My Experience: Weldtec Design Grocery Getter

[ScrapIron]

I dont think youre understanding what these are. The relocation plates are not angled, the angled pieces are pinion angle shims.

[E-350]

I understand what you mean. Main question to me: driveshaft is connected to the axle as well as the gear box, right? So moving the axle forward, doesn’t it need a “shorter driveshaft”?! Something else has to compensate the shorter length.

My idea was:
The spacer I have is slightly angled. So I can have the higher side forward or backwards facing, while the axle is “rotating around the kardan link”.
Having the higher side to the front I turn the axle “counterclock wise” looking from the driver side.
Having the higher side to the rear it would rotate the axle slightly clock wise and might therefore clear the rear wheel well.
Or am I thinking conpletely wrong?!?

[ScrapIron]

Just rotating the axle housing alone doesnt accomplish anything other than changing your pinion angle. Unless the centering pin/bolt location is moved forward or backwards all you are accomplishing is rotating the housing on the same axle centerline.

In otherwords all youre accomplishing by rotating the housing on the same centerline is changing your pinion angle/driveshaft angle in relation to the transmission. This can cause drivetrain vibrations and in extreme cases actually cause damage to the drivetrain. Rotating the housing on the same centerline does not change the axle centerline. The axle centerline has to be relocated by moving that pin/bolt forward or back.

Any change in axle centerline you might realize using an angled spacer would be minuscule at best if any.

[1der]

Great write up!

There is is "some" play in the driveshaft slip yoke into the the transmission. With a lift where the rear axle has moved down through a vertical plane then the trans to diff distance has actually increased and the yoke is not as far in to the trans as pre lift. By repositioning (using the offset plate) the entire axle forward then yes the distance will be shorter and the yoke will sit into the trans a bit deeper.

You can test the limits by disconnecting your driveshaft from the diff and determine how much range of slip in and out is available. Keep in mind that as the axle moves straight up through its compression this distance will get shorter. Conversely when the axle sags the distance gets longer. The slip range at the trans needs to accommodate this variation without fully disengaging and falling out of the trans or compressing so much that the yoke bottoms out and something is stressed or breaks.

[martinli]

@E-350 I really wonder why it is necessary to cut something on the I-Beam for the 35's since there seems to be no need when using 33's.
The bigger tire should not make a difference regarding I-Beam and up- down travel.
Or I'm completely wrong?


cheers, Martin

[E-350]

Originally Posted by martinli

@E-350 I really wonder why it is necessary to cut something on the I-Beam for the 35's since there seems to be no need when using 33's.
The bigger tire should not make a difference regarding I-Beam and up- down travel.
Or I'm completely wrong?


cheers, Martin

„Fairly“ easy: WeldTec moves the radius arm rackets further back for 35“s. Can provide an exact answer but eventually it is a) about the fact that the front doesn‘t sit exactly in the middle of the well or b) it‘s just needed for fully turning your tire.

Perhaps Weldtec can answer directly?

[martinli]

@E-350
my understanding is the other way around. In order to get better turning radius and more clearance on the back of the tire you have to try to move the radius arm bracket more forward to the front. This is also stated in Weldtecs installation instruction.
There they use 10" as the recommended distance from the bracket to the body mount.
My bracket is located 9.84" (25cm) from body mount.


So if you have the axle as far as possible to the front there should be no difference between 33" and 35" tires regarding the I-beam clearance.

[rizzabove]

I installed one of these kits on my van last winter. I used the 35” tire measurements. The I beams are pushed forward for the larger tires to clear the van body in the rear of the fender well. Doing so, You need to grind out a little bit of the drivers side I beam to clear the bolt head that hold the passenger I beam to the frame.

[E-350]

Sorry! Massed up forward with backwards in my writing. 10" backwards from the original mount for 33s and 9 3/8" for 35".

BTW: There is also a video from Weldtec "How to Fit 35s on Your Ford Econoline Van" and there it's explained what do to in order to fit 35".

[lmpetersen]

I appreciate this write up and I am sure it will be helpful for people considering this lift kit in the future. I was seeking this type of write up when I was looking to buy as well.

I also ended up with the 6" Weldtec Performance kit on my 2011 e350, and also got the rear springs and went with King shocks instead of the Fox. I absolutely agree that the communication was lacking and here is my 14 cents on the subject:

The first time I called Weldtec, Jeremy answered the phone and he talked to me for 45 minutes. Obviously he has a lot of passion for the product and this was the reason I chose this kit. But after that first conversation, the communication was just not consistent. It was not bad...or shady...it just seemed to take a long time to get basic answers to my (probably dumb) questions. Yes, everyone is busy. But, when someone spends this kind of money for a DIY kit I feel that there should be a built in process for answering lots of questions. I would still recommend the kit for its quality, but just have realistic expectations going into it to avoid frustration.

As for the install, I had a local shop do it just because I work on motorcycles but cars/trucks just overwhelm me and I wanted to ensure the safety of my wife and tiny passengers. The shop installing said this was an excellent product and the installation took one day. They did recommend limit straps too, so I would factor that into an installation.

Like the original poster, we also got the rear springs and it took FOREVER, but they didnt ship the kit until the rear spring arrived so that was nice to just have it all together. The rear springs are, IMHO, a must-have with this kit to avoid axle wrap and to have a super comfy ride. Overall, we are very happy with the end result. The van gets a lot of attention now (not a good thing for some people) and although we have not truly tested it yet it has gotten us everywhere we wanted to go so far. We will add a locker in the future, as well as onboard air.

I am not trying to hijack this thread either, just wanted to supplement this excellent write up with some supporting info to have it all in one place.