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leveling kit...long

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Old Jan 7, 2007 | 06:26 PM
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rustyshakelford's Avatar
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leveling kit...long

well i finally got around to installing my new 2" spacers and what a pita!! i ordered some new bilstein 5100s but i found out that they wont be here till around the 20th or so. so i went ahead and installed what i had so i get to tackle that at a later time.

well the drivers side was a piece of cake, jacked it up, built some cribbing underneith it to secure it. then took off the wheel, did the shock tower etc.

here came the fun...the passengers side...well i heard that i wouldnt need a spring compressor but i had read on here it would behove me but i thought i could figure something out. jacked it up, took off the tire, spring tower etc. had a heck of a time getting the spring out but we got it.

trying to get it back in was a another story. we spent about an hour trying to find a way to make enough room to get that thing back in there and then it hit me...ill use the spreaders to compress the spring enough to slide it in.(spreaders trade name are the "jaws of Life") it wasnt as easy doing it that way as i thought it would be but i didnt have alot of options

well believe it or not it worked and nobody lost a limb...only 3 small injuries to the 3 of use working on it...basically some small cuts

looks great and hopefully we got everything so it will hold together.

oh yeah...im sure youll get to hear me whine when i have to install the shocks in a few weeks

brett
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Old Jan 7, 2007 | 07:13 PM
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I just did a set of Core springs on a 2000.. driver side went in fin but once I had the larger spring in that side the passenger side would not drop.. I had to pull the bolt off the upper trailing arm and then she fell in real nice.. (the trailing arm was hitting the bracket on top of the axle not allowing it to drop any more)..

I think it took myself and dslchk_cowgirl about 2.5 hours to get them done..
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Old Jan 7, 2007 | 07:33 PM
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From: Rock Springs, WY
Originally Posted by bretteaton
we spent about an hour trying to find a way to make enough room to get that thing back in there and then it hit me...ill use the spreaders to compress the spring enough to slide it in.(spreaders trade name are the "jaws of Life") it wasnt as easy doing it that way as i thought it would be but i didnt have alot of options


brett
Classic ! You may have been using high dollar technical equipment, but that's redneck in my book! The American way!
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Old Jan 7, 2007 | 09:51 PM
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Originally Posted by bretteaton
well i finally got around to installing my new 2" spacers and what a pita!! i ordered some new bilstein 5100s but i found out that they wont be here till around the 20th or so. so i went ahead and installed what i had so i get to tackle that at a later time.

well the drivers side was a piece of cake, jacked it up, built some cribbing underneith it to secure it. then took off the wheel, did the shock tower etc.

here came the fun...the passengers side...well i heard that i wouldnt need a spring compressor but i had read on here it would behove me but i thought i could figure something out. jacked it up, took off the tire, spring tower etc. had a heck of a time getting the spring out but we got it.

trying to get it back in was a another story. we spent about an hour trying to find a way to make enough room to get that thing back in there and then it hit me...ill use the spreaders to compress the spring enough to slide it in.(spreaders trade name are the "jaws of Life") it wasnt as easy doing it that way as i thought it would be but i didnt have alot of options

well believe it or not it worked and nobody lost a limb...only 3 small injuries to the 3 of use working on it...basically some small cuts

looks great and hopefully we got everything so it will hold together.

oh yeah...im sure youll get to hear me whine when i have to install the shocks in a few weeks

brett

haha good story bud. Thats the kind of stuff i like to read....redneck engineering at its finest!

I just hope you aren't like those fireman in Venus who sell fireworks to raise money and give them something to do!!!
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Old Jan 8, 2007 | 08:51 AM
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well i wish we had that kinda time to sell fireworks and what not. had to get up at 4 this morning and was 2nd in on a 2 alarm apartment fire...we stay pretty steady. i was a little worried at the amount of cribbing i used yesterday becuase if we had an MVA with entrapment it was gonna take a little while to get all the stuff back on the truck

brett

and i get mie G.e.D. in rednek injurnering!!!
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Old Jan 8, 2007 | 09:35 AM
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Originally Posted by bretteaton
well i finally got around to installing my new 2" spacers and what a pita!! i ordered some new bilstein 5100s but i found out that they wont be here till around the 20th or so. so i went ahead and installed what i had so i get to tackle that at a later time.

well the drivers side was a piece of cake, jacked it up, built some cribbing underneith it to secure it. then took off the wheel, did the shock tower etc.

here came the fun...the passengers side...well i heard that i wouldnt need a spring compressor but i had read on here it would behove me but i thought i could figure something out. jacked it up, took off the tire, spring tower etc. had a heck of a time getting the spring out but we got it.

trying to get it back in was a another story. we spent about an hour trying to find a way to make enough room to get that thing back in there and then it hit me...ill use the spreaders to compress the spring enough to slide it in.(spreaders trade name are the "jaws of Life") it wasnt as easy doing it that way as i thought it would be but i didnt have alot of options

well believe it or not it worked and nobody lost a limb...only 3 small injuries to the 3 of use working on it...basically some small cuts

looks great and hopefully we got everything so it will hold together.

oh yeah...im sure youll get to hear me whine when i have to install the shocks in a few weeks

brett
Hmmmmm..... I think we talked about this awhile back and I mentioned needing the spring compressors on the passenger side of my truck...
Sorry, I couldn't help myself!!! At least the shocks will be easier for you since you've already been pretty much through the procedure once already. Have fun and if you need any pointers you've got my #!!!
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Old Jan 8, 2007 | 10:57 AM
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Now go for a ride on the highway and hit a couple bumps at about 70. Im guessin you will now have a DEATH WOBBLE. I did and still do.
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Old Jan 8, 2007 | 11:01 AM
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I had the same problem, until i realized the reason why it wasnt dropping far enough was because of the trackbar. I removed the frame side bolt in the track bar and possibly had more room to get the spring in than i did on the drivers side. No compressors, no jaws of life, the axle just dropped and we slid the spring and spacer in. This is for the leveling kit, not the 4.5" lift in my sig, that was a completely different animal.
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Old Jan 8, 2007 | 11:04 AM
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Originally Posted by Mark1si
Now go for a ride on the highway and hit a couple bumps at about 70. Im guessin you will now have a DEATH WOBBLE. I did and still do.
Had 2" spacers for around 33k miles and never once experienced death wobble. I did in my old truck so yes i know what it is.
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Old Jan 8, 2007 | 11:25 AM
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From: Fort McMurray, Alberta
Mark, you need to go and get your castor advanced a whole bunch,, that will help get rid of the dw. needs to be 5 degrees + as much as the alignment tech can get it. Also check your tires. Those are the 2 main components of dw, but not the only, just the main.

Kevin
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Old Jan 8, 2007 | 11:58 AM
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Originally Posted by Boz007
This is for the leveling kit, not the 4.5" lift in my sig, that was a completely different animal.
Boz007,

Do you have any pics of your truck with the 37s and 4.5" lift? Thanks.
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Old Jan 8, 2007 | 01:22 PM
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From: Pattonville, Texas
We just installed the 2" leveling spacers on the '05 at the shop a couple of weeks ago, and the springs fell out and dropped in once we disconnected the sway bar end links and removed the upper trackbar mounting bolt (we were welding on a 2" drop mount for that anyway).

Truck handles better than ever - the reduced caster makes for more responsive steering; of course, the Stainless Steel Steering Shaft Stabilizer helped with that as well.
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Old Jan 8, 2007 | 01:24 PM
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From: SE PA
Yes the key is to disconnect the trac bar.

THIS MAY HAVE HELPED YOU

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Old Jan 8, 2007 | 08:59 PM
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well 60 or so miles and no DW so i guess thats good. i wasnt really concerned about that though...guess i ought to get the thing to an alignment shop pretty soon

brett
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Old Jan 9, 2007 | 07:01 AM
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From: Northwest Arkansas
Hey, Brett, I forgot to mention... I put the Lorenz Drop Blocks on my truck as well. They will lower the stabilizer bar back to the original position. Just something to think about.... You may want to call Lorenz and they could ship them with your shocks. You might do that b/f doing the alignment. I've also got some figures for the castors that one of my friends came up with (I have yet to get an alignment --- I'm terrible). Lemme know if you want them and I can email them to you.

BTW -- no DW in 4,500 miles.
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