Post by muddblood on Mar 31, 2019 11:10:32 GMT -5
Just wanted to share my $35 lift to my 99 Montero Sport. The only thing I purchased was the universal ProComp add-a-leaf, which netted me about a 4” lift in the rear. For the front, I re-indexed my torsion bars, netting roughly 2 1/2” of lift. Obviously, I had severe rake...full on aero mode as I called it. So I took out the overload leaf, which dropped the rear about an inch, so a bit more level. Ok, so this isn’t a “true” lift...more like just increasing spring rate. But hey, it got me much needed clearance for bigger tires.
Some things to note. When I first installed the add-a-leaf, my shackles inverted, pinning the right shackle to the frame and the left leaf spring to the frame. This resulted in an absolutely HORRIBLE ride! Several times I hit my head on the roof of the car going over bumps! Not fun!! I was able to remove the shackles and put the them back to normal position...the left side was fairly easy (after getting the leaf spring unstuck), but the right side would not go to normal position. I had to use a ratchet strap to pull the spring towards the rear of the truck then lower it and remove the ratchet strap. Ride quality is MUCH better now!!!
Speaking of ride quality, the truck is much firmer now, however it’s still very nice to drive. My suspension had always been extremely soft, so the added firmness the lift gave me is much appreciated.
I do not recommend the ProComp add-a-leaf for our trucks, mostly because we cannot get the front high enough to match the rear. However, 4 Wheel Parts advises me that Old Man Emu has an add-a-leaf that is designed for our trucks!! If you are considering lifting your leave sprung MS, I’d go this route. If I recall, this is like $35 for each add-a-leaf, so like $70...and it would most likely take 12+ weeks to arrive straight from Australia.
Re-indexing the front torsion bars you say? On our trucks, the torsion bars are splined, very much like an axle shaft. The adjusting side is welded to the torsion bar. I went 2 teeth on each side to get the height seen in the pics. If you do this, you will want to turn the torsion bars clockwise on the left side and counter-clockwise on the right side...essentially dropping the adjusting side of the torsion bar. There are videos on YouTube on this.
My wheels are 17x8” factory Nissan Xterra SE wheels and I’m currently running 255/75/17 BGF Mud Terrain tires. They rub but it’s because of the 0” offset of the wheels I’m using. I’ll change wheels somewhere down the road to avoid the rub...after I get my winch mount built (and possibly steel bumper).
No lift, 17" wheels and 265/65/17 Dynapro ATM tires:
Lift with major rake and 255/75/17 BFG Mud Terrain tires...and running boards removed:
A little more leveled out after removing the overload leaf:
Some things to note. When I first installed the add-a-leaf, my shackles inverted, pinning the right shackle to the frame and the left leaf spring to the frame. This resulted in an absolutely HORRIBLE ride! Several times I hit my head on the roof of the car going over bumps! Not fun!! I was able to remove the shackles and put the them back to normal position...the left side was fairly easy (after getting the leaf spring unstuck), but the right side would not go to normal position. I had to use a ratchet strap to pull the spring towards the rear of the truck then lower it and remove the ratchet strap. Ride quality is MUCH better now!!!
Speaking of ride quality, the truck is much firmer now, however it’s still very nice to drive. My suspension had always been extremely soft, so the added firmness the lift gave me is much appreciated.
I do not recommend the ProComp add-a-leaf for our trucks, mostly because we cannot get the front high enough to match the rear. However, 4 Wheel Parts advises me that Old Man Emu has an add-a-leaf that is designed for our trucks!! If you are considering lifting your leave sprung MS, I’d go this route. If I recall, this is like $35 for each add-a-leaf, so like $70...and it would most likely take 12+ weeks to arrive straight from Australia.
Re-indexing the front torsion bars you say? On our trucks, the torsion bars are splined, very much like an axle shaft. The adjusting side is welded to the torsion bar. I went 2 teeth on each side to get the height seen in the pics. If you do this, you will want to turn the torsion bars clockwise on the left side and counter-clockwise on the right side...essentially dropping the adjusting side of the torsion bar. There are videos on YouTube on this.
My wheels are 17x8” factory Nissan Xterra SE wheels and I’m currently running 255/75/17 BGF Mud Terrain tires. They rub but it’s because of the 0” offset of the wheels I’m using. I’ll change wheels somewhere down the road to avoid the rub...after I get my winch mount built (and possibly steel bumper).
No lift, 17" wheels and 265/65/17 Dynapro ATM tires:
Lift with major rake and 255/75/17 BFG Mud Terrain tires...and running boards removed:
A little more leveled out after removing the overload leaf: