Some advice on lifted trucks for you.
02-26-2009, 11:52 AM
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Staging Lane
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Location: Yuma, AZ
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Some advice on lifted trucks for you.
Hi, just a little thing I have known about but finally ran into with a truck I got in here at work.
First off, the owner of this truck (97 ECSB 4x4) wanted a lift to beable to run 35's. Well ended up getting a Fagtech 3" and only running 32's!!! Fast forward to now.... First wants to get to run 37's with a 6" lift. I tell him "not without a 3" bodylift also. So he changes to 35's for no bodylift. Then we decide on the kit. Went with the Procomp 6" MX6 upgrade with dual shock hoop kit and MX6R's on the hoop. No problems right......WRONG!!!
Get his truck in the shop after we recieved the parts. Thinking to myself, "this won't be that hard to take off one kit and put the other on." Well let me tell you, it was a bitch! First the Fagtech was a "spindle lift", so we had to go buy some used stock spindles for the procomp kit. Then we find out the differential has had the upper mount point cut off and that is needed to put the procomp kit in. So another trip to the salvage yard to purchase a used, same gears diff with all the stock stuff left on it. Then the sway bar had to be flipped for the procomp kit....No problem there except the Fagtech comes with the 9" long billet sway bar connects!!! SO yet ANOTHER trip to the junkyard to get some stock sway bar connects which werent complete so we had to buy some more parts at the parts store. Then since the Fagtech was a spindle lift, it pooched the front wheels out 3+" on each side and the spacer was put inbetween the diff and the CV's. SO, another run to the parts store for stock length bolts to bolt the CV's to the diff.
All of this took ME, by myself with very little help, damn near two weeks in the shop!!! The owner paid just over $5K for the entire thing, parts, labor etc... I am now knowledgable on the workings of a lift kit. And then the owner had to buy new wheels and tires, plus go get the exhaust crossover pipe moved. I couldn't put the front driveshaft on because the exhaust was in the way!!! Doh!
My advice to you all is this.....
One, don't ever buy a lifted truck if it has a lift kit that you don't want on it!!!!! Cuz to switch might be more costly than you think.
Two, don't ever buy a Fagtech lift. Those things are put together so cheap. For instance, after the cutting off the diff mount, you put a new one "bolted" onto the front of the diff, which is held by the skidplate, and that skid plate is held on by ONE 1/2" threaded bolt to the rear drop member!!! OMG WHAT A PIECE OF **** THIS KIT WAS!!!
The Procomp kit was actually a very nice unit!! Came with EVERYTHING needed to install (if you had a stock truck). The steering geometry was very nicely thought out and supported as to not wear it out too quickly with linkages in the top and the front drop member! Damn nice kit.
Just some thoughts for you guys that are thinking of buying an allready lifted truck. Just make sure it is a lift kit that "you" want. And make sure it was put in the correct way and not some "hack" garage job.
That is all.
First off, the owner of this truck (97 ECSB 4x4) wanted a lift to beable to run 35's. Well ended up getting a Fagtech 3" and only running 32's!!! Fast forward to now.... First wants to get to run 37's with a 6" lift. I tell him "not without a 3" bodylift also. So he changes to 35's for no bodylift. Then we decide on the kit. Went with the Procomp 6" MX6 upgrade with dual shock hoop kit and MX6R's on the hoop. No problems right......WRONG!!!
Get his truck in the shop after we recieved the parts. Thinking to myself, "this won't be that hard to take off one kit and put the other on." Well let me tell you, it was a bitch! First the Fagtech was a "spindle lift", so we had to go buy some used stock spindles for the procomp kit. Then we find out the differential has had the upper mount point cut off and that is needed to put the procomp kit in. So another trip to the salvage yard to purchase a used, same gears diff with all the stock stuff left on it. Then the sway bar had to be flipped for the procomp kit....No problem there except the Fagtech comes with the 9" long billet sway bar connects!!! SO yet ANOTHER trip to the junkyard to get some stock sway bar connects which werent complete so we had to buy some more parts at the parts store. Then since the Fagtech was a spindle lift, it pooched the front wheels out 3+" on each side and the spacer was put inbetween the diff and the CV's. SO, another run to the parts store for stock length bolts to bolt the CV's to the diff.
All of this took ME, by myself with very little help, damn near two weeks in the shop!!! The owner paid just over $5K for the entire thing, parts, labor etc... I am now knowledgable on the workings of a lift kit. And then the owner had to buy new wheels and tires, plus go get the exhaust crossover pipe moved. I couldn't put the front driveshaft on because the exhaust was in the way!!! Doh!
My advice to you all is this.....
One, don't ever buy a lifted truck if it has a lift kit that you don't want on it!!!!! Cuz to switch might be more costly than you think.
Two, don't ever buy a Fagtech lift. Those things are put together so cheap. For instance, after the cutting off the diff mount, you put a new one "bolted" onto the front of the diff, which is held by the skidplate, and that skid plate is held on by ONE 1/2" threaded bolt to the rear drop member!!! OMG WHAT A PIECE OF **** THIS KIT WAS!!!
The Procomp kit was actually a very nice unit!! Came with EVERYTHING needed to install (if you had a stock truck). The steering geometry was very nicely thought out and supported as to not wear it out too quickly with linkages in the top and the front drop member! Damn nice kit.
Just some thoughts for you guys that are thinking of buying an allready lifted truck. Just make sure it is a lift kit that "you" want. And make sure it was put in the correct way and not some "hack" garage job.
That is all.
02-26-2009, 01:28 PM
#3
Had a Procomp 6" lift on my old Bronco and never had any problems with it. The only thing I wish they had added was a spacer to drop down the transfer case a bit to keep the drivetrain geometry less extreme. (Had to replace the seal around the yoke in the diff b/c it pulled itself out)
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