Officer Carl "Got Your
Green Card" Hammerhead was doing about 70 MPH down a dirt road that
snakes along the U.S./Mexican Border, and through the rocky
hillsides of Southeast San Diego County. As he rounds a treacherous
outside corner about 5 miles out of Tecate' sliding sideways and
slingin' rocks over the edge of the 800 foot cliff with the
back wheels of his RCD Suspension equipped Ford Expedition. He
spots an old 70's Impala, dragging its rear bumper in the rocks up
about a mile ahead. "Obviously chock full
of undocumenteds," he says to himself, "time to go to work!" and
stands on the throttle as he turns on the bumble gum machine and
reaches for the radio to call in for back up.
Careening down the dirt road
strewn with razor sharp rocks the size of bowling balls,
crisscrossed with ruts and potholes that could swallow a Studebaker
at over 80 miles per hour. Officer Hammerhead closes the gap and
overtakes the lumbering Impala in mere seconds... In 1997 the U.S. Border Patrol switched from
Broncos to the new Ford Expeditions. But they needed a little
something extra in the suspension department to soak up the brutal
terrain that comprises most of the U.S./Mexican Border from
Matamoras to Tijuana. They Called Race Car Dynamics. Jamul, CA, home of RCD is located in
in rural San Diego County (you can spit and hit Mexico in fact), so
who better to understand the the needs of vehicles that are ground
to pulp patrolling our borders on a daily basis. In this extremely
harsh environment your average SUV would last about an hour,
maybe...  | All RCD Suspension kits come equipped
standard with Bilstein 5100 shocks
Nothing but the best! |
The founders of RCD have been designing and
building lift kits on the sly and private labeling them for
big name suspension companies for years. Then a few years back
they decided that the cost constraints of contract design and
manufacture was forcing a negative impact on quality. Read as;
The big boys want minimal quality at cut throat prices. Knowing
that's no way to satisfy a customer, they broke their ties and
launched their own high-end product line. With customers like the U.S. Dept. of
Justice to their credit, you can be sure that you're getting
a top quality product. Those boys at the USDJ got a blank
check from us taxpayers and only buy the best. What's In The Package? Well everything you need to
run 35's on an F150 or Expedition. "Everything!?" you say, "You
mean I don't need to do a an ugly, pain in the ass body lift
to go from 33's all the way to 35's?" you ask. Nope, it's all in
the box: 3 Complete new frame cross members New spindles with a 5" rise (The heart of the
kit) All front and rear drop brackets. Bilstein Shocks! STANDARD! Grade 8 hardware. All new bushings are polyurethane. Stainless steel cross member struts with
polyurethane bushings. Giant sway bar links that look like pieces from the
Space Shuttle.
(The Border Patrol was breaking 'em, so the just kept making 'em
bigger until they stopped.) All the fasteners, nick-knacks and gadgets to
complete the task. Instructions too!
Just ad tools...
Editors note: This is a very complex and
laborious installation that will take an experienced mechanic, with
a helper at least eight full shop hours to complete. We would urge
you if not in possession of the proper tools and experience to
complete the job, to seek out professional installation services.
Our kit was installed by Performance Products expert installation
staff. Moron Disclaimer:
Always be sure to follow the manufacturers directions completely.
We have included a step by step series of installation photos along
with this article (Click
Here). THIS IS NOT AN INSTALLATION INSTRUCTION and is not
intended to be used as such. It is designed to be used as a
companion guide to the manufacturers instructions, for visual
reference. Any other use proves your stupidity and our lack of
liability.
What You Get:Click any image for blow up, or to get to the
installation
photo gallery.  |  | The heart of the suspension and
the reason it retains stock ride quality are the dropped spindles.
By not altering the control arms, OEM steering geometry is almost
unchanged. | Side by side comparison of some
major components shows how beefy the RCD suspension is.
*Optional aluminum skid plate is shown.
(*This is a "gotta have" item) |  |  | One of the biggest advantages of
this kit's being thrashed by the US Gov. is that, they broke it so
you won't. This monster swaybar end link is an example of
lessons learned on duty. The stock piece is plastic with an 8mm
center stud. | Both new front crossmembers.
Note the durable black wrinkle powder coating. It can take the full
force of a two pound sledge with little or no marring. All powder
coating is done in house at RCD. Also pictured is the grade 8
hardware and other fittings. |  |  | The completed front end. Did I mention
Bilstein shocks are standard? | A slick gussetted transfer case
crossmember allows for the new steeper torsion bar
angle. |
| 
