New James Duff Ex lift

[jd4242]

do a how to with pics.I'm about to do these also and any help would be great.

 

[Naasau]

Not to hijack the thread, but I have a few questions:

To give some background, my explorer has Skyjacker extended radius arms and drop brackets, along with 6" skyjacker coils rated at 400lbs/in. My 1st question would be what is the advantage of going for dual shocks up front over a single shock? Wouldn't the extra dampening just give a rougher ride around town and cost more money? Also, what sort of shock would you suggest?

My 2nd question would be that I've found that with the shocks mounted on the outside of the radius arms, at extreme droop, the shock impacts the arm, damaging components and shredding the lower bushing. My thoughts were to move the lower mount to the top of the radius arm behind the axle connection, retaining the ring and bolt attachment. Then move the upper shock mount inward from the Duff location (more toward the stock bolt hole's location) and up, to put it vertically in line with the lower mount and maintain the same distance between mounting locations. Thus giving it better geometry and minimizing the risk of damage. Would this strategy be beneficial? or am I missing some key understanding of TTB geometry that will anger the gods and bring them down upon me with death and fury?

 

[Naasau]

A how to install the buckets? That I can do. Anything more advanced I should leave to the pro's.

It might be a week or two till I'm done jd, as the advice for modifying the the shock mounts to some ridiculous extent (or advice not to) will impact my timetable. Also, an impact hammer and a hell of a drill is really useful for destroying rivets.

 

[ThatFabGuy]

Actually the buckets you recieved are the old style. The ones that I have are the prototype new style that just went into production. The first run still hasn't gotten back from powdercoating yet. Can't fit an EB coil in the buckets you have.

The dual shocks are meant to control the recoil better. The Duff mentality is to let the spring control the bump and the shocks control the spring. That's why their shocks are valved at 70/30. Dual shocks split the load in half giving a better ride and lasting longer than a single shock.

 

[Naasau]

Okay, then if I have the Skyjacker 6" springs at 400lbs/in, would the dual shock setup still be of useful benefit?

What did you think of the idea to rework the geometry to put the shock mounts on top of the radius arms instead of to the outside?

 

[ThatFabGuy]

Sure. The Duff springs are progressive rate so they get stiffer than that.
Put the shock mounts wherever they will work and not hit or bind. Just be sure to leave about 4 or 5 inches of uptravel and make sure you don't bottom the shock out.

 

[Naasau]

That I can do. I was worried about how I would test the front suspension to figure out how much uptravel there was from natural ride height with the new setup, I'm pretty sure that the last time I did it I got it wrong, and ended up with shocks that were almost too big for my application. I also went with gas charged, which seemed to be way stiffer than was necessary.

 

[jd4242]

Yea how to install.like to see what has to be done and any hints or tricks before I do it.I allways search what I do before I do it to just give me a advantage!!!

 

[jd4242]

Also you running jd arms also?

Nevermind see you have skyjacker.will dual shocks even mount to those? I have jd arms and superlift 5.5 springs.I will be adding f150 seats when I do this tho.

 

[fordxranger]

Actually the buckets you recieved are the old style. The ones that I have are the prototype new style that just went into production. The first run still hasn't gotten back from powdercoating yet. Can't fit an EB coil in the buckets you have.

do you know when duff will start selling these buckets? and how much more $$ are they going to be compared to the buckets they already have on the shelf?

 

[Naasau]

jd,

w/o modifications to the skyjacker arms they won't accept dual shocks. But I really don't like the whole outboard shock mounting style. It really rubs me the wrong way. I'll take pics as I go of the upper bucket swap and the modification/fabrication of the mounting location for the shock assembly, both upper and lower. Oh, and I use the F-150 Coil seat spacers too.

And researching to give you the advantage is always a good thing.

 

[jd4242]

Sweet!!ill keep a look out for the thread.also what's they difference in the old and new design

 

[ThatFabGuy]

do you know when duff will start selling these buckets? and how much more $$ are they going to be compared to the buckets they already have on the shelf?

As far as I know they will go on sale as soon as they get back from powder. You have to specify that you want the buckets that take either the RBV coils or EB coils or you will end up with the old style buckets. I'm guessing the new buckets will be around $230 or so. I haven't heard a final word on pricing. I have to swing by there tomorrow to pick up some parts so I can check for sure for you if you want. Otherwise just call them up sometime and talk to Bryan. He will hook you up.

 

[fordxranger]

As far as I know they will go on sale as soon as they get back from powder. You have to specify that you want the buckets that take either the RBV coils or EB coils or you will end up with the old style buckets. I'm guessing the new buckets will be around $230 or so. I haven't heard a final word on pricing. I have to swing by there tomorrow to pick up some parts so I can check for sure for you if you want. Otherwise just call them up sometime and talk to Bryan. He will hook you up.

if you can get a word on the final pricing and maybe an exact date for when they come back to powder that would be perfect. I am anticipating on some cash coming back to me in a month or so and would love to get one of my trucks lifted this summer and make it a bit easier to sas down the road.

 

[Maniak]

[hijack]

Did James Duff change their policy?

Will they sell "parts"? Every time (except once) I've tried to buy parts (after I break a Duff part) Ive had to jump through hoops and prove that I already have a duff kit. They told me they will only sell replacement parts for their kits or entire kits only.

Last time I talked to them it was right after they moved from the west to somewhere in the mid-east/south.

~Mark

[/hijack]

 

[ThatFabGuy]

They moved to Knoxville, TN. 12 miles away from my house.

Their policy is still in place. They do not believe in selling pieces. However instead of "jumping through hoops", all you have to do is tell them your name and address and they can look it up on the computer and tell you every part you've ever purchased from them. I saw them look up a guy's order from 2001 to tell him exactly what he had ordered at the time.

This new coil bucket is a stand alone part and will also be included in their lift kits. They have seen the demand for a bucket that will take either the standard RBV spring (stiff, no flex) or EB springs (very flexy) and also carry over from a standard TTB lift to a SAS. I was lucky enough to get to test the buckets and have ran both RBV coils and EB coils as well as their 6" TTB lift and now their new bolt on SAS kit. Through it all the buckets have been the constant piece that hasn't changed. They are truly a universal part and should help those who build their truck in stages.

 

[Maniak]

They moved to Knoxville, TN. 12 miles away from my house.

Their policy is still in place. They do not believe in selling pieces. However instead of "jumping through hoops", all you have to do is tell them your name and address and they can look it up on the computer and tell you every part you've ever purchased from them. I saw them look up a guy's order from 2001 to tell him exactly what he had ordered at the time.

Well, hoops might have been an exaggeration.. But we were not in the computer.. we bought our kit I think in the late 90's but it might have been year 2000.

Luckily, I still had the old Duff catalog that had a picture of our X in it and they still had a pic of us on their site so they sold us replacement springs (wore them out). I do wish they would sell 1/2 kits (front only etc) but I can understand liability issues when thats done.

~Mark

 

[cybergasm]

Continuing Hijack

they do sell 1/2 kits (front only) for TTB Explorers and Rangers.

called what else? Stage 1.5

and this is coming from a Catolog that i ordered from them less than two years ago too.

Hijack over

 

[ThatFabGuy]

I do wish they would sell 1/2 kits (front only etc) but I can understand liability issues when thats done.

~Mark

They do sell the front only kit.

Unfortunately, their website and catalogs don't get updated as often (never) as they should. I'm sure they could probably sell more parts if they did. Luckily I live very close to them so I stop by quite often to see what's going on. They have their hands full keeping up with demand . Maybe they should expand to more than 6 or 7 employees???

Best thing is to call if you have questions. Their sales guy Bryan LOVES to BS on the phone. Sometimes I change my voice and call and ask all kinds of crazy questions just to keep him on his toes!! Seriously though, he is a great guy and will do anything to help someone out.

 

[Maniak]

They do sell the front only kit.

Unfortunately, their website and catalogs don't get updated as often (never) as they should. I'm sure they could probably sell more parts if they did. Luckily I live very close to them so I stop by quite often to see what's going on. They have their hands full keeping up with demand . Maybe they should expand to more than 6 or 7 employees???

Best thing is to call if you have questions. Their sales guy Bryan LOVES to BS on the phone. Sometimes I change my voice and call and ask all kinds of crazy questions just to keep him on his toes!! Seriously though, he is a great guy and will do anything to help someone out.

Thanks for the info.. Don't get me wrong, I still love my Duff kit, even though I've modified it over the years..

~Mark