n00b with a few ?'s

[03SVTCobra]

sup fellas, new to the forum but been wrenching on cars most my life. i recently purchased a 2001 Sport and did lots of reading here on the site but i still have a few ?'s.

basically i'm going to be modding this Ex on a (tight!) budget, lol. looking into putting some lift on it and read about the TT for the front and shackles/AAl for the rear and then body lift. first off, with the TT i noted that most suggest to keep it to 2" or lower as not the bind the cv joints and premature failure. so i'll be sticking to right around the 2" mark. the body lift is going to have to wait till spring...

as for the rear though, i was debating on doing both the shackles AND AAL but wanted to hear from you guys if i should go for both or just one or the other? is there a down side to having both? will it be an uneven stance? i see the shackles say 1.25" lift but the AAL says anywhere from 1.5-2.5" of lift?? so can i assume that both would equate to anywhere between 2.75" and 3.75" of lift in the back? also, i am looking to throw some Cragar Black Soft 8's on all 4 corners:
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/findWheelDetail.do?bp=5-114.3&pc=59254&counter=1&wd=15&rw=8
but in looking around for tires i noticed a better selection for 15" rims vs. 16" rims. so i'm looking at getting 15X8"s w/3.5-3.75" BS. so on a set of these i'll be putting some 255/70/15 General Grabber AT2's.
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/findTireDetail.do?pc=32859&counter=2&ar=70&rd=15&sw=false&cs=255

also pertaining to the rear, i was contemplating on a set of 1.5" spacers for the rear wheels to widen the stance and help in the handling dept. what say you guys? yay? nay?

there were a few things i had to order that needed attention like lower ball joints on both sides, new front rotors (w/ hubs) to get this rig inspection worthy. also ordered a K&N filter, changed all the plugs, oil change/filter and changed the rear brake pads. also ordered a Westin Safari bar w/ 6" round driving lights. any other tricks or tips for a build-on-a-budget Exploder Sport? lol.

thanks for any and all input!

oh yeah here's a quick crappy pic. i already ditched the step bars:

 

[4rd4life]

welcome to the forum... sounds like your headed in the right direction with all this the shackles do put you right around an 1.25-1.50, however (im not familiar with the 01 sport since it got its facelift that year) if it has a single leaf set up in the rear or it got the 4 leaf pack... youll have to look under and see if no one else chimes in. if its single may want to look about swapping it out for a 4 leaf. that being said i put the warrior shackles on mine, which is a 4 leaf and now im starting to see the rear sag a bit. so the aal wont hurt imo as the leafs flatten out over time.

i also have the general at2s and i think youll be very happy with them there great in all conditions. i dont know much about wheel spacers and have no real input but some say it adds a little strain on the axles. im uncertain how much though. hope this helps

 

[Paraphoe]

AAL coupled with shackles isn't a bad thing. Like 4rd4 said, it will help the leaf not flatten out as quickly. Just be aware that your suspension is going to be very harsh. You'll get used to it, but you're going to feel every pebble.

 

[03SVTCobra]

^ sounds good. yeah i have no probs with ride harshness, can't be any worse than my Cobra which is the polar opposite of lifted lol. i think i have about 2" of ground clearance from the collectors of the long tube headers, so i keep my adjustable struts on the firmest setting. when i redid the entire suspension and changed all the bushings in the IRS to Delrin i can now feel every crack in the road.

 

[Orange99Exploder]

the 15x8's will help to widen you stance so I would hold off on the wheel spacers till after you get the soft 8's to see if the stance you want is achieved by just the wheels

 

[03SVTCobra]

ok, things will be coming together pretty quickly here in the next few days. i already got the Westin Safari Bar w/ 6" driving lights and installed on the truck. i did it mostly in the dark so no pics just yet.

just ordered these rims which look identical to the Cragar's for a few bux less:
http://www.jcwhitney.com/soft-8-black-steel-wheels/p2019534.jcwx?filterid=d16937y2001j1
yes, i know it's JCWhitney lol. i did say STRICT budget :

and i FINALLY found a set of General Grabber AT2's, but a little taller than i wanted @ 31x10.5x15 but overall i was pleased with which ones i got. these were the only size i could find that were in stock anywhere for this brand:
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/findTireDetail.do?pc=32404&counter=1&ar=1050&rd=15&sw=false&cs=31

new front rotors w/hubs were delivered today along with some new lower ball joints. the K&N filter should be here tomorrow. about to order the Warrior shackles! w00t w00t!! she's coming together!

 

[4rd4life]

hahahah they can never be too tall looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

[03SVTCobra]

^ lol, thanks mang! can't wait to get it together either, i love getting new parts in the mail

 

[03SVTCobra]

ok shackles are installed, TT done and new wheels tires are on. didn't get some pics cuz it was raining and by the time i got done it was pitch black outside. i'll get some tomorrow though. the truck looks **** now though, much better than stock lol. although i do have a few ?'s:

- i went to do the TT and when i crawled under the truck i noticed that the driver's side bolt was almost all the way cranked down, yet the pass side had approx 2/3 of the bolt exposed and alot of adjustment, obviously. wtf is going on here, lol? i turned the pass bolt 8 full revolutions and the drivers went about 6 before it bottomed out...

- i cannot engage 4wd now... i did some research here and from what i found is that disconnecting the battery can blow the 4wd control module?! wtf mang, i had the batt completely out while i mounted and ran the wiring for the new fogs on my Westin Safari bar. i get no lights (4hi OR 4lo) on the dash when i turn the key to the "on" position, no clicking under the dash like usual and it's def not in 4wd when i drive it... i tried the reset trick but no worky

as always any and all help is most appreciated!

 

[03SVTCobra]

ok here's some craptastic cell phone pics. yes i know the front bumper needs to be painted, it's on my list lol.

 

[4rd4life]

[QUOTE
- i cannot engage 4wd now... i did some research here and from what i found is that disconnecting the battery can blow the 4wd control module?! wtf mang, i had the batt completely out while i mounted and ran the wiring for the new fogs on my Westin Safari bar. i get no lights (4hi OR 4lo) on the dash when i turn the key to the "on" position, no clicking under the dash like usual and it's def not in 4wd when i drive it... i tried the reset trick but no worky

as always any and all help is most appreciated![/QUOTE]

hmmm new one on me :scratch: truck looks great btw love the bull bar on the front

 

[sport97]

Looks good. The drivers side bolt being in more is not uncommon, I had the same situation. I only got 1 inch of lift because of it.