Are these leveling kits hard to install? Do you need a spring compressor?

 

The leveling kit is not that bad to install. I did it with some usual hand tools. Jack it up, remove both wheels and go to it. I took all brake lines brackets and sway bar brackets loose. Unplugged the vacuum lines to front diff. The I used the factory jack to increase the working space between the frame and the axle to squeeze the old spring out and the new springs in. I was not able to find a large enough spring tool to do it any other way. BTW if your aligment is correct now it should not change with the leveling kit. Mine did not change in the slightest bit from factory to level. I have a good friend that owns the local goodyear store and he did the pre and post alignment and they were practically identical. No adjustment needed.

 

[quote author=w4xtc link=board=7;threadid=16723;start=0#157104 date=1057508100]<br>The leveling kit is not that bad to install. I did it with some usual hand tools. Jack it up, remove both wheels and go to it. I took all brake lines brackets and sway bar brackets loose. Unplugged the vacuum lines to front diff. The I used the factory jack to increase the working space between the frame and the axle to squeeze the old spring out and the new springs in. I was not able to find a large enough spring tool to do it any other way. BTW if your aligment is correct now it should not change with the leveling kit. Mine did not change in the slightest bit from factory to level. I have a good friend that owns the local goodyear store and he did the pre and post alignment and they were practically identical. No adjustment needed.<br>[/quote]<br>You mentioned &quot;old springs&quot; and &quot;new springs&quot;. The leveling kit I am talking about is the Tuff Country kit and all that's included is spacers for the top of the original springs. I have 23K on the truck. Should I think about shocks at the same time?

 

<br>I have 23K on the truck. Should I think about shocks at the same time?<br>[/quote]<br>Yep. It would be rare for the factory shocks to be worth a darn at all past about 20,000 miles, and since you have to do the work to put the spacers in, might as well do the shocks, too. Mine have about 18,000 on them, and I can already tell they're close to shot--the truck has started flopping around like a fish out of water.

 

Make sure you take the sway bar loose. The shop that installed mine (had to because of new tire size) just took the shocks and springs loose and let the axle drop, then put a jack between the axle and the frame to spread it more, which bent the stablizer linkages that connect the sway bar to the axle housing. <br><br>Chris

 

[quote author=Stamey link=board=7;threadid=16723;start=0#157266 date=1057547213]<br>Make sure you take the sway bar loose. The shop that installed mine (had to because of new tire size) just took the shocks and springs loose and let the axle drop, then put a jack between the axle and the frame to spread it more, which bent the stablizer linkages that connect the sway bar to the axle housing. <br><br>Chris<br>[/quote]<br>Thanks for a greate piece of information. That's what I like about this site!

 

If you don't take the sway bar links loose, it's incredibly hard to spread the axle and frame with the jack. I tried it once, and it was taking way too much force and I thought something was going to bend. It's much easier with the swaybar links disconnected. I guess shops don't bother with it because they want to get it done quick. If you take it to a shop, tell them to take the swaybar links loose. Other than that, it's pretty simple. I think it took me 2 hours max.

 

I guess I was lucky. The place that installed mine must have taken the sway bar loose. I checked the bolts and they are perfectly straight. According to Dodge though, my axle is now tilted forward and I need new lower control arms to push the axle back straight. :

 

Is Dodge saying that the axle is tilted forward because the leveling kit changed the angles on the lower arms? And is it that big a deal? Sure, it's going to change the angle of the axle slightly, but are they saying that it's going to cause problems? I've never heard of this before, and I know a lot of people with leveling kits.

 

When you lift the front suspension, the lower control arm angle will drop. This will pull the axle back in respect to the frame. This causes the alignment caster to be out of adjustment. Many people think you will not need an alignment after a leveling kit is installed, but that is not true. <br><br>Picture the hands on a clock. If you were looking at the driver's side, imagine that the control arm moves from 8:00 to 7:00. Not only does the end of the arm move down, but it moves to the right - or to the rear. This is simple physics and cannot be avoided.<br><br>Too much negative caster is not likely to cause excessive tire wear, it will cause the steering to be light and the vehicle will wander and be difficult to keep in a straight line. The vehicle will oversteer. Too much positive caster on the other hand will cause heavy steering and bump steering.<br><br>Because of the track bar design on the Dodge Ram, the caster angle change may not be the same on both sides. You could end up with an axle that is either shifted to one side, or more positive caster on one side than the other. Differing caster from side to side will cause the vehicle to pull to the least positive side. These are less than desirable situations for handling and safety.<br><br>Some guys have said that they were able to adjust the caster and restore the proper angle. Many have said that until the caster was adjusted, the handling and steering were not good. Whether any damage is done by caster misadjustment, I could not say.<br><br>I have spent several months trying to decide the best combination for leveling the front end on my truck. I opted for a set of D25 coils along with a set of DLL23 lower control arms and Rancho RS9000 2&quot; lift shocks. These are Skyjacker control arms for 2&quot; to 3&quot; lift kits and replace the factory lower control arms. Basically, these two pieces represent the front end parts for the Skyjacker D2512 2 1/2&quot; lift. After talking to SkyJacker and explaining that I only wnated to lift the front end, this was their recommendation.<br><br>As soon as the control arms finally arrive tomorrow (they've been backordered for 5 weeks), I am planning to install everything this weekend. As soon as it's finished, it's off to the best off-road alignment shop in Northern Colorado for a full alignment.

 

They said the leveling kit changed it and that is what is causing a squeek in my steering wheel shaft(somthing I've had them look at before the lift) and causing my brakes to drag. : Something on the front end is now adjusted all the way back to compensate for the lift. It should be all the way forward. ??? They didn't say what.

 

Sounds kinda weird to me. My truck rides and handles better since the leveling kit. It wondered before ,and now it doesn't hardly at all. I took it to the alignment shop, and it was so close to factory spec they didn't adjust anything.

 

Same with mine. The ride and handling has improved a lot. I really enjoy driving it now.