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DIY. leaf spring removal for a drop

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Old 04-17-2009, 07:02 PM
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Default DIY. leaf spring removal for a drop

look at how tall your ride really is, you wanna take the butt end down a hair?


holy crap that is some tire clearance


heres the problem, dodge installed a couple extra leaf springs.
what a waste, the bottom 2 arent even doing anything


ok, jack the frame up just enought to take the weight off the tire, but not actually lift the axle, this takes a lil trial and error
since im working on gravel i have an issue with the jacks and stands settling


with the truck securely up on atleast one jackstand
(i have another in the back under the hitch as a secondary)
now you can go ahead and remove the 4 nuts off the ubolts,
this releases the leaf plate


here you see that the leaf pack is bolted together
so, just remove that bolt with a socket on the bottom and a wrench on the top


when you get the bolt apart, the bottom 2 literally
fall out
(kinda freaked me out)


heres where it might get a lil tricky, put your helmets on for this part,

the leaf bolt is going to be too long,
so, heres the easy way to cut a bolt since im too lazy to go get new ones
install the nut on the bolt, tighten it down so that the "excess" is equal to the amount you need to remove
which in this case, is the thickness of the 2 leafs we dropped off


then, cut it and do a little grinding to smooth the edges out.


this way you can just remove the nut and it cleans the threads up.


now you can re bolt the leafs together,

what i did was used a bottle jack to "persuade" the bolt back into the holes in the axle mount and the leaf plate


now, this is important,
do not do a full torque on the u-bolts yet!
go ahead and tighten them pretty good with a ratchet/socket.

then drop the truck back onto the ground.
now, go ahead and torque the **** outta the ubolts with the full weight of the truck on the leafs.
i used a 2' breaker bar till they felt nice and solid

well, its a lil better,


ride quality is greatly improved, as in the suspension is no longer like a rock
almost rides like a car

it only dropped the truck an inch.5 but its better
 
  #2  
Old 04-17-2009, 07:10 PM
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Dang thats pretty easy, if I still had my 2wd I probably would have done it.
 
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Old 04-17-2009, 07:22 PM
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cool write up, i don't want to lose any hauling capability with my four wheeler and stuff
 
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Old 04-17-2009, 08:36 PM
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its kinda cool i guess... only on a 2wd tho, 4wd's need to be lifted not lowered... JMHO
 
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Old 04-17-2009, 08:48 PM
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Originally Posted by big.bryant
its kinda cool i guess. . . but trucks need to be lifted not lowered... JMHO

ok, i fixed it for ya ;D
 
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Old 04-17-2009, 08:52 PM
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lol i was trying to cut him a little slack... about as little as his engine
 
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Old 04-17-2009, 09:26 PM
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he doesnt get any slack, , he lost that right when he started bagging a TRUCK
 
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Old 04-17-2009, 09:43 PM
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im lowering mine..its 2wd....so whats it to ya sharpy!!!!
 



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