Any shortcuts for installing lift and levelling kits?

[BroncoAZ]

That’s the issue though, getting those studs out. If you drop the lower control arm, you don’t need to remove the studs. How are you going to have room to get the studs out with the strut on the truck?

The Zone install video I watched showed him pushing out the studs with an air hammer before removing the lower control arm. He also says a punch and hammer would work. It’s around 2:30. As long as the spring compressors would keep it short enough to slip the top spacer over the studs it should work.

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[ctandc]

The Zone install video I watched showed him pushing out the studs with an air hammer before removing the lower control arm. He also says a punch and hammer would work. It’s around 2:30. As long as the spring compressors would keep it short enough to slip the top spacer over the studs it should work.

Fair enough. I'm just saying from my personal experience with newer Fords (F150s / Mustangs) the time spent getting those studs out and not damaging the ears doesn't really seem like advantage to just dropping the lower arm. You have to get an alignment either way. I've learned the hard way that sometimes something that SEEMS like it saves time / effort doesn't.

Fair warning on air hammers....they are not created equal. The best one I ever had used so much air, when running it, my compressor was pretty much constantly running to try and keep up...but if you have a big compressor flowing a lot of volume, I guess it's not an issue.

 

[dgorsett]

I'm spending more time thinking about this than it will take to just do it by standard methods but:

Front: Install compressor with Bronco at rest. Loosen but don't remove lower nuts. Remove upper and sway bar nuts. Raise from frame to natural droop. Top should be loose, compress further if needed. Install upper shim. Lower, reinstall upper nuts, not fully tightened. Remove lower nuts raise from frame, install lower shim. Lower, tighten everything up. Some kits use new lower hard ware others don't, deal with as appropriate.

Rear: Set on jackstands at axle remove tire and fender liner. Install compressor on spring. Remove upper nuts. Lift from frame to droop, compress further if needed. Install puck, compress and rotate hat. Lower, reinstall upper nuts and fender liner.

Maybe?

 

[BroncoAZ]

I'm spending more time thinking about this than it will take to just do it by standard methods but:

Front: Install compressor with Bronco at rest. Loosen but don't remove lower nuts. Remove upper and sway bar nuts. Raise from frame to natural droop. Top should be loose, compress further if needed. Install upper shim. Lower, reinstall upper nuts, not fully tightened. Remove lower nuts raise from frame, install lower shim. Lower, tighten everything up. Some kits use new lower hard ware others don't, deal with as appropriate.

Rear: Set on jackstands at axle remove tire and fender liner. Install compressor on spring. Remove upper nuts. Lift from frame to droop, compress further if needed. Install puck, compress and rotate hat. Lower, reinstall upper nuts and fender liner.

Maybe?

Exactly how I think it could work except I think the bottom studs may be too long and need to get punched out and replaced with bolts.

 

[evilletruck]

Have done a few lifts so far, and have not taken lower control arm off for any of them, some of the puck lifts remove the studs from the top of the strut so it is easy to slide back in and then bolt down from the top into the puck, so slides in easy, others I have had to remove the studs on the bottom of the struts to get them back in, but used that opportunity to replace the studs with bolts facing up so they don't get destroyed offroad and wont be able to remove them later on.

Haven't had to use spring compressor or remove lower control arm for any of them yet.

 

[M Redwood]

I wasn’t planning on removing the strut assembly, just getting enough room on top to slip the spacer in on top of the mounting studs. Do you think there would be enough room to do that if the strut were held at ride height and the suspension fully drooped? If the bottom studs were hammered out and replaced with bolts one should only need 3/4” or so to slip the bottom spacer in.

That's what I tryed but could not get them in there to remove...now when it's off and you put a 2 inch puck on top it creates more room to allow the compressor to reinstall...but be careful of the release so it does not get stuck on the spring once remounted..

 

[Jhuff]

That’s the issue though, getting those studs out. If you drop the lower control arm, you don’t need to remove the studs. How are you going to have room to get the studs out with the strut on the truck?

There is a good chance we are working harder to find a shortcut, than the actual work required in dropping the LCA. PersonalIy, I'm just spoiled by my old Tacoma. With a little finesse, I could put new springs or shocks in with minimal unbolting.

Have done a few lifts so far, and have not taken lower control arm off for any of them, some of the puck lifts remove the studs from the top of the strut so it is easy to slide back in and then bolt down from the top into the puck, so slides in easy, others I have had to remove the studs on the bottom of the struts to get them back in, but used that opportunity to replace the studs with bolts facing up so they don't get destroyed offroad and wont be able to remove them later on.

Haven't had to use spring compressor or remove lower control arm for any of them yet.

This sounds hopeful. The bolt idea also sounds really good. I may have to dig into that idea. Did you have trouble finding the proper bolts?

I hate having my daily driver torn apart, so time savings are always a plus!

I'm spending more time thinking about this than it will take to just do it by standard methods but:

Front: Install compressor with Bronco at rest. Loosen but don't remove lower nuts. Remove upper and sway bar nuts. Raise from frame to natural droop. Top should be loose, compress further if needed. Install upper shim. Lower, reinstall upper nuts, not fully tightened. Remove lower nuts raise from frame, install lower shim. Lower, tighten everything up. Some kits use new lower hard ware others don't, deal with as appropriate.

Rear: Set on jackstands at axle remove tire and fender liner. Install compressor on spring. Remove upper nuts. Lift from frame to droop, compress further if needed. Install puck, compress and rotate hat. Lower, reinstall upper nuts and fender liner.

Maybe?

Oh boy, now you have me thinking! This should conserve some jacking height too (before the tires come off the ground), if I'm picturing it right.

I definitely don't like how high these off-road vehicles have to be lifted/supported just to get a tire off. Especially if doing a lot of heavy wrenching.

 

[dgorsett]

[

This sounds hopeful. The bolt idea also sounds really good. I may have to dig into that idea. Did you have trouble finding the proper bolts?

Most of the two piece front kits come with bolts to do this very thing, some (Ready Lift?) do not. Mine (Moto Fab) came with bolts. I may not use them right away and save the chore of swapping them out until my mood is right.

 

[Snacktime]

I dropped the lower control arms, much easier and I used a floor jack to help put arms back in(was like an extra set of hands). My issue was the rear bottom strut bolt, you need an impact or 3/4" breaker bar.

My biggest hack would be pre spraying all the nuts with penetrating oil. I have an Ice Mountain Bronco.

 

[Jhuff]

[

Most of the two piece front kits come with bolts to do this very thing, some (Ready Lift?) do not. Mine (Moto Fab) came with bolts. I may not use them right away and save the chore of swapping them out until my mood is right.

Ah, I see! I was worried about finding the proper grade before the install, but I guess I don't need to rush. The fabtech kit uses a spacer that sits on top of the strut and is tightened down to it using the original (but cut down studs), then they provide bolts that are threaded down into the top of that spacer.

If I ever find the right bottom bolts, I can do that later.

 

[dgorsett]

Ah, I see! I was worried about finding the proper grade before the install, but I guess I don't need to rush. The fabtech kit uses a spacer that sits on top of the strut and is tightened down to it using the original (but cut down studs), then they provide bolts that are threaded down into the top of that spacer.

If I ever find the right bottom bolts, I can do that later.

Yep, I got the fabtech I'm going to use on the rear. Using moto fab up front

 

[BroncoAZ]

Definitely needs a leveling kit.

 

[Jhuff]

So a friendly member, @internationlriders, shared two videos that really helped me wrap my head around what's possible. It looks like dropping the LCA may actually the easiest, fastest, and safest way.

This video makes the process look simple and precise, compared to other videos showing the disassembly of way more knuckles than necessary:

I used the instructions starting at 2:20 mark of this video:

Do you have sway bar disconnect? If you do then instead of completely removing it I only take the nut and bolt of one side and loosen the other. 2:30 in this video shows this:

Getting ready to use this nice day and give it a shot!

I'm still tempted to try and use the sway-bar disconnect to get the necessary play, but with limited daylight, will probably just use the proven methods here.

 

[sniffHound]

Over-inflate. No lift needed.

 

[Jhuff]

So, I installed my Fabtech Levelling kit and have a few shortcuts, one specific only to the Fabtech.

1) The video above is correct, you can move the entire sway-bar disconnect assembly to the rear and support it with a single bolt. I honestly don't think you need to disconnect either swabar link at the LCA. I disconnected the first, but not the second side.

2) I don't think I needed to compress the springs in order to rotate the top hat, per fabtech instructions. I did, but when torquing the adapter down, the top half of the shock rotated anyways.

I dont know if rotating the shock body is bad, but it happened, and I had to rotate it back to the correct alignment. To do so, use their supplied bolts (sticking out about 3/4“ and use a bar for leverage between them to twist it back to where it needs to be. As long as I was turning it, I see no reason why shouldn't have done that from the beginning, and not bothered compressing the springs.

3) The most time consuming part was getting the lower shock bolts slid out of the LCA. I found out too late that leaving the top-hat bolts in (but loose) makes this part MUCH easier. This keeps the bottom bolts lined up in their holes, instead of the threads digging into the aluminum, stopping all progress.

Overall, dropping the LCA was easy. Getting it back on is tough, and getting 195Lbs of torque on those bolts when sitting at ride height is almost impossible. The angles are really bad for pushing or pulling.

My torque wrench never clicked, so I rattled each one with an impact and will let the alignment shop torque them.

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