Advanced Fiberglass and Bakakits Long Travel (Mid Travel) Suspension Install/Build

[natefiggs]

Current update. I have the fitment for the bedsides on but haven’t bolted in the bedsides yet. I’m currently waiting for m3 panel bonding to glue the fiberglass. It really is a tight fit and I probably don’t need to use adhesive, however I want to minimize vibrations plus I don’t plan on taking them off anytime soon… unless I crack the glass jumping the truck or something lol.
I also have my fuel neck extension and coupler so I can fill up on gas easily.
many people who have done the fiberglass for some reason forget to extend the neck… not making that mistake.

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[natefiggs]

3m panel bonding coming in today. Going to glue the top of the fiberglass to the rails of the bed. Got all the rivets in and doing a little bondo work to get the tailgate flush with the glass. The bedsides come alittle short so just doing the extra work to make it look aesthetic.
Also got the extension for the fuel neck installed. Hoping to get the bed back on the truck and getting it paint matched on Monday as long as everything goes smooth.

 

[natefiggs]

Just to mention I am smoothing out the filler on the fiberglass haha.

 

[natefiggs]

Almost flush. Might need two more layers and it’ll be good.

 

[natefiggs]

Got the bed side completed. It’s solid with no vibrations whatsoever. The 3m panel bonding works well. I’m still going to use a little to bond the edges where the glass wraps around the tailgate just for some extra measure.
also need to sand a little on the right upper taillight for a flush finish.
Installed the 3” spacers on the rear to see the fitment and it’s perfect with the width.
As for the gas door… it doesn’t fit flush.
The big part of the turning mechanism is too large and the glass won’t let it sit flat. Nothing will make it work so I said screw it. Once it’s paint matched it won’t be noticeable.
Taking the truck to be painted on Monday, then install the Bajakit LT set up in the front.

 

[natefiggs]

Update on paint job: So I've went around from shop to shop looking for the best deal. I was quote 7K because they said some body work needs to be done and I have some gelcoat cracks in some areas. None of the fiberglass is actually cracked so I just think it needs a little bit of sanding and maybe some fiberglass bondo in some areas. They also quoted me 3.5k just for primer and paint... Ive seen some people get paint jobs here on the glass for around 2k... which is initially what I thought I was going to pay but man the cost has increased quite a bit. Im not sure if I should keep shopping around or just go with one of the shops that is around the 3.5k price point. I plan to get it wrapped afterwards but damn I was hoping it wasn't going to cost me this much lol.

 

[Superdannyboy]

Update on paint job: So I've went around from shop to shop looking for the best deal. I was quote 7K because they said some body work needs to be done and I have some gelcoat cracks in some areas. None of the fiberglass is actually cracked so I just think it needs a little bit of sanding and maybe some fiberglass bondo in some areas. They also quoted me 3.5k just for primer and paint... Ive seen some people get paint jobs here on the glass for around 2k... which is initially what I thought I was going to pay but man the cost has increased quite a bit. Im not sure if I should keep shopping around or just go with one of the shops that is around the 3.5k price point. I plan to get it wrapped afterwards but damn I was hoping it wasn't going to cost me this much lol.

I paid 2k before COVID so 3.5 sounds about right

 

[natefiggs]

I paid 2k before COVID so 3.5 sounds about right

I actually found a shop 4 hours from me that’s going to do it for $1200.
sand, primer and paint. The only reason why he is doing that for me is because it’s my brother’s friend. I’m going to throw him a fat tip for the hook up.

 

[natefiggs]

Update:
So I started to put together my Bajakits “mid travel” kit. I should have opened it when I got it because they forgot to send me the extension for the tierods. Also which is super frustrating is that the extended shaft is NOT the correct shaft. I took apart my cv, pulled out the star cage, balls and housing to start the shaft build and it does not fit. It looks like this is for a different truck? There isn’t enough grooves. This is disappointing because now I’m not sure how long they will take to send the correct shaft. I did install the upper control arms to make sure it fits the spindle and that work thank god. Now I wait as my truck sits on jack stands for them to send me the correct items.
sucks ?

 

[Doc]

Update on paint job: So I've went around from shop to shop looking for the best deal. I was quote 7K because they said some body work needs to be done and I have some gelcoat cracks in some areas. None of the fiberglass is actually cracked so I just think it needs a little bit of sanding and maybe some fiberglass bondo in some areas. They also quoted me 3.5k just for primer and paint... Ive seen some people get paint jobs here on the glass for around 2k... which is initially what I thought I was going to pay but man the cost has increased quite a bit. Im not sure if I should keep shopping around or just go with one of the shops that is around the 3.5k price point. I plan to get it wrapped afterwards but damn I was hoping it wasn't going to cost me this much lol.

I would just wrap it and forget the paint ..

 

[natefiggs]

I would just wrap it and forget the paint ..

I got in contact with a fellow down in salt lake that is going to wrap the truck. He said he can do PPF as well…. Not sure how that works, maybe wrap first then PPF wrap? I’ll see haha.

 

[natefiggs]

Okay so here is an update on the shaft.
For anyone looking to use Bajakits prerunner kit you’ll need to know the axle type you have. I have a tow package on my truck which apparently uses a different cv. Mine currently have star cages on both ends of the Cv. I guess the axles I ordered have a star cage and tripod on each end, so I had to order the correct cv axles which are: KB3Z3A428E and KB3Z3A427D.
This wasn’t apparent when I first ordered on the site, but now on the bottom of the site there is a notice that you need to order these parts to work with the extended shaft. If you don’t have a tow package you don’t need to worry about this.
I found a seller on eBay that sells ford oem part and was able to get them. Luckily the seller lives in St. George and I’m just north of Salt Lake so I’ll have them tomorrow. I’m just glad I don’t have to sit on jack stands for too long.
Today I’ll install the lower control arms, break lines and extension for the tie rods. I also have svc billet tie rods I’ll be using instead of the stock ones.
as for the shocks, I bought 650lbs springs to swap for the 550lbs springs on my Fox 2.5s. They are at a local shop right now getting swapped. The reason for this is to combat rake. I have a heavy ADD front bumper and even with preload I have still have rake. With the prerunner deavers I installed recently they haven’t completely broken in. But even with 120 pounds of sandbags in the bed and a 35” spare tire it doesn’t sit leveled.
Fingers crossed I can have the truck at least driving by Friday.

 

[natefiggs]

Update. While connecting the “extended” brake lines I realize they are not much extended. Maybe about half an inch? I don’t know if there was a mistake or if this is supposed to be correct. At full droop the lines are still in place but the float. There isn’t enough slack for them to attach to the spindle. Has anyone else order this kit and installed? I’d like to know if my brake line is suppose to be floating like in the photo attached.

 

[natefiggs]

Update: bk kit is done
Ended up swapping the brake lines with no issues. Currently they are floating with no brakes to hold on to the spindle. It doesn’t need to hold on to anything as the are floating away from the tire and have enough articulation without any issues.
The most difficult part about this install is rebuilding the axles with the extended shaft. This was a tricky thing to do because ford made these axles impossible to disassemble. Even the inside of the cv which is supposed to slide out doesn’t. I understand the logic behind this… they wanted to prevent the tripod from separating from the housing which happens a lot if you are lifting the truck or changing shocks.
I had to grind the lip of the housing to be able to pull the tripod out. This means if you have a newer cv you won’t be able to “rebuild” your axle with new boots and grease unless you grind the lip. This was just the first problem. The second is the out side of the cv which is usually the part not made to separate at all. Once I took the tripod off the shaft I then cut the shaft as close as possible to the star cage. This was so I can rotate the cage and start removing the balls from the cage and pull it out of the housing. Now I have just the star with the snap ring and shaft stuck in it. Usually you are able to just use a pair of pliers to separate the snap ring but ford made it impossible to do. The snap ring is on the shaft to where it’s not reachable so I had to grind the end of the shaft to make it weak where I should slug it out with a hammer…. Voila you now have your star separated and can start the rebuild. Very tedious and frustrating but happy it’s all done and I saved money doing it myself.
After putting installing everything together I torqued all bolts down to spec except the uca and lca (truck has to be in the ground for that).
Bleed all 4 brakes with forscan… I love forscan as it made this job damn easy.
tires installed and then all bolts torqued.
Drove it around the block and all is good except alignment ?
Which I am going in for today.
Last part of this current project is paint match fenders.
In about a month I’ll start the process on the rear. I’ve been getting price quotes for bypass rack for the rear shocks. North Utah is been pretty difficult to find a shop that’ll do it. I’m almost thinking of contacting svc to see if they can. They are 4 hours south of me but they kind of discontinued the Ranger builds. We will see?

 

[natefiggs]

Oh and side note. I did order limiting straps from dirt king. This is for precaution of the brake lines. There is enough play even at full droop and lockout at droop but I don’t want to risk snapping the lines. Just some peace of mind when I’m feeling ballsy and want to hit micro jumps ?

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