Very good to hear, I was hoping this would continue to grow in one form or another. Very cool. Interested in the new projects.

 

I was just about to do some grinding to further the clearance between the drive shaft and bell housing when I saw the below issue..... The only solution I see to this bugger is to run front bump extensions, again giving up travel which is a big bummer if anyone cares about wheeling performance. I used 3500lb straps to crank the suspension down to where it is within an inch of the factory bump stops and that's about when it looks like its just starting to touch the oil pan. I'm not sure how much the rubber factory bump stops compress but I figure it's at least an inch. This means we need at minimum probably 2" bump stop extensions. For folks who don't mind giving up a little suspension travel, a typical lift kit will off-set this reasonably and we can carry on. For those who really want to crawl this rig and wheel it hard, you might want to start looking at your oil pan before you put it on and see if you can have a relief cut and it clearances made and welded in this area. If you do, I can mark out the area it hits in exactly, in fact, I'll do that anyway for future folks. Everyone should run extended bump stops at this point with this kit, it's a must unless you've a different oil pan from what I see. Remember, SHOCKS ARE NOT BUMP STOPS! Yes they will stop the travel but there's a reason that bump stops exist from the factory, your shocks will be damaged if you use them as bump stops and a big hit is had, plus.... ouch, bit rough.

You could with any regular lift get by fine without extensions perhaps by just the luck of it never fully compressing both springs at the same time but for a little insurance, I'd suggest extensions or at minimum shocks that will bottom before the oil pan is struck, this means shocks that are 1.5" longer than stock at min.

 

The above post isn't meant to scare anyone but meant to make them aware of issues that can arise depending on your individual use of your vehicle. Some of you might intend to wheel the hell out of your Disco and those would be the people who'd most need to know this.

 

I'm not a GM guy; but aren't there Alot of oil pans for LS's? (since people put them in everything)
Do you think it's just a question of finding which is the best pan to use?

 

I'm not either honestly. The pan I chose was the one recommended in the kit. It most certainly seemed to have a preferable shape but perhaps there is indeed an even better choice out there. I don't know. I know this one is a GOOD choice but maybe not the BEST. Even a small improvement like 1/2" to 3/4" would completely solve the issue due to the angles involved.

 

I think this is most likely solved by a lift kit. I’ve off-roaded a little bit and not had issues with the oil pan. That was with my sagging 2” front suspension with all the gear I added. With my setup, I think the tire would be rubbing the fender before the diff hit the oil pan. Like Sixpack said, there are higher clearance oil pans that you can get, but I doubt it’s worth it compared to getting a lift. Some of those really low profile oil pans cost 3/4 as much as a 2” lift kit.

 

You're correct for the most part but just now when I cinched down the front suspension in the driveway, it hits and even with spring upgrades alone it still would. Couple thoughts to make it simple for all the others soon to come to this:

1. A spring upgrade or spacer lift will NOT solve this issue. It will simply change your ride height but when the spring compresses it will still hit the diff/oil pan issue.
2. What WILL solve it is a bump stop extension or a longer shock as those will bottom out before the diff makes contact on the oil pan. If your lift kit includes a bump stop extension or a shock that's longer, you're probably in the clear.
3. As discussed earlier, unless you're installing a very expensive shock with integrated bump stops, you really shouldn't rely on shocks to do the job of a bump stop.


Funny thing, my Remote control Traxxas TRX-4 Defender 110 has the same issue right now. Under full compression of both front shocks, the steering system is binding on the diff. It however can flex one side or the other fine so at low speed this is no issue but, wack a front impact on both shocks at the same time and it'll bind. I'll be bending some linkage arms to work around this in that case. 1/10 scale is much cheaper. I went with longer shocks on it and longer springs, the flex is insane now but it takes some work to make it function correctly.

 

Greg, what shocks/springs are you running? I'm thinking you'd benefit from some adjustable shock towers and the TF adjustable +3" shocks. The shocks aren't the best compared to fox or 7100s but the price isn't bad. Some new bumps might not be a bad idea if they are original but I agree keeping as much uptravel as possible is ideal. These things don't need any help with high COG.

 

UPDATE!!!! I started my truck today!!!! It was able to idle on it's own for 10 seconds. Which now it won't do again for some reason but that's ok. It runs a few seconds now and dies. THANK YOU LOSINOV for a walk-through on the wiring, that was a nice time saver!

1. The 4-way lights turn on once the ignition is keyed on and then they won't shut of unless I pull the battery. I don't have a horn hooked up due to it malfunctioning earlier but maybe that's going off too. I never owned the FOB so I can't do much with the alarm if that's what's going on, I'll have to find a way around it. I've a feeling this is inertia switch/alarm related somehow, apparently there's a second switch in the alarm module too? One way or another it's something with the alarm or the inertia switch I think.
EDIT>>>> This was fixed by unlocking and re-locking the drivers door 3 times using the physical key.

2. M S lights are blinking, I'm sure I need to play with my crank position sensor. M&S lights blink BEFORE it's started though, when the ignition is turned on, perhaps I've a different issue.....

3. I also have no fuel pressure at all unless I jumper the relay psychically with a wire. When I do this, I can start the motor and it'll run on it's own, though a bit rough.
EDIT>>>>> Inertia switch had to be reset. Fuel issue solved I think, though strangely it also now works with the fuel relay completely removed.... head-scratcher on that one.

4. It won't go into DRIVE. It just blinks "D" on the dash as well as on the shifter itself. Anything but forward gears light up and engage fine. I'll check transmission fluid levels, perhaps it's related to the new cooling lines being added but it's making me a little nervous. The M&S lights are blinking and it seems this is commonly tied into the issue of no forward gears working. It doesn't even try to engage any forward gears, the rest you can feel the change occur.

It's a start! #4 issue has me a little worried, I'll do some searches on this.
-Greg

 

I'm running bone stock everything. You're absolutely correct about your suspension recommendations. I generally run the tallest shock towers I can to allow for the longest shock possible and not give up any up travel while I gain down travel, in some cases you can gain BOTH!. HOWEVER....... due to the issue of the diff striking the oil pan in stock configuration, I'll have to remove about 1.5" from stock up travel, though with a 2" lift it means at least I can gain that back. Bummer though, lifting a vehicle and not having really gained suspension travel, just having raised the COG like you said. That's one of my gripes with this situation but at least I'll have an engine that runs! lol.

I'm interested to see how adjustable the shock towers would be. They could be the hot ticket for squeezing every last bit out of it.