Noob spring/lift questions.

[Midnyteryder196]

Alright guys trying to get everything lined up for my bumper/lift install on my 03 ext. I'm wanting to completely level the truck and get rid of the rake. Just seeing if you guys think I'm going in the right direction here with my math and if you would change anything else.

High voltage is going to help me get the bumper welded up and he is giving me his 2.5" front lift. I am getting new blistein struts and thinking the skyjacker n8030s..

According to my Rpo sticker I have 6ss,7ss,8hu,9hu. From what I have read on here I have the 81's on rear, but not for sure what my fronts are.

Sitting in my driveway which I believe to be fairly level. 245/65/17 hankook dynapro atm with about 8/32ends tread. Worn out struts and shocks. Measurements from ground to wheel well lip going through the center of wheel is:
Lf:32" rf: 33"
Lr:34" rr:34"
Also have a missing endlink on rear pass. Side

Raised front 2" as a guesstimate. (2.5" lift but weight of bumper we figured it would come out to be about 2" total lift)
Lf:34" rf:35"
Lr:33 3/4" rr:34"

Does all this sound about right? I'm not sure why the rf is an inch off unless my driveway had a dip there.. Will recheck on a concrete surface tom evening to be sure. And I'm guessing the 1/4" difference on rear is because of the endlink broken?

Complete suspension noob here so any suggestions are welcomed.

[v7guy]

Looks like a pretty standard plan, works for a lot of folks. 81a refer to the last two numbers of front spring part numbers. It's unlikely you have them on the rear. As far as sway bars go, some people like em, some don't, you may want to consider unbolting it on the other side and see how you like it. Going without the rear sway bar is fairly common.

[Midnyteryder196]

Okay thanks v7.. So the chart that is stickied in the lift and suspension section is for the front only? My ss code isn't listed there though. My hu codes are though so that's why I thought I had 81s on rear.

I will most likely keep the swaybar. Just because it will see a lot of highway travel with the wife driving it. Do you guys know If replacing the endlink will split the difference on rear height or will it bring the driver rear up that 1/4" difference. Or should I even be concerned about 1/4" difference between the sides?

[Jrgunn5150]

Alot of vehicles sit slightly higher on the passenger side, in America, to compensate for the crown of the road

[Midnyteryder196]

Thanks Jr that makes sense.. I've never dealt with suspensions on vehicles before except just replacing a strut here n there..

[v7guy]

Matt, that's correct, front only. Generally speaking the rear springs are significantly softer than the front springs and they are different sizes. When you look at em out of the vehicle it's fairly obvious.


Not to try to push you in any direction here, but members generally report they experienced virtually no difference in handling between having a rear sway bar and not having one. Even for a very mild setup it's a very common path to take and many production vehicles only have a front sway bar. I like to bring up the spots where you can save money for a change as opposed to how we generally just cost you money here on the board lol

[Midnyteryder196]

Matt, that's correct, front only. Generally speaking the rear springs are significantly softer than the front springs and they are different sizes. When you look at em out of the vehicle it's fairly obvious.


Not to try to push you in any direction here, but members generally report they experienced virtually no difference in handling between having a rear sway bar and not having one. Even for a very mild setup it's a very common path to take and many production vehicles only have a front sway bar. I like to bring up the spots where you can save money for a change as opposed to how we generally just cost you money here on the board lol

Ah alright I gotcha.

I will for sure look into removing the sway bar then. Do you guys usually completely remove the sway bar or just take the end links out?

[TBYODA]

. I will for sure look into removing the sway bar then. Do you guys usually completely remove the sway bar or just take the end links out?

You'll want to remove it completely or this could happen on the trail.
viewtopic.php?t=5264#p104247

Then you'll be doing trail delete, like I did at last springs TECORE?
However the sway bar does fit nicely on the front bumper.

[Eredin]

Just remove it, you'll gain a bit of ground clearance without that thing hanging below the rear diff. The bar itself is very easy to take off, but the links are the worst part, had to cut mine out they were so bad.

[Midnyteryder196]

Awesome thanks guys!

[BlackTrails]

Good luck finding those Bilstein struts. Ive been looking all day and there is a national backorder .

[Midnyteryder196]

Good luck finding those Bilstein struts. Ive been looking all day and there is a national backorder .

Well Aww hell.. what other options are there for decent struts?

[Jrgunn5150]

That's pretty much it.

I've been collecting other pieces and parts waiting for the Bilsteins

[BlackTrails]

That's pretty much it.

I've been collecting other pieces and parts waiting for the Bilsteins

Thats what I plan on as well. There are the Rancho struts, part # RS5817 but I havent heard much about them, and the run 95.99 a pc. I was going to order them today because I really need new struts but the wife convinced me to just wait lol.

FWIW, Summit racing told me they are expecting them to arrive this week, while Shockwarehouse told me 3-4 weeks. IDK if Summit might get them sooner because they are a larger company but I'm not holding my breath.

[Midnyteryder196]

I remember my father having Rancho shocks on his old Chevy.. From what I remember he liked them. But that was like 15 years ago.. Lol. Are there any members really running the ranchos?

[Jrgunn5150]

Everything on the market other than the yellow Bilstein is a twin tube, as far as I know. So there really wouldn't be any difference

[Jrgunn5150]

Actually, I did some research, turns out the Monroe Sensatracs are also monotubes

[djthumper]

Matt, if you aren't lifting the rear I would go with Bilsteins there as well.

[Midnyteryder196]

Thanks for the input Larry.. Will check a few places again this weekend to see the status of the bilsteins.. Appreciate all the help guys!

[BlackTrails]

I know there was alot of disappointment with the Bilsteins being on backorder so I thought I would point out that there is a set for sale in the Classifieds. I already bought a set from a member here so wanted to try and help out.