Roadie's now using Mark's 3" spacers up front

[The Roadie]

After breaking my prototype Icon coilovers (and no time to finish the machining to correct the design flaw) I ran with old struts with unknown springs for over a year. I got sick of them, and was convinced I was losing at least 2" of lift from the saggy springs, so I bought all new stuff. 89 springs, new Bilsteins, and Mark's best spacer. Put them in and got back 4" (!!!!!) of lift I had been missing. Front wheelwell lip now 40" from the ground again!

Longer report later (and in another thread) about the reason I didn't go back to my previous BDS spacers, and how much better I found Mark's design to be.

Installed


Nice thing about a body lift: You can install struts from the side without ever opening your hood and getting out the required step-stool.


Mike Barton's fantastic radiator skid plate


Back up where it should be:

[NC_IslandRunner]

Looks good.

[bartonmd]

Looks good!

(Now you can finish installing the radiator skid bolts)

Mike

[The Roadie]

Soon as I change the oil, swap out the radiator hoses, change the coolant, flush the tranny fluid, and a few dozen other items. Lots of deferred maintenance when it's no longer a DD and I've been too busy to wheel it. At least my wife is able to drive and walk again after her cast came off early...

[Cable810]

Lookin good Roadie.

[fishsticks]

Installed

Your spring looks a little bowed out in this pic. I just went out and looked at mine to be sure. Maybe they'll settle in?

[The Roadie]

You're right, that side WAS bowed. Other side was fine. Not exactly certain what the root cause is except for the spring end coil not matching the ramp angle of the plastic perch. I'd have to take it apart and swap in another plastic ramp, and I was not willing to extend the project to figure it out. I think there's stress being transferred to the shock body, but I'm hoping most of it is being sent to the spacer and ramp. Mike - got any ideas about springs that pop out to the side like that?

[fishsticks]

Mine aren't perfectly centered either, but yours seems worse.

I wonder if you've tweaked a perch upwards a bit?

[bartonmd]

Looks to me like the upper mount is at the angle for the shock to be at the stock angle, but as the control arm rotates down, the lower strut mount goes toward the center of the vehicle, and the spring bows a bit...

Mike

[markmc]

Cant really tell by the pic..
Is the strut rod parallel to the body..or does it look off axis to any one else?

[bartonmd]

Cant really tell by the pic..
Is the strut rod parallel to the body..or does it look off axis to any one else?

Exactly. The rod looks like it's at an angle, compared to the mount, because the un-broken-in 89 springs have the suspension at a pretty extreme angle. I'd bet it's just flexing the damper in the upper mount.

Mike

[Trail X]

Looks good Bill. How much downward extension is there with the 89s and the big lift? I'm betting not much more than a quarter inch? Have you driven it yet?

I'd bet the spring is just torqued a bit. I think that can happen if the shock body gets rotated too much relative to the upper mount upon install.

[HARDTRAILZ]

Looks good

[The Roadie]

I'll check extension with the Hilift later. I think it's at least 1".

The spring cocking is not related to the install; it was curved like that when the strut was assembled but not installed. Weirdest thing. It can only be something in the spring or the perches - either the new Bilstein lower perch is bent or the upper plastic ribbed ramp was distorted. I didn't see either of these by eye when putting it together.