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Puruse my retroactive build-thread chronicling the transformation of my sedate 2013 Platinum SuperCrew "Long Bed" 4WD 6.2L into a serious off-road Dirt Diggler!
I thought I would be writing this much later rather than sooner, but with the corona-virus lockdowns keeping us cooped up for so long, my immediate family started cruising the local off-road adventures to pass the time. They each got Lexus GX 460 SUVs at the beginning of the year, the supposed ultimate Toyota overlanding machine. And they both started modding them immediately with Icon Dynamics adjustable 2.5" CDCV coilovers, piggback rear shocks, Delta Upper Control arms, CBI steel bumper with skid plates for armor, and shoed with Falken Wildpeaks AT3W 33's on 17" rims. These short-wheelbase rides were now very capable of handling terrain that my long bed couldn't come close to tackling. Armed with only RCI Metalworks skid plates that were taking a severe beating, I realized that my stocker Platinum just didn't have the minerals to traverse some of the gnarly trails we've come across.
From the onset I decided I wanted a worthy enough machine (to me) to handle many of the rutted SoCal jeep trails we were encountering, but accepting the reality that my long bed just wasn't the ideal platform clearance-wise to climb some of the worst obstacles, and hampered by my desire to keep the overall vehicle low enough to clear most parking garages (which negated installing a drop-bracket lift). So the end-state would be an overlanding vehicle of compromise: savvy enough to manage most of the truck trails we planned to hit, but with street manners and form to match. Thus, to some purists, my selection of components may be questionable (e.g. sticking with 20" diameter rims, for instance). That's the beauty of our motorsports: we can each build our own dream-machines in the exact way we want them without G.A.F. what others say!
The first shortcoming I wanted to address were my open differentials, and I was able to score early-on a complete, low mileage 2014 Raptor front axle with the venerable Torsen limited slip differential for only $675 delivered (the differential alone retails for at least $900):
I thought I would be writing this much later rather than sooner, but with the corona-virus lockdowns keeping us cooped up for so long, my immediate family started cruising the local off-road adventures to pass the time. They each got Lexus GX 460 SUVs at the beginning of the year, the supposed ultimate Toyota overlanding machine. And they both started modding them immediately with Icon Dynamics adjustable 2.5" CDCV coilovers, piggback rear shocks, Delta Upper Control arms, CBI steel bumper with skid plates for armor, and shoed with Falken Wildpeaks AT3W 33's on 17" rims. These short-wheelbase rides were now very capable of handling terrain that my long bed couldn't come close to tackling. Armed with only RCI Metalworks skid plates that were taking a severe beating, I realized that my stocker Platinum just didn't have the minerals to traverse some of the gnarly trails we've come across.
From the onset I decided I wanted a worthy enough machine (to me) to handle many of the rutted SoCal jeep trails we were encountering, but accepting the reality that my long bed just wasn't the ideal platform clearance-wise to climb some of the worst obstacles, and hampered by my desire to keep the overall vehicle low enough to clear most parking garages (which negated installing a drop-bracket lift). So the end-state would be an overlanding vehicle of compromise: savvy enough to manage most of the truck trails we planned to hit, but with street manners and form to match. Thus, to some purists, my selection of components may be questionable (e.g. sticking with 20" diameter rims, for instance). That's the beauty of our motorsports: we can each build our own dream-machines in the exact way we want them without G.A.F. what others say!
The first shortcoming I wanted to address were my open differentials, and I was able to score early-on a complete, low mileage 2014 Raptor front axle with the venerable Torsen limited slip differential for only $675 delivered (the differential alone retails for at least $900):
Been looking at doing that diff swap myself! Excited to see how this goes.
Been looking at doing that diff swap myself! Excited to see how this goes.
If you want to get right down to the gravy now, I got my inspiration from this thread, Limited Slip in the front by montanaman. He did all the legwork to find the part number of the Ford OEM Torsen (CL3Z-4026-E) and reviewed the final results after the swap; it was convincing enough for me to take the plunge.
I was just lucky to find a complete, pristine Raptor axle right about the time I started getting serious with doing this mod.
Got everything for the rear suspension, except the King shocks (having custom ones built with a lead-time of 4-6 weeks), so I decided to tackle the hard stuff now since installing rear shocks is boringly simple:
Although I love the look of a truly "leveled" truck, ground clearance is more important, which the battle scars on my RCI skidplates can attest, therefore I need as much lift as I can get short of a drop-bracket lift. Hence the ProRyde stackable-height rear block kit. I'll start with 1" net left from stock (i.e. I'll stack up a 2" block), coupled with a 2.25" lift up front and 35" tires, that should give me almost 4" additional height at the transfer case, which has taken the brunt of the abuse.
Eaton recommends GL-5 spec 80W90 non-synthetic gear oil for the TrueTrac, which just so happens to be the same Ford recommendation for the Torsen front axle; makes my axle oil changes easier when ordering.
BTW, I didn't know that the OEM Ford 4.10 gears comes with its requisite bearings, crush sleeve, seal, and nut. which the Yukon Master Install includes; not that I could have ordered a Yukon kit minus those parts. The Yukon kit uses the same Koyo bearings as the Ford OEM ring gear kit.
I wanted to save the 3.55 differential for resale, but had to destroy the pinion to get it out because the outer bearing had siezed up from rust and had to be sledge-hammered out
New Hotness
Spoiler
The Mag-Hytec uses 5 qts, so it will go above the original fill opening; meaning, during rest, the differential is submerged in more oil. Banks did a little promo video regarding the side effects of a higher oil level and claimed it results in more uncontrollable oil slinging which may result in higher oil temps. Although he never truly proved this theory of his and reneged on posting a chart of the heat measurements of the various differential covers, there was one brief image in one of his promo videos which showed the Mag-Hytec was way cooler than a stock cover, though not as thermally efficient as his new Banks-branded diff cover.
Anywho, 20 mile test drive revealed no howling, unusual noises, and no leaks. Truck looks very... odd, with only a rear lift...
Besides the Raptor front axle, the remaining components for the front install:
I wanted to prep the axle before I start tearing down the truck. The Raptor axle was delivered dry, which made swapping out the Spicer cover easier. With the original cover removed, I verified the Torsen and 4.10 gears, then buttoned it up:
I replaced a damaged cup seal, and filled it with 1.5qts of 80W90; ready for install:
The original UCA's were definitely shot and in need of dire replacement:
And finally, THE MONEY SHOT!
According to King, the F150 coilovers come with 1.75" preload height, and each 1" height change requires 5 turns of the adjusting collar. I added 3 turns, which should equate to a final net additional height of 2.35". BTW, the adjustment instructions provided by Kings state that the coilovers must be removed and placed in a heavy duty vise to adjust the height, but I was able to easily adjust them on the vehicle with the knuckle disengaged from the UCA.
After all that hard work, the suspension should now be perfectly setup for these:
After driving around to settle the new suspension, I had it aligned then compared the before and after heights perpendicular to the ground up through the center of wheels' center cap to lower edge of the wheel lip moulding: the front gain 2-1/4" of height, which is exactly what I wanted, however, the rear gained what appears to be 2-3/4", which is NOT what I wanted (I only wanted an approximate 1" gain). The ProRYDE instructions state the block can be stacked for 1.75", 2.25", or 2.75"; I stacked it for 2.25". The OEM block measures 1.25". So either the ProRYDE heights listed could perhaps be additional height over stock, or the suspension needs to settle (which I doubt it would settle THAT much lower).
I'll see if it settles anymore, but it appears I may have to redo the rear blocks...
Wheels installed with air dam and lower rear wheel lip trimmed, including just a sliver of sheet metal at the bottom of the fender. I tapped the lower curved portion of the pinch weld to clear the 35's; I may have to go back and trim the upper portion if I regularly hit the tire on it offroad.
Spoiler
Final measurements are front gained 4-1/2" while the rears 4-1/4". Subtracting the 2" from the tires alone, the King coilovers added 2-1/2" while the rear blocks added 2-1/4". Since the ProRYDE can only drop a half-inch max, which is not enough for my tastes, I will be ordering a different block kit, this time from Halo Lifts: 2.25" aluminum rear block, which should give me the target 1" additional height from stock 1.25" block.
06-20-2020, 02:37 PM
Boss 6.2L Dirt Diggler!
