How much lift is too much lift with perch collars?

[PainlessSauce]

I have a 2023 Black Diamond Bronco 4 dr 2.7L. It used to be stock non-sas, but I bought some take-off sas suspension from a wildtrak that had the HOSS 2.0 bilsteins and they supposedly have a 2" perch collar lift. So if i am doing the math right, that is a 3.1" lift overall??? I believe a sas lift is 1.1" and the perch is 2". I am debating on taking off the perch collars due to my worry on drive shaft angles and cv angles. Or maybe I should swap to 1-1.25" perch collars.

Is there anyway I can check my geometry to see if it is a 2" perch collar lift? I forgot to take before and after pictures to measure the lift difference.

I also bought some -10 offset wheels with 35" tires that currently are not rubbing, but I had to take off the front and rear crash bars. I'm worried if I take the perch collars off, I'll start to rub.

I would prefer the simplest/cheapest solution rather than a diff or transfer case drop...unless that is easy, but I'd also like to do the work myself.

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[Frankie945]

You are still in the safe operating range of OEM components if you just have the perch collars installed. All perch collars do is add preload to your springs in return it raises your height.

 

[PainlessSauce]

You are still in the safe operating range of OEM components if you just have the perch collars installed. All perch collars do is add preload to your springs in return it raises your height.

Around the time I got the lift and bigger tires, I have been getting a slight vibration in floor board and steering wheel. I balanced the tires and got an alignment, but I'm chasing my tail on where this vibration is coming from. Dealer and auto shop say it's not a big deal, but I'm paranoid.

 

[Brian_B]

Grease not evenly distributed in a CV somewhere? Drive shaft not balanced? Brake rotor? Lot of things can cause little shimmies at high speeds

Since it occurred after the lift I would suspect a front axle CV - the drivers side specifically - those are very common to go a bit wonky after work on the front end

 

[PainlessSauce]

Grease not evenly distributed in a CV somewhere? Drive shaft not balanced? Brake rotor? Lot of things can cause little shimmies at high speeds

Since it occurred after the lift I would suspect a front axle CV - the drivers side specifically - those are very common to go a bit wonky after work on the front end

Is it better to ask the dealer to check these things? I can't find any info on how to check drive shaft balancing on bronco. The cv axles are a concern for me, but the boots aren't torn or throwing grease so idk what else to check on them.

 

[Brian_B]

Is it better to ask the dealer to check these things? I can't find any info on how to check drive shaft balancing on bronco. The cv axles are a concern for me, but the boots aren't torn or throwing grease so idk what else to check on them.

The thing that happens, when you drop the front end to pull the old shocks/springs/coil overs off - the knuckle is relatively unsupported and it can over-extend the front axle, which is bolted onto the front hub, which is in that knuckle. Very common unless the shop takes special care to prevent it, and it isn't immediately obvious.

It doesn't always present as damage right away, sometimes it's a few days later, the clip pops that holds the half-shaft onto the CV while letting it slide internal to the boot, and it'll then eventually pull out and throw a boot.

But clicking/popping (especially at full turn or going over bumps), abnormal vibrations, the clamp getting tweaked or the boot eventually tearing off and slinging grease are the symptoms. You wouldn't really be able to notice until the boot goes unless you just happen to catch it clicking/popping at full turn radius (and once it does that, it's probably going to throw the boot)

Other people have noted - not with front end work, but just generally - that sometimes the grease won't be evenly distributed, it'll be in a big glob on one side of the CV or the other, and that can throw it off balance and cause vibration - they were mostly able to just massage the boot and work the grease back up more evenly around the CV. Someone around here even had their boot get a vacuum in it and "implode".

 

[derichio02]

Is it better to ask the dealer to check these things? I can't find any info on how to check drive shaft balancing on bronco. The cv axles are a concern for me, but the boots aren't torn or throwing grease so idk what else to check on them.

What type of tires did you buy? If you bought aggressive AT or Mud tires or even some with a higher load rating a very small amount of vibration is to be expected

 

[PainlessSauce]

What type of tires did you buy? If you bought aggressive AT or Mud tires or even some with a higher load rating a very small amount of vibration is to be expected

35" BFG KO2s load c

 

[Frankie945]

35" BFG KO2s load c

If it vibrates at a certain speed then gets worse or goes away try rotating your tires to see if the vibrations change. That’s one thing I’d do to try and troubleshoot. Odds are it’s a tire little out of balance.

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