lowering 68 gmc

[dave2953]

Originally Posted by jott_06

Can anyone give me a quick description of what all I will have to do to remove the front coils. I did it on my old s-10 and it was a piece of cake but i didnt know if these trucks were any different or not.
Thanks

Put the front of the truck's frame on jack stands. Take the shock loose from the control arm. Place your jack under the lower control arm, applying slight pressure to the spring. Loosen the lower ball joint nut way off (but not completely) and hit the spindle with a BFH near where the ball joint passes through. Once the ball joint is free, you can take the nut off and slowly lower your jack, dropping the lower control arm. The spring should fall out. Someone please add on if I've left anything out.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by dave2953

Put the front of the truck's frame on jack stands. Take the shock loose from the control arm. Place your jack under the lower control arm, applying slight pressure to the spring. Loosen the lower ball joint nut way off (but not completely) and hit the spindle with a BFH near where the ball joint passes through. Once the ball joint is free, you can take the nut off and slowly lower your jack, dropping the lower control arm. The spring should fall out. Someone please add on if I've left anything out.

Only thing I would add is to secure the spring w/a strap to limit movement in a worst case scenario.

Shorter drop coils will definitely fall right out, but many stock length springs still have 'stored' energy even after the lower a-arm is dropped all the way down. Grab anything handy (a length of wire, rope, chain, strap) & loop it around 1 of the coils before you drop the spring (the lower on the spring the better). If the coil doesn't fall right out, you can use the 'strap' to help the spring pop out.... & when it does, you have it on a leash.

Check the lower BJ's for 'play' once you have everything apart. If the BJ is real easy to move around, it's time for some new ones.