08 expo off-road build

Good afternoon guys.
I just came into possession of my parents’ 08 expy XLT for a whopping $0.00. Already had a local mechanic take care oil leaks, new belts, new thermostat, etc to make it ready to use as a daily driver. My plan is to mod it into an overlander/expedition vehicle and I had some questions that I have been researching in depth but haven’t found a straight forward answer for. I have an eBay 3.5/2.5 spacer lift already sitting in my garage ready to go on and I’m planning on running 33x11.5xR17’s. I know several of you have used similar sized lifts and I was curious if anyone had issues with brake lines stretching and did you have issues with UCA’s touching the springs after? I’m going to replace the shocks with bilstein 4600’s and get new steel wheels with negative offsets. Saw freedom off-road had UCA’s for lifted expedition. Anyone have any experience with them? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

I think 3.5 in the front will be borderline too much for the UCAs, my 3” readylift is very near touching at full extension, but brake lines seem ok. I have the rear at 3.5” and at full extension the brake lines are near their limit.

Langer said:

I think 3.5 in the front will be borderline too much for the UCAs, my 3” readylift is very near touching at full extension, but brake lines seem ok. I have the rear at 3.5” and at full extension the brake lines are near their limit.

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Thank you for the reply. I’m going to do heavier digging into the UCA market to find a viable replacement.

@Roast4570 Nothing out there for us as far as UCAs. I have looked everywhere. The one thing I did find is Michigan Metal Works said they would custom make a pair for about $1,000. I will probably do this next year when I can spare a few (more) bucks on my 04. There might be other custom shops who would make a set for you but this is the only one who got back to me (they usually hang up when they hear "Expedition" and not "Jeep" or "Toyota").

Vincent Vega said:

@Roast4570 Nothing out there for us as far as UCAs. I have looked everywhere. The one thing I did find is Michigan Metal Works said they would custom make a pair for about $1,000. I will probably do this next year when I can spare a few (more) bucks on my 04. There might be other custom shops who would make a set for you but this is the only one who got back to me (they usually hang up when they hear "Expedition" and not "Jeep" or "Toyota").

Michigan Metal Works

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michiganmetalworks.com

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Definitely not the prom queen of the off road or overlanding markets. I appreciate the replies guys.

This might be an interesting post for you:

Not sure if they sell separate parts or must buy whole kit. Oops, just noticed you are talking 2008. Still, might be worth a call.

Alwaysthinkin said:

This might be an interesting post for you:

Rough Country 18+ 3" lift - a Real Lift kit!!

Anyone seen this yet? Or better yet, installed it? https://www.roughcountry.com/ford-leveling-lift-kit-40231.html I didn't pull anything up on search... But this actually gives you new UCAs to correct ball joint angles, as well as new rear link bars to re-center the rear wheel. Finally...

www.expeditionforum.com

Not sure if they sell separate parts or must buy whole kit. Oops, just noticed you are talking 2008. Still, might be worth a call.

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I’ll take a look and call them. Maybe they can piece out the control arms if they are compatible. Thanks for the link.

Just spitballing, but what about looking at upgraded UCAs for a f-150 of similar year?

Alwaysthinkin said:

This might be an interesting post for you:

Rough Country 18+ 3" lift - a Real Lift kit!!

Anyone seen this yet? Or better yet, installed it? https://www.roughcountry.com/ford-leveling-lift-kit-40231.html I didn't pull anything up on search... But this actually gives you new UCAs to correct ball joint angles, as well as new rear link bars to re-center the rear wheel. Finally...

www.expeditionforum.com

Not sure if they sell separate parts or must buy whole kit. Oops, just noticed you are talking 2008. Still, might be worth a call.

Click to expand...

I’ll take a look and call them. Maybe they can piece out the control arms if they are compatible. Thanks for the link in

Langer said:

Just spitballing, but what about looking at upgraded UCAs for a f-150 of similar year?

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i went down the rabbit hole on that very idea last night and I found some contenders in Tuff Country and Freedom off-road. Freedom off-road offers UCA’s that are the same size as stock but they adjusted how low the ball joint sits to correct wear and tear and Tuff Country seems to be a popular choice in the f150 market.

I put the rough country 1.5” coil over leveling replacing front and rear and the rear airbags. Putting the 2” spacers made my UCA hit the springs. Had to take the spacers out.
Added 315r70-17 Raptor wheels.
It brought it off the ground considerably.
I looked everywhere for fixes to get it up higher without custom. But i think everyone that was doing them have stopped.
Aspen Overlander had a Expo lifted with 37” tires. But they had everything custom built.