to the "do-it-your-selfers" out there

2705 Views 41 Replies 10 Participants Last post by motosyco, Feb 8, 2008

motosyco

Discussion Starter · Jan 22, 2008

i'm going to be putting on my PC lift and SAW's on myself in my driveway soon. my question is what tools did you have or wish you had when you did your install. i have acces to a lift but from what greg says i really don't need one. but he installs hundreds of lifts and this will be my first one.

also i'm worried about using the right bolt/washer/nut in the correct place. i read the instruction that PC has on it's website. it says use this bolt etc.. in this spot but are the bolts/washers/nuts labeled. this truck is my daily driver and really don't want to snap a bolt and have to pay to fix anything else since i can't bring it to a shop and say you did something wrong since i did it and the dealership won't cover it since it's after market.

and last, how long did it take you to do it? i'm planning on doing it over a weekend. if i have to i can wait until the next 4 day weekend.

1 - 20 of 42 Posts

yamatitan

· #2 · Jan 22, 2008

It took me and a buddy about 12 hours. I started on friday and 4p.m. and worked until 1 a.m. Then we started again at noon saturday and finished at about 3. I used air tools so it would probably take a little longer without them.

No speacial tools really needed except for a deep 32mm for the axle nut. Then you need 12mm-22mm sockets and a handful of wrenches. I ended up using standard wrenches and nut metric and never came close to stripping anything. We did it with two jacks and two jack stands. Probably could get away with one jack easily. It really wasnt hard at all. The hardest part was breaking the caliper bolts loose those suckers were tighter then the big axle nut. Had to use a pretty big breaker bar for that one. Other then that is pretty easy just time consuming.

I never took my axles out of my front diff like the insturctions say. Nor did i unbolt it from the front driveshaft and take it out. Its just as easy to lower it into the new mounting tabs then to take it out and raise it. I probably saved a half an hour by not taking it out. Also I would recommend bending the mounting tabs a tad bit wider so it slips in easier.

All of the nuts and bolts are labled pretty well so no worries about grabbing the wrong one.

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tre5

· #3 · Jan 22, 2008

I am drawing a blank. What is a PC lift?

edit: nevermind, I got it I think Pro Comp?????

54warrior

· #4 · Jan 22, 2008

yamatitan said:
It took me and a buddy about 12 hours. I started on friday and 4p.m. and worked until 1 a.m. Then we started again at noon saturday and finished at about 3. I used air tools so it would probably take a little longer without them.

No speacial tools really needed except for a deep 32mm for the axle nut. Then you need 12mm-22mm sockets and a handful of wrenches. I ended up using standard wrenches and nut metric and never came close to stripping anything. We did it with two jacks and two jack stands. Probably could get away with one jack easily. It really wasnt hard at all. The hardest part was breaking the caliper bolts loose those suckers were tighter then the big axle nut. Had to use a pretty big breaker bar for that one. Other then that is pretty easy just time consuming.

I never took my axles out of my front diff like the insturctions say. Nor did i unbolt it from the front driveshaft and take it out. Its just as easy to lower it into the new mounting tabs then to take it out and raise it. I probably saved a half an hour by not taking it out. Also I would recommend bending the mounting tabs a tad bit wider so it slips in easier.

All of the nuts and bolts are labled pretty well so no worries about grabbing the wrong one.

Great write up. I'll second what he said, other than it took me about 10 hours, on a concrete garage floor without any air tools. I was surprised that with only 12k on this beast, the bolts were all pretty tight and rusty, thanks to one Penna. winter. The hardest part I had was swapping the wheel bearings from the old spindles to the new ones, they were an absolute PITA to get loosened. Also, I had issues with the brake lines. Ended up using two pairs of vice grips to break them loose to install the new SS ones.

Other than that, I'd recommend that if you're planning to install it without a lift, use as many blocks of wood as you can, to lift it as high as you can. I had about 3' total of space beneath mine ('cribbing'+jakckstands), which provided plenty of room to work.

As yamatitan also stated, there is absolutely no need what-so-ever to disconnect the axles from the diff (tie them up with wire) or to remove the diff itself. They added those steps for safety reasons to protect their a$$es.

Other than that, I'd spray everything down really well with some type of penetrating lube this week since you know you're planning to do this soon.

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motosyco

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 22, 2008

PC= procomp

so getting an air hammer will be over kill? i was going to go get an air gun and hammer. on some of the powerblock shows (trucks, extreme 4x4) i've seen someone use a air hammer to loosen the upper and lower a-arms but i wasn't sure if i needed to get one. i already have 4 jack stands and a jack so i'm good there. and i'm pretty sure i have the bigger size sockets but i'll make sure when it comes time to put it on. i'm not going to install it until around march. thats when i'll have enough cash to get the rims and tires. i'm almost tempted to put the lift on without the bigger tires but not too sure if thats going to look all that good. does the kit come with cotter pins. i read you should never use old pins.

krnnerdboy

· #6 · Jan 22, 2008

don't forget to bend the tabs for the diff to drop in easily or it's gonna be a battle under your car...and i also recommend grinding the bumps off the brackets where the drop bracket meets the frame...also what helped me was the preinstall(i preassembled all the bolts to the brackets and such so that there would be no confusion)

it took me and a buddy about 12 hours for doing something like this for the first time and w/ no power tools b/c we started at 10 pm

motosyco

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jan 23, 2008

preassembling all the bolts to the brackets sounds like a good idea. my lift will be sitting in my garage for a couple months utnil i get my rims and tires so i'll end up preassembling everything like 20 times.

DeadRiver

· #8 · Jan 23, 2008

54warrior said:
Great write up. I'll second what he said, other than it took me about 10 hours, on a concrete garage floor without any air tools. I was surprised that with only 12k on this beast, the bolts were all pretty tight and rusty, thanks to one Penna. winter. The hardest part I had was swapping the wheel bearings from the old spindles to the new ones, they were an absolute PITA to get loosened. Also, I had issues with the brake lines. Ended up using two pairs of vice grips to break them loose to install the new SS ones.

Other than that, I'd recommend that if you're planning to install it without a lift, use as many blocks of wood as you can, to lift it as high as you can. I had about 3' total of space beneath mine ('cribbing'+jakckstands), which provided plenty of room to work.

As yamatitan also stated, there is absolutely no need what-so-ever to disconnect the axles from the diff (tie them up with wire) or to remove the diff itself. They added those steps for safety reasons to protect their a$$es.

Other than that, I'd spray everything down really well with some type of penetrating lube this week since you know you're planning to do this soon.

warrior forgot to tell you he's about 6'-8"+- so he needs a little more room to work...

54warrior

· #9 · Jan 23, 2008

DeadRiver said:
warrior forgot to tell you he's about 6'-8"+- so he needs a little more room to work...

LOL

hahaha

Also, kudos to ProComp. Compared to the Fabtech F-150 kit that I helped my buddy install, the instructions were much better. Not to mention that Fabtech came with literally 1 bag of bolts, nuts, washers, and other fastners, that you had to sort through. The ProComp has everything sorted out and labeled. This bag of 4 bolts, 8 washers and 4 nuts goes with part X, this bag of 6 bolts, 6 washers and 6 nuts goes with part Y. They really made it stupid-proof!!!:blueblob:

yamatitan

· #10 · Jan 23, 2008

motosyco said:
PC= procomp

so getting an air hammer will be over kill? i was going to go get an air gun and hammer. on some of the powerblock shows (trucks, extreme 4x4) i've seen someone use a air hammer to loosen the upper and lower a-arms but i wasn't sure if i needed to get one. i already have 4 jack stands and a jack so i'm good there. and i'm pretty sure i have the bigger size sockets but i'll make sure when it comes time to put it on. i'm not going to install it until around march. thats when i'll have enough cash to get the rims and tires. i'm almost tempted to put the lift on without the bigger tires but not too sure if thats going to look all that good. does the kit come with cotter pins. i read you should never use old pins.

Air hammer is defiently over kill. I have one and never even came close to taking it out the case. Kit does not come with cotter pins, i would advise getting some for sure. I have a big box of assorted ones i bought from harbor frieght awhile back that i used.

PrerunnerGreg

· #11 · Jan 23, 2008

If you have a barrel sander, grinding the small indetations in the lower a-arm pockets where the new subframe attaches can help. As said earlier, bend the rear diff mount tab os there is a bit more gap or space for the rear diff mount to slide into. Use a 12-10mm flarenut wrench on the brake lines. Be sure to tap the hub straight. You do ont need a press, but if it starts to stick, thread the bolts back in to get the hub straight and try again. THe coilovers will take about 3/4" more prelad to sit level that the way they were shipped, its easier to do this in a vice on the bench than in the truck (use wd-40 on the threads). Be sure the lower ball joint pinch bolt is installed from the front, otherwise it will hit when you turn. Also, as you remove the bolts, write on them with a maker which bolts they are, ie..lower ball joint or shock. In a pile they all look the same but are slightly different.

motosyco

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jan 23, 2008

Be sure to tap the hub straight. You do ont need a press, but if it starts to stick, thread the bolts back in to get the hub straight and try again.

not 100% sure i know what you're talking about.

54warrior

· #13 · Jan 23, 2008

motosyco said:
Be sure to tap the hub straight. You do ont need a press, but if it starts to stick, thread the bolts back in to get the hub straight and try again.

not 100% sure i know what you're talking about.

Greg is referring to the wheel bearing/hub assembly. You'll be removing it from the stock spindle and installing it on the PC spindle. It's a fairly tight fit between the two mating parts, but a press is not required. I believe he's specifically referring to the alignment of the hub holes to the tapped holes in the spindle. You have to get the hub installed in 'straight' so that the holes line up because chances are that once you have it in, it's not gonna want to 'spin' and allow you to align the holes.

54warrior

· #14 · Jan 23, 2008

PrerunnerGreg said:
The coilovers will take about 3/4" more prelad to sit level that the way they were shipped, its easier to do this in a vice on the bench than in the truck (use wd-40 on the threads).

Greg, which coilovers are you referring to? The ProComp coilovers? Do these SAW's that I just bought from you need the preload adjusted too?? I thought they were ready to bolt on?

motosyco

Discussion Starter · #15 · Jan 23, 2008

he's talking about the SAW's. i ordered those the PC lift, cst end links and billi rear shocks from him last week. it's all should be here some time tomorrow according the UPS.

PrerunnerGreg

· #16 · Jan 23, 2008

The coilovers will typically need a few turns to preload them. It takes about 1 minute to do.. I am talking about the hub, you can rotate it when it is installed, but it can be very difficult to remove from the stock spindle or installing in the new spindle if it is not perpedicular to the flange.

54warrior

· #17 · Jan 23, 2008

PrerunnerGreg said:
The coilovers will typically need a few turns to preload them. It takes about 1 minute to do..

Glad this came up, as I would have installed them 'as-is'

motosyco

Discussion Starter · #18 · Jan 23, 2008

the more this thread goes on the harder it sounds.

PrerunnerGreg

· #19 · Jan 24, 2008

motosyco said:
the more this thread goes on the harder it sounds.

Its really not that difficult. when I had an assistant helping me with installs, we could do this same lift in just over 2 hours. By myself, it can be done in about 3-3.5. And my working conditions suck.

motosyco

Discussion Starter · #20 · Jan 25, 2008

everything showed up today. had a fun day waiting for ups but thats another story. just want to make sure i don't thrash those lovely lookin c/o what's the best and easiest way to adjust them. i know greg said to put in a vice but do i need a speacial tool and what part do i adjust. i've adjusted dirtbike shocks before but never c/o's. and also where should i measure to get correct length. greg said it takes about 3/4" to have truck sit level i think i want to adjust to a even 1" so the front is a little higher.

after reading the instructions to install the lift it doesn't seem all that bad (knock on wood). now just have to get some $$$ for rims and tires.

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