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The Spicy Truck(my build)


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This is going to be where i try to document my modifications and things to my lovely 2003 SE R50. Some info on the truck, they’ve got 138,XXX miles on it now, sunroof, all leather interior, regular old 4x4 shift stick (nO all mode), and came with brand new cat back exhaust and completely new brakes. The Spicy only had minor rust visible when i bought it (really is only minor still even though i can see it all now).

 

here it is stock when i bought. notice that rearend on the ground. also tire size on is the 245/75r16. nothing in the back of the truck in this pick.

 

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first thing i did was take off the running boards and fender flares. oh and order the 2.5-2” spacer kit from sfcreations.com along with new rear springs because that sagging was ATROCIOUS. Ordered a new knock sensor, front sway bar links, and set of 4 camber bolts as i read nearly everyone needed them.

 

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checking the flex in stock form

 

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next was time to remove the rear bumper (sad that this was only pic that came out nice of that)

 

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LIFT COMES IN THE MAIL EARLY and rock auto lies on their shipping being next day

 

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PUTTING THE LIFT ON: was honestly cake in the rear once you figure out how to wedge the spacers under and get it all in there. the right rear old spring was actually broken off at the top of its perch. all i have of that is this one blurry photo of the left sides spring compressor configuration. wouldn’t work any other way i tried it would hit everything.

 

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FINALLY FINISH THE LIFT AND GOT ALIGNMENT. test-o-flex

 

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i also did do the front a little different. i did thread the bolts through the top of the spacer sitting on the top of the strut as opposed to taking the strut apart. it was much easier for trying the get the thing coil back in when you:
first while the strut is out you’ll have to drill out the old studs. be careful and make sure you drill level.

second, mock up the coil on top (while paying attention to the fact that there’s a L and R on top of the strut for which side it was on, which lines up with a notch on the side of the strut top that always faces the engine). you will see that the bolts are too long from the spacer kit and won’t let the strut pivot on the strut bearing, so cut them to length with two washers between the coils and bolt head(makes sure you can thread the nuts back on this way because you leave space for the unibody).

next now that bolts are the right length you’ll be able to thread the bolts through the spacers holding the spacers up on the body so you can stick the strut back in the same way you took it out. bing bang boom.

i recommend testing out of you actually need the camber kit by just putting the stock big boi bolts back in. it turned out mine was perfect. i did also get new sway bar links i installed after the lift as well. only my toe in was horrible when i got my alignment.


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Looking good! Keep us posted on the progress. 

 

For getting the rear springs out, if you ever have to do it again it can be done without spring compressors. I figured this out the hard way after going through a few different lift set ups. Lift the whole back of the truck up with a floor jack under the pumpkin. Then put a jack stand under the frame, I use the lower trailing arm mounting points for stand placement. With the body on the stands, take off both rear wheels, disconnect the shocks and sway bar links, unbolt the rear brake line distribution block from the top of the axle, and then you can use the jack under the pumpkin to raise and lower the rear end to get the springs in and out. It will drop enough this way that you can pull the springs out without compressing them. Just go slow and watch the rear brake lines to be sure they’re not getting overextended.  I hate fighting with spring compressors and find it much easier this way. 

Edited by Bax03SE
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Looking good! Keep us posted on the progress. 
 
For getting the rear springs out, if you ever have to do it again it can be done without spring compressors. I figured this out the hard way after going through a few different lift set ups. Lift the whole back of the truck up with a floor jack under the pumpkin. Then put a jack stand under the frame, I use the lower trailing arm mounting points for stand placement. With the body on the stands, take off both rear wheels, disconnect the shocks and sway bar links, unbolt the rear brake line distribution block from the top of the axle, and then you can use the jack under the pumpkin to raise and lower the rear end to get the springs in and out. It will drop enough this way that you can pull the springs out without compressing them. Just go slow and watch the rear brake lines to be sure they’re not getting overextended.  I hate fighting with spring compressors and find it much easier this way. 
That sounds harder. I was able to put the frame on jack stands, compress the spring a little, and jack the opposite side up a bit causing the side I was removing to droop a further, and got the spring out.

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So how is it to get in your truck with it jacked up 2 inches but no running boards? I would have to really heave myself up with the door to get in without stepping on the runners.

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18 minutes ago, Bax03SE said:

Looking good! Keep us posted on the progress. 

 

For getting the rear springs out, if you ever have to do it again it can be done without spring compressors. I figured this out the hard way after going through a few different lift set ups. Lift the whole back of the truck up with a floor jack under the pumpkin. Then put a jack stand under the frame, I use the lower trailing arm mounting points for stand placement. With the body on the stands, take off both rear wheels, disconnect the shocks and sway bar links, unbolt the rear brake line distribution block from the top of the axle, and then you can use the jack under the pumpkin to raise and lower the rear end to get the springs in and out. It will drop enough this way that you can pull the springs out without compressing them. Just go slow and watch the rear brake lines to be sure they’re not getting overextended.  I hate fighting with spring compressors and find it much easier this way. 

Thank you i will! 

as far as doing the rear that way- the only reason i didnt was because i didnt want to disconnect the shocks yet because i wasnt changing them. im a little afraid the bolts are gonna break on em hey dont look too good. wouldve been great because i barely used the compressors on the front anyway

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12 minutes ago, colinnwn said:

So how is it to get in your truck with it jacked up 2 inches but no running boards? I would have to really heave myself up with the door to get in without stepping on the runners.

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honestly i wasnt expecting a problem but i actually do find my self hopping my butt up there, cant wait for the jump up once i mount bigger tires and wheels

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1 hour ago, colinnwn said:

That sounds harder. I was able to put the frame on jack stands, compress the spring a little, and jack the opposite side up a bit causing the side I was removing to droop a further, and got the spring out.

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It sounds like a lot typing it out, but I just did it like this earlier this week and had the springs swapped out and everything all back together in less than an hour. Of course it helps that I’ve had the rear end apart a few times now, lol. So I know exactly where and how everything goes together, and also bolt sizes and what not so there’s no digging for tools to slow me down.  

 

I’ll also add that when your going back in with heavy duty springs it becomes a lot harder to compress them, so it makes dropping the rear axle to get them in and out more necessary. 

Edited by Bax03SE
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14 hours ago, PathyDude17 said:

Quick Recommendation, since your lifted now, make yourself one of these:

Should tighten up your handling and protect your LCA's

ive been thinking about the missing link lately and also skid plates. i just gotta find some decently priced sheet metal near me and decide how thick to go. That and i definitely would like to get rid of the front bumper and make small guy bumpers out of some square tubing maybe. 

..i need so much metal...and more stick electrodes to weld with 

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11 minutes ago, spicyheckboi said:

ive been thinking about the missing link lately and also skid plates. i just gotta find some decently priced sheet metal near me and decide how thick to go. That and i definitely would like to get rid of the front bumper and make small guy bumpers out of some square tubing maybe. 

..i need so much metal...and more stick electrodes to weld with 

do the missing link. less than ten dollars in parts at home depot

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

alright so there’s been an odd rubbing or squeaking noise coming from my front left. i haven’t gotten to take a good look at it with the tire off but i feel like the spring is twisted away from the bottom perch and that’s causing some weird sounds while stopping and going. usually whenever the strut moves

 

any ideas on if it could be other things before i go rent another spring compressor ?

 

 

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59 minutes ago, spicyheckboi said:

alright so there’s been an odd rubbing or squeaking noise coming from my front left. i haven’t gotten to take a good look at it with the tire off but i feel like the spring is twisted away from the bottom perch and that’s causing some weird sounds while stopping and going. usually whenever the strut moves

 

any ideas on if it could be other things before i go rent another spring compressor ?

 

 

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If the spring looks like it’s unseated, I’ve had that happen before. The coils had slipped  over the edge of the lower strut seat, and was partially hanging off. I dropped it off at the shop that did my alignment and they said they just hammered it back into place, probably with the suspension at full droop.

Edited by PathyDude17
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If the spring looks like it’s unseated, I’ve had that happen before. The coils had slipped  over the edge of the lower strut seat, and was partially hanging off. I dropped it off at the shop that did my alignment and they said they just hammered it back into place, probably with the suspension at full droop.

do you mean it was off the seat hanging off the edge or just moved backwards away from being fully seated? mina the second, should i still try hammering her back in? this is good news because if i think about it it started after my alignment


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2 hours ago, spicyheckboi said:


do you mean it was off the seat hanging off the edge or just moved backwards away from being fully seated? mina the second, should i still try hammering her back in? this is good news because if i think about it it started after my alignment


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Part of the coil was hanging off the edge with nothing under the coil.

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Part of the coil was hanging off the edge with nothing under the coil.

okay, mine is backing out of that rubber isolater on the bottom and it’s causing the spring to have been twisted back when the pressure was put back on it. i’m gonna try putting it in the air and moving it around by hand but i’m probably going to need to get a compressor to be able to fix its position. i’ll post pictures in a little bit for visuals so it makes more sense


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i suppose i should really say the noise while that shock flexes combined with the spring looking off kilter like that made me nervous. it is probably fine but just doesn’t seem right because it still handles fine i still barely nose dive just as before i lifted it


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that’s honestly good to hear. i’ve been thinking the noise had to mean something was wrong everything’s still tight.

i do i need a good cleaning. its safe to spray paint that area after a good wire brushing of rust away, right?

i start work again this week, so at least money comes in soon! first things i’m doing is going to good car wash then ordering manual hubs and going to lowe’s to get metal for that missing link.

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b70b1c962d86f542271b0e9063ebd558.jpg

from about a week ago we had nice weather and i wanted to start testing how i liked black stripes where the fender flares and bumper covers were.

decided that i’ll use the entire line of where the fenders were and the entire area the bumper covered gets paint too. same on the front and by then i’ll have pvc pipe to make coolant and wiper fluid containers in the engine bay. that’s if i deem they stick out too far when the front cover comes off, which i’m pretty sure they will. if they don’t they’re turning black as well as the rocker panels of course.


some areas of future derusting when it’s actually warm again

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i took the bumper off to clean up on same nice day as well because it wasn’t looking good. it didn’t end up back on the truck yet but truck does look cool ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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On 3/25/2019 at 4:43 AM, spicyheckboi said:


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Looks like your fuel filter is hanging down out of it's little bracket home. You can see the bracket above it where I believe it sits. Just FYI! Might be worth poppin' under there and supporting the filter so it doesn't accidentally get pulled off.

 

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you’re right! i thought it looked out of place there, i gotta get under with a flash light today after work and see if i can zip that bad boy back in


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