35" tires

Minimum - 3"/2" leveling kit and running boards have to go.
Recommended - The 3.5" / 2.5" obviously gives a little more lift. I highly recommend that you replace the lower ball joints, and upper control arms in the front, as well as the lower ball joints or control arms in the rear. The lift puts extra stress on these components, and if they are already worn, you could have a catastrophically dangerous failure on the highway. You might as well replace your struts and inner and outer tie rods at this point, you are going to need an alignment anyway.

I am running the 3.5" / 2.5" lift.
I replaced control arms and ball joints, front & rear.
Installed new strut / spring assemblies as well as tie rod ends.
35"x12.5"x17" mud terrains.
Zero rubbing, forwards or reverse, full lock.

Makes for TONS of ground clearance and a really aggressive look.
Thing is a beast in the snow!

MrBlargMan said:

Minimum - 3"/2" leveling kit and running boards have to go.
Recommended - The 3.5" / 2.5" obviously gives a little more lift. I highly recommend that you replace the lower ball joints, and upper control arms in the front, as well as the lower ball joints or control arms in the rear. The lift puts extra stress on these components, and if they are already worn, you could have a catastrophically dangerous failure on the highway. You might as well replace your struts and inner and outer tie rods at this point, you are going to need an alignment anyway.

I am running the 3.5" / 2.5" lift.
I replaced control arms and ball joints, front & rear.
Installed new strut / spring assemblies as well as tie rod ends.
35"x12.5"x17" mud terrains.
Zero rubbing, forwards or reverse, full lock.

Makes for TONS of ground clearance and a really aggressive look.
Thing is a beast in the snow!

View attachment 33025

View attachment 33026

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thanks, you are awesome!
I have no problem ditching the running boards - they would be with the first real offroad excursion anyway. I plan to replace them with rock sliders when all is said and done.
are there any aftermarket heavy duty components that are more durable than the OEM ball joints and control arms? what about the drive shafts and CV joints; will the angle change be a problem?
I'm seriously looking at Moog components right now.
I'm considering lifting the body before I lift the suspension, just because I'd like to leave the suspension alone, but that 3/2 kit is really simple, so...

thanks for your time.
jg

joethefordguy said:

thanks, you are awesome!
I have no problem ditching the running boards - they would be with the first real offroad excursion anyway. I plan to replace them with rock sliders when all is said and done.
are there any aftermarket heavy duty components that are more durable than the OEM ball joints and control arms? what about the drive shafts and CV joints; will the angle change be a problem?
I'm seriously looking at Moog components right now.
I'm considering lifting the body before I lift the suspension, just because I'd like to leave the suspension alone, but that 3/2 kit is really simple, so...

thanks for your time.
jg

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Honesty, I feel like doing a body lift will be substantially more work vs the suspension lift as you will then for sure have to worry about wiring harnesses, hoses, and the steering shaft all surviving the modification. Not only for the front, but you will have to keep in mind all of the auxiliary climate control components that run into the rear of the cab as well. Furthermore, you will then also not receive the increased ground clearance that the suspension lift provides.

OEM components are always great, but I personally used Moog suspension components on mine and they are holding up just fine. Axle angle has never been an issue for me, even off-roading.

My biggest complaint in general is the lack of major off-road performance. These SUVs weren't developed with off-road in mind as much as they were being big comfortable people-movers. The full independent suspension has very minimal flex, and even with the big 9.75" limited slip, these big mud terrains break it loose very easily.

If you are truly looking for major off-road performance on this platform, I definitely recommend changing the gearing to 4.10/4.11 if you're going to be running 35" tires. While you're in there, you better just put in some locking differentials as well, as the factory rear LSD just won't do.

The above modifications are on my wish list, but the parts cost and intense labor have put it out of reach for now.

All in all, the lift, a suspension refresh, and some big agressive tires keep these SUVs comfortable around town and also turn them into decently capable machines that do well in inclement weather as well on simple to some intermediate off-road trails.

I originally did the 3.5/2.5 yet the uppers have too much bind at full droop the UCa sits on spring . So now i have a custom made 3.25 front and 2.5 rear. -24 20x10s with 35s .i Rubbed the passenger side full lock until i hammered it out.

Why is it that no body makes a full lift kit for gen 2 expiditions ? Am planning on 3.5 inch strut spacers, can anyone recommend a particular brand control arm replacement ? Or coil over assembly ? Not planning any off roading but you never know.

Who makes a 2.5/3.5 lift? I'm running the ready lift kit on my 03 which is a 3/2 kit if I remember right.

Kryo-Genik said:

Who makes a 2.5/3.5 lift? I'm running the ready lift kit on my 03 which is a 3/2 kit if I remember right.

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I bought my 3.5"/ 2.5" kit on eBay. It has been a few years ago now and my purchase history doesn't go back that far to verify, but I want to say that I used the Supreme Suspensions kit. There are a few different ones available, just make sure that you look at them all and pick the one that looks like it is best constructed. If I recall, the cheapest set also looked like it could be pretty sketchy to use.

I apologize in advance for the rant. Some of this is getting old. Sometimes the best thing is to keep my mouth shut, but I don't always do the best thing.

There is one way, and only one way, to get increased ground clearance, and that's by installing taller tires. Or vertical lift jets, like Phil Coulson's Corvette.

Neither the body lift, nor the suspension lift, provide any increase in ground clearance. FACT. The only thing body and suspension lifts do is allow for taller tires. FACT.
Change my mind.

Another way to get taller tires is to install or modify the fender wells. Not cheap, but perhaps the simplest, in many ways. Taller tires can and will raise issues beyond fender clearance, such as suspension and driveline interference, etc. So, there's that.

Unless and Until you install taller tires, you cannot and you will not get any increase in ground clearance. Taller tires move the differential, axle, lower control arms and other low hanging suspension and driveline components higher up from the ground, i.e., increased ground clearance. If the lowest component isn't moved up, then you didn't get an increase in ground clearance. FACT.
There are other reasons for lifting, such as cosmetic, but that's not for me. I do like the looks, but not enough to pay for them if that's all I'm getting for my money.

My opinion between the two is that they both have issues - I tend to see the suspension and driveline issues resulting from a suspension lift as more complex than the issues resulting from a body lift. But, I gather the body lift is more expensive. That's just my opinion. I suspect the actual answer depends on which specific lift on which specific vehicle.

I have tried to be clear about this; I see I have failed. I AM NOT LOOKING FOR "MAJOR" OFFROAD PERFORMANCE. I don't know how to make that any clearer. I go around, not over. I want to be independent of built up roads; I'm not looking for extreme rock crawling fun. If there's any chance of bending the truck, I look for less risky alternatives. I'm not looking for fun in rough terrain, I'm looking to get somewhere without depending on roads.
FWIW, once upon a time, I made my living getting a fleet of heavy offroad wheeled and tracked vehicles where they needed to go without regard to terrain. I went to school for it. It was a lot of fun, but somebody else was paying the bills.

Pardon the attitude. Or don't. frustration grows.

I too am very frustrated at the lack of upgrades for this platform. Obviously, the major reason is that there aren't enough buyers. Darn it.

That's one helluva rant! The problem is many people think of ground clearance as referring to the frame of the truck, so they say "I lifted it and got more ground clearance". That's actually the break-over angle that increases, which is helpful when off-roading, but still not the same thing as ground clearance. Something to consider about our independent front and rear suspensions, a lift does raise the differential providing more ground clearance. Granted, the lower control arm mounts at the wheels are still the same height, but the important differential is higher. That's something that doesn't happen when lifting a solid axle rig.
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it may be true that "many people" think of ground clearance in that way. many people are wrong.