New Member - Lifting my 2000 Expy - Hunting Lease

[soldatlamour]

I'm new to a deer lease, and my stock F150 King Ranch will be destroyed if I use it to get around! So, I'm buying my College Sr. a graduation present (new car) and going to take his (my !) 2000 Expy ( 2WD) and use as a lease vehicle.

I could make it around most of the lease with my F150, but it was getting scratched badly. Also, there were several areas that my clearance was not high enough.

So..... If I can get a few more inches on my axle (3-4 should be enough) on the Expy I should be good to go.

To that end, what is the most economical way to get some lift? I've researched a bit and found that there are Suspension Lifts ( = costly ) Body Lifts (= not free, but cheaper) and Lift Leveler kits (do these actually add real lift?).

I suspect that I'll need to do a Body Lift (3-x inches) and then buy some larger diameter tires. What combo of Body Lift height and Tire Size will get me 3+ inches on the axle ?

Thank you for your patience to this newbie !

mps

 

[treycool94]

if you are looking for clearance you shouldn't do the body lift. but if your looking for a cheap suspension lift you can get 3" spacers in the back and new torsion keys up front that will be the cheapest way here some links
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FORD...n|Year:1999&hash=item2567bff3f9#ht_2084wt_982
http://zoneoffroad.com/product?ki=227&gr=-1
oh and welcome!

 

[soldatlamour]

Treycool --- Thank You !

TreyCool - thanks for such a quick and succinct response.

I "you tubed" the Leveling Key installation, and this guy did a 3 part video on installation --- it didn't look that hard to do.

The back ... well, his video was a bit spartan on that installation, but I can't imagine it's that difficult.

Let' say I put on the 2" Keys and the 3" spacers in the rear, what do you recommend as the largest tires I can put on to get the axle lifted?


Also --- do you have a front bumper recommendation onto which I can add a Winch?

thanks so much,
mps

 

[treycool94]

once you put the keys up front you can crank the for 2" more but i would just crank it till the truck is level. you should be able to fit 34's but 35's is pushing it but im sure others will chime in on info for that. as for bumpers you don't need one you can get one of these
http://www.autoanything.com/winches/61A2209A0A0A2609732.aspx
oh and were gunna need to see some pics lol

 

[turtlejoe]

If you're really trying to get 3-4 additional inches of axle clearance, you're going to need tires 6-8" larger in diameter than what you already have. Tire size increase is the only thing that will lift the diff further off the ground. Then size your lift required accordingly. I'm sure 37's are doable, but that seems to be a pretty expensive "doable". Just my $.02.

 

[treycool94]

yah if you want to go for 37s theres a dude on here Thermo that fits 37s on a 4" lift but thats a ton of modifications if you want it easy you should just get a 6" lift and you can fit 37s heres a link for a 6" lift
http://zoneoffroad.com/product?ki=309&gr=-1

 

[soldatlamour]

I think I'm getting it.... ?

So - To remain economical and just do the Torsion Keys and the Rear Spacers I should get about 2" of lift.

With that I can MAY be able to put on 35" tires (4" taller than stock ) and I will have an additional 2" axle clearance?

Trey - I very, very much appreciate all the links you're sending. If I can squeeze 2" of axle rise with the lower cost fix I will go that route to see how the Expy does on the deer lease.

I'm thinking about adding that hidden winch you sent me JUST IN CASE i get hung up ! ! !

thanks!

 

[treycool94]

the keys will give you 2.5" of lift but you can also crank the keys to get an additional 2" of lift( i think i have not done this myself but have read alot about it) you will need to do this if you plan on running 35's

 

[treycool94]

oh and pics pics pics!

 

[Big Red Monster]

if his expy is 2wd dosent it not have torsion keys then? if its 2wd i think a suspension lift kit is alot ceaper then a 4wd lift kit

 

[treycool94]

hmmm i dont know

 

[Big Red Monster]

we need thermo to answer that question lol

 

[Thermo]

Because it is a 2000 Expy, it is AWD. All 99+ trucks went to AWD and as I recall there are no 2wd versions out there. So, that means the truck has to be AWD, therefore torsion bars on the front end.

As for doing the torsion keys and then cranking them to the max, you are really going to be stressing the lower and upper ball joints on the front end and putting them under a lot of stress. Not to mention that you are going to have really bad feeling in the suspension as you are going to have no downward wheel travel. So, any pothole is going to result in a tire leaving the road surface. Not sure about you, but that is bad in my book.

soulatlamour, why do you think you need that much more clearance. The only way that you are going to get that much more clearance is to run a 37"+ tire. To do that, you will definitely need torsion keys, rear coil spacer, and a body lift to fit tires that size (37's will just fit, with some additional work). But, I think you will find that going with 35's and a body lift is going to be your best way to get the additional height and keep things on the cheap. Please keep in mind that I only recommend running 35's if you have the stock 3.73 gears. If you have the stock 3.55 gears, then you are also needing to add in the cost of a gear swap. If you are looking at 37's, then a gear swap is a mandatory thing unless you want to rebuild your tranny here soon. But, that is an additional $2000 for the new gears.

Keep the questions coming. If you want me to explain my point about the ball joints, I will see if I can find the posting I put on another site where I got into the science behind the angle of the ball joints and just what the ball joints can take.

 

[treycool94]

please do that last part...

 

[jacks3am]

3 inch suspension lift and 33" tires that are agressive, done!

 

[LameSuburbanDad]

I know Warn makes a hidden winch mount for the first Gen expeditions, it mounts behind the front bumper....pretty slick,
it should hold up to a 10,000lb cap. winch, the pull cable comes through the front of the bumper where you can mount the rollers.
I recommend spending the extra money to do away with the metal pull cable and go with a fiber rope, they are just as strong and when those break the line just goes limp instead of whipping around and injuring someone.

as for your lift stick with the torsion crank, rear spacers and 34-34.50 inch tall tires
ummm 285/70-17???? or 265 if you don't want that wide of a footprint

 

[jacks3am]

^^ dont even worry about the lift, get agressive tires and a winch, what good will a lift do if your stuck? winch it!

 

[babysilk]

I know I am a bit lit on this post but better late then never. Im running a 2" lift (torsion crank and spacers) and 35's. The truck sits about 4 inched taller(2" from the lift, 2" from the tires). Here are some pictures. There are before and after the 35's in there too.

 

[CARO'S98EB]

if it is 2wd it does not have torsion bars. yes, they made 2wd expd after 99 most of them here in FL are 2wd.

 

[nvycrmn]

so i might be a little late. as far as the hidden winch mount from warn, I have one. you wont be able to fit a warn 10k winch, but a warn 9.5 will fit. other brands you will be able to fit a 10k, maybe even 12k. anything from warn larger than 9.5 will require a little modification to the upper bumper pad. i hope this helps, if you havent already made your mind up.