awwdude
Member
- Joined
- May 24, 2012
- Posts
- 31
- Reaction score
- 36
- Location
- Orange County, CA
- Ram Year
- 2012 Ram 1500 Express (RCSB)
- Engine
- Hemi 5.7
Got my McGaughy's 2/4 Deluxe kit installed over the weekend!
BEFORE:
AFTER:
DETAILS:
Took approx. 6 hours from start to finish; getting tools ready, truck on jacks, quick spin with just front installed, rear install, and then clean up.
This install is fairly straight forward if you've done this type of stuff before. The instructions are pretty much worthless, but have some specs for where rear hardware needs to go. I was going to do a write up, but found someone else already had a nice one in the DIY section. So I'll just provide my experience and pics! I didn't get before and after measurements because my parents driveway is sloped and our street is crowned for water runoff. I was more concerned with getting it done before running out of day light.
Front took a majority of the install time. Had some trouble getting the stock spindles off the lower ball joints, so ended up removing the coil and shock so I could hammer on the lower ball joint stems. Be advised, the ball joint stems/threads are kind of soft and I flared the end of one, even with the factory nut threaded out for a striking base. I would recommend a piece of wood or similar to absorb the impact. Other than that, air wrenches are your friend!! The spindles did cause the front wheels to stick out a tiny bit on the tops of the tires, but it appears mostly from too much camber. After alignment, they should tuck back in nicely. The Driver-side did need some grinding on the inside of the spindle because the ball joint bracket on the lower control arm barely scraped the inside of the spindle. It rubbed ever so slightly when the wheels were straight, but cleared with wheels turned. Other than that, spindles are heavier than sh*t compared to stock ones!
The rear took just over an hour because my kit was missing some hardware. I ended up using one of the 3/8" bolts from the new bump stops for the track bar relocator bracket. I trimmed the stock rear bump stops in half instead of using the supplied ones.
TEST DRIVE AND 20 MILES COMMUTE:
Overall, I really dig the new look. Most can tell it's lowered a little, but looks a lot sportier. The rear can be felt more over bumpy sections of road, but not bad at all, even with factory rear shocks. I will be getting some aftermarket ones in the future. My Express doesn't have a rear swaybar, but the rear springs really help keep it level through corners now. Perhaps when they settle-in, a rear sway bar may be added.
Still wish it was lower though... =T Considering the truck only has 600 miles and now, new rear coils, it should settle down over the next few weeks. Then reassess my options.
I also painted in the good year logos on the factory tires, golden yellow, for the "race look" I'm after. A bit time consuming, but really happy with the results. Used Dupli-Color HT300 "Dupli-Color Hot Tires Tire Paint Pen" from Summit. One pen did most of the 4 tires, but used a little of a second pen to finish the 2nd coat on the last tire. These pens are garbage! After one week the the yellow almost completely faded out. 2.5 months later, the color is completely gone. Huge waste of an afternoon.
FUTURE PLANS:
tint windows; Done
plasti-dip badges; Done
possibly lowering closer to 4/6 drop; still HIGHLY considering this option or going Ride Tech
22's
BEFORE:
AFTER:
DETAILS:
Took approx. 6 hours from start to finish; getting tools ready, truck on jacks, quick spin with just front installed, rear install, and then clean up.
This install is fairly straight forward if you've done this type of stuff before. The instructions are pretty much worthless, but have some specs for where rear hardware needs to go. I was going to do a write up, but found someone else already had a nice one in the DIY section. So I'll just provide my experience and pics! I didn't get before and after measurements because my parents driveway is sloped and our street is crowned for water runoff. I was more concerned with getting it done before running out of day light.
Front took a majority of the install time. Had some trouble getting the stock spindles off the lower ball joints, so ended up removing the coil and shock so I could hammer on the lower ball joint stems. Be advised, the ball joint stems/threads are kind of soft and I flared the end of one, even with the factory nut threaded out for a striking base. I would recommend a piece of wood or similar to absorb the impact. Other than that, air wrenches are your friend!! The spindles did cause the front wheels to stick out a tiny bit on the tops of the tires, but it appears mostly from too much camber. After alignment, they should tuck back in nicely. The Driver-side did need some grinding on the inside of the spindle because the ball joint bracket on the lower control arm barely scraped the inside of the spindle. It rubbed ever so slightly when the wheels were straight, but cleared with wheels turned. Other than that, spindles are heavier than sh*t compared to stock ones!
The rear took just over an hour because my kit was missing some hardware. I ended up using one of the 3/8" bolts from the new bump stops for the track bar relocator bracket. I trimmed the stock rear bump stops in half instead of using the supplied ones.
TEST DRIVE AND 20 MILES COMMUTE:
Overall, I really dig the new look. Most can tell it's lowered a little, but looks a lot sportier. The rear can be felt more over bumpy sections of road, but not bad at all, even with factory rear shocks. I will be getting some aftermarket ones in the future. My Express doesn't have a rear swaybar, but the rear springs really help keep it level through corners now. Perhaps when they settle-in, a rear sway bar may be added.
Still wish it was lower though... =T Considering the truck only has 600 miles and now, new rear coils, it should settle down over the next few weeks. Then reassess my options.
I also painted in the good year logos on the factory tires, golden yellow, for the "race look" I'm after. A bit time consuming, but really happy with the results. Used Dupli-Color HT300 "Dupli-Color Hot Tires Tire Paint Pen" from Summit. One pen did most of the 4 tires, but used a little of a second pen to finish the 2nd coat on the last tire. These pens are garbage! After one week the the yellow almost completely faded out. 2.5 months later, the color is completely gone. Huge waste of an afternoon.
FUTURE PLANS:
tint windows; Done
plasti-dip badges; Done
possibly lowering closer to 4/6 drop; still HIGHLY considering this option or going Ride Tech
22's
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