Rough Country 4" lift install questians

8879ford · Feb 12, 2011

very excited, just bought a 4" rough country suspension lift with the rear lift leaf springs for my 88 bronco II. Im debating on installing it myself or letting a garage install it for me. What did you guys do? I am also going to be replacing all the bushings with poly ones, removing my body lift, and installing new poly body mounts. How much do you think a garage would charge for this?

CountryBoy78 · Feb 12, 2011

Well there is some factors to think about.

Do you have a place to work on it at?
Do you have the tools to do the work on it?
How long can the truck be down to do the work?
Do you have the money to pay a shop's hourly wages to install your parts?

It's all up to you if you can do the work and have the truck be down for a couple days then do it yourself and save your money.........but if you don't want to mess with it and have money to burn then have some one else do it.

If it was me I would grab a few :beer:

s and grab my tools and start building, because I don't have money to burn to have a shop do it.

88_Eddie · Feb 12, 2011

i'd say at least a grand for all that, most likely more

it's not like any of this stuff is rocket science, everything is held in by rivets and nuts/bolts......if you have the slightest mechanical know-how, i think you can do it.

you need a few things, good ratchet set (air impact gun would be better) , jack, jackstands, breaker bar, and some other stuff you'll realize when you start.

i'm goin to install my lift myself as well, i'd have to save for months to have enough for a shop to do it. i could spend thousands of dollars on a bunch of cooler shit that paying a shop.

grab some beers, some buddies and get to work

DOPIESLC · Feb 12, 2011

^^^ What he said. I did my 4" rough country lift in November and it took 6 days to do it due to not having the right tools. But if you want any pointers just ask. Main tools i recommend is a floor jack, jack stands, blocks if your stands aren't tall enough, PB blaster, pitman arm puller, 1 1/8 wrench(spring retaining nut), sledge hammer, socket set that goes up to 21mm or bigger, grinder, air hammer(or hammer with a punch), a friend with beer and some muscle. Easiest thing to let you know before just ignore the instructions about dropping one side at a time. Save lots of time and cuss words. Just drop the entire axle housing along with the radius arms, brackets, and cross member. This makes it so much easier to cut out the rivets for the axle pivot brackets. Also found this to be the easiest for those rivets take a grinder and grind off the heads and just use a punch to knock out the rest of the rivet. The springs were a pain to get to turn in. Also you will most likely need new brake lines. Other then that I find the lift to be great. Its a nice ride almost like it was when it was stock. I don't understand how everybody thinks it has stiff springs.

88_Eddie · Feb 12, 2011

^
i think the stiffness usually pertains to the flex of the coils, not really the ride

trail B2 · Feb 12, 2011

It would be a lot of work but you would know more when your done.You would probably have to buy some tools but thats less tools you need for the next project till one day you can do most projects without buying anything.

DOPIESLC · Feb 12, 2011

88_Eddie said:
^
i think the stiffness usually pertains to the flex of the coils, not really the ride

I see

Surrey · Feb 12, 2011

8879ford said:
very excited, just bought a 4" rough country suspension lift with the rear lift leaf springs for my 88 bronco II. Im debating on installing it myself or letting a garage install it for me. What did you guys do? I am also going to be replacing all the bushings with poly ones, removing my body lift, and installing new poly body mounts. How much do you think a garage would charge for this?

Garage would probably ding you for about 6-8 hours for the suspension lift, and another 4-6 for the body lift I would think... So at $80 an hour, thats $800+ labor, and they would probably have the truck for 2-3 days to do it... And who has that kinda scratch to pay someone else to do something you can do yourself, right?

So if you can do it yourself, or with help from a friend or two (always makes things easier) then I would definitely go that route.

An other thing to consider would be the condition of hangers/shackles. They are basically exposed in the back tire wells, so if you live in a wet climate they tend to rust, or the bolts at the end of the leafs will seize into the bushing, or your u bolts will be seized... (but the lift kit came with new ones i hope?) I had to deal with all 3 of these problems on a single truck...

8879ford · Feb 13, 2011

well, when trying to remove the rear leaf springs, the rear bolts are stuck in the bushings like you said...i tried to force it out, used a propane torch, tried a c-clamp, and ran out of ideas and muscle...how did you guys deal with this? I am lost with this one...the bolt came out of the nut, but could not get out of the bushing...

8879ford · Feb 13, 2011

also i might have accidently bent the shackle a little bit...ooops...can that be bent back or is it screwed? If it is screwed, anyone know where to buy good oem or better shackles?

8879ford · Feb 13, 2011

Also, should loc-tite be used on any on the bolts that are involved in this lift?

chrwilkins30 · Feb 13, 2011

Yeah get out the grinder and get to cutting. You have to cut the bolt right on the inside of the hanger. Its not hard its just a pain. You are probably going to have to then take the leaves and get the bushings pressed out. (Did not have this prob swapped out expo leaves) They also sell the Dorman shackle at autozone(instock), or you could go belltech or AZ lowering shackles ($10 cheaper.) something like $25. Just when you look them up search for a 90 bronco 2. They are the same for a 88 but are not listed for some reason.

88_Eddie · Feb 13, 2011

8879ford said:
well, when trying to remove the rear leaf springs, the rear bolts are stuck in the bushings like you said...i tried to force it out, used a propane torch, tried a c-clamp, and ran out of ideas and muscle...how did you guys deal with this? I am lost with this one...the bolt came out of the nut, but could not get out of the bushing...

when in doubt, sawzall that bitch out.......bolts are cheap, cut the shit out of them, or drill out the bushings if you're gettin replacement springs

8879ford said:
also i might have accidently bent the shackle a little bit...ooops...can that be bent back or is it screwed? If it is screwed, anyone know where to buy good oem or better shackles?

you can get extended shackles.....belltech 6400's (which are kinda expensive) or you can go to a parts store and they usually sell them for ~$30, same thing

if you need oem replacement, i'm sure someone on here has some old ones that they'd give you if you paid the shipping.....i'll have some in a few weeks that i'd give away

8879ford said:
Also, should loc-tite be used on any on the bolts that are involved in this lift?

i would, extra assurance, takes a half a second to do

8879ford · Feb 14, 2011

Ok, and also, why does it say that you cannot use a steering stabilizer with this lift? That kinda sucks because i installed a new rough country single steering stabilizer right before i bought this lift....is there a way to use it with the lift?

Rabbit · Feb 21, 2011

I installed the same 4" RC lift on my B2 in about 6 hours in the driveway. The most difficult part to me was getting the rivets out. If you have access to an air chisel, it will be simpler (hard to get an angle grinder in there). I would definitelt make sure to have all the tools listed above at your side. This will save time. A 24" pry bar also came in handy for getting the springs in and out.

Rough Country 4" lift install questians

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