Had a friend help since I bummed my hand last week and just for heck of it I needed someone there to help.

Front: wasn't too bad considering I left my floor jack some place and had to wiggle this thing into place with 2 bottle jacks that kept slipping. If I remember correctly I took the sway bar loose, shocks out, and let the axle down slowly per side and the springs came loose. I don't know if we did it in the right order because I had a hard time getting the track bar out at the end there...

Rear: was harder than the front but it did come with pretty good instructions although we couldn't get the emergency brake cables disconnected (no instructions for this) and one came out half way and we couldn't get it back in (I'll post pics later so I can get it fixed). You have to get the truck in the air pretty high, my axle was literally sitting on the ground so we could get the bolts up through the springs. Thinking back it might have been easier to just have pulled the driveshaft and dropped the axle and moved it forward some keeping slack in everything and let it sit on jackstands off the ground and out of the way.

Next up is finding out what specs to get aligned at and finding time to go do it ASAP to avoid the chance of death wobble. I also need to pull the nuts off the trackbar and put some locktite on them since we didn't have any during installation. I'll keep an eye on everything this week and next weekend I'll recheck the bolts. Also, does anyone know what the trackbar should be torqued to?

Tips I could give:
1. Use your jack to prop up the opposite side of the front axle when installing your springs since they are a little long this will help.
2. Don't let the sway bar swing down and hit you in the head .
3. Find an impact gun this helps a lot.
4. Muscle up before taking the trackbar bolts loose, they really don't want that thing to come loose .
5. Get two floor jacks of the same type to use, this would probably speed everything up!

It took us about 8 hours with a few breaks. It would probably take a professional with a shop and the right tools 4 hours though IMO.

My only problems were like I mentioned about getting the emergency brake cable reinstalled (fixed) and getting some locktite on that trackbar if needed (gonna see if it's necessary).





All this is just an FYI, getting a manual and following it would be a good idea.

 

To add, I say this is a 2 out of 4 on the hard scale for a shade tree mechanic like myself. I really didn't know what I was exactly doing until I looked at it that morning and started taking it apart... Although they are pretty simple suspensions to mess with if you adhear to the general safety precautions you should use when dealing with suspension.

And even though the rear springs packs were harder than I thought to install I definately say it was worth it just for the looks alone... They gave me about 1.25 inches of lift and the truck sits just perfect!

 

Nice job,
What size tire/wheel are you running?

 

looks good

yep that rear brake cable is a tough one to work with. you can use a fuel line tool, or something like that to remove it. I managed to do mine with out removing the cable, but it was a pain.

Impact tools make this easier.

 

Thanks, i'll pick one up this week.

 

Thanks, 315/70/17 BFG all terrain on some KMC wheels with 5.7 backspacing.

 

Great Lookin truck Joe T!
The Trac bar removes easy & installs quite easy by turning the steering wheel.
Tell us about the ride...

 

So if i had to pull it back out and put some locktite on it I can do it without lifting the truck back up? Just turn the wheel until it gets slack? Anyone think I can get away without putting locktite on those bolts if they are torqued down good?


Anyway, the ride is great. It doesn't beat me to death anymore on the freeway that is for sure. It is also a firmer ride if that makes sense... But it certainly rides much better. On a dirt road(and paved road for that matter) it soaks up the potholes that use to make my truck skip and stutter/shutter across the road. Big bumps that would bounce me off the seat before are now like pebbles . I get a little bit of vibration through the steering wheel but I attribute that to the 35 inch all terrains.

 

You do not need to jack the truck back up just do it on the ground. 10 minute job if that. Take the frame bolt out first, then the bar falls down then do the axle side. Then loctite the trac bar nut then the bolts. Axle side goes in first then have your buddy turn the steering wheel until the bolt hole lines up on the frame side. Easy as that.
The first time I installed my first kit I had the truck all jacked up weird articulated to get the frame bolt back in I tried everyting prying you name it. Then I was talking with Sean telling about how much of a bugger I had getting the trac bar bolt lined back up. He told me to turn the wheel on the ground to line it up. I felt like a knuckle head
As far as the torque specs I don't know them I just loctited & hercules them tight. Maybe somebody can chime in on that.
Congrats on the kit! Truck color is sweet just like mine

 

Thanks, yeah I love the color too. I was walking out of the dodge dealership after driving a dually and heading straight to Toyota because that's what my mind was set on, a Tundra and then buying a used gasser work truck.

Then I saw my truck on the way out and said I had to have it.

 

Glad to hear you like it. I like the ride in mine. I am ordering the Thuren Trac Bar in acouple of weeks. Although I do need to retouque and grease the bolt head and threads on my passenger frontside lower shock mount. I get alittle clanking driving over bumps under 30 mph.

 

Gives you an idea how much we had to drop the rear axle.... Like I said it might have been easier if we just pulled the driveshaft and moved the axle forwad and let it sit on something out of the way.

 

Joe T thats a nice lookin rig. I would like to upgrade my leveling kit to something nicer than just spacers. its on the list.

 

Ok, I'm going to put some locktite on the trackbar bolts after talking to Sean at lorenz. Everything is tight and in order right now so I'm good but he said that's the way it comes from the factory and that's the way I should put it back together basically.

What I'm going to do is just back out the bolt, let the nut drop, tap the bolt back through and hit it and the nut with a brush to clean it and put some locktite on the bolts... This way I won't have to actually remove the trackbar.

I'm also very happy with the customer service I've got. I've probably emailed him 10 times (yeah I'm annoying) with questions and pics and he got back to me quick.

 

I put loctite on the heim threads on mine. I would be careful if you are tapping the bolts in/out not to damage the threads causing any cross threading. If you use the steering wheel they should slide in/out easy.