Whats up guys? alright i installed the composite leaf springs this weekend. a lift and air tools and a high stand would make this job save your back and you tons of time on the install. out of a scale of 1-10 id say a 6. here are the composite leafs the literally weigh 10 pounds each :rockon: polyurethane bushings :biggrin: brake line bracket First remove the rear wheels with 21mm tire iron/or impact wrench Next remove the brake line with a 12mm socket wrench Third Remove the u-bolts and swing away the shock absorber bracket (Note: Remove Lowering blocks if applicable) follow by jacking up the rear axle with a high stand to relieve pressure off of the leafs than remove the front bolt on the leaf you will need a 19mm socket and open ended-wrench than punch out bolt with a punch than loosen (you do not have to remove) the lower bolt on the rear of the leaf Its a shackle for the leaf to roll forward (Note: on passenger side remove the rear of the exhaust from hanger) Than leaf should move forward than remove the upper bolt with a 19mm socket and 19mm open ended-wrench leaf should come free... Stock leafs vs composite stockers weigh a ton Now for the Replacement Place the rear of the leaf in first make sure that the brake line bracket is facing the front of the vehicle and the nut and bolt facing the outside of the truck(Re-Use stock hardware) next put the front of the leaf in its place Now re-install the brake line... you will need an 11mm socket wrench and a 11mm open ended-wrench i put the nut on the out side but it came on the inside and than tighten leafs to 74ft lbs now my battery died on this point so i didnt get pictures of this but the leafs are drastically flatter than the stockers so you will need to use a high stand to push on the bottom of the shock to compress shock so you can reinstall the STOCK u bolts once it is compressed make sure the bolt in the middle of the leaf is in the middle of the leaf seat. and than install the u bolts once that is complete than torque the u-bolts to 50ftlbs and than you have completed one side to sittin sic composite leaf springs... and do the same on the other side. Disclosure: I am not responsible for any damages or injuries that happened while working on your vehicle... please use all proper tools and jacking procedure to limit the chance of injury thank you and enjoy My review: I had them on for two days now the ride is stiffer it is alot more comfortable at higher speeds bottoming out has basically disappeared unless a its a bad pot hole and wheel hop is gone... it lays tires alot easier lol 10 out of 10 For performance 10 out of 10 for stance 8 out of 10 for install I recommend this drop to any one it is a need mod :top: shane did a phenomenal job
Excellent write up...we need to see it on your truck on the ground :top: I've seen it on Dc's truck, now lets see the swb:biggrin:
Rockin, and I do have a request, you dont particularly have any shots of your old 2" drop for comparison, Im doing my homework on either the 1 1/2" steel blocks, 2" or composites...in regards to stance and the like. If so, Sweet, if not, no worries :top:
This is a nice write up with nice large pics and more than six (6). How do you do that? Do your merge more than one (1) post to get beyond the six (6)? When I reduce my pics size, the quality sucks. How did you set up your picts for this write up?
1024x768 thats what i have photobucket set up with i didnt have to merge anything and on my camera i have the biggest setting with and its on hd setting haha i am lol
Very nice bob I love the write up, Just an FYI I did these in a prking lot with my wife about 30mins a side but then again it was the third pair I had installed. Glad you like them :top:
it took me about an hour also but i dont think this is an amature job though the correct tools make the world of a diff... it had to be a pain on the ground though lol
hurry Up Bob I hope that was'nt your girlfriend in the pics, if so, you better hope some people from the VA Beach crew don't see them.
More than you know, bloody knucles and bloody elbow, and on broken jack later. But I got a brand new jack and I got the one I wanted a low profile 3 ton Arcan aluminum blue and chrome floor jack it is pefect it was a lift height or 21" and a colapsed height of 3 1/2" :top:
I did this on the ground today and in the rain. I was in the middle of the swap and just did not want to quit. I found it easier to remove the lower end of the shock to u-bolt plate. I also did not have to drop my exhaust. (I have a TRD exhaust.) I will post some pics tommorrow.
haha nice ether way you'd half to compress the shock i didnt drop the exhaust i just removed the back from the hanger but also i have urd 3"