I think I'm gonna use "poor man's" method of lowering the rear of my L and remove one leaf from each spring pack. I already have 2" drop shackles but would like to drop a little more in the rear. I'm leaving the front stock so I can still use ramps to get under the truck. As it is now, the facia barely clears the tall part of the ramps when driving up on them. I've searched and it seems the most common leaf to remove is the second from the bottom and I'll also have to remount my 58" traction bars. I'm not worried about loss of payload and from what I've read, the ride actually improves some. My question is can I continue to use the stock shocks or will I have to go shorter length? Also, I would love to hear opinions from people who have done this long term. Thanks for the help.

 

I am thinking about doing the same thing.I think you will have to flip the shims too. Also why would you have to relocate the 58in torque bars? As for the shocks you can still use the stock ones but I would get shock extenders. The range of motion will be very limited without the extenders....

 

Bruce, from what I've read it is necessary to relocate the front mounts if you either raise or lower the vehicle from the height it was when the bars were originally installed. It would seem the mounting point would move forward some it you're lowering and toward the back some if you were raising. It makes sense because you are actually changing the angle on that side of the triangle that you create when the bars are installed. Unfortunately the bars will have to be removed completely to remove the the leaf packs. Does anyone have any tips on removing a leaf from the pack? Will I be able to reuse the stock leaf clamps? Will pinion angle change too much to use the stock shims? Sorry, I'm a question *****.

 

Chesster, I have removed the longest leaf on my '03 and I have 2in shackles and 58" traction bars.
The way I did it was hammer the leaf out which takes a while, but other people have pryed open the clamps to pull it out and clamped them back.

I did not have to relocate the front mounts on my 58"er's, she lowered right down with no problem. But I have Bassani cat-back and the bar hits the exhaust a lot more so I clamped some pieces of rubber around the bars where it makes contact at....not to noticable.

On the pinion angle, I thought you would have to turn the shims around but I tried that and it made my pinion angle go positive, I bought like an angle finder from Sears. So I just kept the original shims in place, the angle measured out to be -3deg for me.

I've noticed after several months of it settling in, it seems the rear is a little lower than the front on the passenger side of the truck, like 1/2in. It's not to noticable.

Hope that helps.

 

Just crious,how much does the angle finder cost?Is it hard to understand?I might be doing mine next week. Do you have any pics before and after?

 

Bruce - You may have already seen these, I believe I've sent them to ya before:


Before

After1

After2

The angle finder was like $10-$15 at Sears and not hard to use. There's lots of posts about finding the angle..

 

Missouri, did your bars hit the exhaust before you dropped a leaf, or only after? Mine was hitting after I installed the bars, but I was able to raise the exhaust from the mufflers back and they do not hit at all now. I think I will try the leaf removal this weekend too. As far as pinion angle goes, isn't the objective to keep the pinion in line with the driveshaft, regardless of what the degree reading may be? Thanks for the help, Rick

 

Rick, yea my bars hit the exhaust before the drop, I just lived with it since it would only happen when the road was rough. But after the drop it hit all the time.
On the pinion angle, I believe you want to keep it -3deg to -6deg that way when its under load it twists upward and aligns the drive shaft evenly. With your t-bars you keep it around -3deg because it doesn't move as much, but w/o t-bars you keep it around -6deg.
That's the way I understand it works from talking and reading with people on the subject. I don't claim to be an expert though!

 

Thanks Mizou, thats a good explanation. Guess I need to do some more reading on how to check pinion angle.

 

Bruce, here is a good link illustrating how to check pinion angle.
http://www.steeda.com/-techtips/pinionangle.htm

From what I've read, we should be shooting for negative 3 degrees.

 

Well it rainied here all day yesterday, so no chance to work on the leaf springs. Looks like it may start again today, have to wait and see. Tomorrow I'm going to order some SoCal shock extenders. Bought an angle finder from Home Depot yesterday, but haven't been able use it yet to check angle with just the 2" shackles. After the leaf is removed, I'm going to relocate my sway bar end link mounts rather than spend the cake on new links. The only issue I may incur is having to get new shims. Anyone know what degree the stockers are? I can measure them after they come out, but I'd like to know before hand so I can get an idea of what I need. Also, can I just cut the bump stops down, or are new ones required?

 

Now to measure the angle the truck has to be on the ground.How would you be able to fit under the truck to measure the angle?I guess you would need one of those lifts that you drive onto so you have full weight on the wheels...

 

Bruce, I have 2 ramps already that I use to change my oil and will borrow 2 more from my brother to get the truck off the ground equally at front and rear. Looks like I'm gonna have to wait until next saturday now.

 

Have you tried just sliding under there while the truck is on the ground? I just put down some tarp that allowed me to slide in and out easier..

 

I might could, be it would be a lot easier to roll under and back out on my creeper. Ordered shock extenders today, I hope I can get it done next Saturday.