gloer

Was it the 36R0788 like you have listed above? Where did you get it?

How complex was it? Mine is starting to leak a bit, shop wants $1850 so that's not happening. I'm either going to do it myself with help of a mechanic friend or if it is considered complex or risky I'll look around for another shop.

Thanks, nice to know there is no noise as a precursor to death. I've got a weird rattling noise and was thinking it might be timing belt related, guess I can rule that out. I'm still going to get the belts replaced as a proactive step. Going to get a shop to do that, unfortunately I don't have the spare time time to do it myself. Someone should create a website where one can upload recordings of a noise and provide conditions when it occurs, then have it compare against other recordings and give suggestions. Match.com for weird auto noises.

Also, it is a timing belt not a timing chain right?

What does the noise sound like? I've got a noise that's progressively getting worse, sounds like something rattling inside the engine compartment, only at a certain RPM(s) but RPM range when I hear it is growing. My guess is it is timing chain.

So the best option is...SFD and stock springs? Assuming one is after a bit of lift (2-3"). Edit: Loaded question as "best" is totally subjective and personal. "Best" for me is: 2-3" lift with least amount of impact on reliability of vehicle and parts.

According to Rockford "HEATis the number one cause of boot failure!" (sic) I'm on ACs, split boot within months of putting them on, no problem previous 24 years without manual hubs and stock height. I'm going to be getting good at rebooting until I can figure out how to do an SFD, or convince/pay one of the AZ NPORA guys to do it for me ?

If you have a shop put the tires and wheels on for you, explicitly tell them the advice from @RainGoat before they mount. Otherwise, when you pick up your vehicle you may find they took the easy path, cutting the fender liner. That's how I ended up with holes.

I have the PXA7069-5883 Procomp 15x8 on my 96 SE. No problems.

Here are a couple of pics showing the only trimming I've done to date, both show the same trim location just different viewpoint. I still get rubbing when reversing at full turn, but rarely run into that so motivation factor not yet high enough.

No problems at all with the 15s, I had OEM 15s originally. Minor trimming, including inside the wheel well. Can take a picture of the wheel well handy work tomorrow if you like.

Mine (96 SE) has 32115015C BFG AT TA KO2 and PXA7069-5883 ProComp 15x8 with ACs up front, and just put on Warn hubs. A little trimming needed up front, not too much and none in the rear.

Sorry for not being very clear. When I installed the ACs I bought new KYB struts, KYB strut mounts and KYB strut bellows. During the initial installation I found the rubber seats were destroyed (front and rear) and no one in town stocked them. So...I ordered those and that lead to round 2 disassembly/reassembly. I tried to make my own "spring silencers" - failed. After that I still had a weird noise, thought maybe it had to do with not replacing the "spring silencers". So...I ordered those. Replaced those during round 3 of disassemble/reassemble. I started with zero knowledge. Now, 4 months in to the lift process I've learned a lot. I could probably disassemble/reassemble the struts blindfolded now. I'm happy about that, since I embarked down this road to learn more. Was it efficient? Nope. Cheap? Nope. Fun? Yep I'm going to get the OME struts and probably get the OEM strut mounts and replace the KYB strut mounts. Like RainGoat, I don't want to cut corners. My offroad is most often to get to a search or rescue mission, most often in the middle of the night.

As mentioned, I'm no pro mechanic and with the spring compressors you linked I had zero issue disassembling/assembling the struts myself (three times so far, soon to be four). I used those with the AC coils. No problem. I wouldn't want to rely on a shop to do the assembly. Follow the details in the other posts here, you should have no issues doing these yourself. KYB GR-2 vs. Excel-G, I also looked into that originally: https://www.kyb.com/knowledge-center/faqs/what-is-the-difference-between-the-kyb-gr-2-and-the-excel-g-products/ As for strut mount failure, defer to others but personally I had KYB Excel-G with OEM mounts for a few years with no issues with stock tires and wheels pre-lift, plenty of off-road (nothing super technical).

That's enough for me, I can't tolerate the KYBs anymore. If the OMEs don't reduce top out enough I'll go the strap route. I'll document what I can through the process to get some kind of facts known based on KYB vs OME with ACs. Off to talk to the better half about the OMEs. If you don't hear from me again it didn't go well