1977 K10 2" Lift Install

[MTCK]

Installing lift components sourced from offroad design. To be installed:

Tuff Country 2" EZ Ride Springs front and rear
Tuff Country u-bolt kits front and rear
ORD Greasable bushings all around
ORD Extended Brake Lines
ORD Front shackles
ORD Sway bar disconnect kit
ORD Steering Brace
Bilstein 5125 shocks front and rear 10"
F0rd F250 front shock mounts

Truck has been serving as my daily driver for the last two years or so. Goal is a better ride, to replace a bunch of WORN OUT components, and gain a little off road capability. Right now running 32" BFG AT's, would like to get a taller skinnier tire at some point but no change to the rolling stock right now. More details on the truck are in the build thread.

Let the fun begin!

[MTCK]

I'm reusing the rear shackles, and removing the factory rubber bushings is a huge PITA. I found the best method for me to be drill out the old bushing, spray with penetrating lube to get the bolt jacket out, then pop out the rubber bushing.

Once the bushing is out the metal sleeve must be removed from the shackle so the ORD poly bushing can be inserted. I used a hack saw to cut the sleeve, then fold in a corner and drive it out with a hammer.




Shackle installed.



And the rear end is back together.

[MTCK]

Battery powered grease gun is awesome. Now that the truck has about 30 zerks, it comes in very handy.

Should finish the front end of the install before the end of the weekend.

[str8axle55]

Looks good, lots of shiney new parts.

[MTCK]

This install is going a little slower than planned, as is often the case. I had to unbolt all of my exhaust hangers but two, along with the collectors in order to move the pipes enough to access the upper front shackle hanger bushings and bolts. Also had to unbolt the headers to allow enough room to remove and install the front flex brake hoses (PITA!). The swaybar disconnect is installed along with the nice little bracket to support it while disconnected.

I had one of the front springs come with a defective sleeve installed from the factory. Luckily, I had another one around that fit and had the holes drilled for the greasable bushings. The hardware for the rear greasable bushings on the springs was too large in diameter for the sleeves in the rear of the front springs, so I had to swap those as well.

As the truck sits now, front springs, break lines and swaybar disconnect are installed. Tonight I will tighten all that down, flex the truck out with the forklift (nice to have around!) and measure for the mounts for the front springs. If all goes well I might finish getting those installed as well. Lastly I need to install the steering brace, then button everything up and go play in the snow.

[DirtyLarry]

Looking good Marcus. Dealing with those old bushing is a hassle and a half that is for sure. I had the same problem on the right front front shackle bolts where the bolts would not come completely out without hitting the exhaust so I slid them out until they hit the exhaust then used a cut off wheel to cut the bolts, then slide them out further and cut again until they came out completely. That turned out much easier than dropping the exhaust.

I noticed your right rear shock is installed upside down. Did you have issues mounting them the other way where the body of the shock hits the axle tube? I had to beat a small dent in the shock body on both my K10 and Suburban in order to fit the left rear shock. I thought about mounting them upside down but wasn’t sure I would like the boots being at the bottom. Superlift said the shocks could be mounted either way or to “massage” the shock body to make them fit so I chose the later.

Looking forward to seeing the final product. You will love how much better it will ride now. Nice work!

[MTCK]

Thanks Larry! The shocks are monotube gas charged and everything I've read says they can be mounted either way. Most folks I've seen online have mounted them boot down. I have pleanty of clearance that way, not sure the big tubes would fit against the axle tube that well, but I honestly didn't try. Not that it means much, but the Bilstein logo is right side up with the boot down.

I'm looking forward to the ride and hope it is nice and cushy. I'm about to go flex it out and measure for the front shock mounts, and see what I need for longer bump stops. I think the rear will need some longer stops for sure.

Initial measurements show the front raised up 3.75" (right) and 3.25" (left). The rear increased 3.25" (right) and 2.75" (left). I'll check again after I break it in a bit, but if it stays close to how it sits now, I'll likely add a 1" zero rate in the back, which will also help a bit with the long shocks.

Pics to follow later this evening.
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[MTCK]

Here are a few pics with the springs, shackles and brake lines on. I put the tires back on to see how it sits. Little bit higher in the front, but I'm going to use it a bit before I change anything.

[MTCK]

It actually flexes pretty well. Swaybar was disconnected, limiting factor was the drooping rear tire raised up off the ground. I need to add 4.5" to my static shock length, and I will be smack in the middle of the shocks' travel. 7.5" difference as measured today in the front, and the shocks have 10" of travel, so I'm in good shape.

Nothing was binding at any corner, so I could in theory get a bit more, but realistically it'll never get more than that with the type of wheeling I do. At full stuff I still had measurable uptravel left in the shock in the rear. I'll probably get some longer bump stops at some point, but it doesn't seem critical. Going to need some steering correction at some point also...

Clearance below the lifted rear tire was 34".

[MTCK]

Well crap. Everything was humming along nicely until...... With the driver's side f250 shock mount and shock installed I went to push in the clutch and... NO GO. The pedal end of the z-bar hits the top of the shock mount squarely. I think it would clear if I bent the bar just a bit towards the vehicle centerline. Has anybody ever tried this? Can't believe I didn't think to check the travel of the clutch prior to drilling all those holes in my frame...

I ground the heads off of the rivets for the old shock mount and was able to use one of the existing rivet holes for the new shock mount once I opened it up to 7/16".

I also came up with a good way to deal with these high pressure shocks: some very large cable ties from Napa make a great adjustable length limiting band around the outside. I actually calculated the length the shock should be with the axle fully drooped by measuring the distance from the original mount to the axle mount and then adding the 4.5" I determined I needed (previous post). I set the shock to this length using the zip ties, then bolted up the top hoop and mocked them up to ensure proper angle (shock parallel mount). After I marked the location of the new upper mount, I marked the bolt hole location from the back of the frame through the existing rivet hole that I reused. Cut the mount to length, drilled the first hole on the vise, and bolted it up. I drilled the next two holes through both the frame and the mount on the vehicle.

Any bright ideas on my clutch linkage problem? Maybe it's hydraulic time, but I really want to go for a drive!

[quadzero]

I'm amazed at the flex you have there. Nice you have the extended brake lines, that was a real setback for me when I put in my lift. When I ordered my shackle bushings, I could only get the bushings with a new shackle, I had no problem with that just to save the hassle of removing the old ones, looks like your system works well thou.

[snj8198]

Originally Posted by MTCK

It actually flexes pretty well. Swaybar was disconnected, limiting factor was the drooping rear tire raised up off the ground. I need to add 4.5" to my static shock length, and I will be smack in the middle of the shocks' travel. 7.5" difference as measured today in the front, and the shocks have 10" of travel, so I'm in good shape.

Nothing was binding at any corner, so I could in theory get a bit more, but realistically it'll never get more than that with the type of wheeling I do. At full stuff I still had measurable uptravel left in the shock in the rear. I'll probably get some longer bump stops at some point, but it doesn't seem critical. Going to need some steering correction at some point also...

Clearance below the lifted rear tire was 34".

Hey MTCK,

is your truck lifting to pee? in the garage?!?

Bad boy!!

[MTCK]

Yeah it is often not well behaved... :-)
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[MTCK]

Here's a look at my clutch linkage problem. After looking at it further, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to need to make a change to hydraulic. While I'm gathering pieces I'll pull this shock and tower off and bolt the stock tab back into place, maybe use one of my old rear shocks for the time being.

The shift rod from the clutch pedal is attached on the outboard side of the zbar, so bending it a little won't do.

[MTCK]

Did continue on and make a little more progress. Had to clearance the inner fender well on the passenger side to make room for the shock and mount. On a side note, save your bushing sleeves from the factory shocks, you will need them! I almost threw them out but luckily didn't... They had to be cut to fit in the F250 upper mounts.

[y5mgisi]

That's exactly the suspension I want for my k25.
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[argonaut]

Nice build. I like the methodical approach.

I hadn't thought of using the ford front shock mounts on my build but I'm considering it after seeing what you've done here.

Good work!

[MTCK]

Thanks Jason. I wish I could take credit for the original idea, but the F250 mounts came from ORD to use with these long Bilstien shocks with the short lift I'm running.

Made a little progress tonight, though it felt a bit like one step forward and a step or two back. I took the drivers side shock off, took the mount off, drilled out the second unused rivet hole, and reinstalled the factory mount with bolts. This will get me on the road until I can sort out the hydro clutch, or whatever I end up doing to solve this clearance problem.

I also installed the shock on the passenger side and attached a better picture of the trimming I had to do on the inner fender.

[MTCK]

I also installed the steering brace from ORD. It was pretty easy and didn't take too long. Lots of red locktite...

[DirtyLarry]

Looking good buddy! Those Stupid Duty front shock brackets are becoming very popular. I saw those mounted on Mosesburb’s burb this past summer and those brackets look very durable for a Ford part. I like the idea of using those.

Even though your signature clearly says your truck is a SWB, I had it in my mind it was a LWB until I saw the picture. Again, the hard work is looking great!

[OLDCHEV4X4]

Looks good man.
On the F250 shock mounts: I have seen them rip off the frame, so you might want to make a gusset for the top of the frame, to the top of the shock mount. And put a plate on the inside and bolt thru it. On the driverside, this will probley make your z bar problem worse. More snitz to overcome.

When I was checking suspension travel on my truck, the limiting factor was drive shaft slip yoke travel and bind from too much angle at full droop. I had to put limit straps on to prevent any damage.

Keep at it.

[argonaut]

Have you guys measured how much droop you are getting at the rear axle? I'm curious because I'm trying to set up my rear driveshaft right now and have some concerns. Sorry to hijack!
For the OP I would simply switch to a hydraulic clutch. The stock master and slave cylinders, hydro clutch fork, and hose from an 86ish Chevy truck can be had relatively cheaply from your local auto store. You'll also need a bracket from advance adapters to mount the slave. Then just figure out the location for the master and setup the pushrods from the pedal.
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[MTCK]

Thanks a bunch guys. The f*rd brackets are pretty solid - I'm actually more concerned with the frame and connection... I think the gusset and plate on the back will help a bunch. I think I'll go that route when I have the whole thing blown apart some time down the road. If I had a little more lift I'm not sure I'd need them, but I wanted to run these shocks and there is no way they would survive without the added length.

It is definitely hydraulic clutch time! I'd like to run the factory 85-87(91) pedal assembly, but dang, those things are hard to find up here! I'll keep looking for a bit before I do something different.

Thanks for the pointers, OLDCHEV. I've seen you drive and I'm sure you'll find the weak spots before most! :-D Argonaut, I only checked the travel at the corners (shock mounts) and not at the differential. I can do it the next time I have the rear up in the air. I don't plan on doing much high speed pounding, and from looking at my slip yokes I have some spline left in both directions on the rear. I haven't checked the front at full droop on the drivers side, but it might need a strap to keep from pulling apart / binding.

[MTCK]

Well I finally finished all the other little projects and pulled it out on the road today. Man it is a whole new truck. The ride is very firm and controlled, not at all bouncy. I only tried it out on paved roads, which are plenty bumpy around here. There won't be any wheeling until I get the hydraulic clutch swapped in and put the extended shock mount on the driver's side.

I did cruise at highway speed in both 2 wheel and 4 wheel drive. No driveline vibrations in either scenario. The nose is still several inches higher than the rear. I have probably 300 lbs of stuff in the back (spare, hi lift, action packer full of parts, tools, spare fluids etc) under the tonneau cover which makes it even more pronounced. I expected the front and rear height to be closer, but I guess the added weight in the back, and extended shackles on the front are not helping. I eventually want to swap a blazer tank to the rear which will add another 250 lbs behind the rear axle. If the front doesn't settle down I'll have to do something to even it out... For starters I'll put some miles on.

[splehigh]

Nice truck! I know what you mean about those old bushings being a pain. I just installed a rear shackle flip and front sway bar bushings along with a new drag link for tighter steering. I'm glad thats done.