A little help with suspension install

[Bronc6g22]

Agreed. LCA is the way to go.

With the top hat properly torqued, I'm surprised you were able to rotate by hand at all. I had to compress spring and readjust the top hat to get everything to line up just right.

Anywho, good luck!

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[Squatch]

Every video I've seen, a few taps on the knuckle and the UCA pops. I'm slamming it with a sledge and it won't budge. I'd prefer not to take off the lower control arms.

Well, that's just like your opinion, man...

Just be careful on which side is the nut and which is the bolt on the LCAs at the frame and you'll be fine. It really is the way for it to be a tippy tappy drop with a 4lb BFH.

This is what happens when you find a stranger in the alps!

 

[JL8jeff]

There have been a few people that had trouble getting the UCA out of the knuckle, heat and PB Blaster help. I went with disconnecting the LCA, just mark your cams so you know where to put it back to get alignment close. You'll need an alignment anyway after the lift but that keeps you close.

 

[Robs]

Every video I've seen, a few taps on the knuckle and the UCA pops. I'm slamming it with a sledge and it won't budge. I'd prefer not to take off the lower control arms.

You don’t need to take off the lower control arms just remove the bolts and let it hang down. That will give you enough room to do what you need with the suspension install. Be sure to mark the bolt and nut positions so that you can get it as close to Alignment as possible before you drive it back to an alignment shop for final tweaking.

 

[ElDuderino]

Welp I ended up leaving PB on it overnight, and using the pickle fork it popped right out. Got new UCA installed + the new coilover put in. When I was putting everything back together, I couldn't get the nut onto the sway bar end link. The threads are all boogered up (probably from pushing down on the lower control arm) and the I'm afraid of stripping it. Is it easy to replace an end link if it gets to that point?

I think I've bitten off more than I can chew, but I'm so close to finishing.

 

[87-Z28]

Welp I ended up leaving PB on it overnight, and using the pickle fork it popped right out. Got new UCA installed + the new coilover put in. When I was putting everything back together, I couldn't get the nut onto the sway bar end link. The threads are all boogered up (probably from pushing down on the lower control arm) and the I'm afraid of stripping it. Is it easy to replace an end link if it gets to that point?

I think I've bitten off more than I can chew, but I'm so close to finishing.

I wouldn’t get too discouraged. The challenge with anything is dealing with unknowns and things that don’t work as expected. Experience helps big time with that. You are on your way to getting valuable experience.

 

[JL8jeff]

The endlink looks like it attaches to the swaybar with a nut so that shouldn't be too difficult to swap out. Did you remove the swaybar during the coilover install? I did so it would be in the way of getting to the LCA bolts. I drove around several days without the sway put back on as I was trying to adjust the alignment. You can remove the swaybar until you can get the endlink working, just don't go into turns as fast as you normally do but it's not that big of a difference.

 

[ElDuderino]

The endlink looks like it attaches to the swaybar with a nut so that shouldn't be too difficult to swap out. Did you remove the swaybar during the coilover install? I did so it would be in the way of getting to the LCA bolts. I drove around several days without the sway put back on as I was trying to adjust the alignment. You can remove the swaybar until you can get the endlink working, just don't go into turns as fast as you normally do but it's not that big of a difference.

I removed the nut off of the bottom of the end link that goes through the LCA so I could push the LCA down far enough to get the old shock out (with the pressed in studs). The new shock came with bolts instead of studs which is what Ford should have done in the first place.

The end of the stud has a burr on it. I ordered a bolt deburring tool to try and salvage it. I also ordered a new end link just in case. So either way I'm covered.

 

[Brian_B]

Just chase the threads with a die - can’t remember what size that is but I would guess m14

A good tap&die set is a lifesaver

 

[ElDuderino]

I was able to chase the thread with a die - it was an m14 x 1.5

Everything is back together and torqued back to spec. The only thing I wasn't able to torque were the bottom bolts for the rear shock mount. Spec is 350 pounds, I got it to 225, then cranked on it a little bit more. I'm driving it to work tomorrow, then directly to a shop to get an alignment.

Overall a very good learning experience. I'm glad I did it myself. Got about 2 inches of lift out of it.

 

[dgorsett]

THIS. I've watched several videos and this method is what I'm going to try. The only thing I dread is reinstalling the sway bar solo.

I just removed the mounts and left the end links attached, worked well

 

[Mad Max]

Hose it down with WD-40. Let it sit overnight and give it a whack tomorrow. That's what worked for me.

 

[Danielsand]

If you need help with suspension, you should DM SierraBronco. According to him, his woman is willing to help anyone (and she knows what she's doing). Check out his video of her working on the struts (a sight to behold!). I need some help in some areas, but I'm still hesitant to ask.

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