I am looking into a lift for my truck, I have reviewed the instructions and it looks kind of difficult. Anyone out there install this lift, any problems encountered, or special tools needed? Thank you - Stay Safe

 

i installed my own lift. the worst part, getting the front diff out, thank god for ratcheting wrenches. if you got a well stocked garage, you'll be fine. the only thing i didn't have was a torque wrench that went to 150 ft lbs. if you read the instructions and it looks difficult, then don't tackle the project. i don't mean to sound like a ***, but if you don't think you can, for your safety and well as safety of others, have a shop install. one more thing, loctite EVERY bolt.

 

to raise the suspension on these independent front ends, the front suspension must be totally disassembled, a subframe bolted on, the front differential dropped down along with the rest of the front suspension, then reassembled. if this sounds too complicated for you, pay someone $500 to install the kit so you don't kill yourself and others driving down the road.

i bolted my suspension kit on in the driveway, w/ the truck's frame resting on jack stands using hand tools. there is no need for an impact, or a shop lift, but those things certainly make the install a hell of a lot easier. just know what it is you're up against here.

 

i have to agree with the other posts.... it is a full day's work for the average mechanic to do (and not alone). an extra set of hands will definately help. it took me and a frind about 14 hours to do mine, with using jackstands and no lift. i would recommend air tools, especially to run a cut off wheel when you remove part of the framing. other than that, nothing fancy needed. you may however need coil spring compressors (depending on which brand you choose). if i had to do mine again, i would pay a shop to do that part. it is SCARRY compressing those springs enough to reassemble. as said, use toctite, and also re-check everything after a month or so. the front driveshaft may need to be re-balanced after you re-clock it, but not always. mine seems just fine without it.

other than that, i cant really think of anything else. it was straight forward, just time consuming. there are good write ups about this as well.

i hope the author of this doesnt mind, but here is a great write up with pics to show you what you will be doing..... it gives you a great idea if you can handle it or not.

http://www.celesapoc.com/truck/

good luck !!

 

YES take them in. i borrowed a "super duty" spring compress and i destroyed it, i kept tightening and then it started eating the threads off it. even the guy at the shop who did them said those have to be the stiffest coils springs he even encountered. considering the guy is 60+, he has seen a bunch of them come into the shop.

also i can't stress enough how important it is to loctite everything and torque it properly. i was heading to work (3rd shift) and i heard a grinding noise, to make a long story short i didn't torque the caliper bracket mounting bolts and they worked loose even with the loctite. 1 fell out and 1 stayed in, thank god! so i had to overnight a fricking 6 dollar bolt making it a 25 dollar bolt and i scuffed the **** out of my rim, good thing it was on the inside

also, grab yourself a box of glad freezer bags and a marker. label every bolt, and mark everything you take off, even the rotors. i will take longer but when you start to reassemble it, it won't be a cluster fock and your struggling to find bolts.

also i flipped through the pics on that link posted above, i took my cv's on the diff when it was still in the truck, they need to pulled off anyway to add the spacers and wrestling the diff out with the cv's attached in 1 pc is no and don't wanna risk damaging the threads and splines on the cv's

when taking out the ABS sensor, tuck it outta the way, they brake quite easily from what i hear.
i always used to use wire to hang my calipers, use zip ties, i got a full caliper assembly right in the guts installing my last lift on a Z71.
i also take a paint pen and draw a line on fasteners, so i can visually inspect it later on, making sure they didn't loosen up, cheap security.

before you even start double check and triple check that EVERYTHING is there. when i got my kit, i was missing the kicker braces, thanks fed ex. then the damn subframe was twisted. but the maker (rancho) stepped up and took care of everything no questions asked.

and take your time, don't expect to start it friday morning and be out cruising by 5. yes it's possible with the right helper, but if it's your first lift, take your time, check it off the instruction list and move on. if you got any questions while installing it, there are tons of guys who can help ya out. i know mercedestech had installed several lifts, i'm not sure what lift your gonna buy/have but they all use the same principals. if you were closer, i'd give ya hand.

i also would not use aluminum blocks on the rear end.

 

Took me about a week cuz I was always getting pissed and stopping. Did it in my driveway with regular tools. Air tools are very very helpful, especially when taking off the axles.

 

I put my lift on and i didnt think it was that bad. I do have a 2000 so i have to torsion bars instead of the springs. The biggest problem i has was getting the CV axle out of the hub. I had to take it to the shop and they had to put it in a 40 ton press and heat it up to get it to come out. The other problem i had was getting the front crossmember to line up. I had to grind down the welds on the brackets to make it fit. That took a while to do. I dont know if your model has the brackets like mine. Here is a pic of what i am talking about. The part i had to grind is the weld inside the red boxes. It took me about a week to get everything done. I was working on it by myself and between grinding the front crossmember and by the time i got the CV axle to the shop and back from them it was 3 days.

 

i had to grind down the same frame crossmember as cletus jermal on my 03. i even had to grind a little off the back of it too, in addition to the bottom to get the fabtech crossmember to fit.

it took me and a buddy about 15 hours to install mine, on the ground w/ just jack stands and hand tools. that also included rebuilding a cv shaft that had a torn boot. again, i do not feel that stacking blocks for the rear is safe, despite whatever the lift manufacturer says.

keeping parts organized is another great tip. i made the mistake of just unbolting sh*t and leaving parts, bolts, nuts, etc scattered across the whole driveway, and i wasted time trying to reorganize upon reassembly.

and YES, zip tie the calipers. don't let them hang.