Suspension Installation - HFS Springs/Anti-Inversion Shackles
Call it a shameless self-promotion, call it an addiction... I am raising my introductory post from the dead. I finally got around to purchasing the lift and as originally planned I went with HFS.
I committed the cardinal sin of lift installation... I forgot to take full vehicle measurements prior to installation. We put the front of the wagon up on stands Friday evening and started eye balling everything and talking through it. Before I knew it the front end was disassembled. Front end removal was very easy... I expected the bushings would be a nightmare after reading horror stories of hammering and torching. Only 2 caused me grief but with a couple wacks from Moses (BFH) and a pipe they were out.
made quick work of removing the shocks...
HFS spring on the bottom, OEM on top...
The front end removal took about an hour, in between a couple of beers and chit-chat. Then the 1st trouble spot... mounting the new shackles turned out to be very tough. We tried several methods and the shackle was too tight to slide over the bushing without chewing it up as it slid. We used a lot of grease, floor jacks to push it up, etc with no luck. We decided to call it a night, hang out with the
and sleep on it.
Saturday we got started about 10a and attempted to mount the shackle. Same problems as the previous night... the next option was tapering the open ends of the 'H' to reduce friction and allow it to slide without tearing/rolling the bushing (suggested by a member and thanks!). I decided against it, the shackles we took off were anti-inversion shackles and they are easy to mount since they can be seperated. I'm not bashing the HFS shackles, they are beefy and look great but the anti-inversion are beefy and easy to remove/install. I sided with ease of use...
Next problem, U-bolt skid plate installation. I had read these can be a pain when bolting up to the spring pack but we had no problems.
We encountered an issue when we started mounting the shocks. The lower shock mount on the skid plate was in an odd location and hit the spring behind it and put the shock at an odd angle.
Here is the lower mount location, even without the spring clips the shock would hit the spring pack.
Maybe it was user error but I put the OEM seat back on, I think the OEM is built better anyway. The skid plate shock mount is welded onto the lip of the plate and I can see how that could be busted in some rough situations.
Front is done... on to the rear! The rear was very easy with no major issues. Spring comparison, HFS on the bottom and OEM on the top.
After the rear it was time to replace the steering stabilizer... should have done it when the front end was off, oh well. I beat on it for a bit with Moses and it wouldn't budge. Gear pullers had it out within minutes.
Fully installed and greased by about 6p... test drive and torqued by 7p. We measured the rear wheel well before installation and the lift provided 3" total lift (35" prior/38" after). I plan on putting shims in to correct the pinion angle (it is off), extended brakelines (never know when full rear flex is needed) and rear sway bar extensions.
Here is the progression of the wagon so far...
Not long after purchase...
31" ATs, Extended Shackles (1.5" fr/2" rr)
33" MTs, Extended Shackles (1.5" fr/2" rr)
33" MTs, 3" HFS Spring Lift, Extended Shackles (1.5" fr/2" rr)
