Well, I got everything installed last night. It went fairly well. It took about 7 hours including beer, piss, and food breaks.
Luckily my truck is under a year old and all the bolts came out without a hitch. Air tools helped too
The rear sits about 2-3/4" to 3" higher than stock.
I cranked the Hoe's up so there's just under 2-1/2" of thread showing. This made about a 3" lift. I'm going to drive around today to settle it and come back to do a final adjustment (set it to 2" to 2-1/2" lift) before my alignment on Monday.
Some concerns:
1) The brake lines definitely touch the bottom cup of the Hoe's, on both sides. I used a rubber mallet as the directions stated to bend the brake hose fitting. The drivers side is now clear but the passenger side still touches, just barely. I also noticed that the metal fitting/sleeve that wraps around the rubber brake hose at the fitting now has a flat spot at the top of it after tapping it with the mallet. I really hope this "edge" doesn't wear on the hose. I may look into getting some braided lines... I really think Donahoe could have done something different with this cup to prevent this from happening.
2) The rear brake hose was way too short while taking off and putting on the new springs. I removed both brackets from the rear axle to give me more room. I'll test it out today with some flex and see how it looks. I do have an extended line from Wheeler's that I'll probably just put on there tomorrow.
3) Not a concern but kinda looks funny: The rear passenger side is 3/8" higher than the driver's side. I thought that having a higher arched spring and an empty gas tank would make the driver's side sit higher??? But, this is consistent with pre-lift measurements. Hopefully this will settle after breaking it in today.
4) I noticed that the directions that came with the Hoe's stated not to exceed 2-1/2" of thread showing, whereas the directions on their
website state not to exceed 2". Which is correct? I'd like to know before I do the final adjustment and take it in for an alignment.
5) It looks like the exhaust pipe is going to rub on the springs. I lowered the mounting plate for the hanger by one hole and used the extended bracket that came with the Daystar shackles. I'll see how it does after the test run today. I'll either cut it off or stop by the local Magnaflow shop and get a new muffler and have them reroute the exhaust to come out above the spring.
6) One of the poly bushings that came with the Daystar shackles completely deformed and bulged out after tightening it down. It's not a consistent slight bulge around the circumference like the other eleven I installed. I have no idea how this could have happened. Everything was lined up and torqued properly. I guess I'll keep an eye on it and have Wheeler's ship me another one if it still looks messed up. Any thoughts?
I'm heading out for a quick and easy offroad drive to help settle all the springs out. I'll post on final lift heights and my thoughts on the new "ride" later. Thanks again for everyone's help :xbeer1:
