Freelander 1 How to fit a 50mm Lift Kit

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Nick84 said:
Wow just wow so much for a easy lift kit looks like some serious grafting but I would still like to go 50mm if you gonna do it might as well go all in ?! And as I said mines mainly an off roader and want it ready for green lanes and pay and play I’ve got my tyres here 195/80/15 so that will help
I will be doing it on my drive but have all the tools I might order the parts you listed first ie brake pipes bull joints etc there cheap enough and might as well get done !! Probably still think I’m made but normals boring lol

Cheers for the write up and pictures I will be using them for reference
Click to expand...
No worries mate, I suppose I should post a piccie of the result. :)

Before

20160820_175655.jpg

After

20161008_170526.jpg


Of course this is cheating a wee bit as the tyres are bigger too but not that much. If I were doing it again I'd fit a 40mm kit and even bigger tyres for the same result with much less work.
 
Thanks for posting the after pics. Nice result!
I've had a Muddy Mods 50mm kit on the shelf for a year now but was put off by all the talk of how terrible they are.
Your how-to is making me rethink the project and I may just have a go at it.
 
Rich in Vancouver said:
Thanks for posting the after pics. Nice result!
I've had a Muddy Mods 50mm kit on the shelf for a year now but was put off by all the talk of how terrible they are.
Your how-to is making me rethink the project and I may just have a go at it.
Click to expand...
So long as you don't need the car for a couple of weeks then go for it, sure what's the worst can happen? :p
No idea who said they are terrible cause in my experience the kit is excellent. If you enjoy working on your car, have a garage to keep it in while working and don't mind a bit of hard graft then it is a great upgrade.
I should add that I had a problem with drive shafts after a while which is no surprise considering they will be working out of their usual position and the car had 140k miles. If this happens to you make sure to replace them with OEM as aftermarket will be horrible,
 
Thanks for the tips! When I said terrible it wasn't in reference to the kits but the comments on the metal work required to fit the 50mm lift. Unfortunately I hadn't seen the comments or I would have bought the "Easy" 40mm kit. Cutting away the inner wheelwell metal is no big deal but cutting the frame rail doesn't seem to be a structurally smart move . Seeing your how-to makes me think that it is more a matter of beating the rails into shape rather than cutting as done in other how-tos I have seen. That makes me feel better about the project. I have some vacation days to burn up this spring so will probably give it a go then. Luckily my Hippo is rust free and only has 70,000 miles on it so that should help as well.
 
Rich in Vancouver said:
Thanks for the tips! When I said terrible it wasn't in reference to the kits but the comments on the metal work required to fit the 50mm lift. Unfortunately I hadn't seen the comments or I would have bought the "Easy" 40mm kit. Cutting away the inner wheelwell metal is no big deal but cutting the frame rail doesn't seem to be a structurally smart move . Seeing your how-to makes me think that it is more a matter of beating the rails into shape rather than cutting as done in other how-tos I have seen. That makes me feel better about the project. I have some vacation days to burn up this spring so will probably give it a go then. Luckily my Hippo is rust free and only has 70,000 miles on it so that should help as well.
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I had to cut into the frame rail too, down a cm or so and across about half way, then after beating it into shape I welded it. I can't say I noticed any issues because of it.
 
A cm isn't too bad. Some of the photos I have seen showed some serious butchery.
I have an implanted defibrillator so I can no longer electric weld but I do have a son-in-law who could
do the welding for me. :)
 
Hi Ali, I don't suppose you took any more pictures during this installation? I am very tempted to fit a 40mm lift to my Hippo - it does so well in the mud, but it just grounds out over ruts etc. :)
 
rob_bell said:
Hi Ali, I don't suppose you took any more pictures during this installation? I am very tempted to fit a 40mm lift to my Hippo - it does so well in the mud, but it just grounds out over ruts etc. :)
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ok so. remove the wheel and open the hood. you should be able to see what needs removing and undoing. Its pretty streight forward and more or less accessable by moving thinds to the side. as for the back you need to remove the boot side trim panels which is easy enough. try inspecting your setup if you have any dificulty just ask. will try to take some pics of my setup or how I did it.
 
rob_bell said:
Thanks Charlot - that'd be very helpful :)
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I suddest you 1st try to crack loose the bottom bolts on the shock. they are the worst in the whole process and the most time consuming. try spraying wd40 or some penetrating oil and cleaning the exposed threads with a wirebrush from a couple of days before. It will help.
also as I sid go trough the process before by locating all bolts and how to access themm and you're more or less good to go.
BTW I did not remove the rear brake lines on mine but just cut a slot on the plate holding them in place and bent it down. then bent it back in place when done. so didn-t touch any brake lines when doing mu 50mm kit.
 
I've had to take the hub off the OSF to change the ABS sensor - so I've already been there - and this is the process needed on all four corners from Ali's posting at the start of the thread. In principle, it generally seems simple - but I suspect the devil is in the detail :)

Always good to go into these mods with a clear idea of what is ahead :)
 
Ain't that the truth! LOL

Which kit did you fit: 40 or 50mm lift? Did you modify the front wings/ and/or swapped the steering control arms over?
 
rob_bell said:
Ain't that the truth! LOL

Which kit did you fit: 40 or 50mm lift? Did you modify the front wings/ and/or swapped the steering control arms over?
Click to expand...
50mm lift by muddymods. modified the inner wings. (1 cut on each side and then one horixzontal along the chassis and a friend of mine welded the seam although 2 vertical cuts and bending the metal down woud have worked also) didn't swap the steering arms but that would have helped a bit more with steering clearance although have never had any probs with mine.
 
Hi Rob
I didn't take many more pics as most of it is straight forward. If you've replaced a strut before then that's pretty much it.
If I was doing it again I'd go for a 40mm lift and fit over sized tyres. I could easily have got away with much bigger tyres than I fitted which would have given the same lift but with a fraction of the work.
 
Alibro said:
No worries mate, I suppose I should post a piccie of the result. :)

Before

View attachment 139424
After

View attachment 139425

Of course this is cheating a wee bit as the tyres are bigger too but not that much. If I were doing it again I'd fit a 40mm kit and even bigger tyres for the same result with much less work.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the informative post. What size tyres have you got there? Are you running wheel spacers too?
 
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