Ok, I want to lower my 06 4x4. I want the rear lower so when I tow my 5er it will be level, I do not want to raise the 5er. I then should have a somewhat more level unloaded truck. I do not want to raise the front, I did and then bought air bags to compensate when towing (get level with a load) and the 5er is nose high. I removed the front spacers and am looking at lowering the rear a little.

Anyone done this? There are 3 little spacers under the spring pack, but if I take those out it seems the top brake caliper bolt will then not come out. This may make brake pad changes difficult. I assume drop shackles will cause the same problem. Any thoughts experience, I can see from searching that people have lowered the rear of truck but no one adresses these issues.

Please, just lowering the rear, my 5er axles are already flipped from the factory, and I do not want to raise the 5er by adding to the frame or longer shackles on it and my hitch is lowered in the bed already.

 

I lowered mine shortly after I got it. Remove the spacer blocks you mentioned and the rear comes down about an inch and a half. There are a couple of ways to do it so do a search and decide for yourself. I removed the spacers and replaced the spring center bolts with grade 8 bolts. Some have just moved the spacers to the top of the pack.

The truck handles better and is easier to get into. It is easier to load the bed too. But it bottoms easier, if that is a concern. Mine has been that way for about 170,000 miles.

 

So Raspy how do you get that top brake caliper bolt out in rear when you change brake pads?

It looks to me that the spring will them be right in the way of removing it.

 

I had mine lowered in the rear by moving the 3 spacers from the bottom of the spring to the top. I didn't worry about taking the bolt out because the rear brake pads last a real long time. But you may be able to droop the suspension and get the bolt out. I just looked at my pads the other day and at 82k they still have about 3/4 left.

If you do decide to remove the 3 leaves before you take the pack apart it helps to have a couple c-clamps to hold the pack together and in alignment.

 

plug,

Sorry, I honestly don't remember that caliper bolt problem. I did change my rear pads but I don't recall having any trouble with that.

 

I did mine and then had to put the spacers back in because of axle wrap. I will be doing it again once I get traction bars in.

 

anyone else have axle wrap problems? I am planning to do this tommorrow so anyone have the torque specs on the u-bolts?

 

Well I lowered the rear yesterday. I measured the pinion angle, and drive shaft angle at two points before and after the project. I took out the three spacers under the spring pack (mine had three I see from searching that some have two). This lowered the truck 1 and 3/4 inches at the wheel well and 1 and 7/8 inches at the rear bumper.
It looks as level now as it did with the front coil spacers in. There was a right up at DTR that helped alot. My drive line angles did not change one degree at all and seems to be driving without any problems. I can see that if you have a drag or sled pulling truck that having the rake or higher rear may help. I assume all the novas and trans ams from the 70s did it for traction too when they jacked up the rear. It worked great for me, was labor intensive doing it alone but not a major project. I would add to any tech write ups to soak things down with penetrating spray often and well in advance. I need to still hook up the 5er and see if it solved my problem there, it had to make a positive change from where it was if the truck is lower.

 

This is a good mod for general handling, looks and ease of getting in and out of the truck. Driveline angles are not a concern at all. I have had mine lowered now for about 165,000 miles and I still have the original driveshaft U-joints. Spring wrap should be the same as stock because no change is made to the spring pack. Load capacity is affected (before bottoming) because the bump stops get closer to the axle. So the overload is just starting to help when the bump stops contact the axle. This is fine for loads of 1000 pounds or so, but really heavy stuff will cause a lot of bottoming. I have Rancho shocks on the back and set them to the stiffest setting when towing.

The project is not too hard if done correctly. In a nutshell here it is:

Jack up the truck and support it under the frame rails with stands. Pull the rear wheels. Only modify one side at a time. Remove the lower shock bolts and set a floor jack under the axle, in the center. Lift the axle a bit and remove the U bolts on one side only. Lower the jack to access the center bolts and grip the round heads with vise grips. Put a big C clamp on the spring pack near the center but out of the way. Take out the bolts. Pull out the spacers and replace the center bolts with grade 8, 1/2 inch bolts, 3 1/2 inch long, fine thread with grade 8 nuts, two per side. Clean off the dirt as you go with a wire brush, screwdriver and air gun to get things sort of clean. The new bolt heads will just fit in the axle purchase hole if oriented correctly, or you might have to grind the heads a bit, check this before you install them. Install and tighten the center bolts. Lift the axle up against the spring and preload it up a bit. Remove the C clamp. Re-install the U bolts and torque them. Install the lower shock bolt and move to the other side.

This appears to be the easiest way and both sides can be done in an hour or so once the tools are out and the centetr bolts are handy. I think the wheel well liners also get in the way.

Some have just moved the spacers to the top and re-used the centering bolts. I like the new ones better. It also might be best to replace the U bolts, but I did not.

 

I was all set to do this on my 2001 2500 4WD. When got under there I was surprised to find some *huge* lift blocks. These look like one-piece cast iron blocks about 4.75 tall (see pic). Does anyone else have an arrangement like this? I bought the truck used in 2003 from a dealer so I don't know if it's been customized or not.

The top of the rear wheel well measures about 2.5" higher than the top of the front wheel well. I was hoping to lower the rear about 2" at the hitch to allow a more level towing of a travel trailer.

 

Hey PlugUgly,

Did you find any links in here while you was searching that had photos on how to pull these spacers. I've also got a 39 ft 5er that needs to be alittle more level while towing.

Thanks, racfan9

 

Unfortunately not. I did see a mention of replacing the blocks with a set from a Ford. I'm planning to go to the boneyard in the next few days to see what I can find. If I can't locate anything useful, I'll probably just fab a spacer using stacked and welded steel plate.

I've seen mention of having new U-bolts made but I'll probably try to re-use the existing U-bolts by making a spacer to put on the top of the spring pack. The current spacer block is about 4-3/4" tall. If I fab a new spacer I'll probably make it 2-3/4" to 3" and then make an additional top spacer for the difference +/-.

 

I found some 3" spacers on a 1992 D250 4x4 that look like they'll meet my needs. I started a separate thread in the second gen forum for this mod.

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...73#post2597573