I bought the hazard sky 2" leveling kit and the mfc relocation brackets, here is what I have learned from doing the front (the rears are tomorrow):
- each axle is a little different
- I bought the mfc relocation brackets and I ended up needing to mount them differently on each side to give me the best room with the abs line and brake lines. Also the nylon locking nuts are easy to cross thread and I had to cut one off and buy more. I am very glad I bought the relocation brackets, I don't think doing the lift is a good idea without them. This was mainly because I could not move the rubber things that hold the lines in place (I've seen some people online were able to slide them, they would not slide at all for me, even with some oil). Without the brackets the brake and abs lines get pulled really tight when you turn the wheel to the full lock. I also ended up flipping one of the rubber things upside down on the abs line near the inside of the arch which worked to give me more slack.
- the plastic arch liner is different between left and right. On the left front of my vehicle there is an opening in front of the cv halfshaft axle. On the right there is extra plastic there that the brake line rubs on.
- Lowering the knuckles on the strut the full "2" inches (it's actually not a full 2 inches based on my hazard sky lift kit but I think it was supposed to be at least 1.5 inches) is impossible. I used a block of wood and mallet and banged on the knuckle, jumped on it, etc. I then also used a macpherson spring compressor and compressed the spring on the strut which helped me get a little more lift (note, on the right of my vehicle the strut compressors have less clearance, they were scraping up inside the strut housing at the top). The best I could do was 1.125 inches on the left (28.575mm) and 1 inch (25.4mm) on the right. The lower control arm on my vehicle will not go any further down to allow for more lift. Also I had to be careful not to move anything because that would cause the knuckle to slide back up on the strut and then I had to start over (happened a bunch of times). Obviously the cv axle and lower control arm don't like being pushed that much lower and want to slide back up. Hopefully it's not a big deal that there is a 1/8" (3mm) height difference between left and right sides. If I care enough in the future I may attempt to lower the one side to fix the 3mm of extra lift. Also, I only got 1 strut collar for each side with my kit (didn't pay for two) and in retrospect that was good because I don't have room for a second collar anyway.
- do not attempt to drill out the plate that is sitting inside the knuckle. I drilled it out on the left side and it ruined 3 carbon steel drill bits before it finally drilled through. Instead just pull it out of the way with some locking pliers.
- there is not a lot of clearance to get wrenches or sockets on there. In the future I will buy an impact gun to hopefully make my life easier. Instead I used various sizes of wrenches and sockets, breaker bar, and a torque wrench. Torquing the knuckle bolt to 89 ft/lbs is tough by hand. I also had a buddy help me. I didn't have the strength to undo or torque down that bolt myself. A second set of hands was useful at times.
- it took me way longer than I expected. Just the front took about 6 hours. I expect the rear will take me at least 4 hours.
Overall I am pretty happy with how it came out but I still haven't put the wheels on and taken a drive yet. My concerns are mainly whether or not the 1/8" of lift difference between the front sides is going to be noticeable or problematic (I doubt it). Plus since in the US we are left hand drive perhaps my extra weight on the left side of the vehicle will lower the suspension the 3mm to make everything level lol. Also whether or not the lift will stick. I have concerns it will fall at least back down to the strut collar, which in my case would mean falling 1/4" on one side and 1/8" on the other.
The rears are tomorrow.
- each axle is a little different
- I bought the mfc relocation brackets and I ended up needing to mount them differently on each side to give me the best room with the abs line and brake lines. Also the nylon locking nuts are easy to cross thread and I had to cut one off and buy more. I am very glad I bought the relocation brackets, I don't think doing the lift is a good idea without them. This was mainly because I could not move the rubber things that hold the lines in place (I've seen some people online were able to slide them, they would not slide at all for me, even with some oil). Without the brackets the brake and abs lines get pulled really tight when you turn the wheel to the full lock. I also ended up flipping one of the rubber things upside down on the abs line near the inside of the arch which worked to give me more slack.
- the plastic arch liner is different between left and right. On the left front of my vehicle there is an opening in front of the cv halfshaft axle. On the right there is extra plastic there that the brake line rubs on.
- Lowering the knuckles on the strut the full "2" inches (it's actually not a full 2 inches based on my hazard sky lift kit but I think it was supposed to be at least 1.5 inches) is impossible. I used a block of wood and mallet and banged on the knuckle, jumped on it, etc. I then also used a macpherson spring compressor and compressed the spring on the strut which helped me get a little more lift (note, on the right of my vehicle the strut compressors have less clearance, they were scraping up inside the strut housing at the top). The best I could do was 1.125 inches on the left (28.575mm) and 1 inch (25.4mm) on the right. The lower control arm on my vehicle will not go any further down to allow for more lift. Also I had to be careful not to move anything because that would cause the knuckle to slide back up on the strut and then I had to start over (happened a bunch of times). Obviously the cv axle and lower control arm don't like being pushed that much lower and want to slide back up. Hopefully it's not a big deal that there is a 1/8" (3mm) height difference between left and right sides. If I care enough in the future I may attempt to lower the one side to fix the 3mm of extra lift. Also, I only got 1 strut collar for each side with my kit (didn't pay for two) and in retrospect that was good because I don't have room for a second collar anyway.
- do not attempt to drill out the plate that is sitting inside the knuckle. I drilled it out on the left side and it ruined 3 carbon steel drill bits before it finally drilled through. Instead just pull it out of the way with some locking pliers.
- there is not a lot of clearance to get wrenches or sockets on there. In the future I will buy an impact gun to hopefully make my life easier. Instead I used various sizes of wrenches and sockets, breaker bar, and a torque wrench. Torquing the knuckle bolt to 89 ft/lbs is tough by hand. I also had a buddy help me. I didn't have the strength to undo or torque down that bolt myself. A second set of hands was useful at times.
- it took me way longer than I expected. Just the front took about 6 hours. I expect the rear will take me at least 4 hours.
Overall I am pretty happy with how it came out but I still haven't put the wheels on and taken a drive yet. My concerns are mainly whether or not the 1/8" of lift difference between the front sides is going to be noticeable or problematic (I doubt it). Plus since in the US we are left hand drive perhaps my extra weight on the left side of the vehicle will lower the suspension the 3mm to make everything level lol. Also whether or not the lift will stick. I have concerns it will fall at least back down to the strut collar, which in my case would mean falling 1/4" on one side and 1/8" on the other.
The rears are tomorrow.
