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My Subframe Drop Install Thread


01silvapathy
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hi once again from a cold england, what do people do to raise their pathy's without the sub frame drop . springs ? shocks? if so has anyone sourced any hybrid parts?

thanks

Check the FAQs and Pinned topics ;)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Okay yall, figured id go ahead and post up the rest of the pics from when I finished up the rest of the lift this past weekend. It was a relatively straight forward process that only took us about 2 hours to complete. We did not make a panhard rod drop bracket cause we measured and did not notice any shift in the axle. But its on the list of things to get done. Also need to get some extended rear links or build them to help recenter the axle cause its obvious that it got pulled forward quite a bit.

 

First off jack the ass end wayyyy up in the air and place jack stands right in front of where the lower links mount and take off the tires.

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Then take off the shocks and rear brake line....you absolutely have to get a new one for this there is no getting around it

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In order to get the axle to drop enough we detached the upper links from the axle and that gave us just enough room to fit the coils on with the spacers. We also detached the panhard rod from the axle to keep it from binding

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I know we forgot to detach the lsv spring but oh well, it didnt break lol

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Next install the new brake line being careful not to strip out the lines....no pics of that

 

Next was to weld on the spacers 3 small beads did the trick

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After that just re install the shocks and put the wheels and tires back on and bleed the brakes...it was about 1000 times more easy to do than the front was lol. I will make a seperate post with pics and such of the completed project.

 

Tools you will need to complete the sfd lift

-Big Set of Jackstands...atleast 3ton

-Big Jack that can raise the rear of the truck high up in the air

-Assorted tools and wrenches

-Air tools made some things easier but are not required

-Breakerbar

-Lots of PB Blaster

-Torch comes in handy to help loosen stubborn bolts

-Torque Wrench

-Brake Fluid

-Friends help alot

Edited by 01silvapathy
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Okay so this is the last post in terms of a review and finished pics. As far as ride goes, its improved ten fold! The suspension seems like it should have been setup this way from the factory. Ever since the lift has gone on both front and rear the struts have only topped out once, and that was while trying to baja a steep speedbump...so it was expected. But driving the same roads as I did before the suspension does not top out as it used to in the same spots. The rear is noticeably softer and body roll is a bit more exaggerated, but thats to be expected. I still need to reset my lsv sensor and I think that will help with the stopping. Front end dive is greater under heavy braking, and the rear likes to get up as well. This again is to be expected with a bigger lift. Overall though I really do LOVE the ride now its awesome :itsallgood:

 

Onto the pics, I took a few flex shots and such but not many cause I have been sick the past day or so and had classes the rest of the week. Anyways here are the pics I have and also a youtube video of the finished lift showing into more detail the rear blocks where they are welded and the brake line ect. Please note that the rear lift is at 5in (3in spacer, 2in coils) and the front is at 6.5(4in blocks, 4.5in strut spacers) Also the rear has about 200lbs of stuff back there so its a tad bit sagged...but id personally rather have some cali lean than texas rake..since I never tow anything.

 

Youtube Video

 

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Edited by 01silvapathy
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Finished Pictures after the rear was done??? How much clearance do you now have??? Are you gonna run 35" tires or stick with 33"?

 

Pics are up now, in terms of clearances I dont have a tape in the truck so I will have to wait til I am feeling better to go up to the shop and measure both front gc, rear gc, Fender Measurements as well as ground to bottom of body measurements. In terms of tires, im leaning away from 35's now for a few reasons. First off they can fit yes, but trimming would have to be done, as well as a need for aftermarket wheels with bigger backspacing or moving up to a 2in wheel spacer in the front. Even then fitting a 12.5 wide tire on the truck is challenging. Secondly the flares would most likely have to come off if I went to 35's and that imo would look like ass. Also if I moved to a 35x12.5 I would most likely have to regear....which is more money again. The plan at the moment is this. Find two replacement 285 75 16 BFG At's to replace the very worn front tires. Save up some money and either move to a true 33x10.5 wide tire or get a metric sized tire in a 34x10.5. The main reason why im wanting 10.5 is because they will fit on my stock wheels without much of an issue, the tires I have on now are 11.5 wide and they barely clear the strut.

 

If anyone else has questions just ask, as long as they are not stupid questions I wont bite :chairfall:

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Nice to see another one "done"....Please get a hub to fender measurement for me! Mainly the front. Or even just frame to the ground would work. I'm trying to figure out how much I've lifted mine.

Edited by tmorgan4
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Is it just me or is your rear axle shifted toward the driver's side? Look at the picture in the parking lot from almost directly behind. Angle of the shock on pass. side is nearly straight up & down; driver's is angled toward center of vehicle. Is that because you didn't drop the panhard yet? Or is it just how the picture makes it look? Rig's a beast, man. Good job.

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I will try and go out and flex to the max if I can on something and see how the shocks work and if they top out at all. I have a feeling the limiting factor on the rear flex now is going to be the links because they can only travel so far....but we will see soon enough.

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DSC_0167-1.jpg

 

That is full droop, I have a set of Rancho RS5000's meant for a 2000 F250 with a 4" lift that I had to put new bushings in; in order to fit. But as you can see my tire is off the ground and I could grab my spring and move it around just a little bit but it would not come out unless i took the shock off and the axle can only drop 2" more and I had to use a crow bar to get the springs in when I put them in, no spring compressor. What shocks are you using?

Edited by muddfildvaynes
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Swapping bushings is a pain to do, and you also have a very different setup than I do...I have lift coils with a spacer not custom coils.

 

True, I actually just thought of that, and the bushings weren't that hard to fo I just used a ball joint press to get the bushings out and the new ones I slid in by hand. Did you drop the panhard?

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Judging from your pic you axle looks like it is moved just a little bit towards the drivers side. That 1/2" on top of the 4" strut spacers in the front makes it look real good. Glad to see another with a SFD; I am actually doing research on a SAS right now that I hope to complete by Sept 2011.

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I think it may just be the angle of the pic, but I will go have a looksee later on once I save up the energy to move out of bed and go to walmart :thumbsdown: In terms of an sas good luck, and keep the forum updated with what you do.

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Your specs might be different than mine since I have a 98 R50 which is the 3.3. I'll have to check the pinned topics for the specs unless your specs might work? You sure did a great job on that lift. I'm ready for the next lift on mine since I just put on the A/C kit with new 265/70/R17's. SFD looks great and will get the 6" i need.

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