Lumpy's 89 2 inch lift, with pics and measurements

[Lumpy]

Big Brown truck arrived day before yesterday with my stuff from Dan the Man.

I put the 2" front hockey pucks in yesterday. Took just 3 hours.
Most time consuming part was disconnecting the E brake cable
to fit it into the new bracket. The equalizer thing would only allow me
to turn it's nut a few degrees so it took a LOT of scraped knuckles,
over and over again.

Did the rear shackles today. It was a bit easier than the front.
Total time, also about 3 hours. Had to remove the wheels and
unbolt the tail pipe, but didn't have to remove the bumper.

This lift is the standard $160 package from Overland. Front pucks, rear shackles.
It's done on my stock composite rear springs. I didn't change to steel.
I'll probably do that in the future but dropping my gas tank in the Arizona summer
is not something I want to do.

So here it is. The 2" lift. I didn't take pics of the working steps,
there are plenty of really good how-to's posted already.
Instead of taking the xtra time for photos, I flew through the installation.

Here's pics of the finished product with some measurements.
Tires are stock 215s on stock wheels.
Descriptions of the photos are ABOVE the images.

Side view, zero lift. Here's the reference photo for comparison with the lift photos to follow.
Disregard the jackstands you see in this photo, they are not engaged.
The van is resting in it's natural state, on it's stock composite springs, tires and shocks -



Same side view, after the 2 inch hockey pucks installed FRONT ONLY. Rear still stock, zero lift -



Same side view, after both FRONT and REAR 2 inch lift installed -




Front bumper, zero lift. In the subsequent pictures I've removed the plastic air dam
and the front lic plate holder for more ground clearance. So I took this measurement
from the bottom of the real bumper, not the plastic thingie. The tape measure is
3 inches square. So the total clearance in this STOCK configuration
is about 12 1/4 inch, ground to bumper -


Same front bumper side view, now with the 2 inch pucks installed.
clearance now 13 3/4 inch. gained about 1 1/2 inches. Haven't relocated
the bumper so I'm not really sure why I've gained ANY bumper clearance.
It theoretically should still be in the zero lift spot -



Front wheel, zero lift. Total vertical opening 27 1/4.
I think a more important measurement is the axle to fender measurement.
In this stock form, it's 14 1/2 inches from center of axle to top of wheel well -



Same place, now with the 2 inch lift installed.
Total opening 29 3/4. Axle to top of wheel well 17 1/4 -



Now BEHIND the front wheel, zero lift. Again, disregard the jack stands,
they are not engaged. Stock condition, zero lift, clearance 10 inches -


Same shot, behind FRONT wheel, now with the 2 inch lift installed.
Clearance 12 1/2 inch -



Behind REAR wheel, stock condition, zero lift. Disregard the floor jack, not engaged.
Clearance 13 1/4 inch -


Same shot, behind rear wheel, now with the 2 inch lift installed.
Clearance 14 3/4 inch -



Overall, a pretty darn simple job. You can do it with simple hand wrenches
and sockets. I don't have any impact tools. Sprayed PBBlaster a couple days
prior. The stock body bushings were in good shape, haven't disentegrated.
The steel washers in/on the bushings were a bit rusty but they cleaned
up well. I reused all the stock hardware except (obviously) for the longer
bolts through the front end pucks. Overland supplied those longer bolts.

Ride is great! Being 2 inches taller just serves to remind me why I like
driving a van in the first place. That great view of the road, compared
to the little sedans and other short cars, is now just 2 inches greater.

Rancho 9000s go in next.


Lumpy

You sang all those car commercials?
You got it, Toyota.
http://www.LumpyMusic.com

[dunedog]

Livin' big Lumpy, livin big.

Amazing what simple things can make you feel good....hey and if the windows and tires were'nt there I wouldn't have been able to see anything at all ...nice camo!

[batmo]

hey thanks for the post Lumpy! Im considering the same upgrade since I added the 2" deeper alloy transmission pan.

Id like to see that third photo re-shot at the same time of day as the first though since I can really see a difference with that lighting position. Ha! if it wasnt for the windows I would have to look to find the van.

what all came with the kit?

nice work!

[Lumpy]

hey thanks for the post Lumpy! Im considering the same upgrade since I added the 2" deeper alloy transmission pan.

Id like to see that third photo re-shot at the same time of day as the first though since I can really see a difference with that lighting position. Ha! if it wasnt for the windows I would have to look to find the van.

what all came with the kit?

nice work!

Thanks a lot!

I'm always taking pics of the thing and it's always parked in the same spot.
I'll see if I can get a little bit later shot for that finished pic.

2 inch kit includes -
- 6 front end pucks
- 6 new (longer) bolts for the pucks (4 + 2, two of the bolts are larger than the others)
- 2 new (longer) rear shackles
- 1 Emergency brake cable hanger (necessary when you lift the front)
- VERY detailed step by step instructions. The instructions are for ALL parts of
all the Overland kits. For example, it lists the different steps needed for comp springs
vs steel springs, for this year vs that year etc. It also includes instructions for the
bigger lift kits, even though the one you buy might be just a 2 inch. Even a couple of
Dan's hand written notes "Bro - When tightening this, do that" etc.

Shackles shipped separately, direct from a company right here in Phoenix.
They appear to be the same high quality stuff seen on Overland's site.
Dan said he hires out the work on the shackles because he hasn't been able
to do much fabricating lately. He said the about to be new owner IS a
fabricator so that new guy may indeed start making the shackles again himself.
No complaints at all about the shackles. They look beefier than any I've
ever seen, including the big ones on big 3/4 ton 4WD trucks. WAY beefier
than the generic things you see at PepBoys.

It's probably worth mentioning that if you install the 2 inch kit and then
later decide to upgrade to 4", there's no loss of "work done". You'd be
installing the 2" pucks and the exact same shackles with either kit.
So if I decide to add another two inch in the future (surely I will)
it just means I replace the stock springs front and rear, along with
new rear spring hangers. So you can do the lift in "stages" if you
and your budget desires.

You'll need 21mm (7/8") sockets and wrenches. Documents stated
you need 21 and 22 for the shackles. I found that all the bolts took
21. Didn't need a 22.

You'll need PB Blaster or similar and a breaker bar for the puck bolts.
You may need to unbolt the lower shock mounting, 15mm and 18mm.
You may need a piece of pipe maybe 3-4 ft long to help maneuver
the shackles into position. You'll need jack stands and some kind of
lifting jack. A $70 Harbor freight floor jack is a luxury. But you could
make it happen with the simple scissor/bottle style jacks if you put
some kind of blocks under them. You have to lift it relatively high to
get the parts in.

I'm no master mechanic, by any means. I'm an old guy with a bad
back and I could make it happen just fine, with just about the tools
that I normally carry in the van, except for the jacks.

The hardest part of the "work" was removing and replacing the rear
wheels. That always makes my broken old back sore for a couple
of days from yanking on that cross lug nut wrench. I"m pretty sure
if you had air tools and were a physically fit youngster, you could
do the entire thing in an hour.

Rancho "MyRide" controller got here today. Shocks arrive tomorrow.
Temps are creepin up. I hope I can get those in before the 100s.


Lumpy

Did you do a lot of those Emergency Broadcast Warnings?
Yes. Had it been an actual emergency I would have hid.

http://www.LumpyMusic.com

[LiftedAWDAstro]

Rancho "MyRide" controller got here today. Shocks arrive tomorrow.
Temps are creepin up. I hope I can get those in before the 100s.

Let me know how you like the MyRide setup. I just removed it from my truck as it seems to run every time I start the truck to move a trailer or load with camp wood. I also found one time this winter where it ran constantly and I had to set it real low to keep the compressor from running too long. It was down around 0 degrees though so the line and O-rings were very cold!

Adjusting on the fly is cool though and I could definitely feel the ride difference between say a #4 setting and the #9 setting. When towing I run it on #9 anyways.

Love the van with the 2" lift. Once you get the 235's on there it'll look even better.

[Lumpy]

Let me know how you like the MyRide setup. I just removed it from my truck
as it seems to run every time I start the truck to move a trailer or load
with camp wood. I also found one time this winter where it ran constantly
and I had to set it real low to keep the compressor from running too long.
It was down around 0 degrees though so the line and O-rings were very cold!

Rear 9000 shocks are now in. Quickest job I've ever done. Took literally 5 minutes
per shock. Haven't done the front yet. Haven't mounted the compressor yet either.

I made a place to mount the compressor and receiver. Mounted both to a piece of
sheet steel, then mount the steel to the frame with rubber bushings. I'm mounting
it on the cross member that's just forward of the gas tank.

I talked on the phone to the Rancho tech "Al". He said if there's any kind of
leak in the air lines or fittings, the compressor will sense it and come on, to
keep the air pressure up. So for that reason he highly recommends using
the little add-on kit that powers the thing from the IGNITION instead of
the ALWAYS HOT 12v connection. Then when the van is parked, if it
loses any air, the compressor won't come on and run down your battery.
Only downfall, he says, is that when you start the car, it sometimes takes
a minute for the remote to shake hands with the receiver.

Another thing the Rancho tech mentioned is to be sure and have at least
five feet of air line between the receiver and the compressor. You can mount
them right next to each other but you should still have 5 ft of hose in there.
Coil it up or whatever. Perhaps that 5 ft of line acts like a very small "tank"
to buffer some of the air that is in the system. That tiny 12vdc motor
is a little bugger. Like a slot car motor. I can't imagine it's a duty cycle monster.

I drove just a couple miles to ACE Hardware to get some rubber spacers.
The new rear 9000s are great. I have them temporarily on the lowest
setting and NOT connected to the compressor yet. The moment I
backed out of the driveway I could feel the difference.

Now it rides more like a futon, less like a water bed.

Me happy Astro driver..

Lumpy

You Played on Lawrence Welk?
Yes but no blue notes. Just blue hairs.

http://www.LumpyMusic.com

[LiftedAWDAstro]

I had mine setup to be powered from an ignition source just so it wouldn't kill the battery. Mine did take just a few seconds to cycle when the truck started. I don't know what the add-on kit for that is but I just wired the fuse for receiver power to an ignition power source in the fuse box. Didn't use a "kit".

[Lumpy]

Let me know how you like the MyRide setup. I just removed it from my truck as it seems to run every time I start the truck to move a trailer or load with camp wood...

Mine does that same thing. If I've got the shocks set to any number,
while the power is on, then cycle it off and turn it back on, the compressor
runs for a few seconds. Doesn't matter if it's been off for just seconds,
or overnight. It does the same thing if they're set on 9 and then I
call it to set to a lower number. Compressor still comes on. I think
it's part of the handshake. Once it's reached it's setting, it doesn't
continue to come on. It's loud! I hear it while driving if I change
settings. But if I don't change settings I don't hear it come on.

Be sure the ends of the nylon lines are cut SQUARE.
I dabbed a bit of Lucas oil conditioner on the ends of
the nylon lines, thinking that the stuff in the Lucas would
help swell the rubber seals in the female part of the push-to-connect
thingie.


Lumpy

You were the Ken-L-Ration St Bernard?
Yes. My dog's bigger.
www.LumpyMusic.com

[T.Low]

Nice thread, Lumps! Way to go!