X-Spec Lowering Kit Installed... | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

X-Spec Lowering Kit Installed...

I Can Defy

Well-Known Member
Joined
August 2, 2000
Messages
163
Reaction score
0
City, State
Worcester, Massachusetts
Year, Model & Trim Level
2001 ZX3
Just so you know- we're dealing with 1998 X's...

OK. I got an X-spec lowering kit for free, with the special Edelbrock IAS lowering shocks. The person who gave it to me kept the X-spec sway bar however, so I got to drive one X with the whole deal, then one X with the whole deal but with a factory rear sway bar. First off- the kit is great, especially with the special IAS shocks. HOWEVER, if you are gonna do this- GET THE X-SPEC REAR SWAY BAR! I mean, in a neccesity sense, you don't really NEED it, but when you have that in there with this kit and these shocks- the thing sticks to the road like glue and stays flat too! SWEET! So, total time for install was LENGTHY-partly due, however, to the fact that i had to do 2 trucks at the same time (switching out factory suspension stuff form mine for the lowering parts form his). Let me just say- when all you've got are hand tools, suspension rust is THE ENEMY! The total project took me about 16 hours to do. So, about 8 hours per truck- not bad. The most pain in the ass part was getting the new front alignment cams positioned and tightened- you have absolutely ZERO space to fit sockets in there because of the brake/fuel/trans lines. Otherwise, the biggest time consumer was carefully taking off rusty bolts so as not to break them. Then finally, took it to get an alignment.

Now- this is where i have a question for anyone who could answer- what are the chances that a well reputed Sears auto-center would misalign my front end? Here's the deal- it drives perfectly straight...so technically, it's 'aligned'. BUT, if you stand in front of the vehicle with the steering wheel straight, the tires turn outward ever so slightly...is this an optical illusion? or should i get it checked? I'm just worried about uneven wearing on my $700 tires! ANYONE WHO COULD ANSWER THIS- PLEASE DO!

In closing- I would reccomend this kit to all. yes, it's a little pricey from EE- so if that's an issue to you, and you want to do it the 'autozone way'- just buying blocks and U-bolts, i reccomend the X-Spec sway bar and special Edelbrock IAS shocks. If anyone is going ot try lowering their truck like this- feel free to ask me any questions...i learned a bunch of tricks that go against the conventional instruction that make stuff a lot easier. I will have pics soon so you can see the difference between stock and lowered.

Eric

PS-IF ANYONE HAS AN X-SPEC 1998 REAR SWAY BAR THEY WANT TO SELL, EMAIL ME!!!:bounce:
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





yes, you will have to get it aligned. it will eat up your front tires, and just because it tracks straight doesnt mean it doesnt need alignment. just drive it for a few months and you will see what im talking about.
 






i'm sorry james- i should have been more specific. let me try this again-

after installing the kit, i took it to the local well-reputed sears auto center for alignment. they performed the alignment, and i drove it home. BUT-what are the chances that they would misalign my front end? Here's the deal- it drives perfectly straight...so technically, it's 'aligned'. BUT, if you stand in front of the vehicle with the steering wheel straight, the tires turn outward ever so slightly...is this an optical illusion? or should i get it checked? I'm not sure...they guarantee their alignment for 60 days, but I don't know how to find out if it's properly done or not- i don't want to have to spend any more money...PLEASE HELP.

Eric
 






Welcome to the lowered world, ain't it great?

First, I lowered my '99 a while back ( Dead Link Removed ) and had it aligned. It tracks like it is on rails now ( it pulled right before ).

I watched the alignment and verified the specifications on the computer screen.

What specifications did Sears align it to? Did you "see" the work?
 






The X-Spec kit said to have them align it to these specs:

Camber- .5-0 degrees negative
Caster- Maximum Possible
Toe In- 1/16"

So I gave them that, and they said that's what they did. Help? :rolleyes:

Eric
 






I am not sure that you got a good aslignment. Take it back and have them put in on ther "machinr" and see the numbers yourself. If they balk, Sears has a Satisfaction Guaranteed policy, get your money back and go elsewhere.

Keep us posted.
 






they gave me a print out-

left:
camber: -0.1
caster: -3.0
toe: 0.07
SAI: 11.7

right:
camber: -0.1
caster: 3.5
toe: 0.08
SAI: 11.8

front:
cross camber: 0.0
cross caster: -0.5
cross SAI: -0.1
total toe: 0.15

Any help from that?

Eric
 






Originally posted by I Can Defy
i'm sorry james- i should have been more specific. let me try this again-

ahh... okay. i misunderstood you. mine is lowered 2" and IS aligned to spec, and i know that if you look at it from front veiw down the side and compare the front wheels to the rear the fronts lean in slightly. and i mean VERY slightly. not many people notice it when i ask them to look at it. mines ok. i also noticed when i put my stock wheels/tires back on a while back (for a long trip) that it is not noticable at all with them. something about more wheel/less tire makes it more noticable.
 






I Can Defy, did you use the EE bump stops when you lowered your Explorer?

If not, did you do anything to the stock ones?

Thanks.....
 






james t- thanks for the info...i'm gonna go back and have em check it again, and i'm gonna watch. my question for you is this- even with that little bit of turn-in on the tires, do they still wear evenly?

aldive- I just kept the factory bumpstops. the only time my x bottoms out is with 5 passengers and even then it's rare. the only thing i may do to the factory bumpstops is drill out the center of them, which is basically all the EE ones are- same size as factory ones, but with a hole cut out of the middle to allow them to 'flex'.

Eric
 






yea, they are wearing evenly. like i said, the negative camber (tires/wheels leaning in) is BARELY noticable, but i do notice it as some of my friends. i have about 10k miles on my drop/wheel/tire combo right now. when i checked them a couple of weeks ago with a tire wear thing (i cant think straight right now) they are wearing evenly.
 






where did you get the tire wear guage?

eric
 






a friend who has a tire shop gave it to me a long time ago, but Autozone and other chain car/parts stores have 'em. they are cheap ($2-5).
 






Personally, I very much dislike sears auto. I have had nothing but problems with them. One time, I proved the mechanic wrong and he started yelling at me. Heh, that was fun when I told his manager. I said "I dont like getting people in trouble but this guy deserves to lose his job." The manager took my advice. :D I have heard of places doing half assed allignments... because most people cant tell the difference. Who's to say that they didnt do it right if they didnt get a print out. 5K down the road is too late to go back with a complaint when your tires wear out. My mechanic told me which places he knew did real alignments and which places to stay away from. Mine doesnt pull right anymore and the wheel is straight when going straight now. I could tell by looking at the front that some major inprovements had been made. I love the way it handles now!!!!!!
 






so where'd you go for your alignment???

eric
 






Ask around and see what locals say. I personally like to find a local tire store with very expensive alignment equipment.

I too would avoil Sears .

Good luck....
 






I was recomended to a privately owned goodyear dealer. When I went to drop it off the night before they told me everything they were going to do. They said that they were going to leave it in the shop overnight (which made me happy) and that they would start work around 10:00 and finish around 12:00. They were very nice. Sometimes you just get the feeling that they know what they are doing.
 






Back
Top