Installation and review..
Ok...As you know, I ordered these a couple of days ago. When they came in yesterday, I was shocked. Excellent service and super quick shipping from Nor-Cal. Thanks Nick and Jeff for the excellent service.
Now, although I've turned a few wrenches in my time, I was going to have a buddy install these, because, quite frankly, I wasn't in the mood. Well, since I heard so much about these springs, I decided to break out the tools.
Bear with me on the pics because they are from my camera phone, as my wife had the DC in her car and she was out.
First..The package.
Now we jack up the truck and use a floor jack for the axle. Don't mind the position of the jackstand. I moved it after I realized it was in the wrong place after I took the picture.The stands and floor jack is required if you are going to do this at home...
Stock shackle to be removed..
Now after loosening the shackle bolts, all four of them, you have to drop the trailer hitch low enough for the lower bolts to be removed. I would loosen the bumper bolts first before removing the next two frame bolts on each side. Then just loosen the last bolts on each end. After this, then remove the 2 bolts that attach the hitch at the bumper. Also don't forget to disconnect the lower shock bolts. It'll give you a little more droop.
This will alow you to remove the lower bolts like this...
Once you get these lower bolts out, jack up the axle with the floor jack enough for the leaf spring bolt to be removed from above the frame.
Now. Once this is all done, you can remove the stock shackle and replace it with the Sulastic shackle. Be advised that the washers included with the kit are used to shim the shackle to prevent any interference with the spring hanger. In my case, I needed none for the driver side, while I needed two for the inboard lower bolt on the passenger side to get the right clearance. Once all the bolts are back in and the nuts on loosely, I would drop the truck onto the ground to check for any interference. This is where you may need to add the shims. Once you get every thing right, then a shot of Lock-Tite on the suspension bolts and tighten accordingly. Be advised that the trailer hitch should be tightened at the very last step.
The finished product should look like this...
Now, I also added a set of Bilstein Yellows that I had laying around. When I did the Sulastics, I only replaced the rear shocks with the Bilsteins and took her for a ride. The chopiness was greatly reduced, but their was still a little more that I wanted. When I went back into the garage, I replaced the front shocks with the Bilsteins and took her for a ride. Now I was happy. The chop was almost gone. The passenger seat used to shake like crazy, and now, it barely made a peep. I then dropped the rear tire pressure to 55 from 65 psi and I was now in heaven. What a difference. The truck feels a lot tighter and the bumps are now just minor vibrations. The passenger seat now stays quiet.
Nick, that again for an exceptional product. This mod was worth every penny.
Thanks for bearing with the long post. I hope I didn't miss anything...