dude, in the faq, there is an awesome tut written up for installing a spacer on a 2wd.

you dont NEED something to compress the spring, but it does help. its called a spring compressor. you can rent or buy from autozone for around $20-$25. make sure you get the one for a coil spring, and not a strut spring.

dont use a pickle fork! and dont disconnect your lower ball joint. use a Pitman Arm Puller (also rented or purchased from autozone for around $20) keep in mind, when you rent from autozone, you get all your money back when you return it.

to sum up the whole install, its actually very easy. jack up front end. take off tire. disconnect sway bar on both sides. take your brake calipers off and zip tie them out of the way. place a jack under your lower control arm. use the pitman arm puller (PAP) to disconnect UPPER balljoint. slowly lower the jack and LCA. pull out spring (you may use spring compressor, or have a buddy stand on or push down the lower control arm) take the spring isolator (thing rubber spacer) off, put the level spacer on. put the isolator back on. slide the spring back up into the cup top first. now the tricky part is getting the upper control arm connected again with the spacer in there. just muscle it in. have a buddy or two help, or use ratchet tie down straps. reconnect everything and youre done.

pm me if you need anymore help. you can also check out my tut on replacing the upper control arm for help (deals with alot of the same stuff as putting in a spacer.

 

Thanks john, btw creative so I take it you suggest the 2" kit since the 2.5" made the front a tad high? I figured since we got the same year truck it should be at least somewhat similar.

 

2.5" made me higher in the front. so i put some blocks in the rear. but i have a 2500, so could be different for you.

 

http://www.roughcountry.com/dodge_2wd_02-05_2.html

http://www.roughcountry.com/shocks_dodge.html

Shiloh, here is the kit I put on. In my opinion, I decided to go with the longer coil. I am not having the bouncing/shaking issues some of the guys with the spacers are having. Not saying that's why.

You don't need a spring compressor. Get the truck in the air, put it on stands. Get your jack out and put it under the lower spring bucket. Unscrew your upper ball joint, tie rod end and sway bar link. Get a BFH and hit the spindle where it attaches at the upper ball joint. (don't hit the ball joint itself, only the spindle. You won't hurt it.) Use a pry bar as you're hitting the spindle and they will pop out. After the tie rod end and upper balljoint pop out, lower your jack, and there you have it. PM me if you have any questions. I did it with a socket set, a hammer, a prybar and a couple stands, a jack, and a couple pieces of 2x4. it's not that hard. It took me about 2 or 3 hours.

 

Do people have issues with using coil spacers? I was thinkin about just the 2" kit from Fat Bob's Garage because it's well within my price range but the extended coils plus new shocks are a little over budget.

 

Most of the people running spacers that have issues either 1) did not install them properly or 2) have the 06-08 truck with it's wonky IFS. No, you don't need shocks (how dare you question my authority? ) but I recommend them simply so that your suspension reacts properly to an extra couple inches of travel. And keep in mind when you are budgeting out your mods, that shocks or not, adding spacers is going to require that you get an alignment done.

 

yea definitely don't forget the alignment

I rented a spring compressor and pitman arm puller....didn't use either. A good long prybar was the best help for me, along with a buddy

 

Yea I won't forget that, I had that figured into the budget. That's why that Rancho kit was a little steep for me. There's a shop in town that will do it for 60 bucks.

 

http://www.firestonecompleteautocare.com/offers/

dont know if there's a firestone near you, but with the coupon i linked to you, down here it ran me about $50 for the alignment.

 

There's one in Wichita bout a 30 minute drive but I don't think highway driving would be a smart idea when it's outta alignment.