curtisbad Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) pics of my 4 inch lift. curtis its sitting on 235/75/15's. 4" lift , struts and sub frame. Edited February 18, 2011 by curtisbad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundog Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 looks mean! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willdeh2 Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 That thing is sweet! I was looking to make a grille guard like that myself, but I'm baffled; I can't find a suitable place to mount it and have it be as functional as it looks. Can you explain or take a picture of where you mounted it underneath? Thanks a lot. Quite the inspiration! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisbad Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 it's welded to the two tow hooks under the car. i'll get some pics tomorrow and post them here. i basically built the push bar with a frame that mounted to the tapped holes under the car. they aren't strong enough to hold it,but i used them for centering purposes. then i ran some 5/8" solid round bar from the bottom of that frame to the tow hooks and welded the crap out of them.the pics should be self explainatory. and thanks for your comments so far. i'm pretty happy with the outcome. curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willdeh2 Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 And it feels solid? Like to hold the weight of the car for towing/pulling/un-stucking applications? I'm excited for the pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willdeh2 Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Also, what'd you use for the lift? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisbad Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 yeah , its solid. i actually picked the front end of my car up with it using a fork truck, testing its strength. i haven't used it to push or pull but i'm guessing it'll do the job considering what i did with the fork truck. i did a home made lift , based on info i got from scott in bellingham (thanks scott). 4 inch strut tops and 4 inch blocks to drop the crossmembers , and other components. i used 2x4 square tubing with 1/4" wall thicknesses. had to extened alot of hoses , the shifter linkage , steering linkage and some wiring. i see now why most of the bought kits come with 3" drops for a 4" inch. had i gone 3 inches i could have avoided alot of the hose and other extensions. i actually snapped the hoses running from the transmission cooler to the tranny. well , it didn't snap , it cracked and caused me to lose all my fluid in the cars initial drive. i didn't notice the cracks. a good lesson learned. curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newsoobdude Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Daang!!! That looks sweet! What manufacture are those tires and how much do they rub? I have 215/70/16s on my 3 inch body lifted Outback on Forester struts and springs and they rubbed the trailing edge of the front fenders and inner wells when turning sharp. Can you get a shot of the rear trailing arms and axle shafts for me please? I'm wondering if they sit flat or not as mine are and I'm thinking of removing the rear Outback blocks for another inch of diff clearance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisbad Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 they are goodyear wrangler a/t's . picked them up at walmart for $78 a tire. a pretty good deal if they turn out to be okay tires. they did rub at first but, i removed the factory "mudflap" and that solved the problem. the tires were rubbing the screw that holds the flap on. now, it only rubs when turning sharp while backing up. here are a couple of pics of where i mounted the push bar. its hard to see , but you'll get the main idea. i'll post some pics of the rear end as soon as i can. maybe not tonight but tomorrow for sure. curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisbad Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 (edited) heres one pic of the rear. it might help. i am actually running the factory block also. i decided to leave it in while i was adding the blocks in the rear. curtis Edited February 19, 2011 by curtisbad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newsoobdude Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 heres one pic of the rear. it might help. i am actually running the factor block also. i decided to leave it in while i was adding the blocks in the rear. curtis Cool! Looks just like mine. As soon as the rain clears up and I get the gumption I guess I'll crawl back under and remove the factory spacers and track down another set of bolts. How close are the A/Ts to your struts? I have about a fingers space between the tire and the strut bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisbad Posted February 19, 2011 Author Share Posted February 19, 2011 (edited) i had to make 1/4" wheel spacers. i wouldn't have needed them for the front but i needed them for the rears. you might get away with less , maybe 3/16" . you are absolutely right though , not much room between the back tires and the struts. curtis Edited February 19, 2011 by curtisbad ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesstutrey Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 i had to make 1/4" wheel spacers. i wouldn't have needed them for the front but i needed them for the rears. you might get away with less , maybe 3/16" . you are absolutely right though , not much room between the back tires and the struts. curtis I wonder what the difference is with a 2002, which doesn't have that issue in the rear, but does in the front. It's making me steer clear of 215/70/R16 (28") because of the fear of rub so i'm looking at 215/65/R16 (27") cause of it. Of course my gen subaru runs a 26.6" stock so 27" is hardly a gain apart from the AT tire aspect. I like your brush guard... i think i may have something similar cooked up over at the local machine shop that specializes in aftermarket fitments for heavy equipment (like dump trucks and cherry pickers) except i think i'll be using screws and maybe have a prototype that might not be too expensive. Of course it would be for vehicles made from 10/99-6/03 or some date like that.. i have it written down somewhere. There are actually 6 screws per side on my outback to hook up the front tow stuff, that go into the car in 3 different directions, i think that should handle the load, 12 screws that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisbad Posted February 19, 2011 Author Share Posted February 19, 2011 if your screws hold as much as mine did , good luck. i could grab the guard and move it back and forth. it wasn't even close to being sturdy. however, the newer gens might have better mounting surfaces than mine like you said. i wanted to be sure that mine was sturdy, its something i will be using and didn't want to destroy my car the first time i pulled on my bar. good luck with your project. i know my car has become quite the hobby for me. i have the snorkle kit i want to build on paper and plan on doing it soon. i'm doing everything home made....well, made by me at my job. curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newsoobdude Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 i have the snorkle kit i want to build on paper and plan on doing it soon. curtis DO want pics when done. Trying to figure out a "clean" version for mine. Less- how close is the gap between your strut and tire? A spacer might make all the difference for fitment. I'd take it by a tire shop when done and have them test fit what you want (and BTW, I think you said you wanted BFG A/Ts in the 215/70/16s but they are, or at least were a month ago, on back order til further notice, hence why I'm running Grabber AT2s). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willdeh2 Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 That's too bad you can't bolt the push bar on. I guess welding will do. Does your push bar rest against the existing bumper? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisbad Posted February 19, 2011 Author Share Posted February 19, 2011 it touches the bumper underneath,but just barely.i used the bumper to make certain it was level. as far as in the front of the vehicle though , no it doesn't touch. i spaced it out about a half inch from the bumper. a much lighter bar might be okay just mounted with the bolts. mines pretty heavy,50pounds maybe.i made it sturdy enough to take some blows without getting bent all up. with the wieght and hieght of mine there was just too much "leverage" up at the top. it swayed back and forth a good bit. it didn't seem functional or safe. i used it today to push a ford ranger and it worked like a charm. no movement from it at all. i'm happy with it. i'm sure there are other ways to mount one and make it fully functional too. this was just the best that i came up with. heck,take a look under the car you may find a much better way. if you do , let me know. i'll cut mine down and reattach it.i'd rather have bolts than weld holding it on. curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willdeh2 Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 50 pounds!? That thing is meaty! How thick of tubing did you go with? And did you use a bender or did you cut and weld? I can't tell from your original pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesstutrey Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 it's the screw positions for mounting a towing kit, so i hope it would allow for pulling is about all i can say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisbad Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 50 pounds!? That thing is meaty! How thick of tubing did you go with? And did you use a bender or did you cut and weld? I can't tell from your original pictures. its 2" diameter tubing,really thick walled.i'm pretty sure it was 1/4" wall thickness. i used a pipe bender. the only welds were at the cross bar , the bottom frame and of course where i mounted it. curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstaru Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 its 2" diameter tubing,really thick walled.i'm pretty sure it was 1/4" wall thickness. i used a pipe bender. the only welds were at the cross bar , the bottom frame and of course where i mounted it. curtis yeah, you can only use a tubing bender to bend tube.pipe benders are for pipe.from the sounds of it , you used pipe.cheers, b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willdeh2 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Now I understand why it's so strong! That design is basically what I have in mind for my friend to build for me. I think I will have mine a little shorter than yours. Is there a reason you built it so it'd sit above the hood? I Think I would like mine to be just under the grille. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisbad Posted February 21, 2011 Author Share Posted February 21, 2011 no, there's really no method to that madness. when i was measuring it out it just sounded like a good idea to make it that tall. i'm glad i did, i can just see it over the hood and i like that. curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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