Installation Outline and Product Review
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From Hoss4x4
OVERALL THOUGHTS AND IMPRESSIONS
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The Overall ride and quality of my 6in Tuff Country suspension lift is excellent. Everyone who has rode in my truck is very impressed with the ride, hence the name "EZ-ride". My truck is far from a street queen and this Tuff Country suspension lift allows my truck to be a good riding truck on the road with the ability to be a capable rig while it’s being used for off-highway driving!. I would recommend Tuff Country to ANYONE!
The Install took me 22 hours. I did most of the lift by myself in my driveway with basic tools (and a torch). The biggest thing I would like to say is make sure you pull out and account for every part that you need to install the lift. I ran into a few packaging issues which put me behind because I DID NOT account for all the parts needed before starting the install. Tuff Country was great on getting me the parts that were packaged wrong and left out. The lift install itself was simple, however I ran into some very time consuming issues trying to get 15 year old torsions bars out of the lower control arms. I had to make a slight grinding modification to the new diff bracket, which was no big deal at all. The compression arms did not line up on the transfer case crossmember like they stated in the instructions. I had to torch a bigger hole in the compression arm brackets so the compression arms would bolt up. The tech help was good but I had to wait for some responses because a lot of their crew was at the Sema show.
I like the one-piece subframe and using a new longer spindle to lift the front. I do not like how open it leaves the front diff so vulnerable. The Tuff Country widens the front wheel stance like most other IFS lifts for this model year, but I still don’t like that! These are just a few things that I think you would find with any company and their products, so I give Tuff County 2 thumbs up!!
Included at the end of this article are before and after heights and some images for the final product.
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REQUIRED TOOLS
Contact author if needed.
FRONT SUSPENSION
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1) Disconnected battery lifted the truck on jack stands and removed the wheels.
2) Removed the front shocks and the splashguard on the inner fender.
3) Removed brake caliper and rotor. I secured the caliper with a large zip tie.
4) Removed the nut for the front shaft to the hub then removed the hub assembly.
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5) Removed the tie rod and the balljoint nuts to remove the steering knuckle.
6) Removed the front half shaft front the front diff.
7) The torsion bars were very difficult to remove, had to warm up the lower control arm, remove the bolts from the torsion bar cross member then beat them out with a large piece for steel reaching pass the front bumper.
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8) Removed the lower control arms.
9) Removed front diff.
10) With the front diff out, had to cut the mounting ear off the front diff. Tuff country provides a new bracket for installation in the next step.
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11) Remove the stocks bolt and install the new mounting bracket. The bracket did not fit properly in a couple of places had to grind some material off as show in picture.
12) Before reinstalling the front diff, we had to cut a mounting ear off of the truck.
13) Install front diff but did not yet tighten.
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14) There was a clearance issue with the cooling fins of the front diff against the lower control arm pocket. Instead of removing the front diff I just took a reciprocating saw from the back of the diff and was able to remove enough for a proper fit. When installing the bolts to attach the diff bracket to the new one-piece subframe it was a little off. I used my high lift to move the subframe slightly to fit the bolt.
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16) Installed the lower control arm to the new one-piece subframe with new bolts.
17) Installed the halfshaft with the spacer provided by Tuff Country.
18) Installed the new steering knuckle with the old hub assembly. I had to rotate the tie rod down so it fits on the top of the new steering knuckle unlike the stock setup where it bolts to the bottom.
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19) Installed the torsion bars into the lower control arms and the new Tuff Country drop brackets for the torsion bar cross member.
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REAR SUSPENSION
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1) Jacked up the rear and removed the tire.
2) Clamped both ends of the leaf springs removed the ubolts and cut off the center bolt that holds the leaf springs together.
3)Lower jack and install the new add-a-leaf and center bolt. Make sure to tighten and then cut the extra thread on the new longer center bolt.
4) Installed the new 4in lift block with the new Ubolts.
5) Install new brake line extension bracket.
6) Installed and tighten the rim and tire.
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IMAGES
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Tuff Country EZ-Ride Suspension was incorporated over 15 years ago realizing the desperate need for quality suspension products in the after market world. As well as supplying the 4WD enthusiast with the best quality, Tuff Country EZ-Ride Suspension also offers you the most competitive price structure in the industry.
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Last modified:
May 10, 2005 |
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