Will this lift work?

[beachXplorer]

I'm trying to figure out the cheapest way to lift my stock Ex, for some 35/12.50/16 baja claw radials. A friend of mine at work, suggested flipping the axle and then adding new spindles up front along with a drop arm for the steering. This should give me roughly 4-5 inches. Then, adding the new shocks and a 3" body lift and the tires would clear.

Could this work?


This is my first lift....so take it easy on me.

 

[Mbrooks420]

First off, welcome to the site. Your a 2wd I assume. The answer to your question is pretty much yes. It is possible. You friend was talking about changing the rear axle over from a Spring Under Axle, to A Sping Over Axle. Tou change to a SOA you need to buy a kit. They aren't very costly, but I'm not sure who makes them. Something may need welded on top of the axle, but it may be a complete bolt on. I'm sure someone else will give you a more complete answer on this part. Have you looked into spindles at all? I'm sure what amount of lift they are available in. What gear ratio is the truck? You can look on the tag on the drivers door, then do a search here for"gear ratio code" to figure it out. With anything other than a 4.10 those 35's aren't going to be fun to get turning. Have you considered 33's? With just a torsion twist, PA 3"BL, and Warrior 153 shackles you could probably clear them. They'd also be a lot easier to turn.

 

[beachXplorer]

Thanks for the info.

I forgot to mention it being a 2wd 4.0L.

I had planned on compensating for the bigger tires, by changing over to a dual exhaust (Flowmaster maybe) and installing a K/N filter. I think it should be enough. I not going to to do any major off-road antics, but I would like to feel confident, anywhere I go here at Padre Island.

 

[NOTAJP]

The spindles will only give you about 3" of lift.

Superlift makes the brackets for the SOA for around $110. It's cheaper and better to just get some spring perches welded on top of your axle. BUT, this will net 5-6" of lift. It's going to look a little funny going down the road. There was a 2wd Mounty on here that had a spindle lift and fiberglass fenders to clear 35s. How the rest of the truck was outfited, I don't remember.

The exhaust and K&N won't make up for the tires.

Check out the suspension forum for more info on what you can do to make your tires fit.

 

[Mbrooks420]

If you go with duals you may lose low end power. It'll take every bolt on there is to make up for a set of 35's.

 

[james t]

Here's what you will have to do-

Rear
As you said, spring over it. It will get you about 5-6" of lift

Front
Spindles will give you 3". You will need to crank the torsion bolts to get 1.5-2" more. With this done, it will still sit ass-high. Mine is done in this manor and it has some rake to it. It would be nice to be able to get one more inch on the front, or lower the rear 1". Ive just learned to live with it.

Body lift
You will also need 2-3" body lift to clear 35's. You didnt mention what wheel you're planning on running... but if its a 16" it will probably have more backspacing than the typical 15's and you wont have any rubbing issues.

Gearing
Without going at least 4:56 you will HATE the truck. Exhaust/intake or anything else short of a turbo will make it suck balls with the stock gearing... no matter what gears it has in it stock. Mine's a V8 with 3:73's and only 33's and its guttless now. At 70-75mph on interstate it takes 3/4 throttle just to make it hold speed on level non-hilly road. I cant even imagine what it would be like with 35's and a V6 with stock gearing.

 

[beachXplorer]

Thanks guys!

It looks like I'll have to change gears then. I was going to go with MT 16x10 bead locks. I think they look really cool and I've always wanted MT's. Does anybody have this set of wheel and tires on their truck already? I would love to see a pic of one.

I'll try to get a pic of mine posted on here soon.


BTW, this is a great site.

 

[Mbrooks420]

BeadLocks aren't street legal.

 

[beachXplorer]

The ones I'm talking about are not REAL bead lock wheels.

They are MT Classic Lock Wheels.


Does anybody have a set of these?