Pics of my new 3.5" lift

[72bronco]

OK, after tons of research and lots more actual work, I've finally completed the installation of my 3.5" suspension lift. Based on feeback by others in this forum I decided to go with the BC Broncos front coils and rear springs. For shocks I chose a single shock setup using Bilstein 5100 series shocks. The shocks are all 10" travel and use F250 shock mounts up front. I know that this is not the preference of some, but my lift uses a track bar drop bracket and a drop pitman arm. I have to say that the ride quality is excellent and I'm very impressed with the BC broncos setup. At the same time I switched out my 31x10.50 all terrain tires with 33x12.50 mud terrains. I also went from a 15x8 rim to a 15x10 rim.

Here's a pic of the new BC front coils and Bilstein shocks:

Here's a view from below of the rear springs and shocks:

Here's how my bronco looked before:
http://pages.prodigy.net/ourfamily/72bronco/bronco2.jpg


Here's how it looks now:
http://pages.prodigy.net/ourfamily/72bronco/Bronco2.jpg


Another view:
http://pages.prodigy.net/ourfamily/72bronco/Bronco1.jpg


And another:
http://pages.prodigy.net/ourfamily/72bronco/Bronco3.jpg

 

[broncolove]

Sweet!!! Looks good!! How do you like the way it drives?

 

[66horse]

I dig before and after pictures.

Looks much tougher now.

Good work.

 

[brian72]

Good job - Now I know how mine is going to luck ;D

I have 3.5 installing now and will be running 33x12.5. Thanks for the insight.

 

[Slumlord]

GREAT looking rig and I agree with 66horse, it looks much tougher...

I really like your wheels, what kind are they?

 

[72bronco]

I think it handles really good. The ride isn't stiff at all, which is something that I hear lots of complaints about from some guys after doing a lift. The tires are BFG M/T.

 

[Slumlord]

The tires are BFG M/T

No no, I mean, the wheels, or "rims" I guess you could say...

 

[72bronco]

The rims are American Racing, Baja style (p/n 172). They look almost exactly like the Eagle 589 but are not nearly as pricey.

 

[CodeeB]

That was a good looking ride before but the after pics are really nice.

 

[TexasBronco]

I plan to install a 4 inch lift on my bronco really soon. Should I use the extra parts (trac drop brackect, and drop pitman) for a 3 1/2 inch lift OR should I buy the parts (trac drop brackect, drop pitman, and drop radius arm brackects) for a 5 inch type lift?

 

[El Jefe]

i would protect for a taller lift as long as you don't go below stock geometry. I have just finished a mild 2.5" and am shifted on the front axle about 2.5" and most guys don't use neuther track bar drop brackets or drop pitman arm with a 2.5"....I can't tell you about bump-steer yet as my rig is not yet drivable...

 

[72bronco]

The drop pitman arm and track bar drop bracket will work fine for you for suspension lifts up to 4". Anything above that and you will need to do additional work to correct your steering geometry. Some guys who do heavy offroading don't like the track bar drop bracket because it may put extra strain on the frame. I don't know anyone who has actually had a problem with this however. Instead of using a drop pitman arm you can instead to a tie-rod over conversion, which at the same time will restore your drag link angle to stock with a 3-4" lift. To avoid using a track bar drop bracket you could get an adjustable track bar, or you could get a custom bracket that extends the mount on the axle side.

Using radius arm drop brackets with a 4" lift is not necessary. The advantage would be that it would restore your caster and could use stock C bushings instead of the 7 degree ones. The downside is that you would have less clearance since the radius arms would now sit lower than before. The 7 degree bushings work fine and are a lot less effort than drop brackets. If you go with a lift taller than 4" then you'll need drop brackets or custom radius arms.

 

[peterinman]

It looks a lot better now! I hope that you don't mind but I think that I am going to copy your set up. Chuck will be happy, because before this post I was leaning toward the James Duff's lift.

If it is not too rude, and it might be, but can I ask you roughly how much you had to spend for this advancement?

Once again, nice Rig.

 

[72bronco]

No, I don't mind you asking about how much I spent. The setup from BC Broncos was just under $1,000. That included the coils, springs, track bar drop bracket, drop pitman arm, bushing kits for the springs and track bar, F250 shock mounts, and new u-joints. There are cheaper kits you can buy but I've heard nothing but raves about the BC Broncos stuff, and after doing my own installation I would have to agree. The bilstein shocks were $75 each. Not including the wheels and tires my total cost was about $1300.

 

[71sport408]

Yea it definately looks great! Can't wait to see the next step!

 

[77TexasBronc]

Looks much better! nice job and nice rig.

 

[lars]

Nice. I don't think you'll have any problems with the drop parts. The biggest advantage besides what you mentioned yourself is just getting the tie rod out of the rocks, if you happen to spend much time in them, and possibly lessening the loading on the steering box that a drop pitman arm creates. Bent tie rods were my motivation to do the swap. I had the drop parts myself for a while. If you ever change your mind, it's no big deal to do the swap. I had saved my stock pitman arm, and I just cut the track bar drop bracket off level with the stock piece and went back to using the stock bolt hole for the track bar. But if you don't wheel much in rocks it's probably not worth the trouble, and with 33" tires your steering box should hold up fine.

One thing about the shocks: After my 5100's had been on the back for about 6 months through last winter, I happened to be under my truck and noticed fluid dripping from the shocks. It turned out that the boots were completely full of muddy water. I pulled them off, fortunately the rod hadn't started rusting. But they are staying off after that experience.

 

[DoughBoy]

What is that paint color? Looks like a light red or dark orange... whats it off of?

 

[72bronco]

The paint color is called Indian Red.