Question about lowering rear & leafs

HeavyD · Apr 2, 2015

I ordered 2" lowering shackles

but was also thinking about taking out the lowest leaf - see pic

What will this do?
Other than gain some more drop.

ive had 1/2 tons that don't have that leaf (chevy's) & them worked fine.

Just looking for info before I do something that could be bad.

Thanx

ercmesser · Apr 3, 2015

I could be wrong but I think that is just an over load spring. No support. It will probably lower it about a quarter of a inch if that. But no damage. Why wont you just grab a flip kit?

HeavyD · Apr 3, 2015

I don't want to do any welding & as I read it, you need to weld the lower leaf perch in.

ohiogrown · Apr 3, 2015

The tiny bit you would gain isn't going to be worth it. I put the 2" shackle on my moms 04 and it leveled it out pretty well.

Redtruck-VA · Apr 5, 2015

Soon after I bought my truck in 04 I put drop shackles and removed the O/L spring with no adverse effects. Has to do with what you use the truck for. I've dropped it more about 5 years ago but never have had any problems from not having the spring installed.

HeavyD · Apr 5, 2015

I only plan on hauling heavy maybe a few times a year, ie - boat & trailer, & a cube trailer other times.

Don't plan on rv's or others.

after I get the front suspension done, ill order new u-bolts & get it as low as I can with out a flip kit.

Redtruck-VA · Apr 5, 2015

HeavyD said:
I only plan on hauling heavy maybe a few times a year, ie - boat & trailer, & a cube trailer other times.

Don't plan on rv's or others.

after I get the front suspension done, ill order new u-bolts & get it as low as I can with out a flip kit.

A flip kit really makes it sit/ride nice and a couple spot welds is all that's necessary. These can be easily cut with a grinder if the housing needs to be changed. Air shocks are often used for occasional towing or heavy hauling. I used Timbren rubber springs for a completely passive system.

xb1230 · Apr 8, 2015

Here is a no weld solution:
DJM Dodge RAM Flip Kit

They get away from the welding with some very simple brackets that relocate and support the axle and the guide pin. The bracket is also gauged so that it moves the axle slightly back to compensate for the loss of height.

At the price they sell the kit, it is not worth messing up anything or swapping the leafs or any other type of DIY fiddling that could have a negative impact on the truck handling.

And it is actually much cheaper than the alternate drop leafs in the OP...

Once I have found a decent set of Drop knuckle for the front I am sourcing these for the rear and will be done with it. If they had the front knuckles or anything for a 4x4 I would probably source everything from them as I really like what they do.

If you have a 2WD, have a look at their complete 2/4.5 lowering kit with the modified lower control arms. It is the best solution I found so far that has the least implications on the suspension and current factory setup.

xb1230 · Apr 8, 2015

And I forgot, they have shock extenders as well preventing you to have to source new shocks maintaining again even more of the factory stuff...

HeavyD · Apr 13, 2015

xb1230 said:
Here is a no weld solution:
DJM Dodge RAM Flip Kit

OK I emailed this company & your right there is no welding.
So this will be something im going to do in the future (then I can decide on the difference of height from front to back)- front end need to fixed first.

usaf2006 · May 22, 2015

xb1230 said:
Here is a no weld solution:
DJM Dodge RAM Flip Kit
.

Will this work for a 2006? I don't see why it wouldn't.

xb1230 · May 22, 2015

If you have leafs in the back it should work exactly the same.

I know some of the newer trucks have coils in the back but not sure if that is only the 4th gen, or if the change occurred with the new 3rd gen style.

If you have coils in the back it definitely won't work.

I would give a shout to the good folks at DJM and see if they can provide some insight on your application.

My 2 cents

Question about lowering rear & leafs

HeavyD

Senior Member

ercmesser

Senior Member

HeavyD

Senior Member

ohiogrown

Senior Member

Redtruck-VA

Senior Member

HeavyD

Senior Member

Redtruck-VA

Senior Member

xb1230

Hobby Mechanic

xb1230

Hobby Mechanic

HeavyD

Senior Member

usaf2006

Senior Member

xb1230

Hobby Mechanic

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