Sold Bronze Bonnie and Black Betty now BS and random questions

I plan on doing this the week before my lift goes in just to get it done....I'm fairly competent but I'm worried I won't be able to get my damn CV out and then back in. I also plan on jacking the driver's side up higher so I don't lose as much oil (I just replaced it).

 

Once I take the wheel off I put the jack under the lower ball joint bolt and jack everything up. This helps getting the axle in and out. You'll probably have to tap the axle loose so I suggest you don't just start banging on the end or you'll round over the threads like I did. Put the nut back on and tap to pop it loose.
It's not to to bad. Loosen the two bolts that hold the ball joint to the spindle. Loosen the sway bar link. Loosen the tie rod. Remove the hub dust cover and loosen axle nut. Dislodge the axle. Then remove all of the bolts and nuts. Should be able to push the axle towards the truck while pulling on the entire spindle assembly outwards, and then you turn it as if it's making a hard left and should be able to feed the axle out the rest of the way. The entire spindle assembly should then be able to balance on the lower control arm. Here it's tricky. You need to get the axle out of the dif. Requires a decent size pry bar and maybe a small hammer. Need to pry and rotate the axle to get the c-clip to disengage. Once it pops free. You can then pull it all the way out. You are going to loose oil regardless so have a drip pan at the ready. Remove the needle bearing replace with bushing (I don't stress enough stick the damn thing in the freezer and it will go in so easily). Replace the axle and just do the reverse assembly. When I topped off the oil in mine it took like 6 or 8 pumps on the little hand pump that screws on top of the gear oil bottle

 

So initial impression of the STMaxx is holy shit these things are awesome.(so much tread depth!)
Second is they aren't that much taller, but I know once they are on the truck it should be noticeable.

 

Can't wait to see them in your truck! 255/80R17?

 

Yup! 255/80R17s. Shooting to get them on before Friday. Might call in sick tomorrow afternoon haha

 

It's before Friday.....are they on yet????

 

Lol leaving work early tomorrow to get it done

 

I'm very interested in how these will look and work (i.e. if they rub. etc.) with the 1" Bora spacers.

 

Yeah I'm hoping it won't haha worst case I'll just pop them off

 

I'm gonna apologize now for the night pictures haha gonna get better ones in the morning. First impressions are they def are a hair louder but still quiet for the aggressive pattern. The shop set them to 34psi which I think is a hair high so I'll drop it down in the AM. No rubbing noticed yet but leaning towards taking the spacers off
Other then that I'm liking these a lot. No real noticeable power loss. Think the manual helps that

 

Took some bad pics if that counts? Haha getting better ones up tomorrow

 

Some slightly better photos. At least it's light out this time. So dropped the tire pressure to 30 in the rear and 31.5 in the front (was shooting for 32 but the one side went lower haha)
I like the looks of it that's for sure fills the fenders out nicely. I can't play wth the spacers till next week since I'm going on my honeymoon Sunday for 7 days.

 

Oh those looks good with the lift!!!!

Why do you think you'll lose the spacers? Are the tires rubbing?

Have fun on your honeymoon!

 

Nothing is rubbing as far as I can tell. But haven't had the chance to really flex the front around and have a sneaky suspicion it's gonna rub on the back side of the fender.
But besides that I love how they look on the truck. Really fills the fenders up but still has useable uptravel

Thanks man! Looking forward to it

 

How has the driving (i.e. gearing) been with the taller tires? Is it that noticeable and do you find yourself using a lower gear (3rd now instead of 4th)?

 

Road manners is going to take a little getting used to. Haven't run such a narrow tire in a while and the nubs haven't worn off yet so still needs to get broken in.
It doesn't want to hunt for gears but I have noticed going up hills I need to hold the lower gear a bit longer. And passing someone on the highway took a bit more down shifting to get the job done. But just normal driving it's alright. I topped the tank off so shall see how the fuel economy is gonna be affected by this

 

So some updates. So far have around 550-600 or so miles on the new tires. Liking them a lot. I've had it anywhere from highway cruising at 70mph to back roads. Fuel economy wise I haven't noticed a single difference from the 265/70R17 Falkens. So essentially I put a lift and bigger tires with no fuel impact from the previous setup. I've been averaging 19mpg right now. Highway I think I was doing 70-72 forgot to GPS verify it. Around town and commuting to work over the hills it's 18.5-19mpg. Doing some lawn mower towing it pulled it down to 14mpg which was expected.
The Coopers are pretty awesome though. Yes they are louder then the Falkens and def louder then stock. But it isn't ear bleeding and few extra turns on the radio makes you not notice it. Tires grip extremely well in all the rain we've had and eats up dirt roads lovely. The little tire nubs from the factory have finally worn off the top (which took over 500 miles) so if that's any sign for how long these last it's a very good sign.

Also so tonight scored a craigslist deal on a year old soft topper. So hopefully get that on soon. The bed cover that came with the truck is starting to leak and the stitching is blowing out. Plus I never like tri folds anyways. So super excited to get this on