Before and after:

The Crazy Idea

We decided to get a WeldTec suspension lift on Ziggy. From some Internet research the WeldTec kit looks to be the best. Their main products are lifts for Ford Econoline vans. When searching for Ziggy we specifically looked for a Ford so we could have this lift done. The main reason we initially wanted the lift was for better ground clearance. Our plans for using Ziggy include a lot more boondocking, thus off road capable. Or at least off pavement, we want to camp in remote locations not rock crawl.

The plan was to have a 5" WeldTec lift kit put on. This includes their basic lift kit along with new shocks and steering damper. Also larger wheels and tires which should give better off pavement performance. Ziggy's original tires, when he came to us, had good tread but were out of date. They needed to be replaced, and for off pavement use replaced with all terrain tires. Larger would be better so decided it was a good time for this, didn't want to buy stock size tires and then pay for new tires and wheels later. Finally planned for either a limited slip or locking differential. That should give us the traction of a 4x4 before they engage their lockers. We did this at the same time, as the larger tires really needed new differential gearing. If the diff is opened up for new gearing a limited slip/locker is best done at the same time.

Deciding between limited slip and a locker was a close decision. The locker will give better traction in most situations. But they need to be manually turned on and off, and engaged only when needed. It creates more stress on the axle assembly but is OK if only used intermitently. The limited slip is "on" all the time. Thus is easier to use, no thought required. Also no thinking ahead, you never end up trying to engage the locker after getting stuck. We decided for our use the limited slip diff would make more sense. Your mileage may vary.

Summit 4x4

We found a 4x4 shop in Prescott that said they could install a WeldTec kit. That was Summit 4x4. They are knowledgable and I wanted a local shop in case anything went amiss. Gave them $ and waited for their receiving the kit. They indicated the kits were about 3 weeks wait time. I waited 3-4 weeks and they hadn't received the kit from WeldTec. I learned from WeldTec that the kit hadn't been ordered! I got the run round from them including various excuses and little truth. I finally decided to fire Summit 4x4 and have the work done at WeldTec in El Cajon. Summit reimburse our down payment so not too much of a problem, except a real headache and loss of about 6 weeks.

WeldTec

I made arrangements with WeldTec to bring Ziggy to El Cajon for installation of the lift and associated work. They have done many Econoline Vans and even a few Pleasureways. Had them do the same installation that Summit 4x4 was to do, lift/shocks plus new wheels/tires. They suggested a shop in El Cajon, MIT Driveline Specialists, to put in the limited slip diff and gearing. I'm not pleased with the work WeldTec did. The lift kit is very nice, well made and thought out. Their installation of it was haphazard, careless with little meaninful communitacions. The major problems were:

• Ford installs leaf spring bolts from the outside of the vehicle. Pleasureway then builds the camper on this base vehicle blocking these bolts. After much thought and comminication with other PW owners a way to remove these and reassemble with new bolts from the inside outward was found. WeldTec refused to consider any solution and bored holes in interfering storage bins for bolt removal. No-one was even willing to hear about the workaround.


• The plugs "installed" to fill these bored holes in storage cabinets are a loose fit and not water tight. Poorly thought out on their part. The plug in the battery compartment is too thick for the drawer to completely close and latch. I'll have to address these before any major trips.


• WeldTec had to re-route the grey water drain line to accomodate the new driveline path. They've "done a lot of these and know what we're doing" but a very expensive fix for a few feet of PVC. The final solution is held together with bailing wire! This is under the vehicle, exposed to water and who knows what. Stainless wire would be a marginal fix, but bare steel bailing wire shows very pool workmanship.[Update: The bailing wire was worn through withing 1000 miles of use. Mostly mild highway driving. Also, rivits holding the oposite side up are failing.]
  


• The lift raised the back of the vehicle about 3" more than the front. The "rake" front to back is visible in the picture, top of this page. This is a real problem with a van needing to be leveled for camping. WeldTec leads one to believe they use custom springs matching your vehicles rear axle weight. Turns out this is misleading. WeldTec has springs made but only for 3400, 4000, 5000 and 8000lb axles. Our PW was specified for 6300lb so have springs overrated by 25% (8000lb). This was noted at pickup and no-one at WeldTec cared. They may be persuaded to remove one link from the spring packs, but they are hesitant.


• The topper though was the TPMS not working on new wheels and tires. I was told by WeldTec at pickup, when TPMS errors were noticed, that they need to sync with the vehicle and will start working within 40 miles. They did not. I tried to re-program the TPMS but the Ford would not reccognize the sensors. I asked WeldTec what sensors they used and was said they moved the old sensors to the new wheels. I finally took the vehicle in to Lane's Tire and Auto in Parker AZ (good folks) to get them working. When Lane's checked there were no sensors in any of the wheels. They also found the wheels had not been balanced. Net result, WeldTec stole my TPMS sensors and charged me $250 to mount and balance my wheels/tires which is work they did not do. I am in the process of contacting them for reimbursement of at least this stolen $500. [Update: WeldTec refunded this $500]

The limited slip differential and new gearing done by MIT Drivetrain went flawlessly. Easy and up front to work with. I do recommend them.

But, other than the careless installation and theft, our PW drives much better than before. It does not sway dangerously and is much easier to drive. This is mainly due to the stiffer leaf springs and new shocks. The lift will be adventagous off pavement. All in all a frustrating and expensive experience resulting in a better rig for boondocking.

Valley Spring Service

I took Ziggy to Valley Spring Service in Phoenix to fix the "rake" due to the new leaf springs from WeldTec. [I didn't want WeldTec touching it again.] They did a great job that fixed him right up. Rather than take a leaf out of the springs, they took the springs appart and re-arced each leaf. That brought the ride height in the rear down 2 1/2". But re-arcing the springs would moves the axle back causing an interference. Valley Spring anticipated this. While the springs were off Ziggy they un-rolled the eye in the master links, cut off 3/4", and re-rolled a new eye.

Valley Spring did a great job and was done while I waited. It did take some 3 weeks to get an appointment though. I highly recommend Valley Spring for spring work.

SUMMARY:

WeldTec makes a very nice lift kit for the Econoline Van, well made, well thoughtout and works well. But the installation by WeldTec was poor. I'd suggest to anyone considering this mod to buy the kit and have a trusted local shop install it. Go to a local tire shop for wheels and tires. Finally take it to MIT for differential work if anywhere near San Diego and to Valley Spring if near Phoenix.