Installing coil spring spacers - Is it hard?

[Angels]

I want to purchase some 3" coil spring spacers for my 97 expedition. I have them bookmarked on eBay but before I buy them I'm wondering how much of a pain they are to install? Could anyone walk me through the process and give me some words of experience? Is it something I can do at home without specialty tools?

 

[walnuts4x4]

not the most difficult job... KTW2000 and Dgray69... did their's not to long long ago and both are very knowledgeable and can assist you

 

[panda24619]

yeah this would be good to know b4 i get my 2" spacers.

 

[Canadian Expy]

my 2" spacers where the easiest part of the all the lifting . Only took a couple hours.

 

[fiveohpoepoe]

First time doing it will be like anything else for the first time. Probably a few hours tops. You have to drop the rear axle far enough to get the springs clear.

 

[tallsville]

here are a couple vids from you tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLrtfbCdf2o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgpkDdReAqA

this are both for an 04+ f150. but should give u some idea hope this helps

 

[KWT2000]

the spacers took about an hour to put in... get the rear end off the ground and remove the tires and shocks (only from axel if reusing stock shocks) i used a bottle jack between axel and frame to force axel down to get working room to install the spacers then reinstall the shocks and tires and your done

 

[Angels]

the spacers took about an hour to put in... get the rear end off the ground and remove the tires and shocks (only from axel if reusing stock shocks) i used a bottle jack between axel and frame to force axel down to get working room to install the spacers then reinstall the shocks and tires and your done

Would the installation on the front-end be similar? My front end is like 2" lower than my rear, so it makes the car look really funny.

 

[panda24619]

well this was for the 1st gen expeditions. the front is easy if you have a torsion bar. just crank it. for the 2nd gens the video is what will work. the rear of the 1st gens is a soild axle so the way kwt said is what you need to do. thats what im going to do and i might get new shocks while im at it too. maybe some fox shocks. and front fox too.

 

[Angels]

well this was for the 1st gen expeditions. the front is easy if you have a torsion bar. just crank it. for the 2nd gens the video is what will work. the rear of the 1st gens is a soild axle so the way kwt said is what you need to do. thats what im going to do and i might get new shocks while im at it too. maybe some fox shocks. and front fox too.

I have a first-gen but it's 2wd, it has no torsion bar in the front. Coil springs in the front, leaf springs in the back

 

[KWT2000]

i dont think your suppose to use spacers on the front on a 2wd... i know they make spindle lifts that are fairly cheapi think thats how i would go... hopefully mmmrseed will chime in he had 2wd expiriance

 

[Angels]

i dont think your suppose to use spacers on the front on a 2wd... i know they make spindle lifts that are fairly cheapi think thats how i would go... hopefully mmmrseed will chime in he had 2wd expiriance

Well the eBay page says it's only compatible with the 97 2wd, not 4wd, so I'm assuming it's perfectly fine. I've also seen other leveling kits for the 2wd, but they were only 1" instead of 2.25

 

[GAINMOB]

i put some on my wifes 05 altima to run 20's to take away the sagging on the back...i never took the struts or springs off...i had adjustable spacers that i had to wrench turn to desired height...so they were able to get in very easy...thinking about replacing the adjustable with the solid rubber and then keeping the adjustable for another inch of clearance to get 3" total...or buy new rims with correct offset...thats my prob...the offset cause i bought the rims for $200 from someone and they didnt tell me they got the car lifted for the rubbing on the rear...

 

[Angels]

Well just posting a follow-up on this. I ordered some coil spring spacers and installed them myself over this past weekend. It could've taken just a few hours but I ran into a few problems, but still managed to get it done.

My front end is riding about 3" higher now, it looks perfect. I'm very happy with the spacers I bought, they were fairly simple to install (just make sure you have a pickle fork and extra cotter pins!). Not hard at all, if I can do it, anyone can. Here is a manual I found online, that has pictures, that shows how to do it. Mine was a little bit different, but once you understand how the front suspension works, you can do it yourself with no instructions.

http://rapidshare.com/files/422175968/coil_spring_spacers_installation.PDF

Didn't need any coil spring compressors or anything else fancy. Just rented a pickle fork from autozone, cause that's the only specialty tool you'll need.