My Little Project

Yup, no smog, no more than a 1,000 miles a year. If you go on CARB's website they have lots of different ways you can register your truck with them and ways to keep your older truck on the road for a little longer.

 

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Actually, Its only gonna go down about another 1/2" max. That's all that's left between the axle and the oil pan. This whole lowering the truck thing has been a learning process for me. Initially, I had a hard time finding info on it, which is one of the reasons I started this thread so we can all learn.

I was told that when I removed the lower font leaf from the pack and let the truck back down, to be very carefull that the axle does not hit the oil pan. Well, when I removed the leaf and let the truck down with the stock axle, it stopped. The truck stopped coming down because the single leaf was supporting the truck and I had like 3" between the axle and the oil pan. I was not happy at all, not the look I wanted. My truck is only a 220" WB 3 axle day cab, so its not a very heavy truck.

I was going to have the front leafs de-arched, which I figured would close the gap between the axle and the pan and would put the bumper about 2" off the ground. I did not want to put a drop axle in it because a drop axle would only drop it another 1.5" because a stock axle has a 3" drop and drop axles have a 5" drop, I figured, I was wrong.

I ended up installing the drop axle and it changed everything. The drop axle lowered the front of the truck 1.5 inches, but the additional weight transfer from the rear of the truck to the front because of the drop, made the truck go down like 2.5 inches. Now if my truck was heavier, longer WB or had a sleeper on it, I probably would have needed to place jack stands under my frame before I let the jacks down to prevent the axle from going through the oil pan.

Here is a pic of the truck with the stock axle sitting on a single leaf and a photo with the drop axle sitting on a single leaf. You can see how much the drop axle lowered the truck. I was not expecting this. So basically, the truck is not going to go much lower, maybe a 1/2" because that's the distance between the axle and the pan right now and its already resting on the leaf springs, not the air bag stops.






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12 Gauge Customs http://www.12gacustoms.com/part_gallery/visor

I'm very pleased with their service and workmanship, First Class for sure.

 

Thanks, yes, the factory shackles are used for this installation. Basically the following parts get thrown away: The lower leaf from the spring pack, the lower shock mount/bump stop, and the U-bolts. The following parts get installed: An air bag between the spring and the bottom of the frame rail and an additional stock shock on each side to improve ride quality. I'm sure I will learn more as I start installing the kit and I will post more pics so everything makes more sense.