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Old 04-27-2015, 09:38 PM   #1
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CCV Torque arms/Lift kit

Before picture with a Ford stock rim and a 265 tire

After Same rim and a 285 tire

Overall lift about about 3 inches.
Project took a couple of weekends working in a condo complex, so it had to appear drive-able all the time to keep the parking police happy.

The project started by prepping the stock Quigley torque arm mounts. They need to be "clearanced for the johnny joints. The johhny joints are a bit larger in diameter than the Quigley ends. This involves removing the torque arms and drilling a 2 inch hole in the mount the squaring up the hole. I only got pictures of the holes before grinding. One of the 4 holes that I drilled and enlarged. Yes would have been quicker with a plasma cutter.

Then re-installing the stock Torque arms so it was drive-able.

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Old 04-27-2015, 09:47 PM   #2
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Re: CCV Torque arms/Lift kit

My next step was to install the rear lift. The "kit" comes with an add a leaf and a 2 inch block with the correct u-bolts. As I raised the van and dropped the rear diff the first thing I noticed was I would be stacking blocks. Seemed like a bad idea. More so since they were 2 different widths.

So I went to install the add a leaf supplied. Once installed I noticed that the add a leaf rubbed on the front curve of the leaf spring at the eye. Seemed bad. Remove the add a leaf and cut 1 1/2 inches off the end, and re-install, with the Quigley lift block.
My "hillybilly" way of installing the add a leaf. Not the safest method

Next a trip to the local 4x4 shop for a 5 3/4 inch block, until my new rear leaf springs arrive to eliminate the add a leaf and lift block
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Old 04-27-2015, 10:15 PM   #3
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Re: CCV Torque arms/Lift kit

Next up was the front. Not much in the way of pictures. Started by getting the front end up in the air and dropping the front diff down almost to the ground. Removing the shocks was a pain, Passenger side not to bad, Driver side not so much fun. Took Agile Offroad idea and drill a hole at the top of the mount to get a wrench in, made life a little easier. Next step removing the stock coil springs. Not that bad, remove the oversized bolt at the bottom of the spring and the retainer at the top and they come right out. Took a little more doing to get the new coil springs in, only because they were a bit taller. Re assembled to make it look drive-able for the parking police.
Sunday install the CCV Torque arms. When they are at there shortest length they are just a little longer than the stock Quigley arms. Was easy enough to just slip the front axle froward and get the CCV arms in. The problem I ran into was that the lower driverside johnny joint would not fit, as it hit the front diff. This required a die-grinder to smooth out the diff, along with removing a bit of the "lip" on the diff. Next step was to flatten out the johnny joint, as the bow out just a bit. Fun times.

Oh yeah did I forget to mention that the Johnny Joints are smaller, width wise than the Quigley joints. Another trip to a real hardware store.
New front shock install pretty simple.
Everything back on the ground, check that the new CCV arms are all about the same length longer (3/4 inch) than the Quigley arms, so alignment is some what in the ball park.
Test drive.
Damn it's making some funny noises. Took a bit to find the noise. The driverside coil spring in rubbing on the track bar mount.
Front end up in the air again, driver side coil spring out again. Getting good at this. Cut off wheel and a 7 inch grinder to remove the corner of the track bar mount. Grind smooth.
My van, the track bar mount has a 45 from the mount to the frame for support. I just removed/rounded over the corner. Bottom of the picture
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Old 04-27-2015, 10:34 PM   #4
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Re: CCV Torque arms/Lift kit

Front end more or less done, just needs a real alignment. Back to the rear. The new lift block came in so up in the air the rear goes again. Removed the stock shocks, much easier than the front, but still a pain. Dropped down the rear end, removed the Quigley block and installed the new bigger blocks. All back together, time for the shock install.
Shocks that I received from CCV


Whats wrong with this picture.
The front shocks were correct, one of the rear shocks was correct, no idea what the other shock was suppose to fit. I gave up calling/complain to CCV after 3 months of trying to get all the parts. He won, I just went ahead and ordered what I need to make the kit work from other vendors.
When I went to install the rear shock adapter it just didn't seem right. The bolt was to short to go through the left over stock rubber bushing, beside that didn't seem right to re use it. The bolt and washer supplied sort of had to much room to move around once you remove the rubber bushing from the old shock. So I made this.

Shock adapter, supplied, 3/16 inch thick "washer" to fill the hole left by the old rubber bushing, An earth quake washer, or that's what we called them (worked construction after a major California earth quake years ago) the supplied washer and the lock nut. Had I not been so frustrated with everything, I would have gotten out the welder and tacked in the home made 3/16 thick washer to fill the hole left by the old rubber grommet.
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Old 04-27-2015, 10:58 PM   #5
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Re: CCV Torque arms/Lift kit

Everything is drive-able so off to the tire shop for new tires and a real alignment. Went with a Cooper 285 75r16 tire on the stock Ford rim, pretty sure a 315 would have fit if I pushed the front axle a little more forward.

The ride is pretty good, feels like it really needs a wider rim for the tires as it does move around just a bit. I still need to install the front sway bay. I had to make new mounts for it. Dropped it down 2 inches and moved the mount forward about an inch or so. Just need another weekend or two.
I re-used the stock track bar, but have plans to replace it with a custom track bar.
The new rear leaf springs should be here in a couple of weeks, along with new brake lines. The front brake lines seem about right , but the back are to short. Noticed it when I installed the rear blocks. Need to keep all the wheels on the ground until I get the brake lines installed. No jumping the van.

Would I install longer Torque Arms again, probably, would I go through CCV, probably not. It took 3 month to get the parts that I got, and many phone calls. If he had shipped it out as fast as he billed my CC it would be a different story.
There are several vendors out there that can supply or install similar kits, and I would hope with a lot better customer service.
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Old 04-28-2015, 09:20 AM   #6
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Re: CCV Torque arms/Lift kit

Thanks for the detailed review. At some point I would like to upgrade my stock Quiqley arms. Nice to know different options people have used and their experiences, good or bad.
Eric
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Old 09-21-2015, 01:18 AM   #7
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Re: CCV Torque arms/Lift kit

Do you have a pick after the ujoint spring install and how did it handle after you put them on? I'm doing the same is why I'm asking. Thanks
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Old 10-21-2021, 08:48 AM   #8
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I’m building my own custom adjustable arms…is ¾” longer than stock the right number to aim for at minimum extension? I don’t want to have to change anything with the track bar if I can avoid it.
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Old 10-25-2021, 10:34 AM   #9
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do you have a spring retainer on the bottom of the coil spring at the axle? can you take a picture please? I have a CCV 4wd conversion, no retainer on the bottom and the spring pops out
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Old 10-25-2021, 11:11 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WillTheThri11 View Post
I’m building my own custom adjustable arms…is ¾” longer than stock the right number to aim for at minimum extension? I don’t want to have to change anything with the track bar if I can avoid it.
BTW, just for future reference so the internet has this knowledge, I talked to CCV and they are still willing to make these torque arms, but they don't stock them on their website or anywhere. I told them I was building my own and only had one end adjustable, they said that they do both ends adjustable and start with the stock length at it's minimum adjustment...they recommended for me that I start with 3/4" longer than stock at my minimum adjusted length.
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