Yes, I searched. LOTS of questions with virtually no answers. I'll add info as I discover it. Please add what you can. I want a 3/2 lift and will run 33" tires. Truck will be used for local city driving, dirt roads and occasional off roading.

1. I just picked up a '98 EB 4X4 with torsion bar front and air ride rear. Lots of kits out there with torsion lift keys and rear spring spacers, but NONE of them (that I found) mention or offer longer shocks. Bilstein does list any, and I'm not a fan of Rancho.

2. None of the kits mention if the rear spacers can be used with the stock air ride. I'll assume not, so I'll be ordering spring replacements to be safe as I hate doing things twice.

3. I've seen two mentions here on FTE of converting bags to coils and the truck sitting lower than stock but no mention of brand of kit. Not ideal while I'm trying to lift the truck.

Any experience added is certainly appreciated and will shorten my learning curve... and others.

 

Fifty views, no replies. Seems this is a subject in need of some serious information. I'll post as I learn more. Wish me luck.

 

Subscribing.

Personally, I can't imagine lifting one of these, but I am always interested in what others do.

I'm sorry, I have relatively little to offer. I've only ever lowered cars, never lifted a truck.

 

Thanks meborder.

The more research I do the more I'm realizing that you can't lift with stock bags... at least with what's available over the counter.

Another guy lifted his Expy a few months ago and ran Bilsteins. He's going to find the part numbers and I'll pass them along here.

I just picked up a set of 20x9 Incubus wheelsfor $250. Not at all what I would have chosen, but for the price who cares? So the serch is on for all terrain tires.

 

Just ordered a set of Mastercraft Courser AXT 275/65R20's for the Expy. They measure 34" so I may have to do some trimming.

Will order the rear springs and spacers later today, and see if I can get enough lift out of my stock torsion keys before ordering a set. Wish me luck.

 

Okay fellas, a member on another forum notified me that Supreme Suspensions has a 3/2 lift INCLUDING longer Bilstein shocks, part number 18405.

I looked at my torsion keys earlier and the drivers side is adjusted fairly high. I don't think I can get 2+ inches out of it so I'll go ahead and buy the keys in the kit. Here's the link to the Supreme parts... Full Lift Kit & Bilstein Shocks for 97-02 Ford Expedition

Also, I'm going to convert from rear bags to coils and am going to use the Westar Industries CK-7809. Don't know if this link will stay up forever, but Amazon has them for $112.52 with free shipping. At least with the info you can always locate them if the link doesn't work.

Hope to post progress next week.

 

One step forward, two steps back. There was a problem getting the Mastercraft AXT's so I opted for some Nexen Rodian AT's in 275/60R20. They're 33.0 inches in diameter and fit with no rubbing on stock suspension.

Lift kit is here, coil conversion arrived today. With any luck I'll be able to make the two work together.

Also, if its any help to anyone Bilstein shocks that arrived that are supposedly for this series Expedition with a 3/2 lift are 24-185202 and XXXXXXXXXXX. (EDITED - THEY SENT THE WRONG FRONT SHOCKS AND THEY'RE 4" TOO SHORT. I'LL CORRECT THIS WHEN I HAVE A CORRECT NUMBER. ALSO, I PM'ED THOSE WHO HAD INQUIRED.)

I'll report back more later this week.

 

Thanks for the Bilstein part numbers. I just got done installing my Supreme Suspension 2.5" spacers and coincidentally, the Rancho RS5000 with 32k miles seemed to go out (or at least the left rear for sure).

 

Glad that helped.

 

Some updates for those interested.

1. YES, you can convert your air spring suspension to coils AND do a lift at the same time. I suspected it would work and gambled.





2. My rear lift measures 4 7/8" over where it was previously. Don't be alarmed, my bags were sagging. I figured this would be the case before I ordered anything.




3. 33" tires fit on stock (even sagging) suspension without rubbing. I wish I'd gone bigger knowing the lift was sitting in the garage.




I finished the rear lift at 1:00 AM with the help of my son and a good friend. Took four hours of trying to figure out a better way to do it. Remember, I wasn't certain this would work.

Front lift (torsion keys) should be tomorrow.



The numbers above the wheel wells are the stock measurements written in dry erase marker. This way I can easily reference the lift amount and adjust if necessary.



Aaaaand we threw the floor jack under the front to get an idea of what 3" of lift will look like. Looks like it needs 4 or 5.

I'll get better pics tomorrow. It's coming along from the ugly soccer mom car it was last week.



Will be getting a prerunner style light bar for thr front bumper with three round 7" HID lights and a roof rack/basket with light bars on the front and sides. I do a lot of coyote hunting and want to light up the night occasionally.

More to come.

 

Daytime shot of the stink bug look. Hope I have time to do the front tonight, this looks silly driving around.

 

Done.


So I answered my own question, you CAN swap bags for springs and add lift spacers. I'm into this pwhole project under $4000 including wheels, tires, shocks, lift, coil conversion, fuel pump, plugs, boots and recharging the AC.

That includes the $2300 price of the truck three weeks ago.

Next up? Prerunner light bar with three 7" HID's, a roof rack and a light bar.

I hope this helped someone because I couldn't find ANY information that this combination was possible, including from the lift manufacturers or coil spring conversion manufacturers.

 

Supreme Suspensions called yesterday. There is no Bilstein front shock for this lift, but there IS a Pro Comp shock. They shipped it Saturday, I'll post more info when it arrives. They're also sending me a $20 refund.

I'm a little disappointed that I'll have mismatched shocks, but their customer service has been exceptional.

 

UGH. The ProComps arrived. They're 3" too short. Back to Supreme Suspensions they go.

 

I've got my own findings.

I bought a set of Bilstein 24-185202 and tried to install them. Here's what I found:

Old Rancho and new Bilstein are about the same size. Both are shown at full extension.

Here's the problem:

This shock is also at full extension- and the truck is at normal ride height. See how there's no room for down travel? The Bilsteins are actually a hair shorter.

Since finding info on Bilsteins seems to be impossible, I went back to Rancho. Their website lists all sorts of info and options. Plus they claim to be made in the USA.

Enter the solution: RS55112



These shocks are intended for 4" lift, but my measurements indicate they will work just fine for my 2.5" lift.

The old Ranchos could by "played" like an accordion. They were beyond shot. The ride sucked as a result. The new Ranchos are stiff like they should be and the ride is great.

I may need to do the front now.