My suspension package arrived last Tuesday and I couldn't take waiting, knowing I wouldn't be able to install it until the weekend following Easter (family in town for easter, etc...) so I took this past thursday off and installed it. What I installed - Front: 886 coils and N140S struts with 5mm trim packer on drivers side; Rear: 896 coils with N142 shocks. While I had the beast up in the air I took off the Budbuilts and changed the front and rear diff and transfer case fluids, engine oil (4th change), and rotated the meats. All fluids were replaced with Royal Purple Synthetic. I'm at 14,900 miles. Okay, pics of the operation:
Pic of the setup I used to get the rear springs on. One floor jack under each side of the axle. Definitely, use a strap wrench to hold the old shocks in place while loosening the top nut.
I don't have good pics of the front strut install, because I was in a hurry and I was having kind of a battle. I had to use a small bottle jack to wedge between the top of the UCA and the fender to jack down on the UCA to obtain enough droop on the whole assembly to get the bottom of the new struts into place.
Before:
Now:
Before:
Now:
A few more:
Before the bud builts were back on (it actually leans the to the passengers side with the trim packer.... for now.)
So hopefully my winch bumper will be done some time next month. As for now the ride is nowhere near as stiff as I anticipated and the rig handles much better. I'm very happy I went with the combination, but pending some weight on the front, I'm nervous about the CV angles.
UPDATE 3-31-08:
I finally got a chance to go flex the new suspension and it does pretty well. Without the added weight of a bullbar and winch, the front is stiff enough to lift the back off the ground pretty quickly. Overall, I'm impressed and am looking forward to increased articulation with some more weight on the front.... here's a few pics:
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Painted headlight bezel, Series 87 steelies with 255/85-16 Maxxis Bighorns, ARB full length rack, 60" hi-lift, OME Heavies on all 4 corners, Budbuilts front to back, OEM sliders, Scuba Driver mods, Upper and Lower rear Digger Links, TRD CAI, All-Pro High Clearance tailpipe, Hacked Rear Diff Lock, VSC on-off switch, Custom Expedition One Front Bumper, EPi 9000lb winch with synthetic line, and lots of manual recovery gear and tools.
Looks great, how much lift did you get after install? It looks higher than others I've seen with same kit.
Thanks and I agree it does look higher, but these coils have not had a chance to settle at all. I was kind of excited and didn't take time to measure from the fender to the hub before (or after for that matter - but I can). I did measure from the ground to the lowest part of the budbuilts and it came out at 13.25 inches. I haven't seen anyone else with a measurement that high, but very few people are running this setup without an aftermarket bumper and winch. I expect mine to drop considerably when I load the front end with a bullbar and winch. Presently the rear is seeing most of the weight it will generally be supporting e.g., the rack, recovery gear, etc... and it actually sits lower than the front end for now. We'll see what develops...
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Painted headlight bezel, Series 87 steelies with 255/85-16 Maxxis Bighorns, ARB full length rack, 60" hi-lift, OME Heavies on all 4 corners, Budbuilts front to back, OEM sliders, Scuba Driver mods, Upper and Lower rear Digger Links, TRD CAI, All-Pro High Clearance tailpipe, Hacked Rear Diff Lock, VSC on-off switch, Custom Expedition One Front Bumper, EPi 9000lb winch with synthetic line, and lots of manual recovery gear and tools.
I've been running the same set up for 17000 miles....still love it....
Very good to hear...especially from you
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Painted headlight bezel, Series 87 steelies with 255/85-16 Maxxis Bighorns, ARB full length rack, 60" hi-lift, OME Heavies on all 4 corners, Budbuilts front to back, OEM sliders, Scuba Driver mods, Upper and Lower rear Digger Links, TRD CAI, All-Pro High Clearance tailpipe, Hacked Rear Diff Lock, VSC on-off switch, Custom Expedition One Front Bumper, EPi 9000lb winch with synthetic line, and lots of manual recovery gear and tools.
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