rcd lift kit

dranger962000 · #1 04-23-2009, 11:20 PM

my buddy has an rcd suspension lift on his truck which is a 2001 f-150 regular cab short bed. i want to take the lift off his truck and put it on mine which is a 2001 f-150 extended cab long bed. the major difference between our suspension is my torsion bars are about a foot longer and it looks like it would work but i wanted to see if anyone had any undercarriage pictures of an rcd lift. it looks like the torsion bar goes from being above the transmision crossmember to underneath. i called rcd they said it should work i would just like to see a picture if i could thanks.

minimonster17 · #2 04-24-2009, 12:15 AM

you sure you're not getting the impact struts and the torsion bars mixed up? The suspension lift adds the impact struts to reinforce the lift crossmember by linking it to the transmission crossmember. The torsion bars are dropped down to compensate for the addition of the two piece subframe.

I'm not trying to sound like a jerk, but you seem a little unsure of how IFS lifts work. You tear down the front end, bolt on a subframe, and the whole IFS axle, differential and all is dropped down. If you don't understand all this, I would consider paying a shop to switch the lift over for you.

doitonall4s · #3 04-24-2009, 03:28 AM

first thing i would look at with the rcd lift is the transmission. rcd has 2 lift kits...one for the 4r70w with the 13" x 13" tranny pan and one for the bigger tranny. u have to have the correct kit for the transmission you have. i can climb under my truck fri mornin n take a pic of what it looks like with my 5" rcd lift on my 97 reg cab short box 4wd. witha 4r70w.

minimonster is correct. everything is dropped to compensate for everything up front. its a very simple kit to install. it is shocks, 5" lift spindles, subframe pieces, tranny crossmember n drop down blocks. n a new leaf in the rear. plus some odds n ends but those are the basics of the kit. i may be forgetting some since its 230 am n after bar time but yea you gte the idea.

i personally love my rcd. its sit perfect rides good and was built well.

wandell · #4 04-24-2009, 11:25 AM

I'm under the impression all of the torsion bars are the same length except for the Supercrews which are shorter.

jiggle · #5 04-24-2009, 02:41 PM

Regardless of how long the torsion bars are, it should still work. And about the trannies, I'm not really sure what the difference is as far as how the lift is constructed. If you have the same transmission, you'll be fine. Otherwise, it may not work at all.

dranger962000 · #6 04-26-2009, 09:13 PM

yeah i'm sure what the torsion bar is and they are definantly different lengths my truck has the 4r70w and so does his so i guess it should work i just couldnt find a picture of it from the bottom anywhere on the internet it doesn't seem like a lot of people have that lift

minimonster17 · #7 04-27-2009, 10:47 AM

personally, I am under the impression that you are still confusing the torsion bars w/ the impact struts. All F-150's came w/ the same length torsion bars, +/-1'' or so, except the F-250 LD/7700 series and a few 97-98 5.4 equipped F-150's that came with the longer ones, about 5'' longer. these trucks required the longer bars due to the having the longer E4OD/4R100 transmission, and the torsion bar crossmember must be located further back to clear the bigger transmission.

take a picture of your buddy's truck for us to see.

the only reason for there being two different kits is the addition of impact struts. the impact strut goes from the rear lift crossmember to the transmission crossmember as an additional reinforcement. since the transmission crossmember is mounted further back on the E4OD/4R100, longer impact struts are needed to reach the transmission crossmember.

dranger962000 · #8 04-28-2009, 12:56 AM

i finaly got to go up and look at his truck for some reason when i helped him lift it i was convinced that his torsion bars were shorter and when i talked to him on the phone he was saying that they were shorter than mine too but i finally just went up and looked and they are exactly the same everything is the same so this weekend we will be switching the lifts. i feel stupid now but i could picture them being shorter on his truck and we were sure they were but we were wrong. maybe it just seemed that way because his truck is so much different than mine being as it is a regular cab short bed step side and mine is a extended cab long bed. oops

jiggle · #9 05-02-2009, 03:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by minimonster17

the only reason for there being two different kits is the addition of impact struts. the impact strut goes from the rear lift crossmember to the transmission crossmember as an additional reinforcement. since the transmission crossmember is mounted further back on the E4OD/4R100, longer impact struts are needed to reach the transmission crossmember.

And so the only reason for the $250 price increase is that they have to use an extra 10" of tubing? That seems pretty ridiculous, especially when the compression struts aren't even absolutely necessary.

minimonster17 · #10 05-02-2009, 10:09 AM

actually, its more like another 5'', not 10'', lol.