got my lowering kit done
 

well it turned out a little different than i expected
i did 3" drop coils in the front and 5" western chassis flip kit in the rear
before i did it my measurements were stock in the front and it measured 2" under factory in the rear but i thought it was just my rear shocks that were shot
so after everything i got 2.5" of drop out of 3" coil(no big deal) and the rear measures 7" under factory. Now i need to figure out why my rear is dropped 2" more than its supposed to be and raise it back up or take the front down lower which i think might be to low for me.
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/4...loweredby0.jpg

anyone got any ideas?

Re: got my lowering kit done
 

Since you moved the springs to below the axle, I would look at getting them rearched to get your right rear height back. The shocks were not why the rear end was sitting wrong. The springs are the reason, shocks only dampen shock.

Re: got my lowering kit done
 

I agree with piecesparts on the rear leafs. But I believe I would call the company you got the front springs from and find out why they say 3" when in reality it's only 2 1/2". I did get the full 3" with mine.

And your's does look better than a stocker....:metal:

Re: got my lowering kit done
 

I can't really tell from the picture but it looks like your rear springs are fairly high at the rear spring perch. If you say that the back of your truck was 2" lower than stock to start with you may have a set of 2" drop shackles installed.

If you look at the shackle, the drop versions are about 5 or 6 inches tall. The stock version is only 3 or 4 inches (someone can probably confirm these measurements for me, I am not close to my truck). If this is the case, get a set of stock shackes from your local pick and pull yard and swap them for the ones that are on the truck now.

Re: got my lowering kit done
 

What are you basing your before measurements on? Just by looking at your above pic, I say the rear is not 7" of drop. As a matter of fact it looks pretty close to a 5 or 6 inch drop to me. The front is what looks wrong to me. Who is the manufacturer of the so called 3" drop coils and did they say they were 3" coils or what?

If I were guessing from your photo I would say you ended up with a 2/5 or more likely a 3/6 drop. When I did mine I had to use 2.5" spindles and 1.5" coils along with a 6" flip kit, which consisted of the flip and shackles in the highest hole.

Re: got my lowering kit done
 

have you driven it yet? did anything to make sure the front springs settle?

Re: got my lowering kit done
 

Ditto, what did your original measurements come from? Apparently not this truck if it was 2" down in back.
As for why it is 7" now, how many leafs are in the leaf pack? This has A LOT to do with the amount of drop you get out of a 5" flip. Thicker leafs provide more drop. (Shocks have NOTHING to do with it as stated above) Secondly, yours appears to be the typical 6" drop in the rear.

As for the front, brand new coils will generally have to settle a little to get the full 3" drop. If you wanted it immediately, then you could have went with spindles. In my experience you will get more of you lost .5" in front after you drive it for a month.

Re: got my lowering kit done
 

yeah, i think your gonna have to get drop spindles to get that front down the correct way.kinda hard to say for sure without crawling under it and looking around.i have a 5 ..7 drop.front is spindles,coils ,flip kit and c notch to get to 7 inches in rear

Re: got my lowering kit done
 

hmmm
i measured from the ground to the lip of the wheel well
the springs were ground force from summit
it just looks like the rear is a lot lower than the front
i plan on doing spindles in the future but right now the coils fit my fundings a little better

Re: got my lowering kit done
 

totally understand...fund's make the world go round :cool:

Re: got my lowering kit done
 

Are the rear springs the stock ones if they are the only problem is that they are a little worn thats why you can put a 4 inch spring lift in one of the 4x4's and you can pick up 6 inches.

Re: got my lowering kit done
 

What are your fender 'lip-to-ground' measurements in the front and rear before and after the drop? BTW, how much clearance do you have between the axle and the framerail? Adding spindles may get you back the rake and stance that you're after... but maybe a little to low for your liking?

Re: got my lowering kit done
 

im not sure of my before measurements
i was so excited that i had the parts to do it that i just did it
i have no clearance between axle and framerail. I plan to do a c-notch when it warms up outside. The truck is parked now due to motor issues.
spindles might be a good idea but i dont want to be scrapeing the ground tryin to get into a parking lot.

Re: got my lowering kit done
 

measure at the rocker panel or the body line. the wheel well openings are not the same distance from the ground. it will appear the rear is lower by how far in the rear wheel sits in the well compared to the front. make sure the front coil is seated correctly and the other guys are right, the front will settle, align it after a month or so

Re: got my lowering kit done
 

to me it looks level but u have to remeber that the heigh can always confuse u and dont go by measurments unless you have the factory ones from the start with

Re: got my lowering kit done
 

If you only got 2.5" of drop from 3" springs, it may be that your old springs that you are comparing the new ones to were worn out. If so, the old ones weren't holding the front end up where it was supposed to be.

I have 2.5" drop spindles and new stock springs. The front of the truck sits almost where it did before with 20 year old worn out springs and stock spindles.

A drop spindle is the only thing that can give you an actual predictable amount of drop. Anything involving a spring will be an estimate. Ride height differences with springs will be determined by the how worn out the spring is that you are comparing it to, how much weight the spring is holding up, and with a flip kit, how many leaves the spring has. The more leaves the spring has, the more it will drop the truck with a flip.

Slonaker

Re: got my lowering kit done
 

Did you leave the factory bumpstops and brackets on in the rear?

I was able to get close to the same clearance between the axle and frame with my drop by removing the factory bumpstop brackets and installing small aftermarket stops on the frame rail. I still use my truck as a work truck and have not had any issues with hitting the stops.

Re: got my lowering kit done
 

yeah the azz end looks too low for me. I am not sure on your taste but if it were me I would try to raise the back up to be level with the front. But i am not really into lowering. Good luck with it and i would call the company and ask them about the front srpings

Re: got my lowering kit done
 

take front down a little bit more

Re: got my lowering kit done
 

I measure to the body line directly above the wheels front and back and i got 35.75" in the rear and 34.75" in the front
So i guess its not as bad as i thought.
The wheel wells being different really threw my off.
The rear axle is sitting tight to the stock bump stops.
The truck is parked until it gets warmer out and I can work on it.
So im thinking I will do a c-notch to give me some room in the rear and do a set of 2.5" or 3" spindles.

Re: got my lowering kit done
 

ahh yeah the wheel wells are diffrent but that front needs to come down. then it should be looking nice!

Re: got my lowering kit done
 

what size spindles would you recomend?
also what brands?
cheaper would be better but i also want quality.

Re: got my lowering kit done
 

You have a choice between a 2 1/2" or a 3" drop spindle. As mentioned here before, you may have rubbing issues with the 3" drop spindle depending on the size and backspacing of the wheels you're running. And, you should have at least 2" ground clearance in front. (You may want to measure the clearance between the LCA (Below the shaft) and the ground to see what you have now.) If you're concerned about ground clearance and potential rubbing issues, you may opt for the 2 1/2" drop spindles. DJM, Western Chassis, and Belltech make quality drop spindles. For about $250, you would be set.