usaf2006
Senior Member
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- Augusta, GA
- Ram Year
- 2008
- Engine
- Hemi 5.7
Can't wait to see progress on this! Love me a lifted mega cab
My 2006 megacab 1500
- Thread starter Jamesq87
- Start date
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Jamesq87
Senior Member
I called summit’s technical department to confirm fitment of the skyjacker d25 coil springs and they said that they would fit, but they don’t give 2.5” of lift like their ebay listing says?
I want exactly 2.5” for now because it matches with the other parts I ordered for the lift.
I decided to go ahead and order a 4.5” coil spacer. It’s exactly like the 2” spacer I have right now, just taller. It’s also from the same seller that I ordered from before.
I’ll be swapping my 2” spacer in favor of the 4.5” spacer. It will be here before Christmas and I’ll start the install while I have time off work for Christmas
I’ve got to measure my leaf springs, but I may also go ahead and order 2” shackles for the rear. That would make my truck 4.5” taller in front,and 4” taller in the rear than stock, plus however much height I get with the 37’s. [emoji106]
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I want exactly 2.5” for now because it matches with the other parts I ordered for the lift.
I decided to go ahead and order a 4.5” coil spacer. It’s exactly like the 2” spacer I have right now, just taller. It’s also from the same seller that I ordered from before.
I’ll be swapping my 2” spacer in favor of the 4.5” spacer. It will be here before Christmas and I’ll start the install while I have time off work for Christmas
I’ve got to measure my leaf springs, but I may also go ahead and order 2” shackles for the rear. That would make my truck 4.5” taller in front,and 4” taller in the rear than stock, plus however much height I get with the 37’s. [emoji106]
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Jamesq87
Senior Member
Goodies came early. I started picking up the remaining tools and supplies needed for the job today. I’m leaving out for work early tommorow but will be home Friday and plan to get started on it that night so that I can get it aligned first thing Saturday morning.
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Jamesq87
Senior Member
Put the lower link bars on yesterday but left one end loose for adjusting once I get ready to put the new spacer in. I couldn’t get the uppers off to put the new ones on because I didn’t have a 13/16 wrench and it was after midnight.
Loosely bolted my swaybar drop bracket on from hellbent steel. Yes, I plan to clean that surface rust and coat it with something then brush some paint on. It’s an 11 year old truck but I can’t stand looking at that
How I left it last night when I came home [emoji22]
Going over there shortly to finish everything up. I’m not looking forward to seeing how much of a rip-off a single 13/16 wrench is at the hardware store [emoji107]
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Loosely bolted my swaybar drop bracket on from hellbent steel. Yes, I plan to clean that surface rust and coat it with something then brush some paint on. It’s an 11 year old truck but I can’t stand looking at that
How I left it last night when I came home [emoji22]
Going over there shortly to finish everything up. I’m not looking forward to seeing how much of a rip-off a single 13/16 wrench is at the hardware store [emoji107]
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Jamesq87
Senior Member
Ran into some snags.. the drop bracket for my trac bar that was listed as being a direct fit, and “made in the us” turned out to be **** and doesn’t fit onto my trac bar. I contacted the seller and if they won’t give me my money back or give me one that actually works, I will just break out the grinder and fix the issue, but currently I don’t feel I should have to resort to that when I paid money for it to fit when I received it. Anyways.. that’s my rant for today. I was pretty furious when i went to install.
My axle isn’t centered up front/back yet and I haven’t installed the upper link bars. While trying to move the axle and get it centered, it rocked forward and tipped the jackstands and fell off them.. luckily the trac bar hit the floor jack that was under the axle and caught it. The piece of wood that I had on the jack hit my oil pan and transmission but no damage thankfully. I almost had a heart attack.
It took what seemed like nine years to slowly jack the axle up and get it onto some jackstands, using a second floor jack. Once it was back up, I went ahead and put the front wheels back on and it’s currently sitting on its own, but I left jackstands under just Incase something freakish happens.
Looks like I’ll be without my truck for atleast a week since i go back to work after Christmas but I’ll have the following weekend to resume work.
My axle isn’t centered up front/back yet and I haven’t installed the upper link bars. While trying to move the axle and get it centered, it rocked forward and tipped the jackstands and fell off them.. luckily the trac bar hit the floor jack that was under the axle and caught it. The piece of wood that I had on the jack hit my oil pan and transmission but no damage thankfully. I almost had a heart attack.
It took what seemed like nine years to slowly jack the axle up and get it onto some jackstands, using a second floor jack. Once it was back up, I went ahead and put the front wheels back on and it’s currently sitting on its own, but I left jackstands under just Incase something freakish happens.
Looks like I’ll be without my truck for atleast a week since i go back to work after Christmas but I’ll have the following weekend to resume work.
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Jamesq87
Senior Member
With some help from a friend, got my other lower link bar in place. We both took turns using the plumbob and checked each side of the axle 2-3 times and are pretty sure it’s lined up with the center mark I made on the fender before I removed everything. The driver side wheel measures a bit closer to the rear of the fender though. Doesn’t quite make sense but the plumbob lines up pretty much center of the hubs on both sides so....
I’m going to try and get my upper link bars in tommorow. The axle is rotated way forward because there’s nothing to hold the top of the axle and keep it rotated flat like it should be.
How I’m leaving it for today (And height comparison)
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I’m going to try and get my upper link bars in tommorow. The axle is rotated way forward because there’s nothing to hold the top of the axle and keep it rotated flat like it should be.
How I’m leaving it for today (And height comparison)
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Jamesq87
Senior Member
Got the upper link bar loosely bolted in on the passenger side today. I would have done the other side but I got pissed with the passenger side so I didn’t bother working anymore today.
I’m pretty sure the lower link bars are going to need to be lengthened once I get the other upper connected, because it looks like the axle is still going to be slightly too far back now that the one upper arm is on.
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I’m pretty sure the lower link bars are going to need to be lengthened once I get the other upper connected, because it looks like the axle is still going to be slightly too far back now that the one upper arm is on.
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Jamesq87
Senior Member
Realized something about adjusting the link bars today and felt pretty dumb. Things got a lot easier after that. In my defense though, I’ve only worked with a 4 link on the rear of a bagged s10 before and this is my first time doing anything to a solid front axle vehicle besides putting in a spacer or replacing bushings and such.
We got the axle rotated better so the springs are straight, but still need to lengthen the lower link bars some to get it just right. It’s almost straight though. We will just need to make sure the axle is straight under the truck after, but it should be.
I may go back to work Wednesday, I’m not sure. Gotta call dispatch in the morning and see if I have a load. Not sure how many holiday pay days we get.. but if I’m paid for every day that they don’t have me a load, then they aren’t hurting my feelings. I am hardly ever home this much.
If I’m off tommorow I may finish up adjusting the link bars and hopefully my friend is free because it takes 2-3 of us to do everything since I’m not working in ideal conditions with all the appropriate stuff.
After link bars, I have to install the drop pitman arm, and bolt my swaybar back. I haven’t heard back yet about my trac bar bracket but if. I thing else, I’ll grind on it a little so it doesn’t hit my bar and later I will just buy a different one plus an adjustable trac bar.
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We got the axle rotated better so the springs are straight, but still need to lengthen the lower link bars some to get it just right. It’s almost straight though. We will just need to make sure the axle is straight under the truck after, but it should be.
I may go back to work Wednesday, I’m not sure. Gotta call dispatch in the morning and see if I have a load. Not sure how many holiday pay days we get.. but if I’m paid for every day that they don’t have me a load, then they aren’t hurting my feelings. I am hardly ever home this much.
If I’m off tommorow I may finish up adjusting the link bars and hopefully my friend is free because it takes 2-3 of us to do everything since I’m not working in ideal conditions with all the appropriate stuff.
After link bars, I have to install the drop pitman arm, and bolt my swaybar back. I haven’t heard back yet about my trac bar bracket but if. I thing else, I’ll grind on it a little so it doesn’t hit my bar and later I will just buy a different one plus an adjustable trac bar.
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Jamesq87
Senior Member
The seller of my tracbar drop bracket actually called me from California rather than going through their eBay account messages which threw me off but was pretty cool. Guy was nice and explained to me why it wasn’t fitting. It turns out that the bracket comes usually with a lift kit and that the company had changed designs over the years and some trac bars had a fatter end on them that wouldn’t go all the way into the bracket.
He mentioned how some guys had cut a little on the side to give enough room for the fatter bar to fit in the bracket which is what I was thinking of doing.
Long story short.. once I get home this weekend I will hopefully be able to get my axle centered the rest of the way and move onto installing other parts. I’ll grind that part of the bracket and test fit it, then touch up the paint and buy some hardware needed for it.
I’m hoping to have the truck aligned and back on the road this weekend or next. I can’t stand being without my own vehicle.
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He mentioned how some guys had cut a little on the side to give enough room for the fatter bar to fit in the bracket which is what I was thinking of doing.
Long story short.. once I get home this weekend I will hopefully be able to get my axle centered the rest of the way and move onto installing other parts. I’ll grind that part of the bracket and test fit it, then touch up the paint and buy some hardware needed for it.
I’m hoping to have the truck aligned and back on the road this weekend or next. I can’t stand being without my own vehicle.
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Jamesq87
Senior Member
Got my axle a little more centered today. I swear I have adjusted those link bars so many times, I could do it with one hand.
I took a break from the linkbar adjustment and made the needed changes to my tracbar drop bracket. I need to round the cut a little with a file and throw some paint on the bare metal spots, but it fits perfectly.
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I took a break from the linkbar adjustment and made the needed changes to my tracbar drop bracket. I need to round the cut a little with a file and throw some paint on the bare metal spots, but it fits perfectly.
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Jamesq87
Senior Member
Did some adjusting to the link bars and got the axle damn near perfect... until I let the jackstands down and weighted the axle [emoji58]
It moved about and inch too for forward then. I made some adjustments and it’s pretty close to where it needs to be now, just need to adjust my uppers some. It’s getting late though and cold so I called it a day.
With some help from my friend, I drilled out the holes needed for my drop tracbar bracket and bolted it in and connected the tracbar. The rear hole was off center from the other so we had to drill a little away and break out the file.. but the rear washer covers it so you can’t even tell plus it doesn’t affect the bolt being snug. Just bothers me.
Need to remove the bar later and paint the edge where I ground on the bracket but went ahead and bolted it in for now so I’m one step closer to alignment.
It’s not a drastic lift increase, but I’m liking the extra height. It leveled it back out too which is nice.
It moved about and inch too for forward then. I made some adjustments and it’s pretty close to where it needs to be now, just need to adjust my uppers some. It’s getting late though and cold so I called it a day.
With some help from my friend, I drilled out the holes needed for my drop tracbar bracket and bolted it in and connected the tracbar. The rear hole was off center from the other so we had to drill a little away and break out the file.. but the rear washer covers it so you can’t even tell plus it doesn’t affect the bolt being snug. Just bothers me.
Need to remove the bar later and paint the edge where I ground on the bracket but went ahead and bolted it in for now so I’m one step closer to alignment.
It’s not a drastic lift increase, but I’m liking the extra height. It leveled it back out too which is nice.
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Jamesq87
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Looks pretty centered to me [emoji106]
When I originally started the coil was curved and the shock was angled so far forward it hit the front of the hole or rear. Finally adjusted the link bars so it got that lined up. Going to check one more thing; my bump stops to make sure they’re lined up with the plates on the axle like they need to be but it looks centered front/back finally to me.
It’s raining here today and super cold, but I don’t have time for mother nature’s crap. I’m working solo but going to try and atleast get my pitman arm pulled off and my drop one installed and my shock towers bolted in before I go home. Leaving lunch then straight back to work
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chrisp2493
Always Modding
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- Oct 30, 2016
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- Ram Year
- 2003
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- 392 Hemi
Looks good so far!
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Jamesq87
Senior Member
For some reason, all the pitman arm pullers that I found from the parts stores won’t fit between my gearbox and arm. They’re too thick. Well, this time I just spent the money and bought one from advance and took my uncle’s bench grinder to it to thin the “ears” out a little. Fit great. The arm has recently been off for a gearbox replacement, but still, it slid off like butter.
I jacked the axle up and spun one wheel while watching the driveshaft and the u-joints don’t seem to ever be in a position where they bind up. Also, the angle seems sufficient for the amount of lift I have.
What’s left:
*Put on driverside shock tower
*Tighten passenger nut on top of shock
*Attach swaybar to drop brackets/frame
*Tighten link bar bolts
*Reinstall air filter box
*Torque everything
*Wipe excess grease from link bars and clean up debris from drilling
*Test drive down the street then go for alignment
*Feel badass
It’s been a long learning experience while working, and a LOT of work.. but I’m glad it’s coming back together. Not having my daily sucks.
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I jacked the axle up and spun one wheel while watching the driveshaft and the u-joints don’t seem to ever be in a position where they bind up. Also, the angle seems sufficient for the amount of lift I have.
What’s left:
*Put on driverside shock tower
*Tighten passenger nut on top of shock
*Attach swaybar to drop brackets/frame
*Tighten link bar bolts
*Reinstall air filter box
*Torque everything
*Wipe excess grease from link bars and clean up debris from drilling
*Test drive down the street then go for alignment
*Feel badass
It’s been a long learning experience while working, and a LOT of work.. but I’m glad it’s coming back together. Not having my daily sucks.
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akennedyusmc
Senior Member
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2016
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- 512
- Reaction score
- 298
- Ram Year
- 2008
- Engine
- Hemi 5.7
Damn dude that things a tank!!
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Jamesq87
Senior Member
The gas mileage reflects it [emoji23]
I love it though. The only time i feel limitations is when I have to park in certain places. I know 1 parking garage off hand that I can’t park in for certain and I’m pretty sure I can’t fit in most around town. I don’t really go to those parts of town though. Last time I measured my truck I got 7 feet & 1/2” from the top of the roof to the ground. Should be about 7 feet & 3” at the front right now.
I’m having some aggravation with putting my swaybar back but it was dark so that didn’t help. It’s like it needs to come waaay forward cause my end links try to jam against the coils but my axle should be center cause my shocks are vertical and centered in the upper holes that they run through.
We are going to my parents house tommorow morning and I’m going to try and finish. It got too cold this evening and I lost daylight plus my impact driver had to recharge. I’m pretty happy. I need to find some 2” shackles for the rear now and install my extended blue brake hose for the rear.
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Jamesq87
Senior Member
I test drove today. I need to remove the shock extenders because they make my shocks loose at the top and the rattle around (Wierd) and I need to get a different swaybar drop bracket or make a bracket for it to bolt to cause my end links bend forward some and I can’t adjust it anymore.
It drove ok though and I even crawled up some tall curbs in the back of the neighborhood and gave it a couple hard bumps on the speed bumps [emoji23]
I can’t tell a difference really when I hop in, but I never had issues before anyway. I honestly could lift another 6” and easily hop in. I don’t have Alicia or my friend Reuben who also helped, but me & my dad with the finished product
I look like I’m glaring btw, because the sun was right in my eyes and I was doing my my best not to blink
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It drove ok though and I even crawled up some tall curbs in the back of the neighborhood and gave it a couple hard bumps on the speed bumps [emoji23]
I can’t tell a difference really when I hop in, but I never had issues before anyway. I honestly could lift another 6” and easily hop in. I don’t have Alicia or my friend Reuben who also helped, but me & my dad with the finished product
I look like I’m glaring btw, because the sun was right in my eyes and I was doing my my best not to blink
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akennedyusmc
Senior Member
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2016
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- 512
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- 298
- Ram Year
- 2008
- Engine
- Hemi 5.7
Lookin good!
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Jamesq87
Senior Member
Turns out in my haste and all the confusion of going back and forth from one area of the truck to the next, I forgot the bottom washers that go on the top of the shock for the bushing to sit on, and that’s why my shocks were loose. It’s always something stupid.
I ordered a set of rough country shocks tonight though and they won’t need the extenders. They should be in town by the time I’m ready for the alignment and won’t take but a few minutes to install.
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