Just installed my leveling kit from Truxxx. Great product!! It comes powdercoated black for durable finish.
It gave me a true 2" lift in the front. I don't have any pics yet. It's a little pricey, but only takes about 1 hour to install. Hammerhead 4x4 on ebay is selling these and will deal with you on the price if you make a offer. Ride quality stayed the same as stock as far as I can tell. www.truxxx.com has a few pics of dakotas with these kits. Keith

 

How do you do the alignment on the truck? this is pretty interesting and looks straight forward. Also, do you have to be careful with the springs, trying not to let them like spring out of the holders, are they very stiff I guess is what I'm trying to ask. I dont know how to align the wheels; someplace out here wanted $240 to install and align a leveling kit on my dak...

 

The wheel alignment will have to be done by a wheel alignment shop, but any place that does alignments can do that for you. You are not actually removing the control arms from the vehicle so alignment will not be that far off when you are done. It is best to get it done to prevent uneven tire wear.

There are two different leveling kits that I have seen for the Dakota. The first is the on that is listed above. It is by far the easier of the two to install. No disassembly of the Shock-spring assembly is required. These just fit between the shock-spring assembly and the upper mount and act as a spacer. This type of kit does not make your ride stiffer.

The 2nd type of leveling kit is the kind that Trailmaster produces. This kit is harder to install because you have to disassemble the spring-shock assembly. The spring is held under compression and will spring out if spring compressors are not used. This kit is a spacer between the spring and the spring plate. It increases the spring preload and therefore the ride height. This kit will make your truck ride stiffer.

 

exactly what he said. i work at a shop, we charge $50 for a 2 wheel alignment. this truck has adjustable camber and caster from the factory, so no alignment kits are needed and any shop that does alignments can do it for you.

you need the following tools to remove the strut....21mm wrench for the tie rod end and upper balljoint nut. 18mm for the sway bar link nut, 24mm and 21mm or adjustable wrench for bottom strut bolt/nut, 15mm for upper strut nuts, jack and jackstands, and prybar the get things back together with leveling kit installed (you'll have to jack up the lower control arm and use pry bar to pull down upper control arm to get nut started on threads on balljoint) i have air tools so it's a little easier, but even without, you should be able to do it in a couple of hours.

 

yeah...air tools would be nice but unfortunately, no, dont have that. it seems pretty simple since you dont need to take apart the springs, maybe I'll look into it!

 

I called Truxx teck support on this kit as it states 2wd on thier site. They said if I install it on a 4wd, they do not recommend any serious 4wd action much more that snow or slick conditions. They say the the 4.7 puts to much torque on the front axle and can break the axle when the suspension is loaded in twisting conditions.

This is the case with all "spacers" designed to bolt on top of the shock mount, that is why trailmaster redesigned thiers to the spring spacer.

Does anyone have the trailmaster spring spacers installed? IF so how much did it stiffen the ride?

Thanks,
LB

 

i have that kit, the ride is a little stiffer, but it feels pretty good. I posted a thread on it about 3 or 4 months ago, just do a search. I highly recomend it to the truxx one just cause of price alone. And the nuts that came with it, i threw away, they were the same length as the studs. Also, the instructions in the box were different than the ones on the site at trailmaster, i called them and they said use the ones on the site, they were more up to date. so basically, the spacer went right on top of the shock bushing between that and the top plate. anyways, just search for the thread, and if you have any questions, i am around every once in a while.

 

yeah same here...if they dont recommend off road use too much then forget it, I want something that will hold up to bouncing around in the dirt....OH WELL! less money too