Offroad Trailblazers and Envoys

Liftmeister, z71, Bilstein installation and thoughts

BDS, ReadyLift, Smaxx... You name it, we know about it here.

by Philberto » Mon Sep 14, 2009 12:26 pm

Hey everyody,

So yesterday I spend about 8 or 9 hours installing the LiftMeister 2.5" kit, Bilstein HD shocks in front, Z71 shocks/springs in rear, and my eBay 1.3" hubcentric wheel spacers. :mechanic: My work is installing my 265/75/16 Cooper Discoverer S/T tires as we speak, and pics will be posted. :flex:

During my installation, I ran into several.... eccentricities, and I felt that I should share my thoughts with you to help out future lifters:
*An impact wrench will make your day much easier. I used only hand tools for my wrenching, and I suffered for it.
*After removing the coil spring assembly, replacing the shock, and installing the spacers, I encountered difficulty, even after disconnecting the stabilizer bar, with fitting the assembly back into place. I found that using the factory bottle jack on top of the upper control arm allowed me to lower the whole thing enough to fit the arm onto that nut. This took me about half an hour to figure out :thumbdown:
*When lowering the rear driveaxle, it is possible to push down on the assembly and lower it even more. *Have that factory bottle jack on hand to allow you to raise one end of the driveshaft at a time.
*Ensure that you completely torque down the upper shock bolts in the rear. If you forget, your TB will remind you by clanging constantly when going over bumps. :shoot:
*I encountered the common problem of needing spacers for the lower mounts of the z71 shocks. If you are like me, and encountered this problem past the time of being able to use power tools (~9PM), then about 6 or so zip ties per shock, zipped tightly on either side, will suffice for a period of time.
*If the day is hot, and you plan on working without a shirt, apply plenty of sunblock.
*At the end of your install, multiple beers are acceptable, and in fact recommended. :cheers: :cheers:


That's all I have for now, but if I remember anything else, I'll be sure to edit this post and tell you guys.


-Phil :fro:
Last edited by Philberto on Mon Sep 14, 2009 12:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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by Gordinho80 » Mon Sep 14, 2009 12:30 pm

not sure why this hasn't been added as a smilie yet... but...

Image

haha
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by Trail X » Mon Sep 14, 2009 12:40 pm

We already have a superior one!

:need pics:
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by Gordinho80 » Mon Sep 14, 2009 12:47 pm

i like mine better... :angry whip:
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by teebes » Mon Sep 14, 2009 1:39 pm

Just do us a favor and skip these pics:

> *If the day is hot, and you plan on working without a shirt, apply plenty of sunblock.

:lol: :mechanic:
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by MrSmithsTB » Mon Sep 14, 2009 1:50 pm

Hey, difr'nt strokes for difr'nt folks. I like em both.


Now on to the pics!!!!!!!
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by The Roadie » Mon Sep 14, 2009 3:56 pm

My former boss forgot the sunblock and had on a short-sleeved shirt, then went and did about 5 hours of welding. Blisters!
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by Philberto » Tue Sep 15, 2009 2:46 am

Pics!!!
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

These are just sneak peeks, and I promise better ones will follow.

-Phil :fro:
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by Trail X » Tue Sep 15, 2009 7:43 am

Are those holes for ice studs? Cool feature!

Looks good dude! :flex dirty:
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by Gordinho80 » Tue Sep 15, 2009 8:14 am

Very nice! :cheers:
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by MrSmithsTB » Tue Sep 15, 2009 11:50 am

:excited: Coolness.
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by Philberto » Tue Sep 15, 2009 12:30 pm

JamesDowning wrote:Are those holes for ice studs? Cool feature!

Looks good dude! :flex dirty:


Thanks! And those are indeed holes for ice studs. Useless to me here, but something to bear in mind for those members who live in slightly colder climates :viking:

I'm trying to upload higher-quality pics, but photobucket isn't agreeing with my Ubuntu installation, so bear with me.
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by janesy86 » Tue Sep 15, 2009 1:02 pm

Lookin' good brotha. :thumleft:
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by Philberto » Tue Sep 15, 2009 1:12 pm

Here we go...


Image

Image

she'll get dirty as soon as I can make the time.
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by Trail X » Tue Sep 15, 2009 1:25 pm

All of the lugs appear to have the same arc-length. Is that true?

It's my understanding that most tires have varied lug sizes along the circumference to prevent a resonance at a certain speed.
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by Philberto » Tue Sep 15, 2009 1:34 pm

JamesDowning wrote:All of the lugs appear to have the same arc-length. Is that true?

It's my understanding that most tires have varied lug sizes along the circumference to prevent a resonance at a certain speed.


After a few minutes of thinking to realize what you meant by "arc-length," and I assume you meant that all the lugs are of equal height, then yes, I believe they do. That could possibly be what contributes to the noise level of the tire, which isn't excessive to me (certainly not as bad as T/A KM's), but is definitely noticeable. I'm not noticing any one speed that makes more noise than any other, and I've taken them from 0-80. The TB is stationary until I fix the shock and shock spacer issues, because the clunking coming from the rear end is just embarrassing :oops: , but I'll try and get some more impressions after I have everything sorted out.

-edit: come to think of it, the BFG All Terrains are also endowed with a similar situation in the tread department, so I'll have to drive around in the XJ and see if the noise level is similar.
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by Trail X » Tue Sep 15, 2009 1:53 pm

Image

Not lug height, the circumferential distance of the pattern.

For instance, the T/A KMs have a different tread length as you go around... visible below:

Image

Just an interesting note.
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by Philberto » Tue Sep 15, 2009 2:42 pm

JamesDowning wrote:Image

Not lug height, the circumferential distance of the pattern.

For instance, the T/A KMs have a different tread length as you go around... visible below:

Image

Just an interesting note.



Aaaaaah... I get it... looking at pics, and not having my car with me (rode the bike to work), I can't quite tell... it certainly is possible, but then again, I've never heard of resonance being an issue with tires outside of noise... :scratch: :shoot:
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by Trail X » Tue Sep 15, 2009 3:23 pm

Philberto wrote:Aaaaaah... I get it... looking at pics, and not having my car with me (rode the bike to work), I can't quite tell... it certainly is possible, but then again, I've never heard of resonance being an issue with tires outside of noise... :scratch: :shoot:


Right right. Not a serious problem or anything, just curious. For instance, this is one of the (many) reasons that some of Interco's products are notoriously loud.
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by Philberto » Wed Sep 16, 2009 1:17 pm

Rear end clunk fixed with washers! I'm not working 10 hours tomorow, so I'll be able to take the TB to the beach and then offroading to get vanity pics for trailvoy and real pics for here. And hopefully some pinstriping! *sigh* I can't wait for the roof rack and front bumper so that I can get some limb risers put on.
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