So tonight is the night that it all begins. A friend and I will begin to disassemble the front end of my 2000 4X4. To start, we will remove the lightbar, bumper, front fenders. Next step will be to remove the front suspension components. The DBR kit will require the removal of the stock shock mount, so that will be the point of no return. The kit from DBR is scheduled to arrive tomorrow by FedEX, so hopefully all will go as planned. This is a DD so it can not sit in the garage for too long. A couple of notes, since Aaron Dixon is waiting on parts for the front half shafts, I will be temporarily setting up the kit in 2WD mode. I am also waiting on springs for my King coil over shocks. A shipping error has delayed their arrival. I hope to have them by Saturday, but it might be Monday before they arrive.

Here are a few pictures of the truck in it's current form:

 

Sweet dude. Good luck with the build!

 

Run just the stubs from the stock CV's so the wheel bearings stay together. Good luck man.

 

Can't wait to see how this goes, good luck! Take plenty of pics.

 

Good luck. Can't wait to see the final outcome.

 

In a little over 5 hours, we shot some beginning photos:









Removed the light bar and front bumper:







Removed the front fenders. This was a pain since I had to partially detach the sliders to get access to the bottom bolts:







and removed the sway bar, brakes, hub shocks and anti-compression struts:







Good news is that the tracking report shows that the parts are on the truck for delivery! Bad news is that I am concerned about how the shock hoops are going to clear all of the stuff that is in the engine bay. Especially the hard lines that run to the AC. Only time will tell.

 

Are you going to re-use the RCD knuckles or go back to the stock ones?

Good luck with the install! I can't wait to see this thing done.

 

I'm pretty sure using the RCD knuckles with the DBR kit would throw the suspension's geometry way off. The kit is designed to use the stock knuckles.

 

That's what I thought.

 

AAAAAAA more pics! I want to see it installed!!!

 

You lookin to get rid of that skid plate? lol Cant wait to see this thing finished. Good luck with everything.

 

Looks really nice! One of these days we'll have to go wheeling together. Once my Ranger isn't my DD I'll either do the DBR kit or SAS I'm torn. It'll be a while until then though.

 

End of day 2 status report:

Started the day out by removing the RCD knuckle and factory A arms, drop brackets and front differential







Picture of the stock CV axles removed



Stock A arms next to the new DBR A arms



New shock hoop



Next we removed the stock shock mount and used a grinder to remove the excess metal from the frame







Test fitting the new shock hoop



Reinforcing the lower A arm mounts with 5/16" thick universal spacers from Ballistic Fabrication



Welding in the new shock hoops





Picture of the EGR valve on the 3.0L engine that makes it impossible for me to use the engine cross brace supplied by DBR. I guess that it is custom fab time.



New shock hoop welded in



A fresh coat of paint



Shocks ready to go for tomorrow



Hopefully tomorrow i will have four on the floor.

 

Excellent. Looks awesome!

 

Great progress. Looks beefy!

 

Pics NOW!!!!

 

damn looks good

 

Installation continues...

Upper and lower control arms, steering knuckle, bump stop and limit strap installed. I ordered the heim steering upgrade but it is out of stock so for now I am just running the tie rod extender.







Shock installed





Created custom remote reservoir mounts





Remote reservoir mounted. I will need to repaint the frame in this location.





Tires mounted, near full droop with jack stands still in place





Ready to drive









I still need to work on the alignment, as you can see the camber/caster is off by quite a bit and the truck will not self straighten out of a turn. The current ride height is similar to the RCD ride height. I started out with 1" of preload on a 16" 700# spring. I am going to back off the preload to a 1/2" inch and see how that affects the ride height and quality. Ultimately, I would like to have it set up a bit more neutral than it is right now. Fiberglass fenders are on hold for a bit until I decide who's glass to buy and what flair. I am leaning towards Glassworks 6" flair.

 

Oh man i am way jelous! thanks for the pics
makes me want dbr power!!!!

 

SO ummm I'm not up to date on all these kits... but are you not puttin back in the 4wd system? Can you with the kit or are you choosing not to?

 

Wow. That looks awesome!!

Will your tire clear the bumper?

 

Wow that was quick. Looks great.

 

i dont think iv ever seen your truck before, anyways looks good now that your done with the build

 

thas so incredibly nasty.

 

Yes he is retaining 4wd thats what the dbr kit is built for!