ALTITUDE ADJUSTMENT OF TITANIC PROPORTIONS

Installing an 8-inch CST suspension lift on a two wheel-drive Nissan Titan.

A couple of really popular topics that we have here in Trucks Magazine, as well as the forums on our websites in recent months have been suspension lift kits as well as Nissan’s full-size Titan pickup. And it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that if people are talking about these two subjects on a regular basis that there would be some interest if you could find a way to combine the two. So in a blatant rip-off of the guy who invented the Reeses Peanut Butter Cup, we are going to combine an 8-inch CST suspension lift and a 2 wheel-drive Nissan Titan and see what happens.



We’re also going to mix in a set of 37x13.50x20 Nitto Mud Grappler Tires and a set of 20x10 Weld Racing Sand Storm Wheels for an aggressive look. Then we’re going to add a set of 10-inch travel Race Runner Shocks for good measure. This combination of ingredients will make for a stellar looking pickup with plenty of ground clearance and a style that is sure to turn heads.

One important thing that we should add to this story is that after we installed the 37-inch tall Tires we figured out that the clearance between the fenders and the Tires was really tight. So in reality unless we added a body lift (we installed one after the fact) we would have had to switch to a set of smaller 35-inch tall tires. So if you’re attempting to recreate this look for your truck you should either start out with a set of 35-inch tall Tires or plan to add a body lift. If you have any further questions about the parts or installation procedures, feel free to contact any of the companies listed in the source box.

SOURCES

CST PERFORMANCE SUSPENSION
DEPT. TEN
115 W. LA CADENA DRIVE
SUITE 100
RIVERSIDE, CA 92501
(951) 328-9902

KARTEK OFF-ROAD
DEPT. TEN
2871 RAGLE WAY
CORONA, CA 92879-6131
(951) 737-2999

NITTO TIRE N. AMERICA INC.
DEPT. TEN
6021 KATELLA AVE.
SUITE 250
CYPRE SS, CA 90630
(714) 236-1863

RACERUNNER SHOCKS
DEPT. TEN
20724 LA SSEN ST.
CHATSWORTH, CA 91311
(818) 700-9712

WELD WHEEL INDUSTRIES
DEPT. TEN
6600 STADIUM DRIVE
KANSAS CITY, MO 64129
(800) 669.9353

Here’s our unsuspecting victim, a 2 wheel-drive 2005 Nissan Titan King Cab pickup. The truck has already been fit with some interior upgrades but the exterior and suspension of the truck are totally stock.	The CST suspension kit comes with everything needed to lift the suspension of a Titan a full 8-inches. The kit comes with a drop-down cradle, spindles, upper control arms, bump stops, brake lines and coil-over spacers for the front. For the rear, the kit has lift blocks, U-bolts and a carrier bearing drop down kit.	The kit is also supplied with a polished aluminum skid-plate to protect the front suspension.
For this particular lift we decided to go with a set of 20x10 Weld Sandstorm wheels complete with black simulated bead-lock rings wrapped in a set of Nitto LT37x13.50 R20 Mud Grappler tires.	To finish off the list of parts we rounded up a pair of 10-inch travel 2.0 inch Sway-A-Way Race Runner reservoir shocks for the rear.	After the truck was secured on the lift and the wheels and tires were removed, it was time to begin disassembling the front suspension. Here, Carl is removing the anti-sway bar end links.
Then the outer tierods are removed from the spindles.	The hardware that holds the spindle to the upper and lower ball joints are then broken loose but not totally removed so that the spindle is just being held loosely in place.	A small pair of Vise Grips are used to clamp the brake hose closed and then the brake line is disconnected from the caliper. The Vise Grips just keep the brake fluid from running out of the master cylinder all over the floor and making a huge mess.
The caliper is then removed from the spindle and the rotor is slipped off the hub.	The spindle is removed from the upper and lower control arms and the three nuts that hold the coil-over to the frame are removed.	After the coil-over is free, the two bolts that hold the lower control arm to the frame are removed and the coil-over and lower control arm are removed as a single unit.
Next, the factory upper control arms are removed.	The final piece that needs to be removed is the factory plastic skid plate.	The first pieces of the CST Suspension kit to be installed are the uni-ball equipped tubular upper control arms.
After some quick measurements, the placement of the new upper bump-stop mounts are marked and the brackets are tack-welded into place.	The bump stops are set into place and the placement of the brackets are double-checked before they are fully welded into place. When in doubt always measure twice and weld once.	With the paint drying on the new upper bump-stop mounts, Carl installs the drop-down cradle.
The drop-down cradle bolts into the locations where the lower control arms mount from the factory.	Next, the coil-over spacers are bolted to the top of the factory coil-over shocks using the factory hardware.	Then the lower control arm and the coil-over assemblies are bolted to the drop-down cradle.
And then the coil-over spacer is bolted to the factory mount on the frame	The kit from CST also comes with a spacer for the factory lower bump stop that simply moves it up to compensate for the size of the drop-down cradle.	Another item that has to be modified to make up for the height of the drop-down cradle are the anti-sway bar end links. The kit provides a tube that has to be welded into the center of the end links to extend their length by 4-inches. Here you can see the difference in length of the modified unit (left) and the stock unit (right).
The modified end links simply bolt back into place just like they came out.	As you can see, the factory spindle (right) and the CST lift spindle (left) look quite a bit different. Not only does the CST spindle lower the location of the hub (thus raising the truck) it totally does away with a traditional-style upper ball joint. It is built for the uni-ball (spherical bearing) that comes pre-installed in the upper control arm.	The three bolts that hold the hub into the factory spindle are reused to hold the factory hub to the new CST spindle.
The new spindle and hub assembly are then set into place and the hardware that holds it to the lower ball joint is installed to hold it in place.	At the top of the spindle, there is a slot that holds a nut. This is the nut that will hold the upper control arm to the spindle and there is a machined slot inside the spindle that grips the nut and keeps it from turning when the bolt that runs through the uni-ball is tightened.	And as simple as that the bolt is dropped through and snugged up.
The caliper is then installed on the new spindle using the factory caliper bolts.	Before the outer tierods can be bolted to the steering arms of the new spindles, they have to be flipped over so that they point down.	Also the new, longer brake hoses are installed as well.
Because the new CST skid plate is a bit wider than the factory plastic unit, there are a pair of mounts for the new skid plate that bolt to the frame of the truck.	And with these new front skid plate mounts in place, the new CST skid plate can be bolted into place.	The only difficult part about lifting the rear of the Titan is installing the carrier bearing drop-down. It really isn’t even that difficult to tell you the truth, just a couple quick cuts with the Sawzall and bolt this in.
Carl simply unbolted the carrier bearing and trimmed out the section between the pressed-in mounting studs and pulled it out.	Then he bolted in the new carrier bearing bracket using the factory hardware.	To space the rear axle up, the factory U-bolts that hold the axle to the leaf springs are removed.
Then the angled lift blocks are slipped into place and the new longer U-bolts are set into place.	Carl then tightened up the U-bolts and ensured that everything was seated properly.	The new Sway-A-Way Race Runner shocks can then be bolted into the factory shock absorber mounts.
After the shock bolts are tight, the supplied reservoir mounts are used to attach the reservoirs to the fuel tank cross member.	The final step is to bolt up the new Weld wheels with the Nitto tires and roll the truck out into the sun for the first time.	With the wheels bolted up, the truck is rolled outside for the first time and all of the bolts are rechecked to ensure that everything is tight.