THIS WEEKEND. Things to do when lifting.

[lockdoc]

Once all that is done you will need to remove the upper control arm from the frame and remove the knockouts if you want to have it alined. Once you remove the bolts\adjusters from the are, pull it away from the truck. If you look close at the holes that the bolts went through you will see the marks in the metal where you can punch out the holes bigger. While you have it off you should also remount your ball joint underneath the a arm instead of over top. Unfortunately I never got that tip when I did mine. The second pic shows what it will look like after they are knocked out.

[MountainManJoe]

Thanks lockdoc that was super helpful!

I already remounted the control arms ... I wish I had known about the knockouts back then #-o
Those rivets were mfers to get out. After drilling them out, no amount of pounding was going to pop them out, so I used a chisel to pry the balljoint mount off the arm. Then I removed the whole arm and used a grinding stone, sledgehammer and anvil to get them out.

The parking brake cable was also a PITA. The equalizer had basically turned into a clump of rust. I would recommend undoing the the end inside the drums.

Also ran into problems lining up the axle with the new leaf springs. To do this, we used one ratchet strap to pull the axle forward, another to pull it inward, and a jack to raise it into position.

Judging from my experience with all this so far, I imagine that getting these torsion bars out to replace the keys is going to be a pain as well. What are the reasons you don't recommend using re-indexed keys? I understand that there is going to be more stress on the torsion bars, the ball joints and the cv joints, but I only want to do it enough to level out the vehicle. It just looks funny. If I do this, and enlarge the holes in the control arm mounts, is it possible to get the wheels aligned straight up and down?

[lockdoc]

You should be able to get it aligned. Though you will probably have to endure some wining from the tech if it you go through anything like I do around here. The problem I have with this kind of lift up front is the severe angles. You will be going through steering parts fairly quickly and regularly. Just the big wheels alone take a toll. Less than a year and a half ago I ditched the torsion bar crank up method in favor of bigger body lift. My angles are back to stock know and I still kill things. I just went to get an alignment last week and my Moog idlers were shot already. Couldn't be more than 6-7000 miles on them.

[MountainManJoe]

After doing some reading, I'm starting to reconsider. After all the headache of doing this lift, it made me realize how little I want to go back under there to replace more parts.

I had about 1 turn left on each torsion adjuster bolt, so I'll go back and tighten them all the way up. Then I'll drop the rear leafs by one hole on the shackles to fix the van stance.

Is it possible to squeeze an extra little bit out of the stock keys by using longer adjuster bolts?

[LiftedAWDAstro]

You know, I have a serious issue with you lifting your van...







































Where are the PICS?

[lockdoc]

I dropped my rear by one as well. I did it to get rid of a vibration I had due to the pinion angle. You do need to get the knock outs out of the a arm area though.

[snapple]

I dropped my rear by one as well. I did it to get rid of a vibration I had due to the pinion angle. You do need to get the knock outs out of the a arm area though.

Yeah, I'll have to double check the knock outs! I'm sure theyre still there. So,even with the bigger body lift. Your still wearing out steering components? Just from normal driving?Also needed to go to an electric fan,right? What else did you have to do when going to the bigger blocks? I also need 4.10 gearing change,BAD!

[MountainManJoe]

Where are the PICS?

Aw common it's a plain white lifted van. There's nothing exciting about that. Maybe once I start putting some fun accessories on it...

[MountainManJoe]

I dropped my rear by one as well. I did it to get rid of a vibration I had due to the pinion angle. You do need to get the knock outs out of the a arm area though.

Funny you should mention that because I noticed some vibration too, but even while parked. It happens at a specific RPM range. There's also some racket under the hood, but the fan and pulleys appear to be clear of everything.

[lockdoc]

I dropped my rear by one as well. I did it to get rid of a vibration I had due to the pinion angle. You do need to get the knock outs out of the a arm area though.

Funny you should mention that because I noticed some vibration too, but even while parked. It happens at a specific RPM range. There's also some racket under the hood, but the fan and pulleys appear to be clear of everything.

Check your exhaust system. There may be a pipe resting against the body/frame rather than hanging from rubber supports. This will cause vibrations in the cab.

[lockdoc]

I dropped my rear by one as well. I did it to get rid of a vibration I had due to the pinion angle. You do need to get the knock outs out of the a arm area though.

Yeah, I'll have to double check the knock outs! I'm sure theyre still there. So,even with the bigger body lift. Your still wearing out steering components? Just from normal driving?Also needed to go to an electric fan,right? What else did you have to do when going to the bigger blocks? I also need 4.10 gearing change,BAD!

I can't wait to put 4.10's in! As for the steering components, I go off road occasionally. Might have something to do with it?

When I installed the 4 1\4" tubes I had to

1) Install an electric fan and controller
2) Weld in a 3" extension to the shifter linkage
3) Weld an extension to the steering shaft
4) Splice a few electric lines longer and rerouted some others
5) Reroute the power steering lines going to the fill canister and bend the other solid lines
6) Bend the brake lines to fit
7) Adjust exhaust hangers
8) Customize the TBI air intake
9) Bend AC lines

Note: I have a V8 in mine so the stock radiator hoses were too long to start with. After the lift I used the stock size to make them fit again. With the V6 you might need to find different hoses.

PS filler moved


Stretched brake lines and lengthened steering shaft


Taurus electric fan


Gives a good view of how low the engine is compared to the body after the lift

[MountainManJoe]

Check your exhaust system. There may be a pipe resting against the body/frame rather than hanging from rubber supports. This will cause vibrations in the cab.

Seriously??
Yeah my tailpipe is resting against the rear spring, but I didn't think it would shake it that much!

[T.Low]

Where are the PICS?

Aw common it's a plain white lifted van. There's nothing exciting about that. Maybe once I start putting some fun accessories on it...

[-X Uhh, we'll be the judge of whats exciting around here. Pics please.

[97CargoCrawler]

Just another BOOOOOOORING lifted white van.



I'd like to see some pix of your boring ass van too. If for no other reason than putting me to sleep and reassuring me that my boring white van is still the ugliest pile of crap on the road.

PIX.PIX.PIX.PIX.PIX.

Last weekend I cut the pipe hangar and welded in a 2" steel spacer to keep my pipe off the springs. It really sound like $hit! All good now.

[MountainManJoe]

OK OK! I'll post some pics once the new tires are on, the front is aligned, and it's washed and looking pretty.
Here are some tidbits in the meantime...

Putting in the body spacers. My friend in the picture helped me out so much. I couldn't have done it without him.



Here is the body section I was talking about earlier when I couldn't get the subframe bolt out. I unscrewed the quarter panel there, snapped off one side of the metal piece that was covering the hole and bent it back. After sawing the bolt off between the body and subframe, I ripped off the nut retainer by hammering a screwdriver through the bolt hole. Then I was able to insert a new nut, washer and wrench to hold it steady through the body tube in the picture to attach the subframe. There was a lot of crud in there.