Rick13

I got an official freight shipping quote yesterday and it was $379 (residence to residence). I keep wondering if it'd be cheaper to originate and deliver to business addresses. I don't feel like checking since that puts a damper on the total price for me.

I think this has been done before. IIRC because ofthe tapered/sloped lower perch on the Pathy and the slightly smaller internal diameter of the WJ coil, the coil will seat when under constant rear weight but will "slip" when flexing/going over bumps. I'm not sure if this is just an annoyance (noise/clunk) or if there is a true possibility of unseating/losing a coil. (My assumption is that longer WJ coils would remain seated since it takes a coil spring compressor to remove...at least in my case) I believe this was the whole reason for KR Fabs coming up with his original lower perch adapter. I originally had thoughts of grinding (delicately) the lower internal portion the WJ spring (so that it would fit the lower perch better and not want to slip upward) but decided that the adapter was pretty cheap/easy at the time. I'm NOT saying don't try this, just thought I'd throw some history out there.

I wouldn't worry about it, I didn't know ANYTHING about the sub-frame until 2010 when I started researching possibilities of lifting an R50 beyond 2-3 inches. Even though I know a lot more about it now (and even performed the fabled sub-frame "drop" thanks to KR Fabrications), saying "sub-frame" out loud has begun to feel like a 4-letter word to me...or maybe I just feel like throwing out a 4-letter word every time I say it!!!

I don't think they need to based on their solid front axle/link suspension.

A little lighting love: Driving Lights to replace my cheap HF pencil beams.

Be advised, rant to begin in 3, 2, 1... Just for the record (not arguing Rocky, cause I really like your ideas/experimentation), BUT I knew EXACTLY what I was doing with my front suspension when I decided on the AC 2" coil lift back in 2007. I had read about top-out (which honestly mostly occurred in the 1st year of being lifted and actually hasn't occurred to me once in the last year) The alignment was never a problem until the SFD (which only required another camber bolt on one side, the other was fine) I'm still a hold-out with my original auto hubs (of which I've only replace one CV in 5+ years/60K+ miles of having it lifted, and that original equipment CV was 10+ years old with 4+ years of lift/trails/snow/salt on it!!!) and I still get close to the same mileage as Thunderbolt on long excursions/interstate trips to Moab. In a nutshell, I wanted additional height, to fit bigger/more aggressive tires, in order to tackle harder trails (which I think may be a common theme for several of us on this forum). I never thought of the AC lift as "increasing performance" of the front suspension. Just figured this lift would give me a little boost and hold up better to additional weight of a front bumper/winch - which I'm STILL trying to figure out what to do and more importantly, where the money will come from to do what I want!!! End rant. Very sorry about adding to the portions snow4me, but I feel better now. So thanks. BTW your rig look awesome (an exact setup that I contemplated for 6 whole months before jumping at the SFD) and I can't wait to hear how it performs on trails! Seriously, something about an R50 on 33's that get's me a little verklempt.

No doubt "sitting pretty". That looks really slick. Hope you figure the camber out.

Holy 3WD batman! Makes me think you'd have to be careful with the torque you supply to the single CV...maybe if you keep that in mind as you run I guess. Any ways, just thought I'd throw my $0.02 and it'd be interesting to hear how this goes if you decide to proceed with this mod.

Sorry, don't mean to jump in half-cocked on this (cause I drive a open/open R50), but here I go. My thought is that you are correct that with manual hubs unlocked that it should drive normal, but I keep thinking this might only be an option for certain type of wheeling? I keep picturing this setup in my rig and I think it might drive me crazy. I've watched folks with selectable front lockers quite often and they basically have to drive completely straight while engaged and immediately disengage once through an obstacle. This makes me think that I'd have to run a trail in 2WD (cause our trails here have lots of switchbacks and tight turns which a front locked diff would be difficult if not downright dangerous to negotiate) and then hop out and engage my hubs every time I want 4WD and even then, I can basically only aim straight over an obstacle (which makes choosing a line and getting in the right position before an obstacle a little bit tedious/limiting). I also would hate to imagine how overheated my transmission would be since I'm assuming you'd have to be in 2WD High when not in 4WD with hubs engaged? Again, only imagining how this might work in my rig, doing wheeling like I currently do. Not trying to sway you either way. Hey, maybe I just don't get the concept and am totally off-base. So take it for what it's worth (maybe not much).

And on the six pack it says "Take a six pack home to the wives!" It really is a decent Porter though. and Thread Jack Off...

Ha! I buy that beer EVERY time I'm in Moab...and KRFabs makes nice stuff. Wish he had that when I did mine!!!

Well I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up with all the topics, but your last post does intrigue me. Thunderbolt and I have talked a bit about why someone doesn't try to come up with a coil-over kit for our SFD R50's. We watch our close friends wheeling 3rd Gen T4R who seem to have both better on-road manners and also flex better off-road. I like your extended strut design and would be interested to see your next creation - an adjustable coilover.

I think it all depends on what/how you wheel. I ran without running boards (cause I kept catching on them) for a year with my 2" lift and 31's and came too close to my rockers too many times to count. I put RRO sliders on as my first semi-serious mod and haven't looked back since. I've dropped, teetered, slid, and banged them on all kinds of stuff...just took a little getting used to using them in precarious situations. I'd be scared to think of what my rockers would look like if they hadn't been on the last 3 years...probably like severly scratched and rusted raisins.

Strong work on the front skids. Well, you can still make it fit... ...but it won't last long!!! I liked it for reduced wind resistance (seriously not sure it helped any) and the way it looks with it on (probably the better reason). But it ripped off 3 times in the first 6 months and is now sitting in 2 pieces in my garage (thought I'd use it as a template for a future steel skid). Nice linky Ramdala. That's some decent stuff!

Yeah, gees, finally!

Junk yard - $36. I got lucky and it was still there.

33x11.5 on 3.75 bs 16 rim:

Holy crap that looks familiar! Nice.

I would check to make sure that the strut was assembled correctly. I believe there is a notch you can check on the lower spring perch that should be oriented to face towards the inner wheel well. You could also have someone watch the spring while you turn to see if there is slippage. Bad bearing? Yeah, I've heard this also except my new bearings (from Nissan) still clunk whenever I turn to the passenger side while at a stop or going very slowly. Still may be an issue, but new ones didn't fix my issue. Good luck. If you actually find the issue, will you please post back up?

Really like that crossmember and can't wait to see what you do with skids. Strong work.

Wow, that's a steal. Strong work. I had a friend wheeler that once suggested I take the front bumper off and just leave it that way. I never imagined it actually looking as good as it does that way. EDIT - or maybe it wouldn't look very good with my little 33's. Ha!

My Rancho 9000's were ridiculously awesome (I adjusted them for both load and terrain as needed) and lasted over 3 years and 35K miles. They are now on my friends R50 and have another year and 12K miles on them. In saying all that, I wouldn't buy them again because IMHO they are too pricey (I think I paid like $85+ each). I'm really enjoying my Pro Comp ES9000's right now (which IIRC were about $32 each when purchased). Very controlled ride on-road and they flex/compress well off-road.

1 - Dude, that sucks! 2 - Glad you're OK. 3 - Happy for you that it's mostly put back together (and can perhaps mod something wonderful out of it - e.g. front bumper) 4 - Did you get new shoes? Looks like they are all AT's in a couple of the last few photos?

I'm not trying to contradict, but thought I should throw this out there... I never had an issue with my 9000's coming in to contact with the PHB or bracket and neither does the guy who wheels with them now. I've heard this is a concern before, but not until I had already been running them for over a year. Ran them for 3.5 years on about 80 trails without issue. I believe they are the same part number as above (IIRC they were listed for a 2000 Dodge Durango w/3" lift).