Kore Chase install tips...please

[AMassaro]

Well I've got the Chase system on order and should be here by the weekend. I've got all the tools I need. Just wondering if anyone can give me tips on making the install go smoother.



Can't wait to see my truck w/ Kore and PJ Dirtgrips 35"... Oo.

 

[AMassaro]

Ttt... .....

 

[BarryG]

I dont have any real tips. I have a 2nd gen and it was the older style of the chase system with the bilstein shocks and kore shock towers so it may not apply as much but I just followed the directions in the order given and it went pretty smooth. No real issues at all. Two people sure make it easier. Dont know that I could have gotten it done by myself. Getting the springs in was the hardest part for me. May not be near as hard for you as you dont have to have the shocks in there while trying to put the springs on. You can put them in after the springs are in I would think.

 

[Kry226]

One mistake I made... I didn't realize the front springs are different from side to side. Ended up putting passenger spring on driver's side and vice versa. Had to drop the axle again and switch.



When you try to reassemble the track bar back to the frame, drop the truck back on the ground and have someone turn the wheel side to side and it should help to realign the bolt holes for you. Then torque that sucker big time or you'll get popping in the steering.



I left the front shocks with the shipping strap intact until I had the bottom bolt and tower reassembled. Then cut the strap and the shock stud should slowly begin to extend up through the tower hole. Make sure you have your inside-tower bushing and "washer" ready before you cut the strap. Don't tighten down the shock bolt too much, crushing the bushings. The instructions should tell you how thick the bushings should appear when looking from the side. I want to say 3/8", but don't quote me on that.



The rear is pretty straight forward, but watch the parking brake cable as you don't want to damage it when you drop the rear axle.



Get it realligned with at least 5* postive caster. That's where mine is and never had a hint of DW, even with BFG 315's.



I am sure others will chime with more helpful or even better suggestions for doing things, but these were little tidbits I learned. Oh, and air tools are worth their weight in gold.



Hope this helps, take your time and good luck.

 

[CDonaldson]

I purchased the HD Leveling kit from DRC, front half of the Recon Kit I guess, as the Recon instructions were provided with the kit. I am planning to install my kit this coming Sunday if I can find the time. The directions I got with the kit are pretty explanitory, the install seems straight forward. I, like you, placed my order and assumed the shipment would take place once they had the funds in hand (I sent them a money order). My kit shipped 10 days after they had funds in hand. When I contacted DRC about the shipping time delay I was told that 'it is customary to have a 10-day timeframe, industry standard practice'. So, if I were you, I'd have something else in mind to do just in case. If you are getting the Bilstein 5100 shocks, I would recommend getting some clear coat or paint to seal the metal portion as they are polished steel and will rust. I wish you a good experience with your installation.



CD

 

[wawazat]

Whew, have fun with the installation I know I did I installed the Chase system along with the steering stabilizer and track bar. 100K mile anniversary present you might say.



Not sure where you are from, but many fasteners on my truck were rusted in place due to Michigans love of salt on winter roads (job security for the automakers???). I did this install in my garage and gravel driveway. Took me alone about 10 hours to do the front and about 6 hours to do the rear (after some modifications I wasn't expecting). Job would have been impossible without:



- Oxy-acetylene torches to free some seriously rusted fasteners

-air tools (impact wrench got a good work-out)

-tapered pry bars (useful for aligning pass through holes for fasteners)

-multiple hydraulic jacks and jack stands

-phone support from Kevin Kelly of KLM Offroad (while he was on vacation-THANKS KEVIN!) due to some rear spring issues



The front springs were by far the most difficult part of the job as they are so much taller than the stockers. I could not install them without disconnecting the upper trailing arms and rolling the front axle foreward. Then I could not get the trailing arms to align with the mounting holes while holding the springs in place and jacking up the axle. A lot of jacking truck and axle up and down seperately along with some choice colorful phrases and my tapered pry bars finally got things together. The stabilizer was impossible to compress until I used the power steering pump to do the job (thanks for that tip to Kevin). I used my floor jack to compress the shocks to allow the lower mounting points to be put in place.



Overall impressions have been good but I'm now trying to eliminate the death wobble that developed after installation. My front ball joints are bad AGAIN with only 12K on them so I could not get the truck aligned properly after installation. new ones go in Thursday along with an alignment. My 315's are sitting in the garage and the stockers back on awaiting new Toyo's as well as the prevailing thought at KORE is that they contribute to death wobble after the geometry change at the elevated ride height.



Todd

 

[ohnoitsyu]

I, along with a mechanically challenged friend, installed the Chase kit onto my 06 in about 6. 5 hours in my garage (which meant that I couldn't jack up my truck very much). We did it two days after surgery on my left wrist, so while doing the job, I had to constantly keep my left hand elevated. Was doing it this way a challenge? You bet! Do I like those kind of challenges? You bet!



The Chase does not have different left and right springs, so don't worry about that.



The instructions also said to disconnect the steering linkage. I didn't have a need to do that.



The old front bump stops come out easily. Install the new ones with a block of wood between the axle and the stop using the weight of the truck.



I didn't disconnect the control arms for added clearance. I had a spring compressor that made quick work of things (installing the spring with compressor was really challenging with one arm, since my buddy didn't really grasp this simple concept of rotating the spring into place too easily).



You do not need to fully remove the sway bar. In fact, install the blocks before anything else, then disconnect the links.



You may not think the rear leaf pack bolt holes are drilled properly and that nothing will line up. The bolt holes are properly positioned - just work with it.



Finally, when you're all done, excited to go for a test-drive, remember to move the wheel chaulks.

 

[Nelssen]

My kore (chase with the billet towers) springs were marked driver and passenger.

 

[ohnoitsyu]

My kore (chase with the billet towers) springs were marked driver and passenger.

The current Chase kit no longer has billet towers, and it has the new VR coils, that are the same for both sides. The kit also uses Fox 2. 0 shocks instead of the Bilsteins used with the older kits.

 

[wawazat]

You may not think the rear leaf pack bolt holes are drilled properly and that nothing will line up. The bolt holes are properly positioned - just work with it.

I'm glad yours worked. My CL to CL holes on the leaf pack were approx. 0. 100" different from the leaf pack on the truck. After tearing up a set of pins threads trying to get them in I determined they wouldn't go after I measured them.



Todd

 

[Briman]

I'm glad yours worked. My CL to CL holes on the leaf pack were approx. 0. 100" different from the leaf pack on the truck. After tearing up a set of pins threads trying to get them in I determined they wouldn't go after I measured them.



Todd

I second that, no mater how you shake it, if the holes are drilled in the wrong place on the Deaver spring packs your not going to get two pins through all the leaves. I am not mechanically or measherment challenged and realize if the holes are in the right place you have to juggle the leafs to make both pins go in. Mine were a little over . 1 inch off. The pins formed a Y shape with the two stock bottom spacers and one deaver leaf. No more leafs could go on, period. I ended up using a 3/8" pin in one of the holes on each side when Kroker wouldn't send out new packs. I firmly believed I could not be the only one with this issue. I'm sorry you had the problem. I figured there must have been a bad run from Deaver.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

I had no problems and the directions are thorough. The variable rate coils are the same on both sides. My Deavers fit perfectly. A discussion on the installation is in the next TDR issue.

 

[ohnoitsyu]

I second that, no mater how you shake it, if the holes are drilled in the wrong place on the Deaver spring packs your not going to get two pins through all the leaves. I am not mechanically or measherment challenged and realize if the holes are in the right place you have to juggle the leafs to make both pins go in. Mine were a little over . 1 inch off. The pins formed a Y shape with the two stock bottom spacers and one deaver leaf. No more leafs could go on, period. I ended up using a 3/8" pin in one of the holes on each side when Kroker wouldn't send out new packs. I firmly believed I could not be the only one with this issue. I'm sorry you had the problem. I figured there must have been a bad run from Deaver.

I had the exact same experience and swore the holes were off by about . 1" as well, but I kept working with it. Using the original pins, I was able to make everything fit without modifying anything. It wasn't easy, and I'm sure this is a challenge for everyone (on the first side, anyway). You never know what you can do until you convince yourself that it HAS to work. It works.

 

[Briman]

I had the exact same experience and swore the holes were off by about . 1" as well, but I kept working with it. Using the original pins, I was able to make everything fit without modifying anything. It wasn't easy, and I'm sure this is a challenge for everyone (on the first side, anyway). You never know what you can do until you convince yourself that it HAS to work. It works.

That's precisely how I was treated by KORE. I had the entire spring pack out on the floor where I could work on it very easily. That dog would not hunt. I will take pictures and post them when I have the suspension apart to add a spacer. Later this fall I suppose. That's what pisses me off about this product. It's perfect.

 

[AMassaro]

I'm confused...



You say it's perfect and that's what pisses you off??? Can you explain?

 

[Briman]

I apologize for the sarcasm. The system is fine, as a suspension system. I can't seem to convince anyone that there could have been a manufacturer error, from the system designer to a couple of different post here on TDR. Heaven only knows that anything made by man has room for error. I won't post anymore about my problem until I have visual aids to support my position. I should not have posted my problem here as it was not on topic. I was simply glad to hear that I was not the only one with said problem. Good luck with your install. The directions are very complete and accurate.

 

[AMassaro]

No need to apologize. You had a problem and it sounds like it was a pain in the neck. I totally understand and will use all info I can to help the install go smoother. Thanks...

 

[ohnoitsyu]

Agreed. There is no need to apologize. I was in the same boat. I was convinced that the pins wouldn't go in - they had to have misdrilled the holes, I thought. However, I don't give up so easily, so I worked at it, and they really did go in. It's not easy, and knowing that it is a tough challenge and that it actually will go together is a good tip. Once you get the technique, the second side goes in really easily.



And for those who aren't up to task to get the job done, you can always take it to a competent technician.



By the way, putting the springs on the ground actually makes it more difficult, from what I remember of my technique. I think I put one pin in and jacked up the spring in the middle to flatten the entire spring pack. I then used a large center punch (as a simple wedge-shaped rod) to align the other hole. I threaded the remaining pin into place. Remember, as I said in my earlier post, I mostly did all this with one hand (and both knees).

 

[Patriot_RAM]

The install itself is simple and they provide great directions. Tip #1 -- don't do it without air tools. doh! Tip #2 -- If you have the mini-leaf packs to replace the rear overload springs, expect to cut off the u-bolts that hold the axle to the springs. They "mushroom" the threads so the nuts cannot fall off.

 

[ohnoitsyu]

The install itself is simple and they provide great directions. Tip #1 -- don't do it without air tools. doh! Tip #2 -- If you have the mini-leaf packs to replace the rear overload springs, expect to cut off the u-bolts that hold the axle to the springs. They "mushroom" the threads so the nuts cannot fall off.

Tip #1 - Agreed. But you should still use a torque wrench. This is where the instructions leave a lot to be desired. They tell you to refer to the service manual - why couldn't the torque specs been included?



Tip #2 - This depends on the age of your truck. My bolts came off just fine. Yes, they may have been mushroomed a bit, but they still came off with no problems or difficulties.



Oh yeah! On of the challenges is getting to the right side, lower shock bolt with the correct socket and extension. From what I remember, I think I loosened and tightened this bolt with the truck on the ground and the wheel turn to the side (sorry, I can't remember which side! I think it was to the left). I think if you don't do this like this is the reason why the instructions say to pull the steering linkage (which I didn't do).