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Motor7 · 10-13-2017, 04:41 AM

There was another thread on this, but I could not add too it since it was over 187 days old...maybe the Mods could merge these threads to keep all the good tips together in one place?

I just put the fronts on and have a few suggestions:

-On the driver's side remove the brake line hold downs so you can push them up away from the oem bump bolt. You can prop something under them to keep them up

-If you don't have one, swing by HF and buy an air ratchet....they are under $20, also grab a mirror on a flex wand($5)

-Hose the bolt down with your favorite penetrator spray...I like PB Blaster

-wrap mirror wand around the crossover and position it to the rear of the "covered frame tube"

-Use a headlamp or a flashlight in your teeth to bounce the light off the mirror and down the frame rail....now you can actually see your quarry.

-Put a 15mm deep socket on your air ratchet and slide it onto the nut.....fire away while holding the bump stop with your other hand.

- I didn't use a magnet since I could slide out the old nut and the lock washer.

-Slide in the new washer and drop it in the cut out on the frame. Position it by looking up through the old bolt hole and get it centered.

-Slide in the new nut, position it on top of the washer...now, keep your finger on that nut while threading the Sumo bolt through the hole until you catch a few threads.

-Back to the mirror and ratchet....hold Sumo and fire away again and tighten

-The Sumo does not come with a lock washer because the bolt/nut set up has some kind of friction lock and is a bit hard to thread on.

-re-attach brake line hold down(10mm I think)

-double check you did no leave and tools on top of the springs of the frame rails

-done

Of course it sounds easy, I assure you I did not think of all this before I began dragging out half the tools from my shop. I also think the neighbors 1/4 mile away might have heard some lunatic ranting

Oh, and use the box the Sumo's came in to prop up your head so you can see down the frame rail with the flashlight....on edge it's just about the perfect height. This is assuming you are wallowing around on the ground/concrete like a beached whale like I did

Stand-by...........the rears are next....

vettenuts · 10-13-2017, 04:55 PM

The big question is did they make a difference?

M&EM · 10-13-2017, 07:52 PM

I have Sumos front and rear and they do make a difference.

Pos: is fronts made firmer ride.

Rears seemed to add some additional side to side stiffness. ---

(not always helpful angling on steep driveway ramps and may have contributed to torqued windshield damage this summer)

Cons: rears added height to back end, and additional weight.

Motor7 · 10-14-2017, 05:06 AM

Hard to say Vet, I replaced the shocks w/Bilstein the day before, all were original and completely blown. 6 Toyo tires installed the day after and it's new beast now. I won't get to the rear Sumo's until next week & I need to go buy a HF 3/4" Earthquake impact gun & socket to get the rear tires off. I know it has been done with the rears on, but man that looks like it would be really tough with them in the way.

fun 33V · 10-17-2017, 10:44 AM

I installed sumos about 4 years ago didn't need to remove the rear tires but you do need to drill a couple of holes,not a bad job the frame was pretty soft. they did help the ride

Easyrider · 10-19-2017, 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fun 33V

I installed sumos about 4 years ago didn't need to remove the rear tires but you do need to drill a couple of holes,not a bad job the frame was pretty soft. they did help the ride

How are the sumos holding up after 4 years? Are they worth the cost?

fun 33V · 10-19-2017, 11:10 AM

Hello Easyrider,I like your coach ours has been great the springs are holding up well really tamed the California highways we take that trip at least twice a year to visit family.I did add sway bars front & rear that made it ride like it's on rails.

Motor7 · 10-20-2017, 06:08 PM

Y'all were right, rear wheels do not need to be removed, although it would cut install time quite a bit.

-if you have mud flaps forward of the axle remove them for the install(THEY WILL BE IN THE WAY)

-You need something to hold the oem bump stop from spinning during removal...a Harbor Freight oil filter plier works perfectly:
https://www.harborfreight.com/2-inch...nch-36778.html

-the instructions are pretty lame. Besides the 3/8ths hole in the bottom of the frame, I also had to drill a 1/2" hole for the forward part of the bracket on both driver and passenger side.

-to mount the bolt in said 1/2" hole there is a indexing hole on the rearward drivers side inside frame rail bracket that makes putting the Sumo bolt in very easy. Passenger side is easier since there is no bracke inside of the frame rail.

-The oem bump stop bolt is about 2.5" long...take a sawzall and cut it off to 3/4-1" since it will be rusty and stubborn to back that bolt off of all that Real Estate

-Loosely install the leaf spring bracket on the bottom of the Sumo spring then onto the mounting bracket before mounting said bracket since it will not go in there after the bracket is in place.

-Leave the bottom Allen bolt loose on the bottom of the Sumo until you have the bracket secured and holes drilled. Then take a silver Sharpie and mark the location of the bottom tabbed leaf spring bracket in it's proper location over the springs on the bottom of the Sumo.

-Remove the top two bolts on the Sumo, then align to your marks and tighten the Allen bolt

-replace the top Sumo bolts and tighten

-drop in Carriage bolts, then lower the suspension until you can snug the Carriage bolts up

-replace the mud flaps

_done..........

It took me about 5 hours to do this. The oem bump stop bolts and the mud flaps eat up a lot of time. Once they are out of the way, the rest flows pretty good. Have some real quality drill bit's of you will not be happy. Air ratchets or Impacts are invaluable. Use an air chuck to blow off all the metal shaving from drilling or you will sleep with it embedded in your skin.