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hi guys, i got my 1986 brumby yesterday & i'm going to remove the 2 inch lift kit it has, front looks pretty easy as does rear at first glance, front is lift blocks ontop of struts & hopefullly comes out OK, was looking into removing the rear 2 inch lift blocks so i was trying to just loosen the bolts that are going up through the blocks just to see how easy they will come off.

the 19mm head bolts that run through the two lift blocks per side are SO tight ! im using a breaker bar & 19mm socket but it feels like bolts will snap before it moves, just after some help if i'm doing anything wrong or maybe i should try impact gun instead ?

heres afew pics, first one of the Brumby, others of what i think are the lift blocks & the 19mm bolt that runs through them.

cheers ! chinski





drivers side









passenger side

Such a great looking ute Congratulations on the purchase

How long is your breaker bar?

do you have replacement bolts of a shorter length?

(you will need them to put your car back together)

I used a 24 inch breaker bar with a pipe extension to crack my bolts, then I slowly wound them out a few turns "crc"-ed them, then repeated the process untill I had them all out (this was to install my lift kit)

watch out using a rattle gun as you my strip the encapsulated nuts or shear bolts.

TOONGA

GOOD luck

thanks for the replys TOONGA & Tigger ,

my bar is 360mm long ( just ask my mrs....) but only 1/2 inch diameter ( just ask my mrs...)

i managed to get the bolt to move but it also moved the lift block as if the bolt is tight inside the block ( not sure what they're made out of ) so i stopped there & thought i would take pics & check here before going further.

no i dont have shorter bolts, i can go to a local bolt shop 10 mins down the road once i have them removed, i didn't even think of that.

i thought about spraying WD40 in there but couldn't feel where the bolt goes but as you say its an encapsulated nut which i what i thought it must be but cant reach in where it's bound up to spray.

i think i'll have to persist with it, try a pipe on my bar & try to get some spray in there, maybe tap on the bolt head for a while with a hammer to help crack rust seal, if that fails might try a good impact socket with the gun on 1 out of 4 power to get the impact in there & crack it off....

i'll report back, hopefully with pics of a 2 inch lower Brumby !!:D

cheers ! chinski

oh also i got told buy the guys i bought the ute from that it has 2 inch longer shocks in the rear & i may need to replace them with originals, i was going to try to just remove the blocks & leave these longer shocks in there then take it to a suspension shop i spoke to today & they can find some correct new shocks.

if you can wait a few days, you can bring it around to mine, i got a rattle gun and all the fun stuff

thanks Green eyed liberty !

i have air & rattle gun here, but still 2 heads are better than 1 & i am new to brumbys , i'm off up the sunny coast on friday & not back till monday, could come around next week if i don't get at it tomorrow ?

Subaru have a part number CRC556, that or Lanotec is good in this area of stubborn. Does sound like those blocks are solid and corrosion taken place betwen them and bolt.

What about drill hole through lift block as high as, in centre about 3mm dia towards centre allow for bolt diameter, dont drill into bolt itself, spray some CRC in to help release suspected bond.

Get a big shifter onto the lift block trying to turn, and turn it !?

SUCCESSSSSSS !!!! :-P:-P:-P

started today on front strut spacer removal, had to pop out tie rod ends, ball joints, CV out of hub then drop strut, remove spacer & re-fitt strut, CV's were really hard to get back through hub & had to remove the brakes & disc to line it up & get it through each side, bit extra time but all went well really.

got rattle gun onto rear bolts & they were still bloody tight ! used rattle gun & also pipe on end of breaker bar to get them out, i snapped 1 bolt from a torsion bar mount & went " oh sheeeet " , luckily it left over 10mm of thread seized in the captive nut & about 15mm of thread exposed, so just slipped mount over that & bunged a nut on it like it was a stud that was meant to be there, yeah ! lucky save !!

had to remove rear shocks to line up all the bolts i think the brumby arse end is so light as i jacked it up the shock was raising the body, put shocks back in & even though i was told they're 2 inches longer they seem fine.

had to go to bolt shop & get new shorter bolts for all rear stuff too.

will get some pics up in daylight tommorow, took it for a quick spin & feels much more planted on road & suspension seems a bit softer than before, especially rear end.

also got pretty good injury, a massive spider about dinnerplate size, or 50c piece size maybe, ran out at me & i scurried backwards making manly noises ( girly screams ) & stuck my hand on a piece of wood with about 25mm nail sticking out, went in pretty deep in thumb meat & nice dark red blood came out, good times !

Nice outcome mate. Thx for updating. Lol re spider. I have hurt myself a few times issuing "manly sounds" (lol) getting away from harmless insects.
Looking forward to the pics

Before removing 2 inch lift :



after removing lift kit :



handles & looks much better !

Is this auto? Or just the dash? Interested to see how the gearbox fits in the tunnel if its the auto, especially with it back to standard height.

yeah its an auto, lift kit i removed was only suspension lift, it has lift blocks ontop of engine & gearbox crossmembers, i suppose you can either see it as 2 inch body lift over engine & trans, or 2 inch engine & trans drop i suppose

You may have to get modified tie rod ends as your steering rack is now lower than the ends and this may affect bump steer.

Sent from my new touchy phone thingy

chinski wrote:SUCCESSSSSSS !!!! :-P:-P:-P

Awesome! (Although I preferred the look lifted, I understand your reason for dropping it)

also got pretty good injury, a massive spider about dinnerplate size, or 50c piece size maybe, ran out at me & i scurried backwards making manly noises ( girly screams ) & stuck my hand on a piece of wood with about 25mm nail sticking out, went in pretty deep in thumb meat & nice dark red blood came out, good times !

Lol, we've all been guilty of girly noises haha

Even though I've handled many spiders & scorpions, incl this lovely lady below, I've still been surprised many a time lol

Chinski, Just wondering what you did with the kit after you removed it?

zookcruzr wrote:Chinski, Just wondering what you did with the kit after you removed it?

I'm also curious. Also, what about the steering arm extension?

Cheers,
Tom.

is the lift kit still in usable condition? if so, are you looking to get rid of it?

lift kit ( no extension ?) here - not mine

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/coffs-ha ... 1047903125

subiwreck in adelaide will also provide but you may want to try to neg on the initial asking price.

or cr#######rd still make them for MY's at $455ish Inc Postage ( add $?? for correct extension) they would be better value than the one above - contact Jeff - I found him fine to deal with.

is there a specifications file available anywhere online? i have a mate who would be able to make them for me if i had the specs.. (measuring the points on the car would be a lot more time consuming)