Astro Van AWD - 2" or 4" lift?

[ihatemybike]

I'm an expert?

Don't find any fault with your post. Only thing of note is that stock the upper ball joint is riveted in place, so it's not a simple unbolt/bolt job. In fact the rivets were a pain for me.

 

[burt]

Sorry I didn't mean to call names. I guess my rivets had already been drilled out cuz thats all it took for mine. Glad someones monitoring these posts for bs, thanks

 

[ihatemybike]

Nothing to be sorry about. Being called an expert made me laugh a bit.

 

[bobDog]

I have never met anyone who did a mild lift who didn't wish they had gone to a higher lift....
4".....no regrets on any vehicle......Do it! Pop those 31's under there and be done w/ it.
Snort....ehehe.:coffeedrink:

 

[T.Low]

I have never met anyone who did a mild lift who didn't wish they had gone to a higher lift....
4".....no regrets on any vehicle......Do it! Pop those 31's under there and be done w/ it.
Snort....ehehe.:coffeedrink:

Exactly. The 4" is not a lot of work. If anything, I wish mine was an inch higher still.

 

[RocKrawler]

not because of the lift but because of the accelerated steering parts wear that I wish I had gone smaller. Very likely that once my 31's are worn out I'll shrink back down to 2" and 235's or 30's

 

[TroySmith80]

Terry, which parts wear faster? Are they expensive? I hadn't thought much about steering parts, but i have wondered (DO wonder) about the front axles or CVs or whatever they are... do they wear rapidly or have problems as a result of the torsion bars being cranked and/or re-keyed?

I'm definitely leaning toward the 4" lift and just making myself some decent running boards so it's easy to get in/out of. How badly is fuel economy affected by a 4" lift as opposed to a 2"? I'll probably run 30" tires and i have 3.73 gears.

Whatever it is i'm going to do, i'd like to do it soon. I'm curious about Loopy's backcountryvans parts as well...

 

[bobDog]

Terry, which parts wear faster? Are they expensive? I hadn't thought much about steering parts, but i have wondered (DO wonder) about the front axles or CVs or whatever they are... do they wear rapidly or have problems as a result of the torsion bars being cranked and/or re-keyed?

I'm definitely leaning toward the 4" lift and just making myself some decent running boards so it's easy to get in/out of. How badly is fuel economy affected by a 4" lift as opposed to a 2"? I'll probably run 30" tires and i have 3.73 gears.

Whatever it is i'm going to do, i'd like to do it soon. I'm curious about Loopy's backcountryvans parts as well...

Thats right.....you want to look cool or worry about parts wearing out? Lifes short!:coffeedrink:

 

[RocKrawler]

Terry, which parts wear faster? Are they expensive? I hadn't thought much about steering parts, but i have wondered (DO wonder) about the front axles or CVs or whatever they are... do they wear rapidly or have problems as a result of the torsion bars being cranked and/or re-keyed?

I'm definitely leaning toward the 4" lift and just making myself some decent running boards so it's easy to get in/out of. How badly is fuel economy affected by a 4" lift as opposed to a 2"? I'll probably run 30" tires and i have 3.73 gears.

Whatever it is i'm going to do, i'd like to do it soon. I'm curious about Loopy's backcountryvans parts as well...

Ball joints, tie rod ends, idler arms, cv axles/boots - if you buy the good stuff (moog) you'll spend six or seven hundred dollars on parts (plus labor), but it will be lifetime warranty so its a good investment if you plan on keeping the van. You'll also need to realign it anytime most of those parts are swapped, so invest in a lifetime warranty alignment from Firestone or other shop that offers one, or those will bleed you dry too everytime you go off road and knock it out of alignment

Thats right.....you want to look cool or worry about parts wearing out? Lifes short!:coffeedrink:

Really? If we wanted to look "cool" would we be driving mini-vans? We rank one step above lowered mini trucks in todays cool factor chart, that isnt really a consideration in my book with these vehicles...

 

[bobDog]

:victory:

 

[burt]

I have never met anyone who did a mild lift who didn't wish they had gone to a higher lift....
4".....no regrets on any vehicle......Do it! Pop those 31's under there and be done w/ it.
Snort....ehehe.:coffeedrink:

Actually Ive lifted alot of vehicles and almost every time I have brought them down alittle afterwards. This is expedition portal where most of the real expeditioners will say as little lift as necessary. It depends on what you need. If you arent pinching pennies the kit will give You everything you need to go a variety of heights. you need the rear springs any way so you might as well get the kit coming. It doesnt come real quick so that way you wont have any regrets unless its to expensive.

 

[burt]

Terry, which parts wear faster? Are they expensive? I hadn't thought much about steering parts, but i have wondered (DO wonder) about the front axles or CVs or whatever they are... do they wear rapidly or have problems as a result of the torsion bars being cranked and/or re-keyed?

I'm definitely leaning toward the 4" lift and just making myself some decent running boards so it's easy to get in/out of. How badly is fuel economy affected by a 4" lift as opposed to a 2"? I'll probably run 30" tires and i have 3.73 gears.

Whatever it is i'm going to do, i'd like to do it soon. I'm curious about Loopy's backcountryvans parts as well...

I suspect the most drastic accelerator of front end wear will be how much faster youll drive the dirt with the new set up. you have way less incentive to avoid or slow down for rough patches:smiley_drive:. lifted astros are alot of fun

 

[RocKrawler]

I agree these things ride like a dream lifted. Out of all the lifted trucks I've owned this definitely rides the best but its also the least extreme.

Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt.

 

[burt]

It just struck me that using the 4-5" kit with a 1" body lift instead of a 2" might be a little better.Just a thought. You could still get to 4" and fit 31s using the rest of the kit im pretty sure. Never liked body lifts. I bet gerald at ov would accomodate that if you wanted.

 

[RocKrawler]

As much as I hate body lifts I really recommend the 2" so you can keep the suspension crank up to a minimum and have better angles on your cv joints and boots, and tie rods and ball joints so they all last longer. Since you are doing the body lift anyway it doesn't make a difference for that extra inch. Once you hit 3" all hell breaks loose and steering shaft mode are required along with brake lines being extended from the master cylinder to the frame, etc.

Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt.