It looks SICK!!!! Captain America has definitely been working out! Thanks again for letting me borrow the manual and letting me see C.A.
Thanks for the nice comments man! It's always a pleasure to have you over! I think Captain America can finally roll with the Hulk now Lol!
Here it goes:
I was battling the rust off of the lower shock mounts last time I posted. Rust, rust, rust...
Queue the OCD...
Honorable, although those tight spaces still had some rust. Naturally this got coated in Rust Restorer and undercoating, but no pics
Getting the upper piece through the bushing was a huge pain in the ass!
Thankfully, Bryan a.k.a. adamsbro2 came over and gave me a hand with the second one. He showed me a simple little trick using a socket and C-clamp. Took a few seconds and worked beautifully! I tried a much more unconventional method that took lots of time and was painfully slow. Glad to have a buddy helping me out!
Next Bryan gave me brake bleeding 101. Not rocket science, but I still really appreciate having a helping hand teaching me the right way! After the brakes were squared away (so.. much.. brake.. fluid..) it was on to the alignment. I should have taken pictures, but alas, I did not. Bryan brought over some kick-ass alignment plates and got my tires pointing pretty freakin straight. Next was the highway text (Pass!) and then a few truck shots! First a thank you and tribute to the Hulk for coming over and helping me finally knock out the last bit of the lift!
Again, I really appreciate the help Bryan!
At this point I was super ecstatic about the Explorer! It drove like a Cadillac De Ville and handled great! After getting the alignment I found we weren't far off from being perfect, but the alignment shop did not address the camber
They told me the expected B.S. of, "We'll have to schedule a diagnostic" and "We've never adjusted the camber on an axle like 'yours'." Even though they said they could. B#####d's. This was the Firestone in Sugar House aka South Salt Lake. They were really nice, toe in and toe out great! but there didn't seem to be hope of a camber fix through them. Tried the Firestone in Bountiful aka North of Salt Lake. Still no dice. The tech, "Didn't see a way to adjust the camber." Even after saying, "Yeah, we can camber align it!" Les Scwab seemed promising, but didn't end up going there. In the mean time I had been shopping for tires, got like 6 quotes, and kept staring at how the front end was lower than the rear. Probably a good inch difference. I called James Duff. Absolutely, positively, undoubtedly, now way they were going to sell me an additional spacer shim to go under the coil to level out the lift. They used the excuses of, we don't have any, we are not allowed to because it isn't a modification engineered into the kit, and because they exceed the stud height which makes it impossible to thread the coil nut. I'm calling B.S.! But you do what you got to do:
I tried them on with welded triples, then loose 6's, and measured a lot! The gas tank really affects the lift when you measure out the front. I came to the conclusion of a 6 pack of welded washers for the driver side and a 4 pack of welded washers for the passenger side. Pancake flat and level!
Welded by a pro (really! He welds the diffuser covers on cruise missile engines!) and came out great! After all this, I finally got a good guy to do an alignment (through Ray's Muffler in Bountiful)! I think leveling it out really helped cure the camber though. Got the tires in today! Hankook Mud Terrain!
*I would like to mention that I don't suggest you do anything I did. I am not responsible for any modifications you make and I did not do this thread as a guide, but as a documentary of my truck. I will not be held liable for anything you do because you saw me do it.*
Sorry, seemed like a good idea, you never know... (besides, you guys know who this is directed at and what it means). And yes, PICTURES!!!
FINALLY! It was a hell of a lot of fun putting this truck together and doing it in conjunction with the forum! Thanks for you guys that lended a helping hand and left great, positive comments! I really appreciate it! Thanks again Bryan for coming over with the Hulk and getting this guy back on the road! Next stop, MOAB!!!
You're almost finished, good work!
