Front coil over install - maybe screwed up? Looking for some help

[rpold150]

I forgot to say that I took the passenger eibach strut out, and the suspension seemed to have complete mobility up and down and the I could get the axle shafts completely straight. So the jack lifting the truck with the strut in was simply a very stiff spring. With the axle shaft straight, I hit it with a dead blow hammer (4lb new purchase today) a few times. I gave it some pretty good wacks. It didn't seem to push in any or hide the shiny part. I left it and put it all together. The driver side shows some shiny and I hadn't even touched that side myself. Maybe it's been this way for a year since the readylift 2" level puck was installed.

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[rpold150]

I am NO expert at this ... but wondering if you "finish" putting everything together, put the wheels on and drop the truck off the jacks ... wondering if the weight of the truck on the suspension will actually push everything "together" ... again, no expert here just a thought.

I'm hoping this as well.

 

[rpold150]

Can you see if the upper control arm contacts the coil at full droop?

The picture I just posted shows there is a gap between the knuckle and spring. I have a little more than a finger between the UCA and spring and a finger and half for the knuckle. It's at full droop, but without the tire. I assume the tire weight would drop it a bit more, but I don't think it would be enough to close that gap., but I can't say for sure.

 

[Ranger621]

Looking at the rust witness mark, it looks like its in the place it needs to be. If you pushed it in any further the rusted section of the shaft would be going into the seal.

 

[Vin]

...Looks like I should have just paid the $600 to have the shop install them...

Don't beat yourself up too bad. I paid the $600 to a well known off road shop and their "new guy" that was underqualified to work a at Jiffy Lube effed mine up too. Ended up taking it to another shop to get it right.

 

[GIjoe]

Did you try jacking the lca up to get the lower bolts out? Might help align it, or cut the heads off and pound them down and through

 

[rpold150]

Did you try jacking the lca up to get the lower bolts out? Might help align it, or cut the heads off and pound them down and through

I'm not sure how lifting the LCA would help. But I have given some thought to cutting the heads off, or cutting the ears off the shock, but I typically like to keep all the original parts. I also have an oscillating saw and can get a gap between the shock ear and LCA. I might try that.

 

[Buyer2021]

Just checking-in to see how this project is going? Perhaps on hold due to the (for us) brutally cold weather still lingering in the region?

 

[rpold150]

Yes, I stayed inside without a heater in the garage. I'll be out tomorrow afternoon to resume. Once I get the bolts out of the shock bottom, I should be good to finish up. I think my trouble with the bolts not releasing may be that I had the 3 top hat nuts loosened already and so the hammer blows on the bottom bolts were losing some of the punch with the struct bouncing around. I'll tighten the top hat nuts down and wack the bolts again. If not, I'll find a way to cut them off to give me some clearance to slide the bottom of the shock out.

 

[GIjoe]

Rudy…Rudy…Rudy…!

 

[rpold150]

Rudy…Rudy…Rudy…!

I feel the support!!!

 

[rpold150]

It's finally all done. If I hadn't gotten worried about what I thought was a gap from pulling the axle out too far, I probably could have done both sides and finished in the first day. I started reading about people taking off the axle nut to get more room because pulling the axle out too far would be bad news...

As mentioned before, I really wanted to get the bottom shock bolts out so I could pull it out without pushing LCA too far down. With the 2" readylift puck on top, and the bolts sticking out the bottom, I just felt it would pull the axle out. I got tired of beating on the bolts.

I buttoned everything up, new Eibach on the right and stock (with Readylift) on the left. I got it off the jack stands and slowly pulled out of the garage. Things felt good. I ended up driving around about 10 miles and the Eibach side was fine. I think I was concerned about nothing at all.

I took it to the shop today that was going to do the alignment and paid them to put in the left side. I felt a bit of failure, but on the other hand, with 6000 miles on the truck and having some doubts, I didn't mind paying a couple hundred to have a shop tell me that the side I did was fine.

The Eibach Pro Truck Stage 2R comes set with maximum preload. I think they advertise that maximum preload will perfectly level the truck. I've also read that people see different results based on different trim and weight. I really liked the stance I had with the ReadyLift 2" level, so that's what I tried to get.

I have a 22 Platinum EcoBoost 3.5 with FX4. Completely stock, from center of wheel to bottom of fender, I had 25" in rear and 22" in front. With the readylift, I had 24" in front.

I made a guess and took 10 full turns on the threaded shock body,. At 1/8" per thread, I assumed 3/4". This was perfect. The Eibach rear shocks didn't lift any, and with the Eibach coils up front I am still at exactly 24". So measuring center of wheel to fender, I have 1" rake.

So for anyone wondering, with a Platinum EcoBoost 3.5 with stock FX4, the Eibach pro truck stage 2 at full preload should lift your front end 2.75".

I've driven about 20 miles with it now, and love it. The bounciness is completely gone. Not harsh at all and still a very smooth ride. Going slowly over a speed bump with stock shocks, the front end would bounce 3-4 times. With the new Eibach, it's one rebound and settled. I haven't taken it on any washboard or bumps at speed so I can't say yet, but I think it will be a very stable planted ride.

Lastly, you guys are awesome with the advice and support when I was freaking out a bit. I appreciate all the advice and quick responses when I most needed it. If I didn't have the readylift pucks already, I think this would be a relatively simple 3-4 hour job.

With 275-65-20 (34") Nittto Recon Grapplers

 

[Buyer2021]

Thanks for the update, bottom line is it's done, you're happy, and it looks sharp!

 

[rpold150]

Thanks for the update, bottom line is it's done, you're happy, and it looks sharp!

Yes, very happy with it. Thanks for the help!

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