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2nd Gen Rodeo lift decision help.

5K views 32 replies 8 participants last post by  Gizmo42 
#1 ·
I cant decide whether to go with the sport kit or the beginner kit. I really want those damn Rancho 9000XLs! But cant afford them right now. I'm sort of impatient and bad with money, so either help me screw my self or motivate me to wait and get those RANCHOS!
 
#2 ·
I dont know what shocks actually come with the beginner kit (just says nitrogen shocks, not what brand and model). If they are the procomp es3000, Jeff has those and says they are way too soft and feel like the stock shocks. I would go with the OME 3" lift (at the bottom of the page) or the sport kit. Also get some manual hubs if you dont have them already ($100 with free shipping from amazon).
 
#3 ·
Gizmo42 said:
I dont know what shocks actually come with the beginner kit (just says nitrogen shocks, not what brand and model). If they are the procomp es3000, Jeff has those and says they are way too soft and feel like the stock shocks. I would go with the OME 3" lift (at the bottom of the page) or the sport kit. Also get some manual hubs if you dont have them already ($100 with free shipping from amazon).
Getting those for sure!
 
#4 ·
Medic.....take a look at skyjacker hydro shocks....for a daily driver, moderate off-roader they should fit the ticket just fine.

I pondered over the Rancho's for over a year and a half, knowing full well I couldn't afford them, got fed up with the idea and said forget it. I'm not spending that kind of money for shocks on one vehicle when hundreds of jeep, toyota, and isuzu owners have been more then thrilled with the skyjacker hydro's for only $35 a piece.

I probably could have by now, bought those shocks, if I bought one a month or so; but I also had maintenance items I wanted taken care of, and that took priority.
 
#6 ·
I've really enjoyed my OME shocks. Good ride and performance and the yellow really stands out. I haven't heard much bad about the Procomps or the Skyjacker Hydros, either, and I'm sure if you specify either to Matt at indy4x when you call, you can get what you want for less than the sport kit.

By the way, you can also piece together what you need on independent4x.com vs. getting everything in a kit. To get just what I wanted, I pieced mine together a la carte: longer rear brake lines, OME shocks, and OME 912 coils.
 
#7 ·
I did what Beagler said. Ordered up the 3" OME coils from Matt, then called Calmini and got their shocks. All in all i paid just over $300 for everything. Tell me if you can find a cheaper 3" SL. :D
 
#8 ·
then called Calmini and got their shocks.
all i have heard in the past 5 years is the shocks from calmini are the worst part of the kit....
 
#9 ·
I've had their shocks on two of my trucks and I love 'em. What are they not liking about 'em?
 
#10 ·
I've been thinking about calling ind4x and asking them if I can get a custom kit and get a discount on it. That would be really nice. Can I get some intput on the hydros? Would they be able to handle 5.5" lift? or do they max out before that? Also how are the shocks? Soft? Hard? how do they compare to the stock 99 shocks? I've never had experience with after market shocks so I have no clue here. The reason I want the XLs is because you can adjust the stiffness, if they break they are covered by warranty and they just seem like really good shocks in general. but maybe I'll get those in a few years..

So as far as getting everything I need goes. So far i have the 912 springs, 4 hydros shocks, then I need 2 Isuzu BRAKE "T" EXTENSION? or 4? and the superwinch hub. It's totalling to about 500. I'm going to nag matt into selling me all that for 450. Hopefully it will work. I'll be picking it up at their shop so hopefully that will be a motive for him to lower the price. lol. But are greasable sway bar brushings recommended? And will the brake T extension be enough for my 5" lift?
 
#11 ·
I have had the OEM shocks all the way to jarring your teeth out shocks; i.e. Tokico trekmasters.

I will never again by a gas-charged shock period, for a vehicle similar to the weight of a Rodeo; thus the reason I highly recommend the hydro's. I love them, they're perfect for daily driving as well as the mild off-road this truck has seen since I put them on.

FWIW - I will be puting the same shock on my Tacoma as well.

It's all a matter of what you want to spend. Prior to this, I spent quite a lot of money on the Tokico's, nearly $80 per shock, cause everything I read said they were the greatest for on and off-road.....I don't think my backseat passangers have any teeth left :x

So anymore, I'm not into the theory "you get what you pay for" when it comes to a shock, I paid a lot less for the Hydro's and got a shock that's 100 times better.

It really all depends on what YOU like, not everyone is going to have the same opinion when it comes to ride quality.

Me...I like a controlled ride, but not one that's going to jar your teeth out.

For information on hydro shocks for your year, check out Summitracing.com's website. This is where I got mine; regarding the hydro's for my year, they are one of the longest shocks available, and I have a 5" lift on my truck.
 
#12 ·
Several people on here on running 5"+ on their rodeos, just watch your ball joint angles. Going up that high is asking for trouble. If u want more than 3" I'd go for a body lift also. As far as the brake t extension you only need one, it's located at the center of the rear axle, it just pushes the line up.
 
#13 ·
black98Rodeo said:
As far as the brake t extension you only need one, it's located at the center of the rear axle, it just pushes the line up.
Yeah, you only use one brake t extension if you go that route. It is just a small piece that lifts the center rear brake line up a bit. That works fine, but instead of the t extension, if you have a little extra money, you might want to go ahead and just get the longer brake lines and install those while you're working back there. If you get the longer brake lines, you won't need the t extension and you'll be sure to not pull the brake line when you flex that back axle off-road.

The kit for just the rear brake lines can be found HERE.

Med!c said:
and the superwinch hub.
Check the other thread going right now about Aisin hubs vs. Superwinch hubs. I'd recommend watching the classifieds section here and picking up a set of Aisin hubs. They're stronger, well built, and don't stick out as much as the Superwinch hubs.
 
#14 ·
Yeah I saw the thread already, I couldnt find any Aisins so I figured I'd just go with superwinch since I could get the set for 100 bucks as Gizmo recommended. But I'll check the classified. How much do the used generally run for?

I dont have money for the brake lines so I'm going to have to pass on those.

and can someone explain more about the ball joint angle issue?
 
#15 ·
Med!c said:
How much do the used generally run for?
Aisin's can be found anywhere from $75 to $100 or so used. I paid right at $100 shipped for mine.

THIS looks like a decent set.

Med!c said:
and can someone explain more about the ball joint angle issue?
black98Rodeo said:
Several people on here on running 5"+ on their rodeos, just watch your ball joint angles.
I think what black98Rodeo meant was that you would need to watch your cv axle angles. A suspension lift changes the geometry of your suspension setup, and as a result changes the angle of your front axles. Cranking your torsion bars up past 3" will give you some extreme cv axle angles. With the angles comes added stress when in 4 wheel drive, and you risk breaking something - and by something, I mean your front axles. I'm installing some diff drops from Darlington Off-Road to address the cv axle angle issue.
 
#16 ·
Med!c said:
I've been thinking about calling ind4x and asking them if I can get a custom kit...
we are here m-f 9am-6pm est. don't hesitate to give us a call i'll see what i can do for you...
 
#17 ·
yeah, I was the one who emails about the hydro shocks and 137.

So you guys have convinced me to stick with the 3" for now. Are the 20 dollar ball joints any good? A few things on my front axle look icky as I noticed earlier today. I'll try to post some pics tomorrow so I can get some help on what they are.

PS the Aisins fit the 10 bolt IFS right?
 
#18 ·
If you go with the 3" lift, you will be fine with both angles, the ball joints and the cv shafts. When you go above 3" is when your ball joints start to wear alot faster because of the steep angle. I've been down that road before and trust me it gets ugly fast.
 
#19 ·
so the cv boots look in good shape. Especially how they're stock. Anywho, there are two other boots that aren't in such good shape. I have no idea what to do here to be honest. Replace the parts with new boots or just ignore it? Ths is just one side, whatever I do to one side I'll do to the other, so if I replace these, the other side will get replacement too. Are these the ball joints?



 
#20 ·
The top photo is your lower ball joint and the lower photo is the tie rod end for your steering. My lower ball joints honestly look the same right now. You should replace the tie rod ends and the ball joints when they look like that. I'll be replacing my ball joints when I do my diff drops.
 
#21 ·
Thanks for your help. So as far as the tie rod goes im on rockauto and I'm wondering if I need the inner or the outter. And for balljoints are the 18 dollar ones good or no?
 
#22 ·
I got mine from rockauto. Moog brand. Spicer is good too.
I have seen a few cheap/chinese brand ones break fast. Replacing them is not a job id like to do often.
 
#23 ·
The 18 dollar ones are spicer, but I guess it could be one of their lower end stuff.. When you say "break really fast" how fast? I just need something to take me to the end of the summer. By the end of the summer I'll have agood amount of cash, and im planning on doing quite a bit of servicing then so I wont mind replacing them with good stuff then. I got my job certification yesterday and I applied to a bunch of places that I know are desperately looking, so just have to wait a few days and see what happens.
 
#24 ·
It MAY last around a year or so depending how you drive and how your roads are.
My uncles lasted a little under a year. My tie rod end boots tore in around the same time, with the cheap chinese stuff.
I read about someone putting them in during spring and the boots tore before summer ended.

So in your case id go for it. You can get a full set on ebay for about the price of one or two Moog lower ball joints or cheaper :shock:
 
#25 ·
Ball joints are not fun to do. The lower ones are a b**ch to get popped loose. I ended up having to get a good steel (craftsman brand) pickle fork then use a acetylene torch to heat the knuckle and pound the hell out of the pickle fork to get mine popped loose the first time.

Why not just wait till the end of summer and do it with the good parts then? Unless they are obviously bad other then torn boots it should be fine.

When I first bought mine I thought the ball joints were bad because of a popping noise. Figured I'd spend a day replacing them and some other maintenance. 2 18 hr days later I had new ball joints, cv boots, front brake pads, and front wheel bearings. Popping noise turned out to be bad lower control arm bushings which I paid a shop to do (DO NOT try them at home, brings the suck). And they destroyed the ball joint boots so I got to change those again a year later.
 
#26 ·
Well I also posted a thread in the problems a while ago that you posted in, and I mentioned squeeking noises when I turned my wheels. Ball joints is what was suggested to me. So to be honest I have no idea where these ball joints stand as far as their condition goes. I can tell you they're the stock ones. Now how long the stock ones last I'm not sure.

But I also heard when you crank the torsion bar you can break ball joints as well. I also thought of this small investment as sort of a "saftey precaution" so I dont die. :lol: I'm getting good tie rods to replace these. Moog as Dae recommended, since they're one of the two rockauto provides.

but if you guys think the ball joints can really wait then I guess I can wait. What happens if the ball joints were to break anyways?
 
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