OK THE ORDER HAS BEEN PUT IN FOR THE CALMINI 6" COMBO FOR MY 95 JLX KICK,   BEEN NICKNAMED BY THE WIFE AS OBSESSIVE BEHAVIOR   ANY HELPFUL INSTALL TIPS THAT MAY MAKE LIFE EASIER PLEASE SHARE....WITH A 95 KICK 5 SPEED IS THE FACTORY GEARING GONNA BE OK RUNNING 31X10.50'S THOSE OF YOU RUNNING THE SPOOL WHATS YOUR THOUGHTS BEFORE AND AFTER  HOPEFULLY I'LL SELL MY RANGER FOR SOME MORE GOODIES   THINKING THE NEXT FEW THINKS AFTER LIFT & TIRES SHOULD BE, EXAUST COMBO, DUAL CENTER FORCE CLUTCH,STEERING STABILIZER & HILIFT JACK TO NAME A FEW ......ANY COMMENTS APPRECIATED AND THANKS IN ADVANCED FOR YOUR TIME & EXPERIENCE HAPPY ZUKING! MATTY D.  

Well it took me 13 hours.

So with a 6" lift you'll probably need atleast 15 hours. You'll need acouple of extra tools, like a die grinder or dremell tool to grind under the front aluminum 3rd member. You'll also need to grind off some of the metal off the rear lower shock mount. Other than that some axel stands, and a floor jack. Having a friend to help in jacking up the front control arms when installing the springs.

Also important to know is I beleive step 9 when you cut the metal insert for the front 3rd member mount. The instructions will leave you a bit puzzled. So this is what I interprated from the instructions. I took the insert, and cut off about a 1/4 inch or so. exactly half the thickness of the blue plastic mount "not the width, half the thickness" and it worked perfectly.

That's about it. Just follow the instructions step by step, and in 15 hours you should be done.

Oh and if you haven't worked out in awhile, you'll need your wife to give you a message afterwards. TRUST ME

If i missed anything I hope someone will fill in the gaps.

I rembered one thing else. When the front suspension is installed, you'll have some serious toe in. You will have to do a static alignment yourself. Here is how I did mine.

Loosen the lock nuts on both sides of the two front steering arms. Making sure your steering wheel is straight. Make adjustment evenly on both sides untill the wheel looks like their pointing straight ahead. Always go back to check to see your steering wheel is pointing straight. Now take a measuring tape, and the inside of the wheels half way up on both the front, and back of the wheels. Make sure it measures the same, about 47 1/2" I beleive, get it as exact as possible. With that done, and the steering wheel is straight, tighten the lock nuts, and your done. Drive it like that for a week or two before taking it in for a professional alignment.

Also there is a write up on the install on this website. Plus a couple of others. Which you can find the links on my webpage. Good luck.

PS: Sorry Eric just trying to help this guy as much as possible.

as far as the spool goes i run one on my daily driver.works great no clicking like with a locker very predictable.you will know its there around turns but very easy to get use to.drove over 150 miles last weekend to go offroading and the difference on the trail was unreal.got mine from trailtough and i cant say enough good things about it.

I only did the body lift so far and it sucked.  there r lots of tips i could give u.  first off if the body mount bolts are rusty,  hope u got some super oil.  spray then about a day before taking them off.   2.  i might of not installed the kit right or my body might be tweeked a little but bending the shifter didn't work. i had to cut the floor.  then the t-case shifter didn't fit right eather so i had to cut the floor again.  make sure if u have to do this u cut them with plunty to spare.  i have to recut mine cuz the t-case hits the floor and knoks it out of gear if i get on a twisty angle.  3.   U have to mod the steering shaft too.  i used a long socket and jut welded the shit out of it.  heres a little tip.  when u put the steering shaft back in make sure the steering wheel is straght.  now mines about 1/3 too far to the right and i have to ajust it. now about gears i'm runing 34s and thats beyond the limit.  u got to twist its nuts to drive it on the street.  i will be upgrading shorty.  umm I welded the rear on mine. u might or might not want to do it. i think it works well on and off road.  well outher then good luck i don't have any more tips for u.

I run 31"x10.5" with stock 5.12:1 r&p in my 94 jx 4 doors and it's cool. But with more gears it will juste  better!

Fredo

Take your time and don't get frustrated, with the body lift I did not have to cut the floor or bend it at all, just extended and bent the shifter. Spend the time and it will look like factory.

Mac

Welcome to the club, you are going to love the lift.


Mac

OK THANKS FOR THE INFO....I'M GONNA DO IT AT B&B SPEED SHOP , BRIAN HAS LOTS OF EXP. PUTTING IN LIFTS...I DO NOT ...HE SAYS I CAN HELP IF I WANT , WHAT BETTER WAY TO LEARN HE HAS A SHOP WITH LOTS OF TOOLS AND A LIFT I WILL PRINT UP ALL THE HELPFUL INPUT, SHOULD WE RUN INTO A SITUATION :-/ BUT UNFORTUNATELY IT TAKES A WEEK TO GET HERE..I'M ON VACATION THIS WEEK, BUT LIFT WONT BE HERE TIL THURS. FRIDAY..I WAS THINKING MY VACATION WAS WEEK AFTER OOPS  OH WELL.... HAPPY ZUKING! MATTY D.  

THOSE OF YOU RUNNING THE SPOOL WHATS YOUR THOUGHTS BEFORE AND AFTER MATTY D.  

We run 31x10.50s and have nearly the exact same setup you've described.  We purchased the mini-spool in March for the Memorial Day trip.  Which it worked perfectly.  Its in the daily pizza delivery mobile and we've had no problems with it.   No additional tire wear is noticable yet.  (10,000 miles later)   It's been a great addition to the truck.

Good Luck,
~Nate

OK I ORDERED THE SPOOL TODAY FROM TRAIL TOUGH   WILL BE HERE FRIDAY, SINCE I WAS ORDERING I ALSO ORDERED  THE GM ALTERNATOR BRACKET AS WELL  THE 6" CALMINI COMBO SHOULD BE HERE THURSDAY NOW ITS JUST HURRY UP AND WAIT FOR THE GOODS TO ARRIVE :-/  HAPPY ZUKING!  MATTY D.

WOW sounds like u have alot of work and fun ahead of u! good luck, hope we all helped

P.S. I think thairs an write up on a Calmini lift kit install on WWW .truckworld .com  I THINK

hey  Natebert

whered you get the minispool? how much did it cost? and was it a pain in the ass to put in? got any pics

thnx

tim

I GOT MINE THROUGH TRAIL TOUGH FOR $100. + SHIPPING... BUT NO INSTALL YET......

hey  Natebert

whered you get the minispool? how much did it cost? and was it a pain in the ass to put in? got any pics

thnx

tim

The short answer, we got the spool for $99 through Trail Tough.  

We were upgrading gearing in our Kick (5.83s from Calmini) due to some serious carnage that our stock 5.12 took with the auto hubs (auto hubs suck, by the way.  Always locking and unlocking at the most inopportune times, causing gear damage.)

Anyway, we had Brent install the 5.83 gears at the same time installed the spool in our 3rd members, since I can't setup gears very well I had Brent do all of it for me.  They are working GREAT, but I haven't any pictures.

Brent did a stand up job for us!  
Good luck