I finally got around to putting mine in, for the record it took about an hour and was easy..

I had to post up since it seems everyone else has a hard time.

For the record the ONLY thing I removed was the upper ball joint, sway bar end, and the coilover itself. Nothing else was needed to be removed, the coilover slid right out and with the on-line direction method it also went right back in. I meant to take pictures etc but it went too quick

Here is how I did it..

Step one: Remove upper ball joint nut, and free using a ball joint remover. It popped right out, right tool for the job. Also remove the nut holding the sway bar on.

Step two: Remove coilover. This means removing the nuts on top and the bottom bolt.

Step three: compress coil. I used some cheap harbor freight compressors and my impact gun.

Step four: Remove upper nut and dissassemble coilover to install spacer. Spacer goes in no problem but then it is a bit hard to get the top back on the unit. Since I have a press I used it to compress the unit enough to thread the top nut on.

Step five: put back in truck. Simply slide it in, put on the top nuts, bottom bolt, and tighten up the upper ball joint and sway bar. It is a bit of a pain getting the a-arm back down to line up but if you have a helper it is not bad at all.

Tada!

BTW right after the install I took the truck for a very windy road long trip (basically all day trip) and it performed great, possibly tightened the suspension up a bit but it feels great..

No alignment either..

 

it looks great, an hour? wow, I guess I work real slow, I did everything as the instructions,what size rims and tires you got?

 

The press, puller, and impact save a lot of time

The wheels are 16x8 weld super singles (discontinued since weld sold to american racing), and the tires are currently 245/75/16 MTR's that are worn out. I just needed something when I got the wheels but I do need to get some new tires of some sort. I'd like to get the Dick Cepek FC II 265/75/16's, also looking at a lot of others..

 

Never needed a puller, the ball joint pops right out with a light smack with a mallet.

Good it worked out for you, As i stated earlier, the 2.5" kit jsut doesnt work. Its about 1.5" spacer, and there is slim chance of getting the upper a-arm to bolt back up.

The TM 7/8th inch spacer had no problem going on, but the lift is small.

Looks great though, like the wheels.

 

Someone needs to make a real kit, just needs to basically be brackets that drop the front end - steering and all..

I am happy with it, just need some tires. Of course I'd like to clear 33's..

 

That was my friends plan, to clear 33" with the 2.5" kit but it jsut didnt work out.

 

brandon

glad to hear you dod not suffer from the numerous setbacks that i did. although to be honest i probably caused each. i do blame dodge for the strut bolt being rusted and crossthreaded.

i like the look of the goodyear mtrs, but after reading reviews half love tehm and half hate tehm. cuppinig seems to be the biggest complaint and constant balancing. what is your opinion? i like the fc as well but i am not sure the knobby 265/75 will not rub with out cutting the mudflap.

 

I bought my MTR's well used for $90 just for something to roll on and they are amazingly round for a used tire. They are VERY noisy though, and I have had these tires before. I am guessing maybe a different compound or something for the load rating since my 37" MTR's were nowhere near this loud..

 

MonkeyWrench4000

Did you take the tire rod off on the side you were working on? reason I ask is that when you are just working with the strut assy itself, it is much easier to get back into place like this.

I have a home made 3" (actual lift was 3.25"), much like to AutoSpring set-up, on mine. It was tough, but doable.

A made sure to loosen up the a-arms so they would pivot freely. Also like I said, take off the tie rod end from the strut assy.

Alignment was very much needed on mine. Toe setting more than caster and camber.

Anyone want my extra PA "puck" type front level kit? NIB make offer.

 

NJJer, i had no problem installing the strut after the 1.5" spacer was placed on top of the strut. After it was mounted, it was nearly impossible to re-attach the upper a-arm. We used a pry bar and there still was little luck. I am sure we could have gotten it back together, but my friend wasnt happy with what he saw, and decided to not bother with the kit.

After the strut was mounted with the spacer, the lower a-arm would not go up high enough with the jack, and the upper a-arm simply could not be lowered far enough to bolt everything back up.

Once he quit and took the spacer out, everything went back together with ease.

I am sure if he used a spring compresser he would of shrunk the strut enough to bolt everything together, but he didnt. He was discouraged with the setup.

The tie-rod was never disconnected.