ADVAstro

I took the family out to the OuterBanks of NC yesterday. We had a great day seeing the Wright Brothers Memorial and boogie boarding in the rough surf , but no one wanted to travel further south to find some open beach access. I'll be back after Oct 1st to get it out on the beach.

Got a couple of thumbs up from the locals.

ADV Astro

astroturf

ADVAstro, Did it affect your wheel alignment? Thanks, Jim

ADVAstro

Alignment is unchanged, this is a body lift in the front, no messing with the suspension.

I was running the 235s in the rear and had street oriented (CRAP) Kelly Safari SJR 235/70/15s up front when I had it aligned last and finally got rid of an annoying pull to the right. After completing the lift I took it in and had the TAs installed, without an alignment. The feeling in the wheel is now a bit lighter and the van still runs as straight as can be. I attribute the change in feel to the change in tire, these are a bit narrower, but taller than the Kelly tires.

My wife just carried a full load of Girl Scouts ove the weekend and the rear did rub on twice. I'm looking at the options to beef the rear up just a little. Airlift air springs or load helper of some sort.

Hope that helps,

ADV Astro

astroturf

That's good to hear. Its just that I thought the front spacers went in between the body and the sub-frame, which could change the relationship of the steering axis to the body of the van (rear wheels). How about any lines that run underneath the van? Any mods that had to be done? Hate to be so pesky with questions, but this is something I am considering myself. Thanks again, Jim.

astroturf

Thanks Gary, Jim

ADVAstro

So I've had some time with the lift and I'm very happy with it.

The lift did not fix the soft springs and I finally got around to installing theTimbren Suspension Enhancement System on the rear aobut 2 weeks ago. http://www.timbren.com/ses-kits.htm These are supplemental springs that replace the bumpstops. The stock kit is too short (as expected) and left a 2" gap between the frame and top of the spring. A call to Timbren customer service had a 1" taller set of springs on the way, at no cost. Because the rear springs can sag differently, I suggest anyone doing this either order the stock kit and then take measurements or work with Timbren directly to have a custom kit built. Between thier selection of solid spacers and spring lenghts, they can fit anything.

The RS5000 shocks work very very well. The van still floats a bit and give a comfortable ride on the highway, while really controlling the wheels on washboard and loose gravel. I didn't want a rough/stiff suspension in town, and like the ride so much I've also put these shocks on my S10 truck.

The front tires were begining to show some wear with almost 10K miles on them, notably on the inside edge, whereas I typically had the outside edge wear first. I took it in to have the AC recharged and the shop checked the alignement as well. All is good, just need to rotate the tires every 5K miles and keep them aired up as the seasons change; they are LT tires and work/wear well with 45 psi in them.

As for any interferences with the lift, the only cable/hose that needs to be considered is the rear emergency brake cable. It gets a new chassis mount and may need to be adjusted with the change in axle to chassis height in the rear.

Hope that helps,

ADV Astro

astroturf

That's Great to hear. Thanks for the update ADV. Jim