McGaughys 44052 4/2 kit Installation

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Discover

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Good video at Truck Tech on install of McGaughys Kit
https://www.powernationtv.com/episode/TT2016-05/suspension-drop-101-leafs-vs-links

After spring change out I saw:
Left Rear 3 3/4" lower
Right Rear 3-3/8" lower
Left Front 1-1/8" lower
Right Front 1-1/8" lower
Driver seat 2-1/8" lower
This may change after a few hundred miles and the springs seat in. I'll let you know. This kit was installed on a new Ram in stock condition. I added a 54 pound trailer hitch and an Airlift kit at 10 psi after the rear springs were changed out and that did not change the height. Parts needed and not included in the kit: end link bolts require 2 bolts. The provided bolts are too short. They are not long enough to protrude out the nut the minimum 1-1/2 threads and did not engage the lock. A bolt for the drop down bracket hole that is drilled. I used one of the bump bolts as I did not use the provided bumps


Exhausted and Moregrip threads on lowering gave me the motivation to lower my new Dodge Sport. I decided to use McGaughys mainly because they were the only company that I could find a kit specifically for the crew cab sport model.
It took about 5 hours for me to get completely finished with the rears. Fronts not done yet. Next time prolly could do it in half that time. The hardest part for me was fitting and drilling the drop bracket. I had trouble with the tear drop washer not holding so that also slowed me down. Best prices I found were at Summit Racing. The spring kit was ordered on Monday and delivered free on Wednesday.
After install I took measurements and ordered the Air Lift 1000 60916 Universal kit and the Bilstein 33-185606 shocks that were used by Moregrip.

One deviation from instructions was that I did not use the supplied bump stops. Instead I cut down the factory bump stops to equal the height of the supplied bump stops. Wrapped 2 turns of electrical tape then a third turn sticky side out and reinserted. Worked great!
 

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Discover

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I took measurements before and after.
Rear
Distance to front of tape from bed front edge at top crease Left 28.5" Right 28 3/4"
Left height center axle and 28.5 ref 39 3/8" lowered to 35 5/8"
Right height center axle and 28.75 ref 38 3/4" lowered to 35 3/8"

Front
23 1/4" forward of door at axle height

Right height center axle 36 1/4"

Left height center axle 36 3/8"

Driver side seat floor 18 1/8"
After rear kit 16 5/8"
 
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Discover

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Before lowering
Left rear 39 3/8"
Lowered to 35 5/8"
 

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Front Left 36 3/8"
 

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Discover

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Door frame under drivers seat
18 1/8"
Lowered rear only
16 5/8"
 

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Discover

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Factory on right McGaughys on left
Factory shorter but thicker rod
 

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Discover

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Left Bump Stop Modified
 

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Discover

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Right side
 

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After rear lowered. Front still stock. The bed is still slightly higher in the rear.
 

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Before
 

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moregrip

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Exhausted and Moregrip threads on lowering gave me the motivation to lower my new Dodge Sport. I decided to use McGaughys mainly because they were the only company that I could find a kit specifically for the crew cab sport model.
It took about 5 hours for me to get completely finished with the rears. Fronts not done yet. Next time prolly could do it in half that time. The hardest part for me was fitting and drilling the drop bracket. I had trouble with the tear drop washer not holding so that also slowed me down. Best prices I found were at Summit Racing. The spring kit was ordered on Monday and delivered free on Wednesday.
After install I took measurements and ordered the Air Lift 1000 60916 Universal kit and the Bilstein 33-185606 shocks that were used by Moregrip.

One deviation from instructions was that I did not use the supplied bump stops. Instead I cut down the factory bump stops to equal the height of the supplied bump stops. Wrapped 2 turns of electrical tape then a third turn sticky side out and reinserted. Worked great!

hey cool man! truck looks great! and I like all the detail. Let me know what you think of the rear shocks with the digressive valving. This is the first time I've ever used digressive valved shocks and I like them. Interested in your thoughts on them.....and keep the updates coming! :favorites13::favorites13:
 
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Ak47bravo

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Awesome post!! Great photos and awesome truck! Thanks for sharing [emoji1303]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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Discover

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Finally got the front springs changed out. I could not have separated the upper ball joint without a ball joint separator. I tried but it wouldn't budge. The original springs came out top first. To install the McGaughy's I found it only worked to push the lower end into the grooves of the rubber keeper first then to pry down on the A frame and push the top into place. Otherwise they just wouldn't cooperate and seat into the rubber keepers properly.
The front dropped 1-1/8" after spring change.
Total lower
Left Rear 3 3/4" lower
Right Rear 3-3/8" lower
Left Front 1-1/8" lower
Right Front 1-1/8" lower
Driver seat 2-1/8" lower
Now I can get into the truck without climbing. Exactly what I was after.
The Airlift kit 60916 went in pretty much straight forward. I did find I had to remove the rear tires to be able to attach the tubing to the top of the bladder.
Next will install the shocks and report back.

Thanks for the responses guys.
After all lowering:
 

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Discover

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Before any lowering:
 

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Gary's Hemi

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How long did it take you to do the front? I'm going go install mine this weekend?
 

Hemi450hp

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This swap is very easy for both front and rear. For a driveway mechanic, the front takes about 2 hours and the rear takes about 1 hour.
 

moregrip

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Finally got the front springs changed out. I could not have separated the upper ball joint without a ball joint separator. I tried but it wouldn't budge. The original springs came out top first. To install the McGaughy's I found it only worked to push the lower end into the grooves of the rubber keeper first then to pry down on the A frame and push the top into place. Otherwise they just wouldn't cooperate and seat into the rubber keepers properly.
The front dropped 1-1/8" after spring change.
Total lower
Left Rear 3 3/4" lower
Right Rear 3-3/8" lower
Left Front 1-1/8" lower
Right Front 1-1/8" lower
Driver seat 2-1/8" lower
Now I can get nit the truck without climbing. Exactly what I was after.
The Airlift kit went in pretty much straight forward. I did find I had to remove the rear tires to be able to attach the tubing to the top of the bladder.
Next will install the shocks and report back.

Thanks for the responses guys.
After all lowering:

Now that looks good brother! :rockit:
 
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Discover

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How long did it take you to do the front? I'm going go install mine this weekend?

Hello Gary's Hemi,
I don't know how Mo's can do the front in two hours or the back in one for that matter. Maybe he has a lift and a few mechanics that do it all the time.
This was my brand new Ram and first time for me. It took me 5 hours to do the back. It took a good hour just to drill and debur the hole for the drop down bracket in the back.
The front took me about seven hours. If I had started with a ball joint separator instead of trying to bang out the upper ball joint that would have saved a couple hours. One thing I learned is that the rubber on the ball joint can be carefully pried up so you can get the separator tool under the rubber so the rubber will not get damaged. The ball joint tool I owned was too narrow to fit so I had to get another and even then I had to grind and file on it a bit to widen it out more.
Another thing I wished I would have tried is to mark the ball joint extension flats, the part of the ball joint bolt that extends out so you can put a wrench on the bottom of the ball joint to keep it from spinning while removing the nut. If I had marked that I might have been able to reinsert the ball joints exactly where they were and maybe the alignment would not have changed.
I found it quite hard to get the new springs inserted properly in the front. The second side went a lot faster after I learned to start by inserting the bottom of the spring first. I spent about an hour and a half trying to do it by inserting the top first. That just didn't work as the bottom would not seat properly into the rubber keeper.
Good luck Gary's Hemi. I think you'll really like it lowered to where you don't have to climb to get into the truck.
Be aware that the forum editor turns some words in my post into hyperlinks. So it's not me trying to get you to go look at stuff without saying to. It's an automatic feature of this forum...
 

FlynDutchman

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Post up the drop measurements after the springs have settled. 1 1/8" drop on a 2" drop kit is a bit concerning. I would have thought the drop would at least be closer to the 1 3/4" drop in the front. With that said it looks good in the photos. I have the same truck and trying to decide between the McG kit and BT. If the front comes down a little more I would be happy with it. I would love a 1 1/2" front with 3 1/2 - 3 3/4" rear drop for my needs.
 
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