puzzling to say the least

[jamsandwich]

after finishing the front springs and shocks on my d2 lift i'm doing today, i just want to say, god damn could they make it any more difficult to get those shock towers out!?:banghead:

oh well glad the hard part is done, now on to the back. before and after pictures to come later

 

[jymmiejamz]

Did you remove the expantion tank and air inlet?

 

[vanhorn2dallas]

hey jam--I know exactly what your talking about. I did my lift 2 wks ago and dear heavens....good luck man

 

[jamsandwich]

i didnt remove anything except a wire plug on the abs modulator.

doing a lift by yourself is tough, well its not tough it just takes a really long time. in 6 hours i only got the fron done, but bear in mind i have no previous experience and i'm only 18. you just need the right tools to get the job done.

 

[d2jonas]

Good for you for tackling that project, though. At 18. you'll have a jump on a lot of older guys who look back & wish they'd started working on their own vehicles sooner (me included). In the future, I would recommend checking the TECH secion on discoweb before attempting projects like that. It's really helped me to make repairs & upgrades simpler and quicker. Let's see some pics!

 

[jamsandwich]

i did jonas, i printed out multiple threads, i have kvt's tech article and the sls to coils article. the problem is, most of those are specific to a D1 which has a slightly different engine compartment than a d2.

now my spring compressor is stuck in my rear coil and i need to figure out how to take off the brake lines for a minute so i can slide in my coils without using the compressor.

 

[rovercanus]

Take the caliper off the hub and unplug the ABS sensor. Then take your bottle jack, put it on top of the axle and find a solid place to jack it on. Slowly raise the bottle jack to push your axle down. I did RTE 3" springs this way and didn't need compressors.
Do this in your driveway by the street where chicks can see you. For some reason chicks dig a guy that can work on a car as long as they don't have a mullet like Dan Chapman.

 

[jamsandwich]

thanks rovercanus. i tried this but i began to strip one of the nuts that holds the caliper on and decided i would just resort back to my original plan. i'm going to back to autozone as soon as i can bum a ride from my neighbor. i need the spring compressor that works on the outside of the spring, not on the inside. so now my rear is sitting on jackstands without springs or shocks until i can get to autozone and get the correct tool. at least its free!

edit:

you guys should have seen me trying to get the spring compressor out of the OME spring once i had it seated. it tried every combination of placement of the claws to see if i could slide it out the side of the spring, but i ended up tightening it and taking the spring back out. working on cars is a pain in the ass, but the outcome is worth it. especially when 4 wheel parts quoted me 600 dollars for installation labor. i hate that place, i was glad i've never bought anything from them after he said that

 

[vanhorn2dallas]

Yeah Jam, I totally feel ya. It took me forever to do my own lift, and I mean forever. But I am like you, expect 20 years old. But I did not have much experience either. And that is absolutely hilarious, b/c the Autozone hear in ROCK HILL (SC) gave me a spring compressor that went on the inside too, so I had to go back and get the kind that went on the outside. It you continue to struggle, let me know man....if worst comes to worst I could trek up to Charlotte and give you hand. Good Luck man.

 

[jamsandwich]

its all good i finished at 11:30 tonight. thank god one of my friends had a hand held spotlight and held it for me while i got the last spring in. i'll take pictures tommorow morning. i think its supposed to be a 2" lift. OME779s up front 762s in the rear and n107s and n108s respectively.

i hate compressing springs without air tools. they should make it illegal

 

[maxyedor]

Damn $600 to install an OME lift? It's not even a hard job, just a lot of big parts to move around. Congrats on the new lift, I did my D1 when I was in HighSchool, and it's true chics dig it when a guy can work on cars. Post up some pics of it all flexed when you get a chance.

 

[Nomar]

I have not used a spring compressor on RRclassic, D1, or D2. They articulate enough like Rovercanus said, the springs will fall right out...

 

[jymmiejamz]

I know what you mean about not having any experience, you should have seen me trying to put in 2 inch spacers when I was 16. Needless to say doing suspension now is no problem since I had an OME 2" and then RTE 3".

 

[jamsandwich]

if i had taken the calipers off the rotors and moved them closer to the frame where they are attached, i could have easily fit the springs in no problem. most of the bolts were siezed and began to shave off the corners of the nuts when i turned the ratchet, so spring compressors were called for.

i bet i could do the same lift in less than 5 hours now that i know what to do, but it just takes forever when you have to figure it all out. I'm at work now and there will be pictures up when i get home.

 

[MTNHDWR]

Good deal, congrats on getting the lift to go with those tires. I look forward to seening some picks. I just finished rebuilding my entire brake system abs pump, master cylinder, brake booster, pads, rotors, everything but the calipers, trust me I know about time consuming:victory:

 

[jamsandwich]

hey i meant to ask you what tires you had on your truck when i bought the all terrains.

congrats to you for tackling the brakes. i need to replace mine soon before they fail at a time where i can't afford to be tackling them. these trucks are expensive, but now that im working 58 hours a week i think i can handle it.

 

[MTNHDWR]

I am running 265/75 r16 hitec retreads. They are the OTR mud w/spacer
http://www.high-tec-retreading.com/sizes.html
I have about 5,000 miles on them so far and they work great, just a little noiser
then the ATs

 

[jamsandwich]

what carcasses did you use? i thought i remembered seeing michelin ltx on the side and i was wondering how the hell you had those huge lugs and agressive trea. i thought i was losing my mind. Thats interesting, I was considering the retreads myself until i got your old tires. hopefully they wear well, i may get some of those as my next set of rubber. who knows though. thanks again, btw.

 

[MTNHDWR]

Michelin LTX M/S. I get that reaction all the time. It is a popular tire that people recognize but not with the tread pattern they normally see.

 

[disco4x4]

those retreaded tires...i was thinking of getting some.
how is the tread...like good as a new tire??
and what are the safety concerns and stuff like that?
how about wear?