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Great build! I'm curious, with the 305/65 tires and spacers and keeping the G at stock ride height, would you be able to drive it without any rubbing? Thanks.
Great build! I'm curious, with the 305/65 tires and spacers and keeping the G at stock ride height, would you be able to drive it without any rubbing? Thanks.
I have 305/65/18 K02s and 31mm spacers on my truck now, lift is getting installed on Tuesday. I have been driving like this for about a week. I have not had any rubbing, but it is close.
I am guessing if I were to go off-roading or possibly on steeper incline/declines pulling into driveways or parking lots it may rub.
If I wasn’t going to lift it, I would go with a little narrower tire just so I didn’t have to worry about it.
I had the tires put on prior to installing the lift and spacers and got rubbing at full lock, especially when backing out of parking spots.
When I took the truck offroading last weekend I got rubbing when I was at extreme articulation.
Same thought on the narrower wheels, if you don't have AMG wheels I think you can go a bit narrower which would benefit on and offroad situations, but with the height I would reco the lift and spacers.
I had the tires put on prior to installing the lift and spacers and got rubbing at full lock, especially when backing out of parking spots.
When I took the truck offroading last weekend I got rubbing when I was at extreme articulation.
Same thought on the narrower wheels, if you don't have AMG wheels I think you can go a bit narrower which would benefit on and offroad situations, but with the height I would reco the lift and spacers.
Shoot us some pics of the truck!
Not sure if you were asking me for pics of the truck, but I will provide them regardless.
There's a group on IG I follow that's out of Japan they have a lot of builds tht look like your truck.
I am likely going to get mudflaps once I move up to the PNW, have you thought of them? Can't make out the tag, but w these wider tires once I leave LA I don't want to blind people behind me w the wash from these larger tires
There's a group on IG I follow that's out of Japan they have a lot of builds tht look like your truck.
I am likely going to get mudflaps once I move up to the PNW, have you thought of them? Can't make out the tag, but w these wider tires once I leave LA I don't want to blind people behind me w the wash from these larger tires
I am in ND....lots of open country here. But ya, flaps wouldn’t be a bad idea. I took it in the mud last weekend and there were more rocks and mud flinging around than I would care for.
Let me know what flaps you end up with. I was actually surprised how far out the wheels stick out.
The fender flares on the G55 are a bit wider than the flares on the G500/G550, so you will see them stick out a bit more since you don't have the same body width.
Back before LRs and RRs I had a couple of jeeps and one issue I had was when hitting puddles at speed the tires would cover my windshield w water and leave me blinded for a few seconds.
The truck looks great, maybe w the spacers you have a set of G55 flares would complement the new spaced out tires.
There's a group on IG I follow that's out of Japan they have a lot of builds tht look like your truck.
I am likely going to get mudflaps once I move up to the PNW, have you thought of them? Can't make out the tag, but w these wider tires once I leave LA I don't want to blind people behind me w the wash from these larger tires
I also follow that IG group NextOneProject. Love the clean simple looks of their builds and makes me debate putting the brush guard back on.
I really want to add mud flaps front and rear. I REALLY love the look of the mud flaps of the 2019+ trail package trucks but doubt they'll fit without some custom work.
I also follow that IG group NextOneProject. Love the clean simple looks of their builds and makes me debate putting the brush guard back on.
I really want to add mud flaps front and rear. I REALLY love the look of the mud flaps of the 2019+ trail package trucks but doubt they'll fit without some custom work.
..but $427 for mudflaps is pretty steep. I may bite the bullet later this year though.
Yea those guys have some great builds. Simple and practical.
I just bought 4 black headliner grips from 4x4club... ouch.. le' sigh.
Yea saw those on their site as well. I may be buying them as I am always trying to take precautions to make sure my trucks are safe for me and people on the road. Also those mudflaps will help keep rocks, mud, snow and grime from building up in places you really don't want them.
May be the next purchase after I finish my interior upholstery and steering refurb/alignment.
The fender flares on the G55 are a bit wider than the flares on the G500/G550, so you will see them stick out a bit more since you don't have the same body width.
Back before LRs and RRs I had a couple of jeeps and one issue I had was when hitting puddles at speed the tires would cover my windshield w water and leave me blinded for a few seconds.
The truck looks great, maybe w the spacers you have a set of G55 flares would complement the new spaced out tires.
Ah, that makes sense. I will have to take a look at some G55 flares. Thanks!
Yea those guys have some great builds. Simple and practical.
I just bought 4 black headliner grips from 4x4club... ouch.. le' sigh.
Yea saw those on their site as well. I may be buying them as I am always trying to take precautions to make sure my trucks are safe for me and people on the road. Also those mudflaps will help keep rocks, mud, snow and grime from building up in places you really don't want them.
May be the next purchase after I finish my interior upholstery and steering refurb/alignment.
I'm browsing around their site now and adding up the cost of little things. Ouch is right, but finding a lot of odds and ends that my truck is missing. Good to have them as a source for some of these hard to find/discontinued parts.
The fender flares on the G55 are a bit wider than the flares on the G500/G550, so you will see them stick out a bit more since you don't have the same body width.
Back before LRs and RRs I had a couple of jeeps and one issue I had was when hitting puddles at speed the tires would cover my windshield w water and leave me blinded for a few seconds.
The truck looks great, maybe w the spacers you have a set of G55 flares would complement the new spaced out tires.
It's been sitting at the upholstery shop for a week, as they still haven't received the headliner suede material.
Decided to grab it so I could knock a few things out this weekend.
Just finished installing the drag link and the tie-rod assembly.
Tools needed:
- Hammer
- Flathead screwdriver
- Needle nose pliers
- 24mm socket
- Breaker bar
- 5/8" socket + wrench for the steering damper / Tie Rods
- Ball joint separator
- PB Blaster
- measuring tape to get the lengths close enough (Have an alignment appointment at one of the best spots in the area Monday)
- not pictured, 12" adjustable wrench to tighten the drag link
Got both components from FCP EURO so they have their lifetime warranty. The boots on all 4-corners were non-existent on this 65k mile truck.
It took about 45min for removal and installation with the truck on the ground. Took it for a spin and the alignment is still off but she rolls. It will be my last drive until I get the alignment done, then hoping to drop it back off for upholstery Tues to have it back next weekend.
Hoping to get a few smaller things done today:
- New H/L PIAA horns. My horn sounds like it came off a Vespa.. it's sad really.
- Refresh some wiring under the passenger's seat while it is still out.
- Ordered these and looking to retrofit them to the truck, if it doesn't work I will look at re-wrapping the stock sun visors, Black Suede Escalade Sun Visors https://www.ebay.com/itm/263354295057
- Going to add sound deadening material to the areas by the rear windows, driving with the interior out, theres a lot of noise that would be covered by the paneling, but with it out, hoping to get even more sound dampening.
Cannot wait to have this truck back in one piece and get back off road in the coming weeks.
I'd be interested to see how those horns install, if it's straightforward. Also may be a sound clip...
Definitely, went out to try to remove the center grill with the brush guard attached and didn't go so well. Even with the light assembly removed I'd be fighting myself, so I ordered a brush guard tool to take off the guard.
It was a bit steep, but I will be taking the guard off again at some point to get a darker finish powder coated on.
Well since I carved out some time in my day figured I would get some boxes checked.
Got the truck aligned after changing almost every suspension and steering geometry component.
Also decided to pull the headliner out while the shop is still waiting for the material and go ahead and sound deaden the interior and roof.
Went with Kilmat 80 mil, have half a box left with all the coverage I've done. If anyone is looking to do the same I will give the rest of this away for free, just cover shipping.
One of the main reasons I decided to do the roof was this truck will be spending a lot of time in the PNW once we move up to Seattle from LA and I don't want the drone of rain driving me insane.
This stuff went on great and after a while I really got a good method going. Took about a solid hr from surface prep to finishing.
While I was in there I re-wrapped any loose wiring and made sure it was snuggly secure to the truck.
On inspecting all of the drain lines for the sunroof, again getting this truck ready for a rainy life, I found that the driver's front drainage hose was repaired with tape at some point.
Now I'm either looking to find out how to replace the hose, or create a 1.5" connector, which will just add a point of failure sometime in the future. Also, none of my drain hoses have any kind of clamps...
Very odd that these drains are oval in shape and not round. Going to do some research and see what the best approach will be.
One more thing to add to the list before I can just enjoy the truck.
Hoping to get the headliner tackled this week, have a lot of new black interior parts on the way. After this is done, going into the MB dealership to get my Service C done and documented and then just going to enjoy some down time driving.
Well since I carved out some time in my day figured I would get some boxes checked.
Got the truck aligned after changing almost every suspension and steering geometry component.
Also decided to pull the headliner out while the shop is still waiting for the material and go ahead and sound deaden the interior and roof.
Went with Kilmat 80 mil, have half a box left with all the coverage I've done. If anyone is looking to do the same I will give the rest of this away for free, just cover shipping. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
One of the main reasons I decided to do the roof was this truck will be spending a lot of time in the PNW once we move up to Seattle from LA and I don't want the drone of rain driving me insane.
This stuff went on great and after a while I really got a good method going. Took about a solid hr from surface prep to finishing.
While I was in there I re-wrapped any loose wiring and made sure it was snuggly secure to the truck.
On inspecting all of the drain lines for the sunroof, again getting this truck ready for a rainy life, I found that the driver's front drainage hose was repaired with tape at some point.
Now I'm either looking to find out how to replace the hose, or create a 1.5" connector, which will just add a point of failure sometime in the future. Also, none of my drain hoses have any kind of clamps...
Very odd that these drains are oval in shape and not round. Going to do some research and see what the best approach will be.
One more thing to add to the list before I can just enjoy the truck.
Hoping to get the headliner tackled this week, have a lot of new black interior parts on the way. After this is done, going into the MB dealership to get my Service C done and documented and then just going to enjoy some down time driving.
Great job on the sound deadening! It sure is a tedious process but once it's finished, it's well worth all the effort.
For the alignment results, they weren't able to adjust out the rear toe, or at least make it equal side to side? I've never experienced what a thrust angle would equate to during driving a truck with ample suspension travel and more forgiving alignment ranges.
They let me know that the rear wasn't adjustable. I took it for a drive again this morning and the truck tracks amazingly. Haven't had it up to highway speed yet, hoping to drop the truck off this week to get the headliner situated which will get me on the freeway to assess how she drives.
So far the sound deadening sounds great, can't wait to get the interior back together to really see the full result.
Received some new tools and parts today, took a minute in the 100+ degree LA heat to do the horn since I got the brush guard tool a few days earlier than expected.
The horns are just about the same size as stock, unfortunately I had a bolt shear off on the driver's side. Luckily there are a slew of bolts to chose from that keep the horn relatively in the same position.
This is easily the simplest thing I've done since owning the truck. Four bolts out the top holding the center grill and pull it up and out. The brush guard was simple to remove the quick release bolts with the tool and pop them back in.
With everyone working from home I didn't want to lay into it, but definitely more in line with the sound profile I was looking for!
Next on the docket, I think I found a cheap repeatable solution for my spare cover. Going to do a test fit a bit later to see if this works out. If it does I will be respraying the wheel cover w the factory silver and have a knurled *** that will have a mercedes decal on the rear should have more on that in the coming days.
Still waiting for the hose to fix my sunroof drain, and still no ETA on my headliner material from the upholstery shop.
Now that I've been "daily driving" i.e. driving when I can pull myself away from my home office...
I can easily say I love everything about this truck aside from how it drives. I know the G55 has a more harsh suspension, but this thing drives like my 95 lifted Range Rover Classic... which was par for the course for a truck w tech from the 70s.
I want the lift so I can have a bit better ground clearance for trails in the PNW once im up there. And I really like the trucks I see in the wild that have a bit more height to them.
Just took the truck on a trip to Long Beach to get more highway driving on the current setup, and it's pretty harsh. Looking forward to doing as much as I can to get the rig in a better setup. I also just realized that my front and rear tires are different brands.
The tires are all brand new, but didn't notice the difference until I got to LBC... used car purchasing has some weird easter eggs.... 'sigh.
I will definitely report back. May do the same drive with the new tires and stock suspension and the new tires and upgraded suspension.
really like the color of your wheels? any idea what color that is ?
Finally got the headliner covered and in. Removing the sunroof shade was a pain in the ***. I even took the entire sunroof off twice. FML.
Almost done. Just have to get the sunroof tabs aligned the rear panels in, both seats and the dreaded rear view mirror. I have some repurposed sun visors, but I need to retrofit the old mounts to them, so those will go in last.
A lot of work, but once it's all buttoned up it will be all worth it.
Got the back assembled this morning, was a bit of a puzzle. You have to put the black plastic molding that runs along the back door in first since there are screws that are hidden by the side panels.
I highly suggest getting this tool set, as the second tool in the first image will save your life putting the rubber surround back on the side trim piece
The original shop I took it too were taking forever, charging a fortune and wanted to cover the headliner in the car... I waited for almost 2 weeks and they still didnt get material in so I took my business to a local home/shop that I found great reviews on Yelp.
I got it double layered, so thin foam, then the foam backed material. For the headliner, material, a-pillars and sunroof it only cost me $450, and he had it done in two days.
Craftsmanship is A+. I did do all the heavy lifting of removing everything and re-installing. But man I wish I found this guy a month ago!
Quick updated pic with the back completely assembled.
Planning on getting everything back together by EOD.
If I can't get the rearview to go into place I may take it to a local MB dealership and just bite the bullet and have them do that, then get a Service C schedule on the books so I can keep the records going w this truck.
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