Install of H&M Long Travel

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RyanFelish

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Well after over 3 months of researching long travel suspension available for the Raptor, I have finally pulled the trigger on the H&M kit. Since there is little to be found of these on the Raptor, I decided to share my experience from start to finish.

Let me add that choosing a long travel kit has proven to be no easy task. There are a lot of options out there, and the tough thing is that most of the information you can gather comes from the builder, or the guy that spent big dollars on it. It's hard to find someone that has first hand experience with multiple kits to give a good unbiased feedback. I spent time on the phone with RPG, SVC, Rogue, Icon, Baja Kits, and of course H&M. I also spent my days scouring Instagram for long travel raptors, contacted the owners and asked their experience with the kit, and what they would get if they started all over. Also spent time talking to multiple people that participate in the expedition type runs to see what trucks they have seen that worked the best.

At the end of the day, I don't think any of them are bad, some have characteristics that may be more appealing to some groups. Brenthal (Baja Kits) is more narrow than most others, but also less travel before having CV issues. RPG uses stock mounting locations which is good if you don't have the ability to weld/fab. I have my personal reasons and opinions that ended me up at the decision of H&M, but I don't want this thread to turn into a bicker match about who has a better kit. I picked the one that I feel will be most suitable for my personal abilities and desires. I am by no means a professional fabricator, but I do consider myself an avid hobbyist. I have mostly done rock crawler and jeep related projects prior to this. I'm new to the high speed A-Arm world..


On to the build:

Prior to this my truck was mostly stock, running 37" tires on mid perch, with Fiberwerx front fenders to clear. I use my truck more for Off-road than I do for driving around town. In the short time of having it, I have knocked it out of alignment 3 times already, feel like the rear end rides like shit, and was overall unhappy with the performance of the truck in the desert and dunes.

Side Note: If anyone is interested seeing how well the stock suspension works in the dunes I made a video showing it fully cycle.
https://youtu.be/Jr_9T93C0gw


I have ordered the front kit with King 2.5 coil overs, and 3.5" Bypass.
For the rear I am doing Spring Under Deavers, 4.0 Bypass, and looking at either the SVC rear bed cage, or building my own.

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First Step of course is to strip the front end of stock components.

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Next, all the stock upper mounts need to be removed. Be extra careful on the driver side, as multiple brake lines run right behind the shock tower. I used a thin piece of sheet metal to push all the lines back and protect them.

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While at it, I had H&M order a Currie rear axle for me 80" WMS, Pulled and sold the stock one.
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I will be building my own bypass rack and bump stops for the rear, I prepped the bed for removal and the truck is now looking pretty sad.

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RyanFelish

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Okay, some updates:

While I was waiting for the front kit to be built, I worked on my bed.

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Now my Fiberwerx install is done in the rear. I started working on a place to mount my compressor.

The factory locker switch will work to engage the locker, however I also have an override button if I want.
I will also have a 3 gallon tank capable of filling tires. This will have its own solenoid that will open or close airflow TO the tank. That way I don't have to wait for the tank to fill up if I want to only use my locker.

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Also in this downtime, I tackled the front re-gear project. I ordered my Currie with 4.88 gearing, gotta make the front match! I had some moisture get into the front pinion from a dried, cracked, and broken vent line. Oil came out milky so I replaced EVERY bearing, every seal. Made for a project...

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Finally starting to make forward progress on the front end! I got my frame braces and welded those on.

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Then decided there would be literally no easier time to do headers. No 4wd system, no shock tower. So I ordered up some headers. (Install still sucks on the passenger side).

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Then Christmas came! My arms were ready, frame mounts still being worked on as I am the first outside customer to get the unitized upper arm and shock mount setup.

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Putting these together is pretty simple. The trick is to paint them before putting all the uniballs in. After painting, clean up where the uniball will slide into, put them in then install the snap ring.
When bolting in the stock hubs, be sure the hole for the speed sensor points UP!

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Things are starting to show up around here now. Here is the newly released upper arm mounts from H&M!

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This is a game changer for the fans of the H&M products that don't want to pay the install price of a kit, are capable of welding and basic fabrication, but don't want to have to figure out shock and bypass mounts and angles on their own. This whole kit was CAD designed to work together, personally I don't have the ability to design anything better than that. So getting a single unitized arm/bypass mount was NICE!

Install of this is pretty easy, I did it myself but a second set of hands would have been nice. Essentially once all the stock mounts have been removed, and you weld the frame braces on, you measure straight back from the radiator core support. Make a vertical line on the frame at exactly 9 1/8".

Now put your A-Arm in the mount, with the outer mount tabs also. Place the whole assembly on top of the frame, the very front mount should just touch your vertical line as shown below. Check for gaps in the mount, due to frame variations I had to shave down the farthest rear mount just a touch to get everything to sit flush. Wasn't a big deal, just takes a little patience. Once everything is how you want it you can weld it up!

Before Shaving Rear Mount
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After
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Marked line, front of the truck is to the right. This is the very first mount in the system.
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RyanFelish

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Currie rear axle showed up.

I went 80" WMS. ARB Locker, 4.88 Gears.

Its big..

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And Sexy

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It sucks having to cut through it for U bolts when I know links are in the future (After Cage and S/C)

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Now that I was able to cycle suspension I decided a small frame notch was probably worth the work. Gained probably an inch of up travel, and like they say, every inch counts.

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Also got the center of my new brake rotors bored out to fit the new full floater.

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Installed the new RCV axles into my stock front CV's

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Then I buttoned up some of the wiring and air lines, and had some buddies help me put the bed back on. It was difficult for me to decide where I want to mount my bump stops without having the bed on. Due to the increased up travel, and a 4" stroke 2.5 bump, I either need to keep them close to the frame and pop them through the bed, or extend them out so they are deep enough in the fender that I can still service them. The axle is wide enough to have lots of options. I decided to go through the bed and keep them close to the frame. They will be hitting right between the U bolts. I will get those pictures up next time.

For now, here is one with the bed set back on. Honestly for how nice the fiberglass fenders seem to go on, I expected the body lines to be closer than they are. Looks like I will need to work with these some more in the future, however my only priority currently is getting this thing drivable again. I can chase 1/2" body gaps later when I have time to start considering paint or wrap options.

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Update:

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Looks like these fenders won't work. These are the fiberwerx, I bought when my plan was to go Brenthal. Wider kit needs wider fenders, you can see how high the suspension will go, without the tire being able to tuck the fiberglass will be destroyed. Also had to do away with stock windshield washer fluid tank which is standard.

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For wire routing, I welded 1/4" bolts to the spindle and upper arm. This allows me to secure the speed sensor using insulated clamps. For the IWE lines, I cut them where they are by the frame and used some 5mm air tube to connect to the stock double line. This is more flexible than the stock hard line, less chance of breaking. I think a project in the future will be to replace all the stock line with this type of air line. Unless I go IWE eliminators but I really prefer the axle to not have to spin when in 2wd.

I also got the camber set, quick tip, every half turn on the upper heims equates to about .1 of a degree in camber. Knowing this gets you really close the first attempt.

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Also. front brake bolts need to be shortened.

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Made some progress on the rear also!

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RyanFelish

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New update!

Starting to get down to the finishing touches.

Rear end is COMPLETE! (Pending successful brake bleed). Made all the lines myself and haven't done much before so I am a little nervous about everything sealing up properly. Also pending fenders. Fiberwerx bedsides weren't wide enough. Had I not notched the frame I would have been okay, but the extra up travel was causing a big hit to the glass. +4 fenders coming.

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