to 0
Caster max possible within 0.5 degree from side to side
Toe in 0.0.63 total
The total cost of the alignment and camber adjuster installation was $95.00. I also allowed them to rotate and balance my tires while my truck was there.
The proof is in the pudding they say, or in this case, the ride and the handling. The ride height was lowered by 1 3/8 inches; visually the truck looks better in my opinion ( especially when parked next to a stock Explorer ). The ride comfort appears to be much harsher on bumps, but this might not be a fair comparison since the truck was running on original Ford shocks and is approaching 60k miles. The real bonus is the vastly improved cornering; the body roll control is impressive. High speed ( 70-80 MPH ) stability and lane changing is greatly improved. Front end “dive” under hard braking is hugely reduced. The handling is far better than that of any SUV I have ever driven.
I did not purchase the bump stops from Explorer Express with the rest of the goodies. My theory is that I will drive the lowered truck a few days and “see/feel” if they are actually needed. They didn’t appear to be needed in the first test drive, however, if needed ( I have yet to test with 4 passengers and a rear full of dive equipment and a full tank of gas ) , I shall order and install them.
The only problem that I see ( at present ) is that care must be exercised when parking to avoid dinging the X Spec front air dam on curbs. I am certain that is someone else drives my truck they will damage the air dam.
Hopefully the lowered truck will yield better gas mileage; this will be determined on a road trip very soon, I shall report the results.
I highly recommend this suspension enhancing project ( total cost including alignment and adjuster installation of $864.79 ) to anyone with a street Explorer. The truck not only looks better ( in my opinion ) but also is most pleasurable to drive. And if your trying to sell this project to a spouse or parents, the truck is definitely safer to drive with reduced body roll, etc. I am definitely happy with the results.
