I bought a front and rear wheel 3" leveling lift kit for my 99 crv automatic awd and need to know average cost for labor so I don't get ripped off...also, will 235/75R15 all terrain tires fit my car?

 

These are strut spacers so they'll sit between the top of the spring retainer and the body. The installation process is to remove and reinstall each strut assembly. I know that doesn't give you an answer, but it gives you a scope of work in case you decided to contact local shops and request estimates. You'd also want an alignment after, and there will probably be some adjustments that you'll no longer be able to keep in-spec with the lift unless you get a camber kit or adjustable ball joints.

3" is a good bit of lift for a 1st gen CR-V, so expect that more expenses could come up. Do you know if brake hoses are long enough? This creates a pretty steep angle for your CV axles so vibration and shortened lifespan are likely.

One other point to consider is that working on an older vehicle like this doesn't typically go smoothly. The long bolt that hold the shock fork to the lower control arm can be a real bi+ch to remove. A shop could charge you extra time for that if it requires heating, or worst case scenario if the bolt breaks off and is stuck in the control arm, the assembly may require drilling or replacement. Another common issue is the axle shaft can get seized in the wheel hub. If this can't be freed up with a BFH then it'll require heat and that'll probably destroy either (or both) the axle and/or bearing. If you contact shops looking for an estimate, ask them if they'll charge you additional time should they run into challenges.

 

Wow, I just wanted a bit more height, didn't realize it could trigger a s**tstorm. Thanks for the info. Sounds like you just saved me a world of hurt. My bro suggested that leveling kit. He also suggested buying bigger tires which I also did. All terrain 235/75R15. I wonder if that's a miss too. I need all terrain tires...I'm a delivery driver/courier in Arizona desert, but will this size fit ok?

 

To go from 205/70/15 to 235/75/15 is adding almost 3 inches in height to the tire. I guarantee that size won't fit under a stock CR-V, and you could probably read a bunch on here to see if it would fit under a 3" lifted CR-V. People are constantly submitting "will this tire fit?" questions on here. I didn't realize you're in Arizona. Disregard the stuck bolt and stuck CV shaft issues. I've lived my 38 years in the northeast and mid-atlantic where we live and die by road salt. You probably won't have any corrosion issues in the disassembly.

The long-and-short of vehicle modifications though, is nothing really goes as it should and when you're making big changes like a 3" lift, there are always unintended consequences. It's too bad you've already got all these parts ordered and the money spent. If your concern is traction, you can get some pretty sweet tires in stock or really-damn-close sizes. General makes a Grabber AT2 in 205/75/15 and that would fit a stock CR-V. If ground clearance is your concern, you could lift the CR-V, but given the miles that you'll put on in delivery/courier duty, you'll probably wind up going through CV axles and ball joints pretty regularly. Also, the tires won't wear properly if you don't fix the camber issue that results from a lift of that size. High mileage will exacerbate that too.

tl'dr, If you can, just get AT tires in the stock size, or really close, and drive the CR-V at stock height for the best longevity. I don't know if the 3" lift will accommodate 235/75/15's. You can find the answer searching the forums though.

 

I returned the lift kit, not gonna do that. Still need tires though. I'm looking for all terrain but stock size are to pricey. What's the biggest size that will fit stock 15"s? I found these but the only ones that had the "these fit your car" tag were the ones in the middle.

 

Any tire web site that requires you to select tire size by year/make/model is going to tell you that ONLY the tire size that came on your vehicle will fit your vehicle. In some cases there's some truth to this. In other cases other sizes may fit, or may fit most of the time. If a tire is going to rub, it's generally when you've got the steering wheel locked in a full left or right turn, and the clearances get even tighter if you're going over a bump at fully locked left-or-right turn, like turning into a spot in a parking lot while going over a speed bump. I don't know the largest size tire that'll fit on a stock CR-V, that information is on this site in a million places and I'm confident you can find it with some searching. There are, however, tire sizes that are targeted for all terrain tread patterns, and tire sizes in which you won't find any all terrain tires. On a 15" rim, for aspect ratios lower than 70 (the second number...XXX/70RXX), you'll be hard-pressed to find an all terrain tread. Off road tires usually have taller side walls to absorb shock, increase footprint when you air down, and keep your rim up and out of trouble, so it doesn't make sense to use a lower profile tire for an off road tread. Even a 70 series tire is a bit tough to find. If you go up to a 75 though, now you've got some to pick from. If you went with a 205/75/15, that tire is ever so slightly less than an inch taller than your stock tire which gives it a very good chance of fitting without rubbing (some rubbing may happen at steering lock), but it'll open up more all terrain tire models. Like I said before, you could get a General Grabber in this size and that's a pretty great tire.

I wouldn't bother trying to achieve more ground clearance through bigger tires. A CR-V doesn't offer you much space in the wheel wells to grow the tire size. I would only change tire size to allow more options to buy. Keep in mind, making your tires bigger will change your speedometer reading. A small change less than an inch may only show up in a few mph, but your speedo will read more slowly than your car is moving (i.e. it reads 40 while you're actually driving 43...just an example).