2" leveling kit gone wrong

[gearhead]

Hi guys,

I am new to this forum, but not to trucks haha. Anyway I was installing my Daystar 2" leveling kit last night on my 2003 2WD ram and after putting the spacer in and jacking the lower control up to simulate weight, I realized that there was no safe way to leave that on the truck. The upper control arm was under an inch away from the coil bucket. The Rancho 5000's I got that were 2" longer to accommodate the lift allow for full travel however they did not stop the upper control arm from hitting the coil bucket.

Now I know a lot of people on here have leveling kits and I guess my question is, did anyone else notice this issue? I know reduced droop would happen since the spacer is simply raising the ride height but less then an inch of downward travel seems dangerous to me. I really wanted a spindle lift but only found Ebay with them and was worried about the quality of metal. Does anyone currently run these spindles? Are they decent? I heard Crown Suspensions out of cali offers a lift spindle as well and ATOMIC was supposed to have long travel.

Anyway I just wanted to share my story for something to think about for people who are thinking about doing this. With so many on the road you would think it is plug and play but there are things to consider. I ended up stopping the install the moment I saw this issue and put it back to stock. In my case the lift wasn't worth the damage to the upper control arm or worse.

 

[NWRQC]

Do you have any pics to illustrate the problem?

 

[gearhead]

Sorry I do not. It was pretty late at night when I got to that point and I just put it all back together. But basically just imagine that arms drooping down, and depending on the year of your truck, the upper control arm hits the top of the coil bucket. I think a 1.5" lift would be the most i would go with this style lift.

 

[NWRQC]

Ok I see what you're saying now. The upper control arm is hitting the top of the spring perch.
I was trying to picture it im my head last night, thinking maybe something else was hitting.
I don't know much about the 2wd suspension, but I did run across a post about this very topic not too long ago. I will see if I can track it down.

As the upper control arm (red) moves down (black) it contacts the spring perch (Blue).
Looks like you found the thread already...and have you answer.

 

[gearhead]

Yup you found my exact problem. I really wanted to just bring it up because a lot of shops will install this for people and they don't mention it so unless you do it yourself, you could be running around with a potential problem. Unfortunately there is no real solid answer for a 2wd dodge unless it is newer. I am surprised a company has not come out with a kit that would include a new upper that would be wider to allow for the perch or even angled down to keep factory angles on ball joints.

I spent the last few days going over it in my head trying to find a solution or where i missed something but I couldn't. The 2" was just too much. I really wanted to just make people aware who may be thinking about this option like I was.

 

[LS5DodgeRam]

is that less than 1in of travel with the truck jacked up? if you only have the 1 inch of travel with the truck jacked up, there will be more travel than you think... you have to remember that with the trucks weight off the spring and shock, then the shock lowers the LCA as much it possibly can. Also remember that you need to jack the truck up a couple of inches just to get the tire off the ground. with that being said in my opinion wouldn't that be okay to run? or is my theory incorrect? So unless you are jumping in dirt on your truck, i don't think you have anything to worry about?

 

[4.7Ram]

is that less than 1in of travel with the truck jacked up? if you only have the 1 inch of travel with the truck jacked up, there will be more travel than you think... you have to remember that with the trucks weight off the spring and shock, then the shock lowers the LCA as much it possibly can. Also remember that you need to jack the truck up a couple of inches just to get the tire off the ground. with that being said in my opinion wouldn't that be okay to run? or is my theory incorrect? So unless you are jumping in dirt on your truck, i don't think you have anything to worry about?

your on point man, also the coil spacer will sag a bit over time, if you go to big of a spacer you will screw yourself. i have the same leveling kit basiclly and i dont have problems unless im jumpin speed bumps and curbs full speed, it does ride not as nice and i would go back to do spindles. it is kinda crappy how they designed a kit that would leave such little travel but hey aint much you can do

 

[gearhead]

What you guys are saying would normally be correct, except for I had the frame on jack stands and placed the jack under the lower control to jack it up until the truck starting coming off the jack stand. The truck came off the jack stand with about and inch of space between the upper arm and spring perch. The problem is, yes you have plenty of compression but it leaves you no droop. Hitting a speed bump could cause the front to unload and knock.

I sat there staring trying to figure out where I went wrong haha. Only thing I could think is that it doesn't bother other some people or they find out later or other years/kits fit differently. I was puzzled because I have seen some very nice looking 03's with 3" rough country's but I don't know.

What you guys are saying is totally valid but I did jack up the arm to check compression and there just wasn't enough. It was like with the 2" it was too stiff. Thanks for the fead back though. I am new to this forum but everybody seems very knowledgeable and willing to help!

 

[gearhead]

I also Found out CST offers a 4" lift spindle so that may be the route I go. I did order the leveling shackle because I do like the desert short course look. As long as it leaves me room to tuck some fatter tires I will stick with it.



This is a rendering of what I am thinking it will sit at with the leveling drop.

 

[LS5DodgeRam]

Hmmm.. wel when I called firestone to se if the would install just a 2.5" leveling coil spacer... They shot me down in a heartbeat and when I asked why, they said there weren't enough adjustments andallignments... Maybe that was what he es talking about what you are saying.

In my case I will be installing a rough country 3in lift kit, with some lifted upper control arms and that should compensate forwhat you are saying

 

[gearhead]

Hmmm.. wel when I called firestone to se if the would install just a 2.5" leveling coil spacer... They shot me down in a heartbeat and when I asked why, they said there weren't enough adjustments andallignments... Maybe that was what he es talking about what you are saying.

In my case I will be installing a rough country 3in lift kit, with some lifted upper control arms and that should compensate forwhat you are saying

Sounds like you will be good to go with that set up. And yea it very well could be the reason they don't go bigger with them. It did look really good, just wasn't a safe way to keep it.

 

[LS5DodgeRam]

I understand that one lol safety over looks man especially with a family

 

[blk05hemi]

Spacers suck man! Id go with spindles all day before spacers or save for a 6" RC lift
2002 2008 Dodge RAM 1500 3"F 1" R Lift Kit Spindles Knuckles Blocks | eBay

 

[gearhead]

Ya its just not worth it. After seeing the cst spindles, that is the route to go for sure.

 

[Orange whip]

How do you lift the upper control arms. Or can I buy a longer upper control arm? I am doing a 3inch level from supreme suspensions and want to ensure the best fit possible.

 

[Orange whip]

I went with 3 inch spindles after reading that the truck suspension was altered with a spacer.

FINI