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3" lift install "PRO" tips!

Discussion in 'Suspension' started by dumbassdave, Nov 21, 2016.

  1. Nov 21, 2016 at 8:57 AM
    #1
    dumbassdave

    dumbassdave [OP] Member

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    Theses are "pro" tips because I am certainly not a mechanic nor is my friend who helped me install.

    1. If you are thinking about getting a lift sometime, do it now! Every day that goes by, chemistry is conspiring against you. Almost every nut on my 2007 suspension may as well have been welded on. I honestly don't know how my breaker bar didn't snap. Impact gun was basically useless.

    2. When they say put the 4 nuts on the top of the shock tower on "finger tight", that screwed me big time. Putting them on just enough so that the thread was at the top of the nut was right. This allowed for more play so that the bottom of the shock could get into it's rather deep cradle. Maybe others had better luck that I with getting their lower control arm down far enough... I had to use a come-along and a pry bar to get the shock into place.

    3. Do the front first. Far more aggravation to be found up front..... Best to do that when you have the most amount of patience left.

    4. Find a 4-post lift to use. Doing this on the ground would have been awful.
     
    NewImprovedRon and Backslider like this.
  2. Nov 21, 2016 at 9:33 AM
    #2
    bobeast

    bobeast really old member

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    5. Hire a shop to do the work. just sayin'... :)
     
  3. Nov 21, 2016 at 10:28 AM
    #3
    Backslider

    Backslider Thirsty...

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    All valid points!
     
  4. Nov 21, 2016 at 10:55 AM
    #4
    dumbassdave

    dumbassdave [OP] Member

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    Indeed!!! There is something about having a pro do it!
     
  5. Nov 21, 2016 at 10:57 AM
    #5
    csuviper

    csuviper Moderator Staff Member

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    Getting the bottom of the shock into place was tough. Takes body weight and muscle to get it down.
     
  6. Nov 21, 2016 at 11:12 AM
    #6
    dumbassdave

    dumbassdave [OP] Member

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    Tough is an understatement! I had a come-along pulling it down and a huge pry bar. It was very satisfying when it finally went in..........
     
  7. Nov 21, 2016 at 11:20 AM
    #7
    thumper7799

    thumper7799 Bad Girls Drive Bad Toys!

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    That's what she said :broccoli:
     
    Law323, NewImprovedRon and T-Rex266 like this.
  8. Nov 21, 2016 at 1:55 PM
    #8
    T-Rex266

    T-Rex266 Elon approved Staff Member

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    :benchpress::curls::muscleflexing:
     
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  9. Nov 21, 2016 at 3:39 PM
    #9
    felixth

    felixth New Member

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    Nothing yet :)
    Dave I agree I had the same battle about a month ago. I thought I could do it in a 4 or 5 hrs. Nope too all of Saturday and the morning of Sunday. The directions I got were awful. It took 3 of us to get it done. The best part is it turned out exactly how I wanted.....any less and I would have been pissed! Lol
     
  10. Nov 21, 2016 at 4:44 PM
    #10
    veg hed

    veg hed Thug

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    I put the suspension on my 2004 Tacoma. After that experience and realizing how much of a pain in the arse it was I hired a shop to put the Pro suspension on my Tundra.
     
  11. Nov 21, 2016 at 6:53 PM
    #11
    bobeast

    bobeast really old member

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    I hear that. When I was a strapping young heart-throb, I would pull and replace engines in my driveway. Sadly those days are long gone although I'm still a heart-throb (at the local senior center)
     
    equin, joonbug, 831Tun and 3 others like this.
  12. Nov 21, 2016 at 7:17 PM
    #12
    dumbassdave

    dumbassdave [OP] Member

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    I too had high hopes for a 5 hour install. Those hopes were crushed when it took 45 minutes per shock bolt to remove. And it took 45 minutes to get one of the stabilizer bolts back in. All in it took us about 9 hours and that's with all of perks of a full automotive shop, lift and air tools.
     
    veg hed likes this.
  13. Nov 21, 2016 at 7:19 PM
    #13
    veg hed

    veg hed Thug

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    It took a professional shop 5 hours to do mine. They quoted me at 3 though. :thumbsup:
     
  14. Nov 21, 2016 at 7:34 PM
    #14
    dumbassdave

    dumbassdave [OP] Member

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    I'm thinking 5 hour quote was for one guy working on it? Glad I can help the pros look good!
     
    veg hed likes this.
  15. Nov 21, 2016 at 7:52 PM
    #15
    zcarpenter92

    zcarpenter92 Yotas and Yellow Jackets

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    Damn you guys are killing my bright idea to put my lift on myself lol. I have a neighbor who's very good mechanically, has put on a few leveling kits and has a lift in his shop. But now I'm thinking that a coil over lift with shackles in the rear may be a tall order for us to get done on a single Saturday. Especially with how I'll be taking it to two different shops for mounting/balancing the tires then the alignment.
     
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2016
  16. Nov 21, 2016 at 8:09 PM
    #16
    dumbassdave

    dumbassdave [OP] Member

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    If you don't have too much of a battle with stuck nuts, it's not too bad. My tacoma lift went in much faster as it was newer. By far my biggest battle was getting the front shocks into position. As mentioned above, it takes weight and strength to get it in there. Go for it! sounds like your neighbor is up to the challenge. Just start early on Saturday!
     
  17. Nov 21, 2016 at 8:14 PM
    #17
    831Tun

    831Tun heartless Bastrd

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    Thanks for making me feel better dumbassdave and the others that chimed in. It was kind of a matter of pride for me to install the coilovers and shackles myself. After all, it's just turning nuts and bolts right?. It took me about 9 hours to do in the driveway by myself. Thankfully, the truck is pretty new (no rust) but my tools were somewhat lacking. I used a floor jack and some 4x12 6x6 etc, instead of jack stands. Now that it's done, I'm glad I did it myself. I should mention a 4x12 is a used as a 3.5" block not 11.5".
     
  18. Nov 21, 2016 at 8:15 PM
    #18
    zcarpenter92

    zcarpenter92 Yotas and Yellow Jackets

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    Mines an 08, so stuck nuts may be an issue. But then again, Colorado is fairly dry so maybe rusty nuts won't be an issue. Who knows?
     

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