Take it to a shop? Or do it myself?

I had never wrenched on a vehicle in my life. I spent the install $ on tools and then read everything I could plus watched Youtube vids. It went smoothly, and now I have a good set of tools and a whole lot of confidence. I did it by myself, but if you can get someone to help all the better. Go for it!

 

Thanks guys. I'm thinking I'll do some reading and start next week. As for the alignment... I assume if I get the UCAs set to correct for the lift, any old alignment shop can do the rest. I don't need a 4x4 shop because the local tire and lube can just use the stock adjusters after that, right?

 

I paid 500 for the first lift I had done. I paid 650 for all the same stuff you have above the 2nd time I did the lift. Ive done the 2 lifts after that myself. I wish I did it all myself from the begining. Ive learned so much... Its not that hard. Find a local member in your area to help out. offer beer and meats.... and THEY WILL COME

 

If they're 5100s you'll need to take the springs off the shock to adjust the seat position. Other coilover setups accomodate a spanner wrench to lift or lower.

 

Camburg adjustable coilovers.

 

As stated, it's not that hard if you have the time, a good buddy and the tools. Jack stands, floor jack, torque wrench and specs written down. Start with a plan of action and write it down on a story board. It's all about planning and being organized. Make sure you have a parts runner.

 

You can do it. It's not hard. It's basic hand tools. A extra set of hands wouldn't hurt. Do some searching here for tips and tricks and follow the write up you like most. Worst case, you throw it on a flatbed tow truck and haul it to the shop. I really doubt you'd have to do that though. It's just turning some wrenches. You'll mess up and have to redo something along the way. Even the experienced mechanics do that all the time.

 

You can get a Firestone lifetime alignment for the price they're charging you. Meaning you can take it back anytime and have it re-aligned.

 

Do the install yourself. There is a video on Youtube for installing the UCAs for light racing on a 2nd gen. Since your struts are assembled already it will be very easy to install. Once you remove the OEM one, youll know exactly what to do to install the new one. Diff drop for 2nd gens are no good I read so you dont have to worry about that. The rear is the easist part. I have a 1st gen but suspension work is pretty much similar.

 

Just another person chiming in for added support. You can totally do it yourself. I spent the money to get mine done and then I just helped my buddy lift his truck. New icon coilovers, UCA's, leafs, rear shocks. It took us about 9 hours but came out perfect. Wish I would have done it on my own truck. Would've saved a lot of money for other mods!

Make sure to have:
Long sockets
Torque wrench
ball joint separator tool (huge help)

 

I did mine myself with simple hand tools in the driveway. You just need (rent or buy) a jack that can lift it high enough and jack stands. It took me about 4h for the front and back and I didn't do the UCA. So a shop with a lift and right tools should be able to hammer it out in 2.5h max I don't know how they come up with 6!!! In my 4h was 30min for running to the hardwear store because my new u-bolts were a different size and I didn't have a socket big enough

 

do you have tools?

there are certainly "tricks of the trade" that make is more simple. but it is doable. i did mine. i had help, but mostly for the spring compressor attached to his garage wall. super cool dood. but i know i could have done it fine by myself. to pay the guy back, i went back several times to help out him and others do lifts. after awhile it got really easy. guy would assemble the strut assembly and i just toss it in before he could finish the other unit.

the rears are tricker in my opinion. there is a trick that uses ratchet straps. oh, and you more than likely will need one more floor jack than you own. haha.

 

Like others have said, doing this yourself is not that difficult especially since your coils are pre-assembled. The UCA would be the most difficult but only because you either have to cut the bolt heads off or bend a little bit of sheet metal. You'll just need basic hand tools, a torque wrench, C-clamps, jack stands, a floor jack (extra jack will be helpful but not necessary). Also torque UCA long bolt with the truck resting on its own weight. I forget exactly how much (somewhere between 80-90 ft.lbs) but I'm sure its easy enough to look for.

 

Definitely do it yourself. I would consider paying someone if:

• Your per hour take home is half what the mechanic charges or higher
• You simply don't have the spare time to do it yourself
• You absolutely must have your truck running in a short period of time

Otherwise just take your time and do it yourself. There are very little if any in the way of special tools required for a suspension. It is just a lot of parts - some of which are kind of heavy - and bolt turning. There are many threads and videos showing you exactly what you need to do. I'd write up your own installation instructions for yourself. Visualizing how it will all be done in advance will make it seem very doable.

Oh, and if you can get someone from TW to come by and help. But even if you can't, job is well within the reach of anyone with two functioning arms and some patience!

 

You can do it OP! Go for it. After you're done you're going to have the satisfaction of doing it and realize how much money you saved. It's not hard at all. On the UCA's just bend the body with a cloth and a adjustable wrench to get the body out of the way to get the bolt out. You will never see it afterwards, I didn't even bend mine back because you can't see it. I reused my UCA bolts but if you want to cut them then they are around $17 each at the dealer. I'd just pop the battery out, bend the body a little to clear the bolt and pull it out. Some will install it the opposite way when they reinstall but I just popped mine back in the way they came out. With the coil overs together all you will be doing is inserting them and tightening the bolts up. You won't need the diff drop on a 2nd ten. It would probably be a good idea to put in a Carrier Bearing drop for the driveshaft though. I'm guessing you have a full leaf pack? I'm not familiar with the ironman kit. The Dakar leaf's I installed went on really east though. My truck was also new though so you might want to get a set of bolts for the leaf hanger in case you have to cut yours off due to age.

 

I'll jump on with the do it yourself group.

I previously had an Nissan Xterra and did a suspension lift on my truck with a buddy in his driveway. Was a great learning experience and felt much more comfortable in the future if something broke that I would be able to handle it as I already knew how things were put together down there.

 

Totally agree. I found multiple sites and videos with how to get the suspension done including this one. I have little to no knowledge about wrenching tools in the car sense but I can follow directions well. Of course for the front suspension I had a friend's dad help me with the tools and stuff and we were able to get it done using the you tube videos on the subject. That alone helped me gain enough confidence to know what I was looking at during each one of my maintenance intervals. The rear struts I did myself and that was easy peasy compared to the front. Then I had another friend help me with the rear leaf pack (1. because he is stronger- OME leafs are HEAVY, and 2. he had done it before). Finally I replaced the UCAs myself using a video I found here. As long as you do it right, take your time and torque the bolts right, you will come away with confidence and definitely gratification. That way if something was to act up on the trail, at least I know what's under my truck!

 

Sounds great guys! I'm definitely going to try it. Keep up the suggestions, I'm writing them down.

 

I used this link... https://youtu.be/bbsTJgb6S_c
I don't agree with them that you can do it in 15 minutes- especially because anything but a brand new truck is gonna have some parts that are stuck and gonna need a bang or some PB blaster. Also, if I could have, I would have done the coilovers and UCAs all at the same time. Would have been so much easier I think. The parts list is pretty simple, watch the first few minutes of the video and they will detail what you need.

But using this video as a guide, I was able to complete my UCA swap in about 2 hours doing it all by myself and I'm not very strong! One big tool I would invest in is a torque wrench. Don't want to overtighten certain pieces or they will snap. And I have read on here that torque wrenches that you rent from auto stores are not reliable because dimwits who borrow them often use them as a breaker bar instead of what they are intended for which screws them up. Plus, once you start wrenching on your truck, you get better at it and you get more confident so you might as well invest in some tools because it probably won't be the last time! Have fun with it!

 

I'd hit all the nuts/bolts you need to remove with PB Blaster or Liquid Wrench or the like a couple of times a day for at least 3-4 days before you plan on doing the work. Not sure how bad the rust problem is where you are, but up in NY it helped a lot with getting the bolts loose on my old truck when doing a lift.