good luck on the install

 

First tip, you'll need a pair of drop shocks for the front since you are using drop coils.

Other than that, the rear is super easy....just jack the truck up and put jackstands under the frame. Then take the u bolts off of one side and the bottom shock mount, jack the rearend up far enough to slide the block in between the axle and the leaf spring. Make sure the pin on the leaf spring goes into the hole on the block. Then slowly let the rearend down and line the pin on the axle with the hole in the block. Put your new ubolts on and tighten them up, then remount your shock and do the same to the other side. The reason I say to do one side at a time is cause it will be easier to get the rearend lined back up on the blocks if you are doing it by yourself. If you have help then you can take both sides loose at the same time.

As for the front, if you use a pickle fork to seperate th balljoints then you will save yourself alot of time and work. Alot of people don't like using them cause you can tear your balljoint boot, but if you are careful then it won't happen. You have to remove your tire, shocks, lower balljoint, and then the coil. Put a jack under the LCA whenever you go to seperate the balljoint and this will prevent the control arm from coming down too fast. Also when it comes time to put everything back together a set of coil spring compressors will make it easier to slide them back in.

Oh and if you didn't get the coil spacer from belltech then your truck might sit lower on the driver's side than the passenger's side.

 

yeah i will be doing it by myself and it's my first time doing anything like this

 

Although using the pickle fork is the correct way to remove a ball joint you really don't need it. After you loosen the ball joint nut, turn the nut almost all the way out to the end of the thread. Make sure that the top of the thread is still visible above the nut. Then just take a hammer and smack the control arm a couple of times and it should pop the ball joint loose.

Keep in mind this is not the correct way to do this but it will save you from having to get a special tool.

Other then that be very carefull when removing the front spring. It can shoot right out and smack you in the face.

 

Other then that be very carefull when removing the front spring. It can shoot right out and smack you in the face.

:bs: I have lowered prolly 30 trucks and the coil spring has never came out on it's own before on any of them. I have always had to pull it out of the control arms. The spring will not fly out and hit you in the face. :haha:

 

I have also lowered a few trucks but the fact still remains that without the right support under the LCA it can pop out and all I'm doing is warning him to be careful. That's all.

 

:bs: I have lowered prolly 30 trucks and the coil spring has never came out on it's own before on any of them. I have always had to pull it out of the control arms. The spring will not fly out and hit you in the face. :haha:

Easy there killer.. Don't be held liable here.. Just cause a truck has never fallen on you doesn't mean that you don't need jackstands.....

 

Easy there killer.. Don't be held liable here.. Just cause a truck has never fallen on you doesn't mean that you don't need jackstands.....

He's not talking about the truck falling and I didn't say not to use jackstand, if you don't use jackstands then you are just asking to get hurt. He is talking about the coil spring flying out of the pocket and hitting you in the head. If you seperate the balljoint with the castle nut still on the balljoint, then remove the nut(like he said) then the lower control arm will drop, but the coil spring isn't gonna come flying out. The control arm doesn't drop down far enough for the coil to even come out, you have to push down on the LCA to be able to pull the coil out.

 

ya i've lowered a ton of trucks and i agree the spring looses the tention when u lower the LCA. u actually have to pull the LCA down to get it out. just make sure a jack is under the LCA and u won't have a problem. also u dont hit the control arms with a mallet u hit the spindle with a mallet. the control arm u have a chance of bending or breaking if u hit it with a mallet, where as the spindle is solid and well ur not going to use it anyways.

 

ya i've lowered a ton of trucks and i agree the spring looses the tention when u lower the LCA. u actually have to pull the LCA down to get it out. just make sure a jack is under the LCA and u won't have a problem. also u dont hit the control arms with a mallet u hit the spindle with a mallet. the control arm u have a chance of bending or breaking if u hit it with a mallet, where as the spindle is solid and well ur not going to use it anyways.

Another reason why a pickle fork is much easier And they only cost around $10 to buy or you can even borrow one from autozone using their loan-a-tool program.

 

Another reason why a pickle fork is much easier And they only cost around $10 to buy or you can even borrow one from autozone using their loan-a-tool program.

pickle fork may break the boot where as a mallett to spindle will not.

 

pickle fork may break the boot where as a mallett to spindle will not.

It won't tear anything as long as you are careful and watch where you slide the 2 prongs in at. Also angle the handle of the fork down a little bit whenver you hit it and you will be alright. I have only torn 1 boot when lowering trucks and I use a pickle fork all the time. The only reaso I tore the 1 boot was cause we were already replacing the balljoints for the guy and it didn't matter.

 

It won't tear anything as long as you are careful and watch where you slide the 2 prongs in at. Also angle the handle of the fork down a little bit whenver you hit it and you will be alright. I have only torn 1 boot when lowering trucks and I use a pickle fork all the time. The only reaso I tore the 1 boot was cause we were already replacing the balljoints for the guy and it didn't matter.

u know what ur doing, 1st timers may not. much like it's easy for me and u to say it's simple for a 5/6 install but to some it may not be easy. we've done it a billion times.

 

I somewhat agree with you guys that the spring will loose most of it's kinetic evergy after the LCA is lowered. The possibily is still there and what if he forgets to support the control when removing the ball joint nut? I have seen it before and it's not a good thing. The most important point that I was trying to get across was to be carefull when dealing with the removal of factory spring.

Second of all, the the LCAs are stamped and the spindles are cast and then machined. Therefore the control arms will be ductile and the spindles will be brittle. Therefore the spindles are more likely to crack and break and the control arm will only deform slightly where you hit it. It doesn't really matter any way because smacking it a few times with a hammer probably isn't going to do any damage either way.

Anyway I apoligize, I don't mean to argue with you guys because neither of us are really wrong. There are usually many ways to get any single job done. I am just trying to help out.

Red01noma, good luck with your project.

 

is the truck a ZQ8? if it is then i would reccomend cutting off the bumpstop brackets in the rear. here is a how too on how to do it......... http://www.s10forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=690 this will make it ride a shit ton better. good luck.