Hey all,
I have a 2000 D2. Im looking to lift it 2". What are the issues with just milling some spacers on my mill? All I find online are the springs/shock kits. Im taking the D2 to Moab in Oct but other than that it a soccer moms D2.
Also, Im looking for a roof mounted tent system, any ideas or offers to sell?

 

I was in your boat a while back RE: spacers vs new springs/shocks, I went with new springs and shocks for 2 reasons: 1) Your shocks are probably WAY past their prime and need to be replaced anyway, and if you’re gonna do that you might as well get some new springs in there because those are probably pretty tired too. 2) A spacer doesn’t increase the articulation of the wheel which is a lot of the reason you do a lift. But, I can certainly see just wanting the spacers given your use case, especially if you can mill them out yourself.

As far as a roof tent system is concerned I also run a a roof top tent, I think there are a lot of good options for the tent itself, the big question if how are you going to mount it. I have the extended roof rails but I don’t exactly trust them at their advanced age so I supplemented it with a roof gutter mounted ladder rack. I just bent the top of the gutter mounts over to support the tent from underneath and now it’s really solid plus I didn’t increase the height too much.

I’ll try and get a picture and I think I have the measurements of the the spacer geometry too (I was going to mill them out myself as well) if you want to go that route. Feel free to search for my username and post regarding my lift that I did for some pictures. I had never done any suspension work before but between the forum and the Atlantic British video I found the actual work to be pretty straightforward. In any case, start spaying the hardware with penetrating oil now so your wrenching goes smooth!

 

Here’s the link to my lift that I did, it’s not a “how to” but you can see the difference and the gutter mount system I use for my tent. The only advice I would add to it would be to remove the frame cross member so you can use “the bottle jack trick” to get the new springs in by placing the bottle jack between the axle and frame to get enough clearance. I didn’t remove the crossmember and that’s why it didn’t work for me and I had to use a spring compressor.

https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...y-done-112973/

 

Thank you for both of your replies, I think Ill just bite the bullet and go for the full monty. Big plus to presoaking (aero Kroil is the only way). who has the best pricing on 2" over sized shocks and springs? Terrafirma seems to come up the most. There is a heavy duty and medium duty; can I assume I need the medium duty?

 

I got my TerraFirma set from Lucky8 and went with a medium duty. The kit also comes with new spring seats all around but I replaced my rear spring seats with D1 spring seats which add a half inch to the rear. I found that with my tent and all my camping gear in the back it helps to keep it level. When you receive the new springs go a google search for the part number stamped on them to figure out where they go on the truck, they aren’t interchangeable.

 

I piece-meal all my lifts together. Extra rear springs in the front and 3" or 3.5" blocks in the rear.

New shocks are a good idea - I have historically cheaper out there too, just modifying the shock mounts to keep full travel.

I lift to raise ground clearance to the frame and fit larger tires. I wheel mine hard and it always works well, but takes some extra work. Terrafirma kit is a good value, nothing wrong with it to save some work and time. You won't find the limits of the springs and shocks if you're keeping the stock radius arms and watts link setup.

 

With a roof top tent and a bunch of gear I think you may want HD instead of medium. I don’t have a lot of experience here but I can tell you I have a wilderness rack that I occasionally load up, as well as steel bumpers front and rear with a Warn winch, and the HD OME setup has no shortcomings. It might be a little harsher over railroad tracks and the like but overall I’m pleased with the day to day driveability. If you plan on pulling off the RTT when not in use and otherwise have a stock truck then maybe the HD is overkill. It is recommended for trucks with extra weight in them and might get a little bouncy.

 

So are you using rear springs in the front? I assumed they were they were the same. And what do you mean by "watts" linkage?

 

No, I’m not using rear springs in the front. The springs sit on a metal plate, called a spring seat or spring perch. D1 spring seats have less of a lip on them which results in a 1/2” lift, so my rear has a 2.5” inch lift, 2 inches from the lift kit and 1/2 inch from the D1 spring seat. The springs themselves are NOT interchangeable, especially front to rear. The front springs are a constant rate spring, you can tell because they have the same number of coils along the length. The rear springs are progressive rate springs, the coils get closer together at one end. As they are compressed more, they become more difficult to compress.

Watch the AB video (of, if you’re like me, watch it 50 times) and it will point all of this out, it’s well worth it:

 

I am. The rear springs are a bit taller and heavier, so they lift the front about 3-3.5". Watts link is what is used on the rear end to keep the axle centered in the chassis instead of a panhard bar. It has the benefit of keeping the axle truly centered instead of having a slight side to side arc like a panhard bar.