slee 4" install notes & questions (1 Viewer)

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Jun 30, 2003
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some history... bought my 97 80 with OME heavies on it and edelbrock extended shocks. for tires the truck had new toyo MTs (315). the ride was fine, a bit stiff but fine. when flexing the rear was fine, tucked up nicely, might have rubbed on the inside but the fronts rubbed at the lower rear of the front wheel well on both sides. the truck had both the front and rear sway bar drops in place. i had the OME bushings intsalled and it drove well overall. to get the tires to fit better, i ordered some slee spacers.

then i decided to do it right rather than do it just "better"... so it decided to just pull the trigger and order the slee 4" kit.

i ordered:
  • blue bushings for the control arms (not offset)
  • slee castor plates
  • 4" springs front and rear
  • adjustable pahards front and rear
  • adjustable rear control arms
  • 4 OME long travel shocks

i PMed local MUD and local TLCA members of Yankee Toys members to ask for help and as always they responded with that they would help.

so... its off to LandTank's at 8am...

Things you will NEED if you are doing this install...
  • A table vice to press bushings into the shocks and control arms
  • lots of PB Blaster on the shock boltes in the rear, top and bottom
  • a brass drift to align control arms and panhards and bang off a few fiesty parts
  • a grinding wheel to cut/grind the front control arm brackets
  • someone to weld the front of the castor plates
  • TIME
it was great having such a helpful and knowledgable guy help me with the install. its always great so hear someone with experience to tell you to bang it harder, kick it, slam it, etc... with out his help i would never have gotten this done. as is, i pressed the wrong sleeves in the bushings not once but twice and LT was super cool and stayed with me, working on that truck for 11 hours! a huge thanks to you rick!:beer: :beer: :beer:

in the end, everything fit well, if i had not messed up by putting the wrong sleeves in the panhards we would have saved 2 hours. my bad. the moral of this long ass story is MUD is great, its members are great and for this one:banana: guy, the install was an amazing process...

guess what? i got in to drive 1 hr home and it rode great. no odd vibrations, no weird pulling, no strange noises, no driveline issues... next is was off to another MUD member to have him weld the castor plates for me... such a great community!
the only issue was that the wheel is turned about 50 degress to the right when driving straight. how do i fix this:confused: :confused: :confused:
crooked-wheel.jpg
 
actually I'd probably buy two new ends and Slee's HD drag link and replace everything if it was still original.
As far as heat you'll need more than propane or MAP to get it loose usually. On the order of acetylene.
x2. The truck looks great Pete and nice work to you and Rick! Post some pics of the before and after.

Randy
 
blah blah blah :). I will call Slee in the morning.
 
I still don't know why you installed a 4 inch lift. You were already running 35's. The truck was set up nicely I thought. So what if it rubbed a little. Spacers would of fixed that. I don't see what you are gaining with the lift. Better ride I hope. So can we expect to see you on the hardcore trails?
 
I still don't know why you installed a 4 inch lift. You were already running 35's. The truck was set up nicely I thought. So what if it rubbed a little. Spacers would of fixed that. I don't see what you are gaining with the lift. Better ride I hope. So can we expect to see you on the hardcore trails?

as i said in the first post, i wanted to do it right, not just stack some spacers on top to give me space but decrease the qulity of the ride and performace.

rubbing damages the tires and what every they rub against. some dont mind it, i do. simply running 35s and fitting them properly, or to my liking are different things.

you will not see me on the hardcore trails. they prove to be tight and in the trees here in new england and i dont like body damage. nor do i want to drill daimond plate to me quarter panels. i respect what people choose to do to their vehicles and dont ususally challange their decisions unless it effects my safety.

i will have grand ole time with friends wheeling medium and light trails. i am done trying to "conquer" obstacles at the risk of significant damage and/or risk.
 
To each his own I guess. But I still think you could of just dropped down to 33's. They would not rub. And will handle medium and light trails no problem. Unless you just want the "look" with a tall lift and 35's. Oh well....
 
Peepers,

Please post your caster numbers when you take it in for an alignment.

-B-
 
i will definately post #s. i just ordered the drag link from slee and the ends i need from c. dan. it will all be here by the weekend. i plan on getting it all in this weekend with the steering wheel at least close to center, then dropping it off for a proper alignment early next week.

is there any tip to the removal/install of the drag link and rod ends?
 
To each his own I guess. But I still think you could of just dropped down to 33's. They would not rub. And will handle medium and light trails no problem. Unless you just want the "look" with a tall lift and 35's. Oh well....

even on moderate trails 35 clear more rocks than 33s. thats an easy decision for me, i didnt do it for "the look".
 
Why do the drag link over the "remove the wheel, turn to center, re-install" trick?
 
Why do the drag link over the "remove the wheel, turn to center, re-install" trick?

the parts are already ordered :flipoff2:

but seriously... can one make the adjustment easily with the airbag?
 
can one make the adjustment easily with the airbag?

Why not? I had an Acura that I'd pull the steering wheel off from time to time to work on wiring behind the dash. It had an air bag. Pull the fuse and use common sense-.

I have a MOMO wheel in my 1993 80 series (no airbag), so I'm only guessing on the airbag in the cruiser would be similar to most other airbags (ie, pull the fuse, and it's good to work around).

I have no direct experience on the airbagged cruisers here so those with airbags may jump in and correct me.
 
yeah doc. that kind of work scares me. i am a one banana guy. the HD drag link cant hurt can it?
 
Common sense with airbags is all you need. Don't cut any wires in yellow loom, don't short anything out. Takes quite a bit of f-ing up to deploy and airbag from inside the vehicle. Disconnecting the battery makes good sense, but more for SRS codes being stored when you disconnect stuff than anything else.

The drag link won't affect the airbags at all. I'd just wait for the alignment and have them adjust it. They should be pretty excited about getting to work with brand new parts in New England.
 
as it sits now the steering box isn't centered, it's turned to the right side. So when turning right he might run out of turning ability in the steering box before he actually gets the knuckles all the way right.
 

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