BDS 4" Install party

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WiSH2oo0

WiSH2oo0

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Well just an update here. I called BDS on 4/18/17 at 12:04PM and still haven't heard back from there tech support. I do how ever have a 11AM appointment on 4/21/17 at a drive line shop for options to fix my rear vibrations and to make sure my rear driveshaft is still long enough with my BDS lift kit. The driveshaft lengthened 7/8" from the T-case and the drive line shop talked about possible putting on a CV joint.
 

Ricks Ram

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I had the same issue with many parts of my lift and the instructions. I was disappointed with how vague they were. An you are right they show different parts mounted differently in different pictures in the instructions. I also had to trim More off of my tie rod ends than they recommended. The kit is well made and it fits perfectly but honestly for the price of the BDS lift they should at least have better instructions or even an install CD. I do a lot of mechanical work. Even though I haven't installed this type of life before I was surprised how confusing parts the instructions were to me.
 

mpittman

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I paid someone $1200 to install my BDS lift.... now I know I got every penny's worth out of it. I have zero issues and it drives better than stock. I don't turn many wrenches though... I can change my oil and change brake pads, thats about it. Also the shop I used is a BDS certified installer and they lift over 40 RAM's per year for 3 dealerships. So, I think they know what they're doing. Love my kit.

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Ricks Ram

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I paid someone $1200 to install my BDS lift.... now I know I got every penny's worth out of it. I have zero issues and it drives better than stock. I don't turn many wrenches though... I can change my oil and change brake pads, thats about it. Also the shop I used is a BDS certified installer and they lift over 40 RAM's per year for 3 dealerships. So, I think they know what they're doing. Love my kit.

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I have zero issues with my 6" BDS lift as well. It rides great. I love the actual lift. It's the instructions that are the problem. That being said if I installed another BDS lift it would go pretty quickly now that I have done one.
 

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WiSH2oo0

WiSH2oo0

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That being said if I installed another BDS lift it would go pretty quickly now that I have done one.

Indeed, If I was to do it again within the next few months I would cut my install time in half for sure.

So a few more updates. Still no call back from BDS tech support. I did bring my truck to the driveline shop and they came up with the same measurements as me. My rear driveline is at 5 degrees and the driveline shop said that the target is 1-3 degrees to be within specs. The shop recommended rear adjustable upper control arms to fix the rear driveline angles.

Rear shock install heads up. I'm having a couple squeaks coming from the rear as well. I've hunted them all down.


1- When rear shock body was mounted up, the body of the shock was rubbing on the shock mounting location.

2 - I had to turn the shock body down and trim a little off the shocks edge to keep it from rubbing again. See picture below.

3 - Rear sway bar bushings mounted to the frame are squeaking. I may need to buy adjustable sway bar end links or just go ahead and get a Hellwig replacement.

4- Rear axle shifted forward +/- 5/8".


I'm not your everyday cat. I hear everything, feel everything and measure everything. Run up to the local hardware store and pick-up a $10 angle finder. Then measure your driveshaft angle, next pull off your driveshaft and measure your T-case and rear diff angles, if they're not with-in 1-3 degrees you should feel a vibration while driving. One size doesn't necessarily fit all.
 

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WiSH2oo0

WiSH2oo0

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So I spent this weekend experimenting with my lift to see if I could rid myself of the rear drive line vibrations.

I first removed the front strut preload spacers and lost about 1" front of lift. I then removed the Superlift rear coils and lost 1.5" of rear lift. I replaced the Superlift rear coils with the BDS 3" rear coils and gained an extra 1/2" of rear lift over the Superlift rear coils. So with the Superlift rear coils gave me 3.5" of rear lift while the BDS rear coils netted me 4" of rear lift.

I had the truck aligned and took it out for a spin with the new set-up, no preload spacers and BDS rear coils. With this set-up every little bump would lock my belt and make it feel like my filings were going to pop out. This ride is rough as hell! At highway speeds it felt like I was strapped to one of those vibrating belt workout machines. (see image below)

Back to the shop I went. I then took out the BDS rear coils and put in the BDS 2" rear spacers along with the stock rear coils. This set-up rides fine until you hit 70+ mph then I have a little rear vibration.

I would say that the BDS 2" rear spacers and the BDS preload spacer along with the Superlift rear coils both have a slight rear end vibration at highway speeds. IMO the over all ride quality would go to the Superlift rear coils. The stock rear coils and 2" spacers are in second place and the BDS rear coils are harsh as *uck.

Now I don't need to see picture of your Quad/Crew cabs or RCLB with the 140" wheel base and telling me how great your truck rides. My 2012 Ram quad cab with a RC lift rode fine as well.

Next I'm going to see what happens if I remove the BDS rear UCA brackets and see how it handles. The RC and Superlift lift kits don't come with those brackets to adjust for rear pinion angle. Maybe I'll get lucky and it will ride better, if not I can toss them back on.

If you have a lifted RCSB with a 120" wheel base and want to tell me your experience by all means lets hear it. I have to say I can tear apart and put back together the rear kit in 1 hr and 20 mins now :sleepy10:

With all set-ups the front of the truck rides great, goes straight down the road and zero steering wheel vibrations.

Edit: called BDS Friday 8/12/17 and left a msg. They're still ignoring my calls about my rear drive train vibrations.
 

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Chief_6.7

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Part of your lift is accomplished from your new steering knuckles. If you look at them you will notice that the spindle is mounted lower in the knuckle. If I remember correctly my strut spacers were around 4" on my 6" BDS lift. The 4" and 6" lift have different size strut spacers but Im not sure what the size difference is. I have the Bilstiens so I decided not to run the preload spacer and instead just set my shocks up one notch instead which is about 5/8". I ended up with a touch over 6" in the front. I went with the 3" coil springs in the rear. The truck is almost level. It's about 1/4" higher in the rear.

So I spent this weekend experimenting with my lift to see if I could rid myself of the rear drive line vibrations.

I first removed the front strut preload spacers and lost about 1" front of lift. I then removed the Superlift rear coils and lost 1.5" of rear lift. I replaced the Superlift rear coils with the BDS 3" rear coils and gained an extra 1/2" of rear lift over the Superlift rear coils. So with the Superlift rear coils gave me 3.5" of rear lift while the BDS rear coils netted me 4" of rear lift.

I had the truck aligned and took it out for a spin with the new set-up, no preload spacers and BDS rear coils. With this set-up every little bump would lock my belt and make it feel like my filings were going to pop out. This ride is rough as hell! At highway speeds it felt like I was strapped to one of those vibrating belt workout machines. (see image below)

Back to the shop I went. I then took out the BDS rear coils and put in the BDS 2" rear spacers along with the stock rear coils. This set-up rides fine until you hit 70+ mph then I have a little rear vibration.

I would say that the BDS 2" rear spacers and the BDS preload spacer along with the Superlift rear coils both have a slight rear end vibration at highway speeds. IMO the over all ride quality would go to the Superlift rear coils. The stock rear coils and 2" spacers are in second place and the BDS rear coils are harsh as *uck.

Now I don't need to see picture of your Quad/Crew cabs or RCLB with the 140" wheel base and telling me how great your truck rides. My 2012 Ram quad cab with a RC lift rode fine as well.

Next I'm going to see what happens if I remove the BDS rear UCA brackets and see how it handles. The RC and Superlift lift kits don't come with those brackets to adjust for rear pinion angle. Maybe I'll get lucky and it will ride better, if not I can toss them back on.

If you have a lifted RCSB with a 120" wheel base and want to tell me your experience by all means lets hear it. I have to say I can tear apart and put back together the rear kit in 1 hr and 20 mins now :sleepy10:

With all set-ups the front of the truck rides great, goes straight down the road and zero steering wheel vibrations.

Edit: called BDS Friday 8/12/17 and left a msg. They're still ignoring my calls about my rear drive train vibrations.

Couple of questions for you. Why did you opt to change the rear out for something different other then what BDS gives in the 4" kit. Why Superlift coils? do you think this would have been the same result if you would have gone 6" lift?
 
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WiSH2oo0

WiSH2oo0

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Hey Chief,

I went with the Superlift because they're advertised to add 2" of rear lift and they're dual rate rear coil springs vs the BDS rear coils. I also wanted to replace the 2" spacers for a coil instead.

A forum member on here named Huckleberry said that he gained 1.75" of rear lift with his Superlift coils. I figured since I have a RCSB I would gain the whole 2" of rear lift being my truck is lighter then a quad/crew cab. Then it would be the same ride height as using the 2" rear coil spacers provided by BDS in the lift kit. Boy was I wrong there.

I then talked to a local install shop recommended from the BDS website and they told me that I would gain 3" - 3.5" of rear lift with the BDS coils. So I went ahead and purchased those as well.

In the end the coil measurements are as follows on my RCSB

Superlift 2" rear coils - gained 3.5" rear lift
BDS 3" rear coils - gained 4" rear lift
Stock coils and BDS 2" rear spacers - gained 2" rear lift

Factory rake was 2" before the lift.

If I was to do it over again I would go with the Fox front struts set at 2" and add a 1.5" body lift.
 
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Phylodog

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Thank you for posting this thread. It has helped me to decide to just leave mine alone. I've had Bil's installed at 2.8" and installed a 1.5" Zone BL. As much as I'd like to have another few inches of altitude I don't have the patience and can't afford to chase down vibration issues. I'll be replacing my tires with 35 NTRG's this week and calling it good.

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WiSH2oo0

WiSH2oo0

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I haven't gave up yet Phylodog!

I'm trying out a few things before I buy adjustable rear control arms. I've been eyeballing the Dodge Off Road uppers and lowers for a month or two now. I called them once already but you have to buy a full set or I would've bought the uppers already. The guys in the lowered section on the forums don't seem to like the Spohn control arms.
 

Phylodog

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I hope you get it sorted out soon and inexpensively!
 

bchap05

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Thread has a bit nervous to do a 4inch Zone myself. I've installed a 4 inch on my old wrangler, a 3 in body lift on a previous ram, and redid the entire front end on my Dakota. So I have a decent amount of experience.

Plan was 4inch Zone with 35's. Other easier and cheaper option that I've debated would just be either Bills or Fox with 1.5 or 2 inch body.
 
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WiSH2oo0

WiSH2oo0

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Don't be discouraged bchap05.

IMO The issues I'm having is due to my RCSB. My 12 Ram 1500 quad cab RC 4" kit worked just fine. I think the BDS kit with the rear control arms brackets is over compensating for my rear pinion angle. I believe this is why I'm getting a rear drive line vibration. My rear pinion angle is around 5 degrees, if I was around 3 degrees all would be fine.
 

bchap05

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Don't be discouraged bchap05.

IMO The issues I'm having is due to my RCSB. My 12 Ram 1500 quad cab RC 4" kit worked just fine. I think the BDS kit with the rear control arms brackets is over compensating for my rear pinion angle. I believe this is why I'm getting a rear drive line vibration. My rear pinion angle is around 5 degrees, if I was around 3 degrees all would be fine.

Ok cool that makes sense. I had driveline vibration with my jeep when I did it. We fixed it but I don't really remember what we did haha.

I did however talk to a guy who literally runs a shop in my neighborhood. Its weird as its a newer suburbia type neighborhood but he bought a 2nd garage and does custom work out of it. I figured I'd quote him since he's my neighbor and like 1000 ft from my house.

He quoted me 600 labor for the install which from what I've read on others seems to be really good. And is low enough its that tempting point where I'd be tempted to let him do it for that price. He can get me the lift same price as online so I'd be about 2k installed. Also told him about Carven and he applied to be a dealer so if that works might buy an exhaust from him.
 
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