First big post. . .installed Bilstein 5100s for a 2" li

Topics relating to Lift Kits, Suspension, Steering...

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NmexMAX
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Location: Northern New Mexico

Postby NmexMAX » Fri May 31, 2013 10:01 am

Any plans for getting bigger tires?


canderso
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Location: South NJ

Postby canderso » Fri May 31, 2013 11:34 am

OK, so I took my truck to the fleet garage at work. The guys there are awesome. Set me up with a lift and access to one of their tool boxes. About hour and a half later, she was put back together correctly.

Here is are pics of the strut assemblies on both sides installed CORRECTLY.

Passenger Side:
Image

Driver Side:
Image

Here is a final measurement. At the bottom of the fender I am now sitting at 36 3/4". The initial height prior to the lift measured around 34 1/2" to approximately the same point. It appears I ended up with a 2 1/4" of lift out of the struts set for a 2" increase.
Image

canderso
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Location: South NJ

Postby canderso » Fri May 31, 2013 11:51 am

As far as ride. . .the ride is infinitely better now then when installed incorrectly. The ride is good. I will withold judgement when comparing to stock. I want to drive it for a week or so before I formulate more of an opinion. As of now, I only drove the truck for about 1-2 miles from the fleet garage back to the office.

The other side of this coin is that I only had the truck for a week and a half before I put this lift on. I don't have a lot of experience with the factory ride, but honestly, I didn't think the factory ride was bad.

As far as tires. . .I definitely plan on installing new tires. I will wait until September or October. The Long Trails only have 20k miles on them and don't feel an overwhelming need to replace them just yet. I will likely go with a 33" tire. My current preference is a set of BF Goodrich KOs. I will do some more reading on various tires to see what will be best for my application (85% street, 15% mixed use of sand and mud).

There are plenty of other things that I hope to do. We will see what time and the budget allow.

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Fri May 31, 2013 1:02 pm

When you redid the front struts, did you leave it at the top setting or did you lower the ring down a step like you were considering? I'm assuming you left it at the highest setting to get the 2-1/4"? I'd also be interested and hearing if you experience some of the control arm to frame "knocking" issues that some people report after lifting. I'm contemplating the same lift down the road and if contact is an issue, I'll opt for the aftermarket upper control arms that address this issue.

canderso
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Location: South NJ

Postby canderso » Fri May 31, 2013 1:37 pm

smj- you are correct. Since I had the spring compressed too much and the lower spring seat installed upside down, I opted to keep the 2" height setting. I am pleased with the stance now. It appears much more level now. As I said, the ride is infinitely better. I will take a full side profile pic of the truck once I get it home in the driveway tonight.

I will keep you posted on whether there is any interference with the UCA. Are you speaking of the UCAs by PRG? I thought I read somewhere that they would allow more droop in the suspension travel as well. If that is the case, I could consider them as a future mod.

I do expect to get some metal on metal noise with the front springs down the road. The grey plastic or urethane isolator around the lower windings is a real pain to get to stay on the coil spring. It really just wants to twist off as the spring is compressed.

JermZ260
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Location: Mad Heights,VA

Postby JermZ260 » Tue Jun 04, 2013 11:19 am

Just a reminder to guys thinking bout doing this REUSE old TOP WASHER.Like his pic showz.I got lucky and found mine a week half later still in dumbster,after it had been dumbed.Thanx god for that little pile of leaves in the corner.

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MLEACH87
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Postby MLEACH87 » Thu Jan 16, 2014 7:37 am

CANDERSO**** You my friend have saved my ride and possibly my life. Had my lift installed last night (Nissan Service Dept.). Ride home was scary. Had additional 3/4" lift upfront. Spent 3 hours on the forums and finally came across your post. Im telling you man...You may have saved my life. Upside down spring seat....

Image Thought it was all fine and dandy...Technichian didn't read the instructions..

Image You can see the additional lift upfront compared to the spacers in the rear.

Image This was a scary ride...

Anyway. Dropped it off first thing this morning explained the issue. Getting it fixed. Again. Thanks for the post

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BigEz
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Location: Houston, Texas

Postby BigEz » Thu Jan 16, 2014 8:06 am

MLEACH87 wrote:. This was a scary ride...

Anyway. Dropped it off first thing this morning explained the issue. Getting it fixed. Again. Thanks for the post
I had the same issue after the lift. Big 4x4 shop could not allign rear properly on lazer rig . Ended up doing it manually. Rides like a dream now. 15k miles and tire wear looks great. This post and few below it might help...

http://www.thenissanpath.com/viewtopic. ... 8502#58502

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MLEACH87
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Postby MLEACH87 » Thu Jan 16, 2014 8:12 am

Toe came out perfectly. Rear rides great, just scary with upside down spring seats in the front. Too much spring compression. Everything on the alignment went smoothly with the exception of the front camber. Ordered the bolts, should have that done Friday.

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BigEz
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Postby BigEz » Thu Jan 16, 2014 8:14 am

Cool!

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MLEACH87
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Postby MLEACH87 » Thu Jan 16, 2014 8:16 am

How does that magnaflow sound with the 5.6? Thinking about flowmaster 40 series, any suggestions?

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NmexMAX
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Postby NmexMAX » Thu Jan 16, 2014 8:29 am

MLEACH87 wrote:How does that magnaflow sound with the 5.6? Thinking about flowmaster 40 series, any suggestions?
Here's my set-up, though I do have cajun catless b-pipes.

http://www.thenissanpath.com/viewtopic.php?t=8074

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MLEACH87
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Postby MLEACH87 » Thu Jan 16, 2014 8:45 am

Sounds good. Exhaust will come after tires, which will come after my financial advisor (WIFE) approves my 2014 automotive spend...

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MLEACH87
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Postby MLEACH87 » Thu Jan 16, 2014 5:01 pm

Got the spring seats flipped the right way. Driving it home tonight. Also got my cam bolts installed. Wish me luck

canderso
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Location: South NJ

Postby canderso » Sun Feb 09, 2014 7:17 pm

MLEACH87-

Glad my post helped out. Posting the build along the way including the mistake was one of those questions about pride. Do I edit that mistake out or take one for the team and hope it helps someone down the road. Glad I opted for swallowing my pride and posting it as it was along with the correction.

The ride was really poor and I would have to agree that it is scary especially after realizing what was wrong. As you said way too much compression on the front spring and too much stress on that little c clip. I am still not a huge fan of that design but it seems to be holding up fine.

Truck looks nice with the lift done. I am working on the financial plan to move onto the next set of mods. The overall goal is an expedition style rig as that seems to really fit the way I use my truck. I hope to figure out what I will have the money to do in the next couple of days.


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