Sprinter LIFT KIT!!!

Cole

Expedition Leader
I've been dreaming of doing a lift and ultimately a 4x4 conversion on my Sprinter from day one. There just weren't the right parts available and I haven't been ambitious enough to put together buy own kit.

Many of you may remember the original quest to run bigger tires on my Sprinter In this link here

The cliff note version is this quote from myself below. Notice how much bigger the tires I have now are compared to the ones I started with on the 3500.

After running this set up now for about 30K miles I've been very happy with it! I don't have rub issues except on the sway bar I added in the front at full lock. BUT...........the fit is VERY TIGHT! I would like to have more room in there and a more aggressive look.


Figured someone had to step outside the box here and "go big or go home":lol:

Full disclaimer, these don't fit......yet:tongue: They rub the rear edge of the front and wreak fenders but there looks to be plenty of space for my to play with my cut off wheel:crazy: I knew this was going to be the case.....but bought the van to have fun with so here goes!!!!:thumbup:

Just didn't have time to start the fab work today.

235/85/16s

11957455916_cfb757db30_b_d.jpg


11957059664_02b958e2f5_b_d.jpg


We test fit them and there was about an inch between the duals!

11957062734_088447acb5_b_d.jpg


11955359756_e7524cbff0_b_d.jpg

https://vancompass.com Just introduced a new "lift kit" and skid plates for the Sprinter!!:thumbs:

I live in the Colorado rockies and have ventured to some crazy places in my Sprinter as it is. So I'm excited to get a little more room under it.

At this very moment VanCompass is only making the from 2" lift for my 3500. We have been working together to get a rear kit done too:thumb:(They just didn't have a 3500 to work with) They are also working on kits for the newer Sprinters so I figured this might be a good place to have a general discussion about lifts on the Sprinters in general.

VanCompass did such a detailed set of install instructions and a video on their site HERE That I figured a detailed "install" thread wasn't really necessary:lol:But I will include a few pictures and details of my own experience doing it.


I just started installing the front and I'm excited to see how it works out.

Here is the required "before" side shot of my front wheel fitment. The inner fenders have been *slightly* trimmed. I know this looks like it must rub, but it doesn't even in the deepest snow.

26112485861_341947978d_c.jpg



Here is what comes in the front kit. There are two spacers for the front sub frame. Two engine mount spacers to keep the engine in the right spot and two spacers for the upper part of the struts. (and bolts).

24770325159_8706baec48_c.jpg



Of course there was no way the neon green was going to look right on my burgundy Sprinter. So I had them Powder coated to a better color! I honestly would have been fine with grey or black but as long as I was having them done doing a color that was a bit more fun was in order. :laughing:


25315310533_b0321b252d_c.jpg


26210262285_30883ebe54_c.jpg


I'm doing this on the floor of my shop space with pretty basic tools. Having 2 jacks will make life much easier.

26143959261_56eec18276_c.jpg



You have to pull the control arms off to reach the sub frame bolts. But it only took us about 2 hours to get to this point of having the subframe spacers installed.

26184337476_56ab9a9efc_c.jpg



I stopped here for the moment to wait for parts. My van drove great but one of my front struts was totally dead:dunno: I decided to do all the brakes, struts and tie-rods while I had the van this far apart. It needed those parts anyway. :thumb:
 

mhiscox

Expedition Leader
Thanks for sharing this valuable information and the helpful photos. Very good news, and our appreciation for being a test case for us all.
 

luthj

Engineer In Residence
I currently have this kit installed on my 04 2500 T1N. Some initial issues with hardware as I was the first customer. All fixed now though.

Otherwise I am very happy with the fit and performance. The change to handling is almost unnoticeable.

I have noticed a small clunk/click in the steering shaft. I think it may be due to the different position of the slip joint. It only shows up when changing load direction. I will hit it with some lube to see if it changes.

Looking forward to seeing your final product.
 

luthj

Engineer In Residence
Pictures?


This would be a great place to post them!

Ask and it shall be posted.

Factory tires and 2" lift in the rear.






Bending the E-brake bracket reduces stress on the cable.




Here is the difference front to back. Front is lifted, back is stock height.



Another shot of the front with lift.


2 degree caber spacers put me at about 0.5 degrees positive which is in spec. It was ~2.5 positive after the lift. YMMV I measured mine by hand, so these are approximations.



My van had 16" wheels, so it started 1" taller than 15" equipped vans from the factory.
 
Last edited:

luthj

Engineer In Residence
Looks good!

I like the blue bedlining. Did you do that?

Yeah, Its DIY. The product is Monstaliner, applied with an undercoating spray gun. As you have likely discovered with your eurovan builds, it is a very nice product. Overall it came out pretty good, an 8 out of 10 overall. The texture hides mistakes very well. A fairly clean garage is all that is needed for good results (no paint booth needed, which is good given the height of the van...)
 

Cole

Expedition Leader
I'm about to use Monstaliner on my Sprinter. Ive used it on a bunch of Eurovans.

Looks good!
 

luthj

Engineer In Residence
......I think I'm going to Montaline the wood floor of my van too!

DO IT! I think it would hold up very well. I wonder how the traction would be? I have some test pieces, I could give it a try.

I used plywood for testing my Monstaliner spray technique. Since the floor is laminated in the sprinter it probably won't be a problem, but the liner gets thick faster with raw wood soaking up the solvent.

Home Depot (or was it lowes?) sells a 10" foam roller that is nearly identical to the 4" one that the Monstaliner comes with. It would make large area applications much faster/easier. If I can find a link I will post it up.
 

Cole

Expedition Leader
Just a tiny little update.

I finished the lift install. I've installed a lot of lift kits over the years and this one was definitely on the easier end of the scale.


Completing the front end has just been delayed by "while you're in there" items. I discovered one of my front struts was dead so I ordered 4 new Bilstien shocks for the van. The brake rotors were pretty worn looking so I ordered all new rotors and Brembo pads front and rear. That of course led to having to drill out the rusted rotor retaining bolts. Which took a trip to the dealer 20 miles away.

Also figured I'd change the inner and outer tie rods while I had them open. Of course my tie rod tool wouldn't fit the inner Sprinter tie rod and that required ordering a new tool. Which should be here tomorrow.

I'd like to get this on the road with the front lift on it and get some impressions on how this thing is going to work!

26334061551_a2d8b6f334_z_d.jpg
 

Haf-E

Expedition Leader
Interesting. Very curious to hear your thoughts on it. I am considering it as well.

Btw - do the front hubs just have an adapter plate to go from the normal 5 lug wheel to the deep dished 6 lug dually rims? Looks like it...
 

Cole

Expedition Leader
Yes. It's just an adapter for the dually wheels.

Technically the rear only has an adapter too but the rear looks to have a giant full floater type hub that appears to be larger than any of the 5x130 wheels could clear.

I looked at it with the thoughts of using the 5x130 wheels and only using 4 of them. Lots more choices of wheel in the 5x130 bolt patern. Just not sure you could ever clear the hub. I'll measure it to be sure though.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
186,509
Messages
2,886,805
Members
226,515
Latest member
clearwater
Top