Marks 3" before / after pics

[Shaw520]

Finally had the time yesterday to install Marks 3",.. install went off without a hitch,.. took bout 5 hrs total,.. its a well thought out kit that works well... thank you.

05' Trailblazer w/142k,.. bone stock 4.2 with 235/16's
Added; Marks 3" kit with 1.5" wheel spacers and 265/75R/16"s Cooper Discover M/S





Not sure why that one photo posted 4 times ???

[Mod edit: Posts merged as they were all within 10 minutes of each other.]

 

[jsheahawk]

Not sure why that one photo posted 4 times ???

Because it was that awesome.

 

[djthumper]

Looks good! I hope you got a front end alignment.

 

[Shaw520]

Looks good! I hope you got a front end alignment.

Doing that today,..what do i need to know,..1 degree toe in ??

 

[Sparky]

If you flipped UCAs they should be able to get it in spec. But what happens when you lift is the camber goes positive so it will kill your outer tire edges very quickly (and affect cornering stability).

 

[Shaw520]

I did flip UCA's..i also thought that i read somewhere in these pages that slight toe in is a good thing, or should i just let them do what they do best,..hoping for best possible results.
Also,.. The rear axle now has a noticable offset to the passenger side...this shouldnt effect alignment, but i would like to recenter it..can someone recommend a track arm to re-center the rear axle?

 

[Matt]

You can either use drop brackets an adjustable panhard bar or both. You can get a Spohn for $125.

 

[Njg425]

Well done. It looks great

 

[Shaw520]

You can either use drop brackets an adjustable panhard bar or both. You can get a Spohn for $125.

After a bit of research, Im thinking about burning (fabricating) a bracket on myself,... does anyone know the center/center bolt measurement of the drop ?

 

[Shaw520]

Alignment done,... the guy at firestone said he "had his best guy do it,"... well it came out perfect,..steering wheel is straight and truck runs down the road perfect,..big improvement over pre-alignment for sure. Now im in touch with EricSS to get a drop bracket for the panhard bar.... that will get installed with the new HD Bilstiens.

 

[Shaw520]

Everyone loves photos

 

[Shaw520]

After a bunch of reading i decided to go with the panhard bar drop bracket, some have suggested that although the adjustable bars will recenter the axle, the angle is still there, causing a different path of articulation,..makes sense.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

The bracket will still throw off the path of articulation. The proper fix is to do both, but being the adjustable worked for so many for years and the bracket seems to have worked for the past year; its kinda a toss up as to which is better if you only do one.

 

[Shaw520]

I believe its the same theory as I went through with my Jeeps in the past,... keeping the track bar (panhard bar) as level as possible is best for articulation

 

[Sparky]

Yep. The more level the arm is at rest, the less side-to-side swing there will be when the suspension compresses or extends.

A Watts Link would keep it perfectly vertical in its motion, but not sure if that would work well for off-road or not (clearances etc), and there isn't a pre-built unit for this platform anyway.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Level is best, but that level also needs to have a bar the right length to center and the bracket at the right size. You are getting a one size fits most bracket that is about right. You could still benefit from the adjustable length bar unless you built your own bracket to exact specs of you lift.

They say to use the same bracket for 1.5 inch rear lift as my 4 inch rear lift and I am certain the bar is not level in both cases.

 

[Shaw520]

Yes,... true....and according to EricSS this bracket was spec'ed for a 2.5" lift. It'll be close enough for now,... if and when I go any higher (body lift), I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

You know a body lift will have ZERO effect on the bracket or any suspension aspect right?

 

[Shaw520]

Yes,.. I had presumed that through reading,,.. But i also imagine theres a slew of other mods, like steering.column,..brake pedal,.shift cable, ect. Ive completed suspension lifts on 3 prev owned jeeps,..but never a body lift.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

There is a steering extension that bolts in. No brake pedal or shift cable mods. There are brackets or spacers for radiator and bumpers, if you don't get MDB Fabrication ones. Only scary thing for some is cutting notches in rear frame rails for the brackets, but its simple.

 

[paul2005tb]

I have purchased my 3in spacers and steering wheel extender from zoneoffroad. I have removed my front bumper and have noticed that lifting the bumper is for appearance only, there is no essential structural reason to do it. I think I am going to use cutters to refashion the plastic fascia so that it mounts 3in higher and properly mates with the raised body. I will use glue and 3in thick dense foam to get it nice and level. To do this the 5 openings/louvers/air ducts of the bumper moulding need to be trimmed down so the plastic front can properly accommodate the structural metal bumper. I have to believe that someone else has tried this. Is it worth it ?

 

[Shaw520]

There is a steering extension that bolts in. No brake pedal or shift cable mods. There are brackets or spacers for radiator and bumpers, if you don't get MDB Fabrication ones. Only scary thing for some is cutting notches in rear frame rails for the brackets, but its simple.

Is there a body kit that you can recommend ?

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

The only kit available now is the 2 inch from Zone Offroad and it works great. It is what I started with before we developed the 3 inch that is no longer in production.