Gonna install the kit tomorrow,
any tips, or tools needed out of the ordinary ?
Basic socket set..
any tips, or tools needed out of the ordinary ?
Basic socket set..
Stinker Lowering kit
- Thread starter SRT10VENOMOUS
- Start date
yellowfever#154
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Lube for the threads on the U-bolts in the rear, grinder with cut off wheel for cutting off the metal cups that hold the "bottoming out" bushings (my mind has gone blank and I cannot remember what they are called), mmm what else?
birelboy
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Patience my friend... U wil need that for sure.
Don't know if you have a bridge to work on, but working under the truck with some carjacks... U wil need to take some time to fiddle under it.
Don't know if you have a bridge to work on, but working under the truck with some carjacks... U wil need to take some time to fiddle under it.
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Get a bud to help you.
Can of black spray paint to touch up frame after grinding.
beer!!!!!!!!
80boboli
Full Access Member
I would like to drop the 10 at some point in the future but have had such bad ride experiences in other cars. Is this lowering kit going to sacrafise ride comfortability in the trucks? If the drop causes a ride like i had in a ford focus the other day it is definitley not worth it. The ride felt like there was no suspension at all and it self like a cheap gocart. Does the jtsvp drop kit maintain a good ride quality or can I expect to loose ride qualitybwith any drop kit?
You're gonna need a ball joint puller that will not damage the grease retaining rubbers . Be careful how low you go! If it bottoms out at all , it will bend the axles! When you do the rear, have caltracs and do them at the same time!
From the ones I seen, you have about 1" of suspension travel,so you be the judge. I've had two other dropped trucks prior and the one had a C-notched frame and it ride really well being the wheel travel was regained with the C-notch,and that would be the only way I would drop mine is by C-notching it.
Why? Just a swap out of the front springs when i did mine. you will have to have a die grinder to open up the slots for the upper A-Arms.
So you just removed the upper a-arm bolts to replace the front spring? That is interesting. I removed my upper and lower arms to replace the bushings at the same time so I used a ball joint pusher! But I guess it could be done that way I guess
thats right just swing it out of the way replace the spring and put it back using a floor jack no need for removing the ball joints.
cool thanks for the info guys,, gonna get this goin in a couple hrs
do one thing, if you go to remove the u bolts and the leaf springs does not fall or come loose from the axle, the pin in the middle does not hold the leaf springs to the axle , it holds the leafs together, so make sure not to take the center pin out,
not saying "you" will, but others have
not saying "you" will, but others have
10/4 thanks
Do you have an instruction set for the front set up??
i have the rear instructions but nothing for the front
i have the rear instructions but nothing for the front
lemme check
thanks,
and is notching the upper arms necessary for camber?? i seam to found a front end spring replacement on the other forum.. but he did not do this..
and is notching the upper arms necessary for camber?? i seam to found a front end spring replacement on the other forum.. but he did not do this..
. Start by removing the front tire(s).
This is what you're getting ready to tackle, it's not a hard job really... it took me about 2 hours to do the first side, and I suspect it will take a little less for the second side. The only tricky part is getting the lower ball joint loose. Made me glad I have a low miles truck. Oh, and please pardon any rust.
2. Next, you need to remove the shock absorber. It's best to have a jack under the lower control arm pushing up to keep the shock compressed while you loosen the top nut. To loosen, you need to use both an 18mm wrench, and a 9mm socket to hold the shock shaft from spinning. Once the top nut is off, remove the rubber bushing and cap, you can then ease the tension off the lower control arm before you remove the two lower 13mm nuts. The shock can then be lowered out the bottom control arm.
3. Next you need to disconnect the lower control arm ball joint. I have a pitman arm puller which worked fine on the Chally to do this, but it wouldn't fit the Ram, so I backed off the nut until it was flush with the center shaft, then raised the front of the truck with a floor jack, placed a small jack stand under the lower control arm, then lowered the front of the truck to apply leverage up against the control arm to help unseat the ball joint. This did NOT break it free, but a couple good whacks with a sledge did. If anyone has a better way to do this, please let me know, and I'll change these instructions. The photo below shows the nut on the lower ball joint loose with the jackstand in place.
4. Now you need to disconnect the sway bar end. This entails removing one nut, one metal cap, and one rubber bushing. If the rubber bushings appear worn, I recommend replacing them with new ones. You will need to hold the center shaft (requires a 15mm wrench) to loosen the nut, or the whole shaft will spin.
5. To remove the spring, just raise the front back up to ease the weight off the jack stand, or lower the floor jack if you used a floor jack under the lower control arm. Now you can pull the front spindle free and swing it out and away so you have room to remove the front spring. When done, it will look like this. I used another jackstand to support the spindle and keep it away from the end of the lower control arm.
6. You should now be able to push down on the lower control arm with your bare hand far enough to remove the front spring without using any type of a spring compressor. When you let go, it springs back up somewhat.
7. If you're installing lowering springs, then read on, next I'll cover how to remove the bump stop and replace with a new bump stop. If you do not replace the bump stop with a narrower profile one (pancake stop), when you rest the weight of your truck back on the tires, your bump stops WILL be resting firmly against the top of your lower control arm, I guarantee it. Here's what we'll be tackling next.
8. To remove, I used a fiber cutting wheel and a dremel to attack one side. I didn't cut ALL the way through, but got through most of the weld (it is only welded on two sides, not all the way around the base). I then used a hammer to hit the lip to break the remainder of the weld loose, then decided to just keep hitting and bent it downward until the other weld eventually just broke off as well. This was much easier then try to cut through the forward weld. Here's what it looked like removed after I used the dremel to clean off what was left of the welds. I also spent some time with some 000 steel wool to clean up the spindles. They look like new again.
9. I then used 200 grit sandpaper to clean up and roughen the surface before taping it off and then spraying it with some black Eastwoods Rust Encapsulator. This should help protect it from rusting again.
10. Here's a photo of the springs side by side, of course the factory spring is on the left, and Tony's new and improved spring is on the right. I didn't check them with a micrometer, but it appears as though Tony's lowering springs are slightly larger in diameter which should provide increased stiffness. As the ride is currently pretty smooth, I think a slightly stiffer ride will only make the truck feel more responsive and decrease body roll in corners. I do NOT recommend anyone try to save money by cutting one round of the stock spring out. I fear you'd start bottoming out the front suspension on every big bump or depression.
Here's some photos of the end result, including how much drop I saw...
And this is the gap between the newly installed pancake bump stops, and the top of the lower control arm with the weight of the front back on the suspension.
Here's some parting shots of my two girls hamming it up in front of the crooked truck before I finished the passenger side (they just wouldn't get out of the way, honest!).
As always, I welcome any suggestions on shortcuts, mistakes, or ways to improve these instructions to make it easier for others in the weeks, months, and years to come... (that usually means Troy).
This is what you're getting ready to tackle, it's not a hard job really... it took me about 2 hours to do the first side, and I suspect it will take a little less for the second side. The only tricky part is getting the lower ball joint loose. Made me glad I have a low miles truck. Oh, and please pardon any rust.
2. Next, you need to remove the shock absorber. It's best to have a jack under the lower control arm pushing up to keep the shock compressed while you loosen the top nut. To loosen, you need to use both an 18mm wrench, and a 9mm socket to hold the shock shaft from spinning. Once the top nut is off, remove the rubber bushing and cap, you can then ease the tension off the lower control arm before you remove the two lower 13mm nuts. The shock can then be lowered out the bottom control arm.
3. Next you need to disconnect the lower control arm ball joint. I have a pitman arm puller which worked fine on the Chally to do this, but it wouldn't fit the Ram, so I backed off the nut until it was flush with the center shaft, then raised the front of the truck with a floor jack, placed a small jack stand under the lower control arm, then lowered the front of the truck to apply leverage up against the control arm to help unseat the ball joint. This did NOT break it free, but a couple good whacks with a sledge did. If anyone has a better way to do this, please let me know, and I'll change these instructions. The photo below shows the nut on the lower ball joint loose with the jackstand in place.
4. Now you need to disconnect the sway bar end. This entails removing one nut, one metal cap, and one rubber bushing. If the rubber bushings appear worn, I recommend replacing them with new ones. You will need to hold the center shaft (requires a 15mm wrench) to loosen the nut, or the whole shaft will spin.
5. To remove the spring, just raise the front back up to ease the weight off the jack stand, or lower the floor jack if you used a floor jack under the lower control arm. Now you can pull the front spindle free and swing it out and away so you have room to remove the front spring. When done, it will look like this. I used another jackstand to support the spindle and keep it away from the end of the lower control arm.
6. You should now be able to push down on the lower control arm with your bare hand far enough to remove the front spring without using any type of a spring compressor. When you let go, it springs back up somewhat.
7. If you're installing lowering springs, then read on, next I'll cover how to remove the bump stop and replace with a new bump stop. If you do not replace the bump stop with a narrower profile one (pancake stop), when you rest the weight of your truck back on the tires, your bump stops WILL be resting firmly against the top of your lower control arm, I guarantee it. Here's what we'll be tackling next.
8. To remove, I used a fiber cutting wheel and a dremel to attack one side. I didn't cut ALL the way through, but got through most of the weld (it is only welded on two sides, not all the way around the base). I then used a hammer to hit the lip to break the remainder of the weld loose, then decided to just keep hitting and bent it downward until the other weld eventually just broke off as well. This was much easier then try to cut through the forward weld. Here's what it looked like removed after I used the dremel to clean off what was left of the welds. I also spent some time with some 000 steel wool to clean up the spindles. They look like new again.
9. I then used 200 grit sandpaper to clean up and roughen the surface before taping it off and then spraying it with some black Eastwoods Rust Encapsulator. This should help protect it from rusting again.
10. Here's a photo of the springs side by side, of course the factory spring is on the left, and Tony's new and improved spring is on the right. I didn't check them with a micrometer, but it appears as though Tony's lowering springs are slightly larger in diameter which should provide increased stiffness. As the ride is currently pretty smooth, I think a slightly stiffer ride will only make the truck feel more responsive and decrease body roll in corners. I do NOT recommend anyone try to save money by cutting one round of the stock spring out. I fear you'd start bottoming out the front suspension on every big bump or depression.
Here's some photos of the end result, including how much drop I saw...
And this is the gap between the newly installed pancake bump stops, and the top of the lower control arm with the weight of the front back on the suspension.
Here's some parting shots of my two girls hamming it up in front of the crooked truck before I finished the passenger side (they just wouldn't get out of the way, honest!).
As always, I welcome any suggestions on shortcuts, mistakes, or ways to improve these instructions to make it easier for others in the weeks, months, and years to come... (that usually means Troy).
would you say this is the best way to attack it??
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