OK, I've lived with it for a while now and I have to say the thing it is
SWEET!
I've carried people and I've carried loads and I've run some trails and it
always rides level and calm and has decent (not great, mind you, but decent)
articulation. The front offers much more droop than compression, but both
the front and rear always manage to keep the tires touching dirt. The BFGs
are totally quiet, very grabby, but can squawk and break loose when you pull
out in a turn. One crappy thing though, it the gas mileage. After the
light bar was installed, it settled at 14.3 MPG. Since the lift, tires and
K&N FIPK, it has dropped to 11.9 MPG and holding. For a truck, I guess the
Dak is pretty swoopy, with some not too awful aerodynamics, and pushing it
up off the ground must have screwed that up. Truck runs smooth and strong,
so I don't think anything is out of tune.
Another thing to keep in mind: they have you drill a new fill hole in the
front diff cover so that it can be filled full enough to keep the rear seals
wet. However, the breather line connects to the axle tube, which is now
well below sea level, so the passenger side area under the hood gets sprayed
with gear oil (especially when in 4WD). For now I keep a rag zip tied over
the top of the vent hose and just change it when it gets soaked, but I've
ordered a breather tank from Summit. This thing will catch the oil, which
will then get sucked back into the diff when it cools. Of course, this is
Summit, so it's on backorder. I'm starting to think they don't stock
anything but catalogs...
Since somebody asked: I have an 8 foot tall garage door and I have about 5
inches of clearance between the lowest hanging part of the door and the top
of the lights on the bar. Without the lights it should fit in a normal 7
foot door (set to open ALL the way) with no problems. By the way, the hood
now lines up almost perfectly with a '99 F-250.
Thanks Mel, for posting the pictures. I took more, but they "disappeared"
in developing. I didn't think so many of y'all were interested.
Tony Angelo
'99 Solar Yellow Sport, CC, Full Time 4X4, Black Bed Rail/Light Bar/Round
Lights , Black Grill/Brush Guard, Tuff Country 5.5" Lift, 33X12.5 BF
Goodrich AT KOs on the stock wheels
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