richard310's 04 Xterra

[richard310]

Now that's some blingy hardware right there, nice! In addition to being stronger and the greasable joints are they longer than stock UCAs too?

Laying them on top of the OE arms, they seem pretty similar. The angle compared to OE must be the difference. I didn't really care to notice as I was on a time crunch that wasn't met. :/ They do allow up to a 3" lift on stock components, of course with replacing the shock as well.

looks good man. did you get the install finished up yet?

I did. It took an overall 11 hours to do. More than half of that time was spent running back and forth O'Reilly's and Harbor Freight to get my battery replaced with a fancy Optima Yellow, and getting the right tools for the job. Removal of OE UCAs and installation of Calmini UCAs only took about 4 hours total. A $20 Ball Joint Separator, a 3lb sledge, and marine grade grease with grease gun are pretty much all I needed to make it work. No heat, no pickle fork. Just brute force and finagling.

Ah, yeah. airing down wouldn't get you that 3" haha.

It's amazing how plans change isn't it? That's half the fun!

Unfortunately it is hahah. I smooshed the garage door trying to lift the vehicle back up after completion of the install. The extra droop really made it difficult! I thought I wouldn't be able to get the front wheels on but I managed.


Pictures to come!

I wasn't able to crank the torsion bars to even out the lift, nor was I able to remove one leaf out of the AALs. I may tackle these this weekend or some other time. I'm pretty much toast for the weekend, so the truck will sit as is before, but with beefy UCAs. Overall the change in camber/toe wasn't too bad. Alignment will be done once I get the torsion bars cranked to a nice setting.

 

[stioc]

Sounds like a pretty good day...can't wait to see the pics.

 

[Jack Stilts]

Glad to hear that it went relatively smooth for you. I've heard horror stories with sawzalls and grinders...it could have been so much worse

 

[Longrange308]

Glad to hear that it went relatively smooth for you. I've heard horror stories with sawzalls and grinders...it could have been so much worse

Yup. If I ever want to get my uppers and lowers out, that's what it's going to take. My bolts are seized to the bushings currently..

 

[richard310]

So here are the pics as promised:

The unforseen battery shenanigans replaced by this chunk of change...
Optima Yellow Top:



Here is the previous setup of OE parts with Bilstein 4600 0-3" travel shocks. UCA soaking in WD40 Rust Penetrator:



The mess post-install of the passenger side. A very straight forward process. I used Marine Grade Trailer Hitch Grease on all the bushings pre-install. Then used the grease gun to really grease it internally. Definitely quite the messiest process for this install.



Calmini UCA & ball joint installed:


You can see the Ball Joint Separator tool in the bottom right hand corner. Makes the uninstallation of the OE ball joint a lot easier in conjunction with a 3lb sledge to ********** it into place.





I'll be cranking the torsion bars this afternoon to lift it up a bit and snag some more pics.

 

[richard310]

Cranked the bars just now Just need an alignment to get it all straightened out.

 

[stioc]

Looks great! nice job. How're the front brake lines? in one of the pics it looked about maxed out with full droop - but it could just be the angle.

 

[mortonm]

Wow you got a lot of lift out of that! The operation might settle a little but you've been driving around with the rear done for a week or two so maybe not. Nicce thing about the t bars is you have a pretty easily adjustable front upension height !

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Beefy! That looks absolutely awesome. Looks very "go anywhere".

Gotta say it though... It's begging for some 255/85s now!

 

[mortonm]

Beefy! That looks absolutely awesome. Looks very "go anywhere".

Gotta say it though... It's begging for some 255/85s now!

How much lift did you end up with? I think you need the full 3" to go with 33s

 

[SpongeX]

You need the body lift for 33s. The suspension doesn't change that.

 

[richard310]

Looks great! nice job. How're the front brake lines? in one of the pics it looked about maxed out with full droop - but it could just be the angle.

Thanks The brake lines seem to be alright for now. With full droop they do get a little tight. I haven't taken a look to see how they are when the wheels are at full lock, but I will have to check that out later today. Hopefully I won't have to replace the lines with extended units.

 

[richard310]

Wow you got a lot of lift out of that! The operation might settle a little but you've been driving around with the rear done for a week or two so maybe not. Nicce thing about the t bars is you have a pretty easily adjustable front upension height !

Yes I did! I'm happy it evens out and gave me a little more front end travel. I'm still amazed how easy it is to crank the torsion bars. It's like having much simpler adjustable coilovers!

 

[SpongeX]

I'd say if they are even close to tight you might want to change them. Losing a line would really ruin your day.

 

[richard310]

Beefy! That looks absolutely awesome. Looks very "go anywhere".

Gotta say it though... It's begging for some 255/85s now!

Heheh I can't wait to test out the flex. Might hit up a local trail this week if I don't get called in for work. Don't say that! Just barely thinking about tires and the cost expense makes my pockets tremble.

How much lift did you end up with? I think you need the full 3" to go with 33s

You know what? I didn't even bother measuring the height before or after the UCA + TB crank. I have no idea at the moment. All I know is that it's higher than stock hahah.