Questions for the suspension gurus.

[Mat R]

Well, I found a place that makes custom bent I-beams for the Explorer. It's a 5.5" lift made by Cambride Offroad. You can find them at www.prerun.com and they sell them for $345.00 The place also sells radius arms, springs, shocks and so on. Anyway my questions pretty much relate to putting a 5" suspension lift on my truck.

1. Are I-beams that much better than brackets..? Is it worth the money? Don't they make steering better? Is suspension travel better?

2. Which springs would be best to use..? Cambridge sells Eibach, and I've seen people using both National Springs and Superlift.

3. Cambridge reccommends Bilstein shocks, but wouldn't those be only so so on the street? I was thinking of getting RS9000s since Rancho is having a big sale, and since they make them in the proper sizes.

4. Rick the specs on your truck say they you have 3.5" tough country brackets. How did you manage that..? Do you still have 5.5" and why didn't you get Superlift? Was tough country less.?

5. Who makes the best brake line? I know Superlift makes them, but are those good? Is there anyone better?

6. Rick, I'm going to take a shot on making my own radius arms after I make my prerunner bumper. How did you make the radius arm attach to the bracket..? It looks like a the top of a shock with shock bushings?

Just for general information I'm doing a superlift spring over in the rear, and my truck will be used as a daily driver with muddin on the weekends. Eventually it will be my off road only truck, probably in a year or so.
Thanks for any help
Mat

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1992 Ford Explorer XLT
Interested in trucks..?
Me too. Check out my web page.
MatnChad.com
www.matnchad.com

 

[Gigantor]

Mat,
Since you are getting a new lift what are the chances that your gonna sell your old lift(s)? If i remember correctly, you have a suspension and body. Could you please email me if your gonna sell the COMPLETE kits. I may be intrested. Also make sure you update your page. I want to see what your truck looks like. I have the identical truck, mines just 1 year younger.
Good luck with your lift.

------------------
Nick
'93 XLT 4 Door 4x4
Bosch Plat+4's with SplitFire Dual Core wires and a
K&N Air Filter with a Modified Air Box

 

[Mat R]

Nick,
I'm keeping my body lift, and I've already promised my suspension lift to someone else. If you mean by "my page" you mean the link down below, I actually just updated it last week and you can see the new pictures of my truck running 33s and fording water. As far as my page on 4x4central, I'm going to send pictures to Rick soon.
Mat

------------------
1992 Ford Explorer XLT
Interested in trucks..?
Me too. Check out my web page.
MatnChad.com
www.matnchad.com

 

[Gopher]

Camburg is right around the corner from my house. I was talking to them about lifting my truck and they wanted to start out at 3000. They have some really good stuff. Alot of the prerunners around here run camburg. Check and ask them were they bend the i beams. Theres certain points that you can bend them and keep the strenth.


------------------
Brian
94 2wd
4" Fabtech Lift
265/75/16
Flowmaster 2 chamber 2.25"
KKM intake
Clears all the way around
4.11 gears w/Auburn posi

 

[Mat R]

so anyone got any ideas? I need help! Dead Link Removed

------------------
1992 Ford Explorer XLT
Interested in trucks..?
Me too. Check out my web page.
MatnChad.com
www.matnchad.com

 

[Rick]

Bent I-beams are much better than brackets. Using the stock length brackets allows less flex. The longer the bracket the more leverage it generates when you hit an obstacle.

I think $375 sounds like a great price compared to what Donahoe wants to re work the housing which you have to supply them. Using the 1" bearing should provide less friction and allow the axle to articulate smoother.

I would use their reccomended springs to insure the proper height.

They reccomend Bilsteins because they are selling a racing package. The Ranchos are good for normal stuff, but won't handle hours upon hours of high speed hammering.

I went with the 3.5" brackets to reduce the leverage as I mentioned above. Since I have 5.5" springs, but only 3.5" brackets my lift is actually less than 5.5".

Talk to Paul Bredehoft about brakelines. His mechanic knows where to get the best ones.

RangerX had a Superlift brakeline pull apart when his tire popped off the bead at Truckhaven.

My radius arms have regular radius arm bushings. I would get their radius arms or build something like those with the heim joints instead of bushings. That's what Zimmerman did and look at their wheel travel!

The only disadvantage I see to the CORE axle housing is that it makes your front end 6" wider.

 

[Mat R]

hmmm... Well, I like the idea of these I-beams, and I think it's doable. One thing you said confused my though Rick, and that was that you said that the stock brackets would limit my travel, and that longer one provide more leverage? I thought that the longer the bracket the more likely it was to break, and that one of the "good" things about bent I-beams was that they used the stock brackets, making them stronger.

I have a 2.5" JD suspension lift right now, would it maybe be advisable to keep the brackets witht he I-beam lift?

I don't really want to use their springs because the reason I know Eibach is because I have seen lowered cars using their springs, so as far as how good they are in trucks could be questionable. I normally don't trust buying a product I haven't heard about.

I think I will go with the Ranchos because it will be another year or two before my Explorer is off road only, so it would be nice to have something that works well on road.

Hmm... so does that mean the Superlift brakelines aren't good..? I'll look around for that thread.

I don't think I will buy their radius arms because they are $400, which is steep considering I should be able to build my own. I didn't think about using the heim joing because I thought it might be to complicated, but now that I think of it, it would be easier. Only problem is, where do you get a heim joint? Also, the picture of the Zimmermans Explorer doesn't show the bracket, I guess I should probably just emulate the stock one, except better.

If I'm able to get as good at welding as I should be able to Rick, maybe I'll send you a pair of heim joint radius arms too, as a thanks for all the help you given everyone!

Mat

------------------
1992 Ford Explorer XLT
Interested in trucks..?
Me too. Check out my web page.
MatnChad.com
www.matnchad.com

 

[Rick]

I didn't make myself clear. I said that the stock brackets allow less flex. Not suspension flex, but flexing of the bracket itself.

The leverage I'm talking about is precisely the leverage which can crack or break the bracket. Think of a breaker bar, the longer the breaker bar the easier it is to bust a bolt loose. The longer the bracket the easier it is to bend, or break the bracket.

About the springs, I can't imagaine they would sell a low quality spring with a package like the one they've put together. It looks like SERIOUS stuff.

I don't think there is a thread about the brakelines. I was there when it happened and Darien told Bill (RangerX) where to go to get the best brakelines.

Here is the photo of the Zimmerman's heim joint.

DON'T run a single tube for your extended radius arms like the picture shows. They bent theirs and I bent mine when it was like that. It needs to be reinforced like the one on CORE's page.

Thanks for the offer of the radius arms, that's very thoughtful, but I'm going with that solid axle soon.

[This message has been edited by Rick (edited 04-13-2000).]

 

[Mat R]

How quickly I forget you're going solid axle! Ha! As for the brackets, I did misunderstand but, I get it now. I definitely will do dual tube and I am thinking I will run 1.5". It shouldn't be to tough. I still don't know where to buy Heim joints though.

I am going to go with the Eibach springs.

I'll think of something cool I can weld you as a thanks for all of this Rick.
Mat

------------------
1992 Ford Explorer XLT
Interested in trucks..?
Me too. Check out my web page.
MatnChad.com
www.matnchad.com

 

[SteveVB]

Matt,

Check www.mcmaster.com its the Mcmaster Carr site. Go to the catalog and search for ball joint rod ends. Its a little slow but it works(its an acrobat catalog). It will give you all the info you need about the rod ends, sizes, capacity etc. Its a good source for all kinds of stuff. Also may try Grainger; www.grainger.com - I think thats the address I havent used it in quite a while.

Good luck

------------------
Steve VB
91 Navajo
2 1/2" Rancho,
31" Goodyear AT/S

[This message has been edited by SteveVB (edited 04-13-2000).]