I installed the 2.5" autospring a few days ago and I'm exrememly happy with the whole process. It can be a little complicated if you've never done something lke this before, but my best piece of advice is to make sure that you have all the right tools from the get go--I had to make 3 or so trips to Auto Zone before it was all said and done. The tools you will need to make it work are:

Jack Stand(s)
Floor Jack (at least one)
30mm socket
Breaker Bar (this was a must for my install, I had a tough time getting the 30mm shock bolt off, and the breaker bar made it sooo much easier)
15mm wrench and deep socket
17mm wrench and deep socket
21mm deep socket
Hammer
Vice Grips

The whole process takes a few hours -- took me about 4-5 -- however, the second wheel goes much, much faster once you get the hang of things.

Here are some pics..
1) A view of the wheel well with the tire removed showing the stock suspension

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...s/IMG_1188.jpg

2) Here's the toughest part of the whole install, removing the 30mm shock bolt -- it's really, really tight

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...s/IMG_1190.jpg

3) View of the 3 nuts that will have to come off to remove the shock and spring.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...s/IMG_1191.jpg

4) View of the Shock and coil removed

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n.../IMG_11921.jpg

5) View of the 2.5" Autospring bolted on and ready to be re-installed

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n.../IMG_11931.jpg

6) Re-install is kind of tough too -- I tried it without having to remove the nut on the upper-control arm. This doesn't work, you'll have to remove it.

Also, it really helps to jack up the lower-control arm when trying to re-attach the bolt on the upper-control arm. I found there was no other way to do it.

Here's a photo with it all done and re-installed -- you can really see the new stress on the upper control arm.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...s/IMG_1195.jpg

I ended up getting 2.5 inches on both the passanger side and driver side front wheel wells.

If you're on the fence on whether or not to do this install yourself -- I'd say go for it. It makes the truck look much better -- I've already had a few compliments on the new look. Also, it was really fun to do, and I learned a lot about my truck. It really makes you feel like you accomplished something.

 

Is the reinstalled pic with the suspension compressed or extended?

 

Reinstalled pic is with the suspension extended...

 

How does it look with wheels on the ground? It seemed like alot of angle with that pic but if its extended that wouldnt be so bad

 

I just bought this truck a week or so ago and the 2.5" was the first modification I've made. I'm installing new wheels and tires tomorrow...

Here is what the truck looked like with the factory rake before the 2.5 autospring..





And here is the truck after -- nice and level

 

Nice job!

 

Looks great! I really want to get the leveling kit but I'm afraid of the few horror storeies I have read... Oh well, maybe in a little while I'll get the kit.

 

Does that leveling kit allow for the installation of 33" tires?

 

I sure hope so...haha.. I think it definitely will. I have some 33x13.50 IROKS on 17x9 MT classic locks that should be here today or tomorrow. I think they'll be fine as far as height, i'm just worried about the width. I'm already planning on having to do some trimming -- but we'll see...

 

hey where can you buy this kit from, and how much does it cost? i need to get this for my truck

 

I bought it on Ebay for around $85 with free shipping. Also, the shipping is the fastest I've ever seen. I bought it on a Tuesday and it was here by Thursday. Here's a link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2004-...spagenameZWDVW

Good luck if you decide to install..

 

wow, thx for the step by step i should be doing the same thing here next week to mine. and i think thats really gonna help me get the job done right and in a reasonable amount of time. thx alot.

 

I just installed the 2.5" AS (bought on Ebay) today. It took 1 1/2 hours start to finish with air tools, jack stands, and a can't do the job without a breaker bar. Follow the instructions, you can't take short cuts, I tried. Good luck. BTW - the truck went from 37" ground to fender to 39" and looks great. Ready for bigger tires

 

hows the head light possision? did you have to adjust them to compensate since the front end is higher??

 

I just got mine in the mail last night, shipping was amazingly fast.

Looks great, thanks for the write up I'll be doing mine this weekend.