rough country leveling issue

thewhitestallion · February 20, 2014

i just installed my rough country 2" leveling kit on my 14 z71 4x4 and i saw somewhere another member saying that he had to cut a bolt because it was hitting his C.V. shaft but couldn't find the thread as im pretty sure it was in the middle of a picture thread or something. well when i installed mine today i had to do the same. you have to cut the rear most bolts that bolt the lower shock / strut assembly to the lower control arm other wise it will hit the C.V. shaft. i just emailed rough country about it and we'll see what they say. just an FYI for anyone who wants to put the RC kit on be aware that this is an issue. other than that issue it was fairly easy to put on.

anyone else put on a different kit that can chime in and say if they had this same issue?

here are some pics. gonna take some better pics tomorrow with a DSLR camera.

i measured before and after the install and it came out to just about 1/16" under an exact 2" lift.

LTZ2014 · February 20, 2014

I have the rough country lift with no issue installing it. Take pic of the bolt you cut.

Bbowen826 · February 20, 2014

You shouldn't have to cut the bolt. Did you buy the correct kid for your truck? They have two kits, one for steel control arms and one for aluminum. I believe the bolts are different lengths for the kits.

benitslu · February 20, 2014

Issue will only be with a 4x4

Edited February 20, 2014 by benitslu

thewhitestallion · February 20, 2014

I have the rough country lift with no issue installing it. Take pic of the bolt you cut.

i will take a pic tomorrow.

EDIT: Do you have a 4wd or 2wd?

You shouldn't have to cut the bolt. Did you buy the correct kid for your truck? They have two kits, one for steel control arms and one for aluminum. I believe the bolts are different lengths for the kits.

Correct. They offer two kits, one for the steel control arms and one for the aluminum. I have the aluminum control arms and ordered the kit for the aluminum control arms. i tripled checked before placing my order. i literally followed the instructions step by step as i wanted to be 100% sure i didn't miss anything. i even disconnected the battery before working on my truck which i NEVER do. i read on a f150 forum that some of their issues with their EPS racks is that when doing the leveling kit and not disconnecting the batter it messed up the rack. i am not sure if there is any correlation but i didn't want to risk and it and it only took me 1 min.

Edited February 20, 2014 by thewhitestallion

LTZ2014 · February 20, 2014

Mine is 4x4. Did you installing the bolts down through with the nut on the bottom?

scz71864 · February 20, 2014

x2, you shouldnt have to cut anything

thewhitestallion · February 20, 2014

Mine is 4x4. Did you installing the bolts down through with the nut on the bottom?

you cant do it that way because: 1. the instructions say to install it with the head of the bolt on the bottom. 2. you cant put the bolt with the head on top because the C.V. shaft is right on top of the rear most shock bolt. the only way to install the bolt with the head on top and the nut on the bottom is to remove the axle from the hub and then put the bolt in. however, doing it that way will require you to do that every time if you want to remove your shocks / strut assembly.

thewhitestallion · February 20, 2014

x2, you shouldnt have to cut anything

I completely agree however, I did have to cut the bolt. there was no way it was going to work without cutting the bolt. i had to cut the bolt about 1/16" - 1/8". so now the head of the bolt barley pokes through the top of the nut.

LTZ2014 · February 20, 2014

I'll wait for pics, but I have the steel suspension so mine is obviously different. I was able to put my bolts down through.

Edited February 20, 2014 by LTZ2014

Bigman73 · February 20, 2014

Mine cleared and don't hit the cv shaft ...... U would have to get serious air to do any damage to the joint .....put head on bottom with washer and washer with nut ......worked great for me ....dnt forget to do an alingment your toe is going to be off .....

Edited February 20, 2014 by Bigman73

thewhitestallion · February 20, 2014

Mine cleared and don't hit the cv shaft ...... U would have to get serious air to do any damage to the joint .....put head on bottom with washer and washer with nut ......worked great for me ....dnt forget to do an alingment your toe is going to be off .....

yeah im getting an alignment tomorrow.

YQatari · February 20, 2014

That's weird, I installed the RC 2.5 lift kit, and I remember the instruction was to install bolts with the head down.

I know you said you have leveling kit, but the lower spacer is basically the same!! Take a look at the instructions for the 2.5 lift kit.

thewhitestallion · February 20, 2014

this is the front bolt. (original length)

Rear bolt that i had to cut

top view of the bolt. as you can see the CV shaft covers the bolt so in order to put the bolt in with the head of the bolt on the top and the nut on the bottom you would have to remove the shaft from the hub.

thewhitestallion · February 20, 2014

here is the picture from the instructions that come with the kit.

EDIT: if you look closely in their photo the bolt does not have any extra thread after the nut like the ones i was supplied. like i stated earlier i had to cut approx. 1/16" - 1/8" of the top of the bolt. not really a big deal but i wasn't expecting it and the kits literally says "no drill (which is true) and 100% bolt on". just thought i would post this up in case anyone else wants to level their truck they will already know and expect it.

if you are reading this and are about to install this kit make sure to try the bolt first to make sure it fits. don't just cut two bolts and then your bolts be too short.

Edited February 20, 2014 by thewhitestallion