Remi Raptor Build

[JAndreF321]

I started getting some stuff in and getting stuff done.

Husky Liners







I had decided to buy Weathertech and in the middle of the direct purchase I thought I’d check Stage3motorsports and find out if it was cheaper…The Weathertech were more expensive but the Husky Liners were on sale so I went with them. From the pictures the main difference was that the Weathertech covered an extra few inches under the front seats and also had full grip lines in the back. The difference didn’t bother me. They seem solid, though I may trim a bit in the front passenger.


Dog Ramp






I had a ramp that we were using for the tailgate and it is 6 ft long. The underside has 6 rivet nuts hammered into the moulding. I’m not sure why those nuts were there but I found that they were 8mm and I used them to secure two aluminum square poles. I needed heavy gauge metal for the platform so I had to use sheet steel and paint it. Everything got bolted down and I filled a gap with aluminum sheet metal and taped over everything with grip tape from Lowes. I used long bolts for hooks and was able to get it to work.

The rivet nuts farthest from the edge was taking the pressure and ended up pulling out so I drilled all the way through and secured it with larger bolts. The length was still too short, but will work with a supporting box on the bottom. I couldn’t go longer and get the setup to fit in the truck bed.


Eibach Springs



My springs arrived today, the Timbren bumpstops come Wednesday, and the bump stop pads arrive…sometime? Forged Off-Road hasn’t given me an update yet; I didn’t think they were made to order.

 

[hdvvraptor]

great write up enjoyed your thoughts behinds all your modifications, looking forward to reading more as your build continues. enjoy!

 

[TheInfamousDrew]

Hey, truck looks amazing! Question on the eye liner (lol)

Did you cut the vinyl yourself or did you buy them from somewhere?

 

[JAndreF321]

Hey, truck looks amazing! Question on the eye liner (lol)

Did you cut the vinyl yourself or did you buy them from somewhere?

I think there are a couple websites that sell them. I liked the idea so I bought some vinyl on Amazon and cut to fit before peeling and applying. It was really hard though. I imagine the ones you buy are thick and maybe easier to apply?

 

[TheInfamousDrew]

I think there are a couple websites that sell them. I liked the idea so I bought some vinyl on Amazon and cut to fit before peeling and applying. It was really hard though. I imagine the ones you buy are thick and maybe easier to apply?

Did you cut it by hand or use a Cricut? I always design and cut vinyl with ours.

 

[JAndreF321]

Did you cut it by hand or use a Cricut? I always design and cut vinyl with ours.

I did it by hand...looked up cutters after Messing up several times, but they were kinda expensive and seemed like I’d need to learn a whole new hobby

 

[JAndreF321]

Lots of disappointment this week. After watching some videos and reading around I decided to go for it and order the Icon leaf springs. I got a call a couple days later saying that the company I ordered from was sold out…apparently Deaver makes Icons and they are both back ordered? Anyway, I found another company with them in stock, Offroadalliance.com. Those guys were super friendly, knowledgeable and helped me out...kinda wish I ordered everything through them now. Updates:

Timbren Active Off-Road Sump Stops: Stage3motorsports sent me the SES ones on accident and said they could not order the correct bump stop. This was after me calling 3 times to make sure they sent me the correct ones and they still sent me the wrong ones. The guy seemed annoyed too; I’m sure everyone is really busy with everything shut down for so long. I ended up ordering from 4wheelparts and should be delivered Thursday.



Eibach front springs: They’re in, but not sure when I’m getting the leaf packs so I’m gonna wait to install.

Forged Off-Road bump strike plates: They replied back to me saying they were sold out but making more and they would ship this past Friday. Haven’t gotten a shipping notice, but hopefully soon.

Icon Leaf Springs: Supposed to ship Monday. I didn’t realize these were freight and came on a pallet. Liftgate delivery made this choice a little more expensive.



I had some time this weekend so decided to fix my crappy rattle can paint job on the tow hooks. I had originally stripped them down and painted using an enamel paint…which wore off while installing and continued to chip. I decided to go standard G2 blue and brush on the paint. This stuff is awesome and very tough, but difficult to apply and the brush they give you is garbage like everyone says. Last second, I decided to scuff the rear hooks and apply there also. The paint was too thick at that point and it didn’t come out too well. At least the front look decent now.

After crappy Paint Job:



After wire wheel cleaning:



After G2 Brake Cleaner:



After new paint job:







After curing, we took her and the dogs to the beach!

 

[JAndreF321]

4wheelparts sent me the right Bumpstop! Got a chance to install the Timbren Active Off-Road Bumpstops yesterday. I jacked up the truck a bit, took off the old bumpstops with a 13mm socket and then installed the Timbren bracket and stop using 8mm Allen key. The stock bumpstop had a behind load of blue thread locker so I used some on the Timbren Bracket. The Timbren bumpstop itself bolts into a threadlocking nut which is welded onto the bracket. At ride height, and with about 500lbs in the rear I only have 1.5-2” clearance from bumpstop to bumpstop pad. I actually felt them impact while driving off my driveway. Felt a little odd, like training wheels softly contacting.


















Side note: I was surprised to find that 3 ton jack stands were too small for the truck. Luckily I had some old Harbor Freight jack stands that I returned under recall and bought some 6 ton ones from O'Reilly's. I ordered a Pro Eagle Extension and pad to work with HF jack eventually.

 

[JAndreF321]

Gents,

I finally got everything in to do the rear springs on Remi. (Sorry, I took measurement pics, but not a before pic).





This took me about 6 hrs total to do and I did it all by myself. It took 3.5hrs for the first side (Driver) and 1.5hrs for the second side, then about an hour to reattach the shocks, wheels, lower, and torque.

Icon Leaf Springs:

This time did not include the extra time for swapping out the springs on the Icon Leaf Pack. I went with option 2 on the Icons which meant replacing a leaf with a thicker and longer one. The Icons come with instructions and they are easy to follow. I’ll note that the picture online is deceiving because the kit also comes with a leaf separator, new bolts, and a longer leaf pack clamp. These are necessary parts, and my delivery was actually missing one. I gave Offroad Alliance a call and they shipped within an hour and the missing parts were at my house 2 days later.



Raising and Supporting the Truck:

The Icon instructions said to lift the whole backend for this installation. I bought a Pro Eagle jack lift plate and 8” extension and was planning to use it on a new 2 ton HF jack, but HF was sold out and I ended up installing it on a 3 ton shop jack to help with this install. I definitely needed the extra height for jacking at the hitch. I found that my new 6 ton jack stands were still way too short for holding up the rear end at the hitch bar so I had to put them forward at the frame. This was an issue because I couldn’t put them at the spring pocket and when on the frame itself the whole truck teetered backward. I settled with leaving the stands on the frame and leaving the jack on the hitch. For extra safety I stacked the tires under the rear end.







DIY:

I was planning on using Keep it Dirty Off-Road’s DY video, but there were a few differences in the installation: They didn’t’ have exhaust on, or a spare, and they already have after market springs on. Additionally, the Icon Instructions are thorough and provided different torque specs.



Issues:

The main issue I ran into was the Forged Offroad Bump Stop Pad compatibility. I put everything together with the pad under the springs and bolts in the perch before realizing that the holes were too small and close together for the ubolts. I had to pull it apart, drill out the holes, paint, and reinstall. I then realized that they were large enough for the ubolts, but still too close together. I had to then pull everything apart again, drill a larger hole, paint, and reinstall. The holes were originally 9/16 and I had to drill out to 11/16. The Icon rebound spring also has a rubber spacer which gets in the way of the ubolts. I had to cut notches to make it fit and allow the ubolts to go through the bumpstop pad plate holes.







An additional issue was the Driver side front spring bolt. This bolt was ridiculously hard to cut through, though this could have been my saw blades. I used thick metal cutting 6” blades in a reciprocating saw. It took me 5 blades, multiple times bending the blades back, and about 40mins to get the bolt cut enough to bend and break it. I used a diamond blade on an angle grinder for the passenger side and it cut right through.

If you’re doing this alone, don’t use a creeper, or you will roll around while trying to uninstall/reinstall the leaf springs, which are very heavy and difficult to maneuver while installing with the spare and exhaust on.

Lift:

The truck lifted up about 4.25 inches at the hitch and 3.25 inches at the rear fenders. This was after dropping it, rolling it back and forth, and the final torqueing. I have between 450-500lbs in the back with decked system, rack, RTT, and gear.

 

[JAndreF321]

Gents,

I had the time this weekend to install the Eibach springs on Remi.

BEFORE:


AFTER:


NOTES:

I used the Keep It Dirty Off-road YouTube video for reference when doing this, but did a few things differently:

1) You don’t have to stay in the wheel well the whole time and can pop the hood for visibility and to reach strut bolts and live valve clip. There are still a few that you need to reach from the wheel well though on the passenger side due to the battery.



2) I didn’t need a flex head wrench for anything from the wheel well, and the only nut difficult to reach from the wheel well was the passenger front strut bolt, which is blocked by the intake.

3) You can easily remove the dust shield and make space for yourself. The Dust shield hooks onto the strut center bolt and also clips into the frame. It will help a lot to remove this.

4) When the keep it dirty guy says the upper control arm is spring loaded, it is really just the bushing. You should support the spindle from below then loosen the upper control arms to help reinstallation, and because their resting height will change. Loosen them just enough to allow them to move down to reconnect to the spindle. After reinstalling everything, don’t torque the lower strut mount or the upper control arm until you drop the vehicle and roll it back and forth. This will ensure that the bushings are torqued in the correct resting location and prevent premature wear and tear.


5) I removed the struts in my driveway and then was able to use a local DIY shop’s spring compressor to swap out the springs. This was pretty quick and painless, but the orientation of the upper strut mount will change so you MUST mark the correct orientation before removing the old springs. Once you get the new spring compressed, put the strut and upper mount in the spring, and rotate the mount clockwise until it aligns with your marking.





HEIGHT:

I didn’t measure the old ride height first, but after driving the truck around it is sitting around 42” in the front. This is ¾” lower than the rear. I’m hoping they settle a bit more and I get some more rake. The Icons have settled about ½” over 100 miles.

FRONT:


REAR:


IMPRESSIONS:

I have been taking it easy with the truck lately and pretty disappointed since adding the decked, rack, and tent. The truck swayed a lot and just felt boring. After swapping in the Icons I gained more confidence, but the oversteer and sway was still there. With the Eibachs, this thing is back to sport car status, the steering is stiffer, and I can take corners at speed with confidence. The Icons were still the biggest change though. I kept reading “you won’t regret getting icons/deavers,” and everyone was right. The rear end behavior is much more predictable and linear.


EXTRAS:

I few new things I got for Remi are a road shower, Car2Play wireless carplay adapter, and new HF 2 ton aluminum jack. The wife kept complaining about the difficulty washing dishes and I thought the road shower would be useful for dishes and rinsing the dogs, SUPs, dive gear, etc. I bought and RCI bike mount and used that to mount the road shower. We haven’t really used it yet, but I did fill her up and pressurize it. The release valve goes off at around 58psi for me and that pressure is probably stronger than my normal house hose. The wireless carplay adapter is fantastic, seemless integration, great sound, autoconnect, no drop. The only annoying thing is that it takes about 10 seconds to connect and while it is connecting there is this cheap looking Chinese loading screen on the display while connecting. I still think it is 100% worth the convenience of wireless carplay. The jack does not allow the Pro Eagle jack pad to install without modification. The interior diameter of the pad is too small and the jack’s mounting point is too tall. I ended up carefully dremeling out the inside of the pad for a perfect fit, but no solution for the height yet. I’ll have to figure out a spacer option. Otherwise, the jack is awesome, very lightweight compared to my massive 3-ton shop jack. It has no problem lifting the truck from the sides, I’m not sure about a center point lift yet.









Side Note: I bought the Car2Play device because I got used to my wife’s X3 having wireless carplay, but was disappointed by the Ford’s resolution. I know Sync 3 is very old, but massive difference between google maps on BMW’s high-resolution display and Ford’s little pixilated screen. I wish there was a screen upgrade that didn’t require installing an android unit.