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Land Rover rear lift spring install


Bax03SE
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Going to lift the weekend after this. Wondering if there are any tips for installing these springs such as what to look out for and what needs out of the way. I do have a mechanic helping me but he probably has never put Land Rover front springs on a 1996 Nissan Pathfinder rear before. I am also putting Bilstein 5125s on the back and know there are a few tricks for those.

Tips and hints for the front would also be helpful. (KYB with 1 1/2" spacer for a 2" lift on front.) Do have Camber bolts.

One thing I am getting mixed messages on is torque. "Flurry" give 29 ft lbs much lower than Nissan Specs. and so on. Torque for Camber bolts would be helpful also.

I Do not want to highjack this post and will start a build thread of my own, just had those thoughts on my mind.

Thanks

 

For the rear springs you'll have to disconnect your shocks and panhard bar and let the axle droop all the way and you can pop the stock coils right out and wedge the new ones in with a bit of leverage (having a friend to help is nice). Shocks are easy, just line up the holes and slide them on. Then tighten everything up, throw the panhard rod back on, reconnect the diff breather tube, throw the wheels back on and you're good to go.

 

The front is a royal pain to do. First, remove the strut from the car which is pretty easy, just take out the camber bolts and slide the abs and brake lines off the strut, then remove the top 3 bolts and pull 'er on out! Before you take everything out you'll need to go get a spring compressor. O'Riley's lets you borrow one for free. You'll need to compress your stock coil until it separates from the top hat, then you can undo the top bolt underneath the rubber grommet that hold everything together, slide off the top hat, and slide the coil out. When you remove the spring compressors, do it evenly from side to side, otherwise the spring can blow out and bend the compressor and seriously injure you.

 

The next step is to compress the new coil, which is the worst part. Try to get the coils of the spring as close to touching as you possibly can, and then try to get the top hat assembly back on. There is a flattened part of the threaded top of the strut and a matching flat spot in the hole on the top hat, make sure they line up before you force it on so you don't strip the threading like I did my first time. Again, this is way easier with a friend since you really have to force that top hat on with the new stiffer spring in there that won't compress as much as easily. When I did it I had my friend hold the top hat down while I threaded the nut on. Once it's fully threaded on, it's safe to remove the spring compressors. You'll have to turn the top so that the arrow/notch thing is facing the right way. Once the strut is assembled you can throw in back in the rig. The camber bolts need to be oriented a specific way which I kinda forget, I know Xplorx4 knows.

 

As far as torque spec goes, just do it the old german way "gudentite" (good and tight) lol

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Here is a pointer I've been saving for when I do my struts.

 

Strut Alignment

 

The notches on the bottom spring seat and the top spring seat must be aligned as shown. Note that the side of the strut shown in the photo is the inboard (engine-facing) side. When reinstalling the struts, orient the "L" or "R" on the strut insulator (aka "top hat") so that the "L" lines up with the notches for the left strut, and the "R" lines up with the notches for the right strut.

(AARGH, photo didn't come through, I'll try & add it tomorrow.

 

Thanks for the write up Micah! And thanks for the chance to see your set up & feel it's ride yesterday!

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Here is what I think summarizes the info to date on the LR springs, their real world effect on the R50 & who has put them on to date.

 

 

Land Rover Defender 90 Spring Summary

 

http://www.red90.ca/rovers/springinfo.html

5" inner diameter (same as the R50)

 

NRC9446 +2.5-3 (15Spring Ht) 0.5-1" rake c 2 front spacers

175# Spring Rate

LR 90 Defender-Front Driver

(0.5" longer than passenger)

 

NRC9447 +2-2.5" (Micah got 4")

175# Spring Rate

LR 90 Defender-Front Passenger

 

NRC9448 +4(Perfect c 4"SFD), cut one coil=3"

225# Spring Rate (LR 90 Defender-Rears)

$80 Delivered from UK

 

NRC9449 +2-2.5" (same Height as NRC9447)

225# Spring Rate (heavier Load than NRC9447)

 

9446: neilca(35"F/36"R c 31"tireMid Fender Ht)

9447: 19pathfinder99, micahfelker(37-37.5" c 31"tire), MichaelAndrews

9448: TowndawgR50 Bax03SE(37"F/38"R c 33"tire Mid Fender Ht-1 coil cut)

9449: 03Troutfinder (36.5" from 34")

 

 

Brands-few reviews on LR forums say Brit Part (c8) springs held up better than OEM Land Rover against sagging

 

 

Please look it over & correct accordingly!

Edited by RainGoat
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...Land Rover front springs on a 1996 Nissan Pathfinder rear before. I am also putting Bilstein 5125s on the back and know there are a few tricks for those.

Tips and hints for the front would also be helpful. (KYB with 1 1/2" spacer for a 2" lift on front.) Do have Camber bolts.

One thing I am getting mixed messages on is torque. "Flurry" give 29 ft lbs much lower than Nissan Specs. and so on. Torque for Camber bolts would be helpful also.

 

 

 

For the rear springs you'll have to disconnect your shocks and panhard bar and let the axle droop.... Once the strut is assembled you can throw in back in the rig. The camber bolts need to be oriented a specific way which I kinda forget, I know Xplorx4 knows.

 

 

Strut Alignment

The notches on the bottom spring seat and the top spring seat must be aligned as shown. Note that the side of the strut shown in the photo is the inboard (engine-facing) side. When reinstalling the struts, orient the "L" or "R" on the strut insulator (aka "top hat") so that the "L" lines up with the notches for the left strut, and the "R" lines up with the notches for the right strut.

 

Strut_Alignment.jpg

Edited by RainGoat
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  • 2 weeks later...

My final numbers:

 

Rear went with 9447 and Bilstein 1525 shocks

LR - 34 1/4" to 38 1/2" settled to 37.5" net 3 1/4"

RR-33 3/4" to 38" settled to 37.5" net 3 3/4"

 

1 1/2" spacer with KYB struts.

LF - 32 1/2" to 35 net 2 1/2"

LR- 32" to 35 net 3"

 

note on a slightly uneven shop floor.

Today back was 37.5" and front was 35" for 2.5"rake both sides on my level driveway.

 

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1 1/2" spacer with KYB struts.

LF - 32 1/2" to 35 net 2 1/2"

LR- 32" to 35 net 3"

Today back was 37.5" and front was 35" for 2.5"rake both sides on my level driveway.

 

What Springs do you have on the front?

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One thing I would mention about the front strut install. The KYB struts come with a metal spacer ring about 1.5" in diameter if I remember correctly. DO NOT forget to install this!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

If you do not put it on, the strut shaft nut bottoms out on the threads and WILL ruin the strut since tightening it stretches the threads and you'll be really really pissed at how difficult the stupid nut is to get back off. Likely, you will also ruin the top hat because the only thing keeping the top hat from rotating on the strut shaft is a TIIIIIIIIIIINY little flat spot in the center hole of the top hat. This flat spot rounds out if you look at it wrong, seriously, it is ridiculously easy to round out the hole.

 

Edit: Actually now that I think about it, the strut mounts came with the spacer. I didn't use the KYB mounts, but another one that had good reviews since the stock Nissan mounts are insanely overpriced. the spacer is built in to the Nissan mounts, so if you use them you are good to go without a spacer.

 

Oh, and I used 2 sets of spring compressors, one set open wide and grabbing like the 2nd coil in from top and bottom, and the other set grabbing whatever coils I could get them on further towards the middle of the spring. This was on the AC lift springs, so if you are doing stock or Moog replacements then it is a bit easier and 1 set of spring compressors is likely fine. I almost had to clamp the middle spring compressor set tight against the coils with the outer set to get it compressed far enough to get the top hat on. It was a huge pain, but I could not get one set to compress far enough without feeling like it was gonna let go and kill someone.

Edited by drewp29
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One note when installing the springs, try and get it done without removing the bump stops. Mine were bolted in and we thought it would be easy to remove them to make the installation easier. Both bolts broke off. A big pain drilling them out. Just and FYI if it can be done without removing them.

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One note when installing the springs, try and get it done without removing the bump stops. Mine were bolted in and we thought it would be easy to remove them to make the installation easier. Both bolts broke off. A big pain drilling them out. Just and FYI if it can be done without removing them.

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It can definitely be done with the bump stops in place. Ive had my rear springs in and out several times now and have never removed them. You just have to put the top in first over the bump stops then angle the bottom in place.

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Any idea how these would stack up against the AC Heavy Duty rear springs? I've searched everywhere but can't find the lbs rating for them, mine seems to bottom out quite a bit when I have a fair amount of weight & this looks like a great mod

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I havent been able to find AC spring rates listed either. But, according to the old spring info thread, the AC springs measure 15.25 free height. The LR springs people are using range from about 14.8-15.3 free height, yet provide significantly more lift than the 2 inches that AC provides, so I think that tells us the LR spring rate is much higher than the AC coils.

Edited by Bax03SE
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Placed an order for a pair of the NRC9448 coils! They should be to me the middle of next week. Now I just need to get my CNCs ready for a random day when we are cutting 1/4" A36 on the plasma in the shop. Then I can get the panhard drop bracket and strut spacer flanges cut. I'm going to order some rectangular tubing in 1/4" thickness (because I like overkill) and get everything prepped for an install in the next couple months. Since it is my DD I need to have a plan together and everything ready and laid out for as quick of an install as possible.

 

Then I just need to figure out a way to get my 175# English Mastiff in and out of the back. He'll jump down from the current height, but another couple of inches might be too much for him. Down might not be an issue even with the extra height, but up might be a problem. He jumps up now, but I am afraid he will believe he still can and launch himself into a bad situation. I have loading ramps, but good luck getting him to go up and down those, lol. Let's just say, you don't MAKE him do anything he doesn't want to do.

 

Oh, and I had a question. I purchased the Bilstein rear dampers from 4x4parts back when I did the AC lift. They had the sleeve for the lower mount point, so I assume they are likely F250 (?) dampers. Do you think I can use them as is, or do I need to look for a longer extended/compressed length?

Edited by drewp29
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Hey TowndawgR50 - Those rear dampers wouldn't happen to be the Bilstein 25-187717 would they? The extended length is 27.4in and the collapsed length is 16.14in?

 

https://www.4wheelparts.com/Suspension/Bilstein-5165-Series-Reservoir-Shock-Absorber-25-187717.aspx?t_c=1&t_s=90&t_pt=3306&t_pn=BIL25-187717

 

Looking for extended length rear dampers for my soon to be 4" lift, and figured there is no reason to reinvent the wheel if it has already been determined that these work.

 

 

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Add me to the list. I've got the 9448's coming this week. Received my OME 2928 HDs today, KYB struts and shocks arriving this week. Also got LR3/LR4 sway bar end links; I updated my other post, but I think they're gonna work just fine.

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