Djm 5" f/r drop install (with pics)

[brown78]

Haha....this is just the teaser. Going to install the the djm 5" f/r drop Friday (hopefully). 3" spindles, 2"springs for the front; flip kit out back. No c-notch at this time, not sure i would need it, and sense moneys tight, figured I wait and see. Anyone install one of these kits in there truck? Mine is a 1978. Any tips or warnings now is the time to speak up. Ill post up some pics when I have some progress, Thanks all.

[brown78]

some before pics

[LivNLo94]

I have the exact same kit waiting to be installed on my 85. Just saving up for wheels right now. I went with belltech shocks tho. Take plenty of pics and post them. Remember to post a pic of the frame and rear axle clearence.
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[lolife99]

My tip(s) would be to remove the rear bump stops and brackets before you install the flip kit.
More room to work with the axle farther away from the frame.

Trim the front bumpstops or remove them all together.
Since you have 15x8 ralleys, you will need to do a little grinding on the lower control arms around the ball joint area. Otherwise you will have some clearance issues with the wheel.
You'll need to tweak (bend) the steel part of the rubber brake hose that attaches to the front calipers.
The drop spindles make these lines really close to the upper ball joints.

Spray everything with penetrating oil for a few days prior to getting started.
Use plenty of safety stuff,... like jack stands and safety glasses.

Take your time and take PLENTY of pics!

[lolife99]

Also take some height measurements, before you start.
(from the ground to the wheelwell on all four corners)

If you get the wrong springs,... you will have numbers to explain what you started with and where you ended up.
Also,... you'd be surprised how many people say, "I lowered my truck, and now it sets unlevel".
A baseline set of numbers will let you know where you started.

[lilpoindexter]

YEAH BOY!!!!! I have 2.5" summit racing spindles, 2" DJM front coil springs, and a DJM flip kit...I'm going to be doing the same thing over the long thanksgiving holiday...I bought all made in USA ($$$) moog bushings and tie rods, etc, and I'm going to be doing it all over the weekend!!!! CANT WAIT!!!!

[jasonroman]

it would be great if you guys could take and post pics as you go...
you know for us guys that want to do the same thing....and might not be so sure on what goes where

[muthstryker]

Get a BF Hammer! I had a framing hammer when I swapped my spindles (LoL took forever to get the ball joints separated from the spindle). Anyways, you get a 10-15 lb sledge and the ball joints will pop away from the spindle like nothing. Did my friends truck and they popped after 2 good smacks.

[chevymotocross]

Nice truck! Looks to be in pretty damn good shape for RI. I had to tackle rust while doing my drop kit which kind of sucked.

I installed a c-notch since it came with my western chassis kit but I noticed I didn't really NEED it but it's nice to have if I go lower or decide to haul something heavy.

I would also recommend, depending on the condition and mileage of the truck, to replace all front end parts with quality MOOG stuff.

I had to heat the leaf spring bolts since they were frozen. This burned all the rubber bushings so I replaced those with new Poly bushings.

[LivNLo94]

It's Sunday morning after thanksgiving, you done yet? LOL
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[brown78]

Pics to come soon, been very busy. Drop is installed. I like it overall, the rear dropped a little more then i liked. I may end up (somehow) raising it up an inch.

Two problems Id like opinions on:
1. The front end is way out of wack, truck is barely drivable. Anyone drop there truck to have there alinement so bad it was barely drivable? I know it needs to go get an alinement, hopefully tomorrow, just wanted to know if this is normal so I know what to expect from the alinement shop when I bring it in.

2. My drive shaft if F***ED-UP. I have a two piece drive shaft and it looks terrible, feels pretty bad too. All the angles seem wrong, i took some pictures. Any opinions suggestions on whats going on and how to fix this.

[brown78]

Here are so of the drive shaft

[brown78]

Somebody was looking for pictures of frame clearance, here you go!

[Malo83]

Need to find a one piece driveshaft

[LiveAnimals]

Was this truck once a LB?

[GMC Guy]

3/4 ton leaf springs, with 12 bolt rear? two piece drive-shaft on a shortbed?
the drop looks good though, get it to the alignment shop, then straight to a rear-end shop to do something about the drive shaft.

[lolife99]

What do you mean by "barely driveable"?
What exactly is it doing?
The toe will be way out, along with the caster and camber.

Did you trim the a-arms?
I'm sure they are close to rubbing the front wheels.

Is this a piece of tube steel that the carrier bearing is attached to?
Maybe you could remove it.
That would help your driveline angle.

[brown78]

The truck is an org. shortbed big ten model. The front end is wandering, not coming back to center, pulling in both directions, feels vague, not good...I have an app. on thursday at the driveshaft place. Trying to get it in at the ailinement shop now.

[bharrison1]

pinion shims or one piece driveshaft or both. I had this problem and i went to a one piece shaft and pinion shims and its all good now. Truck looks good though

[Mike Bradbury]

If it is not coming back to center then it is a caster issue. With any drop it is always a good idea to get it aligned right away after it is complete. Although I dropped mine four and it rides like stock with no alignment after drop.

Cannot tell exactly your pinion angle but a good rule of thumb is what ever the trans angle is the angle at the diff is the exact opposite. In your case it would be the carrier bearing angle and diff angle. I don't know if that two piece shaft is stock though because that square tube carrier bearing mount looks after market.

[mooseknuckles]

Originally Posted by lolife99

What do you mean by "barely driveable"?
What exactly is it doing?
The toe will be way out, along with the caster and camber.

Did you trim the a-arms?
I'm sure they are close to rubbing the front wheels.

Is this a piece of tube steel that the carrier bearing is attached to?
Maybe you could remove it.
That would help your driveline angle.

mine looked like that too, and had a similar carrier bearing mount that I sectioned about a inch and a half and welded back together.

[mooseknuckles]

you could probably take 4 or 5 leafs out of your spring pack and it will ride a hell of a lot better!

[brown78]

Truck is off to alignment shop today i will keep you posted,

Will removing leafs from the rear lower the truck? Softer ride would be nice, but the last thing I want to do is go ANY lower in the rear, thinking about raising it alittle.

Do you think that the front end will become lower as the suspension "breaks in"? 5" drop all around should of left a lot more rake in my opinion, flip kit out back seams to have dropped it more like 7".

[GMC Guy]

if anything i think removing a few leafs will raise the rear up. seeing that the rear-end is sitting in top of the leaf pack. if you removed 4-5 leafs my guess would be a much better ride and a total of 5 inch drop like you wanted. but i'd do that before the rear-end shop makes the measurements for a driveshaft.
good luck!

or just swap leaf springs from a 1/2 ton 2wd (should be 4-5 leafs total in the pack) they would be very easy to find and may take less aggravation and time to install.

[benoit454]

I can see your point on coming up but they aint gonna be as stiff and I think would stay the same or drop it. I'd remove that thing the ds bolt to in the middle and bolt it straight to the bed floor.