Alright, I've searched this board, LR4x4, Rovertracks, Safari Guard, and Rovertyme. I am building my 19990 RC for Family Camping and occasional trips over the CON and Moab. I am planning on running a 34x12.5 tire. My 24spline/ARB'd Rover Basin axles should be fine. I have had bad experiences with body lifts, so I am going to stay with a coil lift. My questions are:
1) Would a 5" Rovertyme lift be too much for 34" tires?
2) Would a 4" lift work (I have already trimmed a little)
3) Are those Spacers worth a dam (just wondering, not really considering)
4) The rear suspenion looks pretty easy to 4-link. However, are there really bi issues with Castor in the front? As a previous Landcruiser guy, I turned the knuckles when I did a SOA
5) Any recommendations for relocating the shock mounts and what length should work, considering sagging, mostly down travel, approx 3-4" up travel.
6) Any need to relocate the Panard?
7) I have an extra Currrie sway bar laying around and am considering putting it on to control body roll. Any recommendations either front or rear
8) Any issues welding 4-link bracket on axle housing?
P.S. Anyone have a decent LT 230? I need one
Open to any other suggestions and recommendations. Thanks, guys Daren

http://www.rangerovers.net/rrupgrades/index.htm

well, being the forever newbie of the board, i'll pitch in with the witchcraft and flufftech since i doubt anyone else will :flipoff2:

Alright, I've searched this board, LR4x4, Rovertracks, Safari Guard, and Rovertyme. I am building my 19990 RC for Family Camping and occasional trips over the CON and Moab. I am planning on running a 34x12.5 tire. My 24spline/ARB'd Rover Basin axles should be fine. I have had bad experiences with body lifts, so I am going to stay with a coil lift. My questions are:

1) Would a 5" Rovertyme lift be too much for 34" tires?

you really don't need this much lift for 34's. they're pricey but I think a nice set of those aussie flares and a 3" lift would be way better. there's also a fella that's used early bronco flares and it turned out pretty good. search for pics here on the board. linkage to rangie flares:

http://www.dap-inc.com/acc/acc-img/ext/rrff001-extreme-flare.jpg

http://www.dap-inc.com

i've seen these in person on a disco I and they look great, and clear a 12.5" tire on offset rims extremely well with low / moderate lift. the aussie fellas run 2~3" spring lift and 2" body lift to fit 35x12.50's on a routine basis.


2) Would a 4" lift work (I have already trimmed a little)
again - i don't think you need that much, and I don't advocate going that high without a minium 12.5" wide tire - preferably on off-set rims.


3) Are those Spacers worth a dam (just wondering, not really considering)

we make our own - onlinemetals will cut you a puck of solid 5" aluminum to whatever thickness you want for ~ $10 ... or at least it was. 2" coil lift and a 1" spacer does fine. you'll want to make sure that you retain the coil in the perches. otherwise, it works okay. theoretically for the same amount of lift you're not going to get as much compression / droop out of the coil as the same length coil, but real-life experience has shown the difference to be negligible on what we're doing. you won't want that much uptravel probably, anyway ... although i like to run 50/50 myself.



4) The rear suspenion looks pretty easy to 4-link. However, are there really bi issues with Castor in the front? As a previous Landcruiser guy, I turned the knuckles when I did a SOA

over 2" and castor issues are bad for something that's going to be on the highway. cranking the knuckles isn't difficult, or you can now send them to RTE. i wouldn't bother with a 4-link personally - the stock Y-arm is going to give you plenty of flex. you'll want to offset the axle rearward. see PTSchram's recent post about the 5" coil lift, and search on LWG's thread about rear tubs.


5) Any recommendations for relocating the shock mounts and what length should work, considering sagging, mostly down travel, approx 3-4" up travel.

mostly down travel - you could get away with 12's. i run 10's on all corners @ 50/50. i think it's more balanced, but others are free to disagree. i just ordered some SAW coilovers for the rear in 10" - about the max you can stuff under a lifted full bodied rig without going through the tub ... and even this might be too much. we'll see.


6) Any need to relocate the Panard?
no. it just needs lengthened a bit to make up for the lift.

7) I have an extra Currrie sway bar laying around and am considering putting it on to control body roll. Any recommendations either front or rear
i'm jealous! i've been wanting to try a good sway bar on my rig. i'd put it on the rear if you're keeping radius arms. if you 3-link the front, put it up there.


8) Any issues welding 4-link bracket on axle housing?
not that i'm aware of. should be pretty straight forward, although the tube material probably isn't as thick as what you're used to on 60's. careful with the heat.


P.S. Anyone have a decent LT 230? I need one

try tidewater rovers. i've had good luck with john there, and he can also supply you with the elusive LT230 shifter to go with it.

i used a DII LT230 from a '99. it had really low miles on it, and has the quieter gearset compared to DI and rangie cases. you'll need the older rear output shaft but switching it out is a snap. do a search on swaps - pretty sure i documented this on the board. if not PM me and i'll send you some pics.


Open to any other suggestions and recommendations. Thanks, guys

using a roof-rack for extended camping is almost a necessity. because of this i like to keep the lift low for when i need to put one on. i have a 5yro daughter and a fullsize dog - taking a 3~5 day trip with food, coolers, gear etc. is more than the rear cargo bay can handle all alone.

a moderately built rig will do you fine. spend the money on some decent shocks. the 7100's are popular choice, and i like my front ones alot. seems like a lot of folks are running them with reservoirs, but i've gone emulsion on everything to keep expense / hassles down to a minimum.

other comments: since you're going to be carrying your family around on extended highway trips, make sure the engine is healthy. the rig loaded down is going to be heavy, and the 3.9 is just barely adequate to have on the highway. a 4.0 or 4.6 rover shortblock is a great swap along with rebuilding your 3.9 heads. it won't be a rocket but it'll be reliable. If you want domestic, simple and quick, a marks chevy to rover transmission adapter is available. a rover TDI is where it's at, at considerably more expense. a good chevy will get your fuel mileage back to what should be normal for an SUV, and easy power.



Daren

one other comment - i'd strongly consider some 33's over the 34" intercos (if that's what you're looking at). wives and children will get bitchy real fast with that kind of howl. some bfg mudders or mt/r's would be a much better choice. you'll silently thank me later the first day of your trip. also make sure the air-con works. wind noise with the windows down is a bitch on the highway. 285/75 mtrs are a good size i think for these trucks, and 4.10 gearing is just about ideal for this size of tire. for rims, look for some disocvery and late (94-95) rangie spare rims. these have the sort of slot design and are 7" wide, a 1/2" wider than the more popular "nato" rims.

ahhh... this thread is giving me the winter blues. last years camping in quilomene - blue skies, cold beverages, and happy occupants

http://nwrovers.com/pics/albums/quilomene-2005/050703_164448_4833.sized.jpg

so much for that rack idea tho - you could say the roads are kind of rough out there.

http://nwrovers.com/pics/albums/quilomene-2005/050703_130302_4795.sized.jpg

It's been pretty well covered, but I can't seem to keep myself from commenting.

Put a 2" spring lift on it (I can't say enough good about RTE springs (I have RTE, OME and Bearmach springs on various trucks and prefer the RTE) and some 32" tires. These trucks are really, really capable out of the box anbd the 2" lift may well be all you'll need.

Going over 2" of lift, the costs increase asymptotically and for what you've described probably won't be necessary.

I don't know why Isaac said you'd need a new output shaft for the rear on the 230, the DIIs have a different front output flange, but if you're serious, you'll want the DII front driveshaft.

Going from the 3.9 to a 4.0/4.6 will require some mods as the later engines had different engine managements systems, also, you'll either need to do a complete swap, or retain your 3.9 heads as the ancillaries from the 3.9 won't bolt up to the heads on the 4.0/4.6, some of the mounting holes for the ancillaries are different, also, if you do a complete engine swap, you'll need to relocate one of the tranny cooler lines and some other minor stuff to clear all of the stuff on the fornt of the engine.

The RTE 5" lift IS NOT a bolt-on proposition, in spite of what some may say :flipoff2: And, it will take you more than the day some say it can be done in...

PT

<< I don't know why Isaac said you'd need a new output shaft for the rear on the 230, the DIIs have a different front output flange, but if you're serious, you'll want the DII front driveshaft. >>

oh it'll bolt up just fine, but the error of my ways was pointed out by the local LR mechanic guru: you need this to retain the speed sensor, which is needed for the 14cux ECU. the DII rear output shaft does not have provisions for a mechanical speedo hookup, since it's done all by those fancy computerzzz ;)

edit: i'm running the DII front shaft as well - this just made things alot simpler. have it rebuilt to use greasable ujoints though, as the stock units are "sealed for life", and there are stories of them self-grenading. having said that, i haven't rebuilt mine yet. the DII front shaft is a CV style shaft, and has less diameter than the GBR units which i needed to clear my aftermarket catalytic converters.
/edit

+2 on the 2" lift and and 32's. rundog seemed like he was itching for something non standard tho. i make the comment for a bit more rig than 2" and 32's based on redrangie's experience with a split purpose camping / wheeling setup. IIRC he was running 4~5" of lift and 33's with almost no fender hacking. he ran some fairly hard trails w/o lockers as i recall. i think you could go lower and be better off w/o as much need to modify the rest of the truck to suit a 2"+ lift. 3" is really pushing it with no other mods.

I got 34s under mine with the 3" RTE springs and some trimming, not too much.

looks like this, the shot is from a recent paint job hence no bumper & stuff...

looks like this, the shot is from a recent paint job hence no bumper & stuff...

That looks really good. You guys have me waffling:confused: I guess I'm going to learn how to drive a full size rig again (no more Comp buggy on portals) and baby my Rover over the tougher trails. You guys are right about the COG, I have a Hannibal rack up top, (2) euro cans, dog food, spare parts, etc. Inside ythe vehicle (wife, twin girls, 2-Rotts, ARB fridge) I should have bought a MOG. Now I'm thinking RTE 3" kit, RoverTracks Trailing arms and my 14" Fox shocks gathering dust in my garage. And 305/70/16 MTR's. Due to the soon to be 88" project, I won't have very much time to spend on the RRC, so it's probably easier supporting the economy and bolting parts on (as much as I hate to do it). I still have some Lucas demons I am trying to chase (duel yellow top battery drain) every few days:shaking: My other project should take a couple of months and be a hell of alot more fun to drive. As soon as I get started on the 88" buildup, I will start a thread. Last stupid question, how much of the RTE kit do I really need? I already have a 2" kit. I'm hoping to get by with just the springs, shock relocators, and Trailing arms (only because they look cool). I'm hoping the castor is alright with only 3" lift.

With a 3" lift you will have almost no castor. You could use the RTE corrected radius arms and retain the handling. You'll need a new front drive shaft with a cardan joint at the t-case.
Good luck stuffing the 14" Fox shocks in. Kind of overkill for that set-up.

Matt Browne
Overland Engineering

Matt, the 14" shocks are definatley over kill for that set-up! However, I really liked the price (free) I used to run them with Fox Coliovers on my old buggy. It was either those or NIB 14" Walker Coilovers that will end up 4-sale when I get home. Your roght about the 14"'s fitting, I will probably run tabs on the back of the axles.

Let me know when your ready to sell those coilovers.

Matt Browne
Overland Engineering