Just installed 2" coil spacers and rear shackles on my '02 Dakota single cab. I have been slowly fixing up my Dak putting off investing in tires until this last weekend, dry rot forced my hand. My left rear tire cracked and split out from the brutal AZ sun.

My spare tire was bulging in a spot so I said what the heck, and tore into it to put the lift on and got a new set of tires for it.

I went from the stock 255/65/16s to 265/75/16s Hercules Terra Trac AT2's and am very happy with the result.

Here are the before and after pics:

BEFORE It's too low! like a car with a bed on it)

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Shackles in look at all that room!

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COIL SPACERS IN

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AFTER Looks like a truck now!

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The shackles went in easy, the best thing about being in AZ is very little rust so the bolts came out without too much of a fight.

The coil spacers up front were a little more scary.I took the caliper, brake lines, tie rod end and the sway-bar bolts off, then I separated the upper ball joint with a jack under the lower control arm and jack stands under the frame and cross-member. Dropped the lower control arm until the knuckle was on the ground and the coil was loose.

I had to compress the coil a bit with my cheapo harbor freight spring compressors. (Note: get better compressors, these things looked like they were gonna fly off and take my head off with them.)

I put the spacer in under the coil in the lower control arm then used two jacks to lift the control arm back into place. Put one jack under the shock mount and the second under the very end of the control arm for leverage when i had it lifted up enough to get in there. I had to put a wrench on the upper control arm and pull it down while trying to thread the castle nut onto the ball joint at the same time. Once that nut was in place, I could start breathing again, and re-assembly was a piece of cake.

Next up: minor body work and a new paint job. I am trying to decide between doing a monsta-liner colored bedliner paint job or trying to shoot it with a single stage urethane (Candy apple or cherry red).

I haven't done a paint job before, but I'll be damned if I am gonna pay someone else thousands of dollars to do it for me. Anyone have any experience with either rolling bedliner paint jobs or diy paint? Which is easier?

 

I know people talk bad about them but I took my truck to macco.. I did all the body work and sanding myself before I dropped it off.. I purchased my own paint and asked them to use it instead of their paint.. I also asked what painter would be painting my truck and gave him $50 and said I would really appreciate it if u would take your time on my truck...

I believe everyone including all supplies for body, sanding, paint and macco, cost me a total of
750-800 (I had macco spray clear coat as well)

Truck looks absolutely great...

 

Just curious, what brand and type of paint did you use? Did they shoot a primer base or did you? Or did they just scuff n shoot?

I have done all types of bodywork before so I'm not afraid of doing that. but I plan on keeping this thing going until the wheels fall off of it so I want to get it right. MAACO seems like they are hit or miss depending on who is running the shop.

 

MAACO SUCKS BIG


I did the same thing did a ton of body work on my last truck before I took it in EXPLAINED everything and PAY ATTENTION I took all the windows out and warned them the windows are out. Two months later they finally gave it back to me with no explanation as to what happened and why it took two months to paint.


My guess they forgot the windows were out and got paint inside my cab all over everything and it took that long to fix everything I'm guessing the insurance company had something to do with the long delay trying to figure what to do with my Truck.


They said sorry we gave you pin strips for free with out my permission or anything in ugly purple.


Morons never said what happened to my truck.


I also suspected they crashed my truck or something like that but I couldn't find were the damage was they fixed it so good.

 

That does look good


Im going the other way lowering my Dakota front is already 1" lower back is getting 1.5" lowering blocks the RT street look you could say.


Then all I need is a 3.91 diff gear and Im good.

 

I never understood the whole lowering thing, but that's probably because I was raised on a farm in the middle of nowhersville Idaho. If a truck wasn't lifted and 4wd, it would get stuck everywhere you went..

Now in the city, I have a 2wd because of gas mileage and I don't go wheeling much anymore.

I wanted the lift to be able to see over the guy in front of me.. Better reaction times to avoid hitting unpredictable drivers.

So what are the benefits of lowering? Better cornering? Lower CG?

 

Well I grew up in a small farming community of under 2K people till I was 10 then we moved to the big city 40K and up. So I'm 100% big city when it comes to my autos I don't want a slammed ground hugger just lower than most trucks are it looks better by what I'm used to seeing is all. I'm not losing much height just a small amount I like how a truck is higher than the average auto so I can see things easier also. In southern California were I grew up was an custom car hot spot in many ways custom car shows all over the place.

 

I used Dupont jet-black, base coat/clear coat