Lifted my truck this afternoon

[Bob Barker]

I finally got the OME 912's in today after I got home from work. Got to work right away in the garage, and I'm proud to say it only took me about an hour to get the springs in. In fact it took me longer to drive to the parts store to get a 27mm wrench and drive back and raise the front torsion bars!

I didn't take any good before pictures, but here's a couple that I took of the truck when I got it home a few weeks ago.




And here is the after shots I took in the drive way





I think I need to raise the front some more, maybe an inch or less.

And since I can't afford a new MS ECU for the SVO and a new set of rims and tires for the VX I think I'm going to go ahead and get the stock 16" wheels powder coated and mount some nice tires on those.

I measured the front gap at 6 3/8th inches on both sides. I'll take it to get aligned this weekend when I pull the rotors and get them turned.

[nfpgasmask]

Nice job, Bob. In the last pic, your VX looks just about right. I think I turned my t-bars about 8 times each, and I think my VX has a very slight rake. The less you raise the front, the less stress on your CVs. Just keep that in mind.

Looks awesome. I want my paintjob back.

Bart

[JHarris1385]

I have also heard you want a raked stance to keep the transmission at optimal angle.

[RamAirZ]

I have also heard you want a raked stance to keep the transmission at optimal angle.

Optimum angle for what? The rear driveshaft? Looks good John, will look really good with some new tires! Ya I cranked mine about 10 times per side I think, I wanted a pretty even look, it's very slightly raked toward the front but not much.

[RickOKC]

I recently did some research on the rake angle. Found a lot of old messages indicating they came from the factory with the nose 1.5" to 2" lower than the back (measured to the peak of the wheel arches.) Mine is at 1.75" and wish it was closer to being level, but I keep finding messages that make me worry about causing future problems. Being a worry wart sucks.

[H3_VX]

Looks very nice. Bigger tires next? Or did I miss that part?

[RamAirZ]

The main reason that SUV's and Truck's get a forward rake is due to hauling a load, that way the truck sits level after it's loaded down. Now not sure if that was the intent of the rake with the VX but it's possible. The only possible reason for having more forward rake be a good thing would be the driveshaft angle but in all honesty the tailshaft of the transmission sit more level with the output of the rear diff is what you want. Here's a picture for ya:

http://www.carcraft.com/howto/91758/photo_08.html

Having the rake would tilt the tailshaft toward the sky more so. I don't think you'd hurt anything by raising the front of your truck Rick

[circmand]

I would think since we only have a drain hole for filling and chacking the tranny fluid you would need to worry about keeping the tranny at the correct angle so that it would continue to hold the proper amount of fluid and continue to lubricate all the parts properly. If the tranny gets at an angle from improper lift the part of the tranny fluid resouvoir would have fluid at a higher level which would not be a problem but on the other end the higher end of the res would have a lower fluid level possibly causing inproper lube and tranny failure.

[Marlin]

I would think since we only have a drain hole for filling and chacking the tranny fluid you would need to worry about keeping the tranny at the correct angle so that it would continue to hold the proper amount of fluid and continue to lubricate all the parts properly. If the tranny gets at an angle from improper lift the part of the tranny fluid resouvoir would have fluid at a higher level which would not be a problem but on the other end the higher end of the res would have a lower fluid level possibly causing inproper lube and tranny failure.

Hmmmm, interesting thoughts.

[REDLYNER]

Looks good! What is your belly ground clearance now?

[RamAirZ]

Looks good! What is your belly ground clearance now?

I guess it depends on how many beer's he's had

More rake, less rake, BAH!!! What he needs to worry about are bigger wheels

lol bigger tires at least.


I measured mine tonight and with the 912's and 33's I have about 6" on all 4 corners from the top of the tires (measuring from the top of the lugs) to the fender.

[RickOKC]

I would think since we only have a drain hole for filling and chacking the tranny fluid you would need to worry about keeping the tranny at the correct angle so that it would continue to hold the proper amount of fluid and continue to lubricate all the parts properly. If the tranny gets at an angle from improper lift the part of the tranny fluid resouvoir would have fluid at a higher level which would not be a problem but on the other end the higher end of the res would have a lower fluid level possibly causing inproper lube and tranny failure.

If the suspension was untouched, would the way the fluid sits be the same compared to checking it with the tires on the ground vs. a shop checking it while it was on a lift at a shop? Would that change if the front end height was modified?

[RamAirZ]

I doubt that would cause a tranny failure, considering how many of us have our nose's pointed at the sky when offroading lol. That's sound logic though but I don't think our fill/drain method would effect the way the transmission uses it's fluid. There's a good 8qts or more in the trans at one time, and our tranny pans aren't deep so most of our capacity sits in the case anyways.

[Bob Barker]

No idea. I will try and remember to measure it this weekend.

[RamAirZ]

I don't think that issue is really enough to make a difference, you'd have to have a serious rake IMO for something like that to happen, as long as there is fluid in the "pumping" area there should be no lubrication problems what-so-ever