Getting ready to install my buddies 8" rize on his 2007 F-150. Lift, brake lines, and shocks came in the other day. I was reading the instructions over a few times like I do before any new lift install. I'm wandering if there are any abnormal tools required to do the install if anyone here has done one. I'm a little concerned about trimming the left rear control arm bracket. When this is done does this mean the stock suspension would never be able to be reinstalled? Looks like you're cutting out that oblonged mounting hole. To anyone who has done the install, about how long did it take you? I'm missing a hydraulic lift so I'm just going to go the concrete block route doing one end at a time. Thanks for the tips in advance. Hope this one goes on better than my other buddies 4" pro-comp on his 98 F-250 light duty.


-Kelly

 

Well, I guess no one has installed a Rize 8" themselves.

For those of you that are going to, my buddies truck is disassembled after just a few hours. If you do not have air tools I wouldn't even attempt this. Not only does an air ratchet really speed things up but you pretty much have to have an impact to remove the drive shaft flange bolts and half shaft flange bolts. The half shafts will turns if you try to use hand tools and unless you come up with a way to keep the diff locked. Even still it would be very difficult. The impact makes the job last about 5 minutes for both sides. There is a discrepency in the instructions about cutting the rear control arm pocket. The instructions say 30mm down from the bolt hole while the diagram shows 25mm down. I have to wait until Rize opens over in Cali. before I go cutting his truck up.

The install looks pretty straight foward, I'll update later if anyone is interested.

 

Can you take pictures of the install? thanks for all the info.

 

The lift is done and truck is away from my farm finally. It took me a solid 2.5 day's of working 10 hours or so a day doing it by myself with no lift. It's a pretty straight forward install but it's pretty complicated. I ran into a big snag with the steering system to where I had to elongate the 2 holes for the 2 forward steering bearings as they were way off. Rize say's this truck must have rolled out of the factory just a little different. I must say most all of the kit fit very good and was supplied with excellent hardware and instructions. The truck sits a little nose high with the block in the back though. I think it looks good and clears the 37x13.50 toyo's good enough. I aligned the truck just by eyesight and it drives straight as an arrow but it's going on the alignment rack tomorrow morning. I also installed his Gryphon which took all of 5 minutes and I just changed his tire size to 2950mm for his 37's so it should be pretty close. He drove it home tonight and said even with the 3.73's, it's shifting right and hasn't lost tons of power like we were worried it would. In a few months 4.56's are going in but he's just going to drive it how it is for a while. I'll post some pics off of my phone that I took if anyone is interested. If anyone has any questions about the install just ask on this thread.

-Kelly

 

Please post some pics!! Does it sit high in the front because he did not get the AAL? Thanks

 

The truck sits pretty level without the AAL. If anything it may sit a little nose high. I HATE bulldogged trucks and didn't notice it being an issue. The tie-rod drop bearing issue I ran into has reared it's ugly head again. I cut the hole back as far as I felt okay about cutting and installed the bearings only to have no gap between the front crossmember bracket and tie-rod drop on the right side and maybe 1/16" gap on the left front crossmember bracket. I felt like it's barely touching and it wouldn't be too big of an issue. The instructions say there should be at least 1/8" gap but there's no way that's going to happen with the parts on the truck. The only way a gap that big could happen is if the steering rack could be moved foward a little or a new front crossmember with larger bearing brackets was installed. I'm going to call Rize tomorrow and see what they can do about there not being enough of an elongated slot for the bearings to mount to fit this truck. The tech I talked to initially, said that he hasn't heard of that problem before and agreed that I should cut the hole back until I got the gap. The issue is that when you drive the truck over bumps a thump/knock comes out from the front of the truck. It's caused by the miniscule gap between the crossmember and tie-rod drop and when the suspension flex's the tires toe in and out a little causing the tie-rod drop to rotate a little about the steering rack causing the knock. The kit went together very good but this issue needs to be resolved, I'm planning ot take pics and send them to Rize as well and see whta they think.

Does anyone know if the steering rack has any adjustment as far as location? Moving it foward just a little bit would fix this issue completely.

I'll take some pics of the truck next week when I go back home to try and fix this problem.

 

you are going to want an AAL AND a 1.5 inch shackle or it WILL sag rize wont admit it but it will trust me!

the steerting rack does not have an alignment, take some pics and post them up im sure we will be able to help you, as i did the rize install myself

 

04 kbgt. Did your truck ever make a slight clunking/knocking noise in the front when you go over bumps or enter a parking lot? My buddies truck is clunking over bumps in the front, I think it's the steering tie rod drop. It sounds like the slight slop in the tie rod drop because it sounds like the drop banging around against the bearings. I've tried preloading the bearings in different directions to no avail. I tried setting up one of the front bearings to it's most aft position with the other to the more foward position to try and take up some of the slop but it still knocks and bangs over any bump. It sounds like it has to be in the steering because everything else is very tight and it just has the noise that I would imagine it would make.

-Kelly