Examples of what not to do

[Quick_Shifter]

So I had a truck in last week the poor kid has been battling a terrible ride since May. He took his truck to what he thought was a reputable shop and they assured him they knew what they were doing. @Mbrigh3 knows all about this when he took his truck to a reputable shop. Consider this a public service announcement. Since you’re reading this you are already on the right track doing yourself a favor by researching and not just taking someone’s word.

So long story short this kid takes his truck to a shop and asks to lift it up (level it) the shop sells him a Readylift 4” (not for offroad use kit). Which is fine those kits do what they are supposed to do and are a great budget friendly kit. However this shop also sells him falcon shocks all the way around. I’m trying to keep this short so I will break it up and explain it better. (Im not a fan of reading novels)
Here is what I found when it arrived

Anyone with Readylift UCA's Knows they come with a spacer (Washer) for the bottom (Disregard the swaybar I already started disassembly)

Tires on the ground under full weight. These angles would have never left my shop. Reminds me of those Taco guys

Yes That is grease all over because the old CV boots were destroyed. These are new axles


The Truck has an off-road bumper but no winch or anything that would justify why they are set to the (Heavy Accessory notch)

The More I looked the more I found so I just tried to keep my lunch down going through this previous shops mess

 

[Quick_Shifter]

I did not beat up the UCA, My guess is when they put the new axles in they were hitting the control arm? In this picture I already fixed the strut and added the washers to the UCA as recommended by readylift. While taking it apart I noticed the UCA were tightened in the air. To approximately 50 ft lbs
(They needed to be tightened on the ground to 120 ft lbs)

Yeeeaaaahhhhhhh???????? needless to say he needed calipers. I dont know if they were pushed back in with a prybar or a gorilla?

Here is the Falcon shock maxxed out to heavy accessory height with a readylift spacer on top of that. This is called lift stacking (Do not do this) There are ways this could have worked by how readylift achieves its 4"'s but its best to not condone anything along these lines. Any stick to one or the other. Meaning a spacer lift or an adjustable strut


The guy does off road quite often and those dust boots were packed solid with dirt and rocks. I removed them to allow debris to get out while wheeling

 

[j-b]

Ooooof. was that truck sporting more than 4" of lift on the front?

 

[Quick_Shifter]

Ooooof. was that truck sporting more than 4" of lift on the front?

Yeah he was sporting around 5” the wrong way.

 

[Quick_Shifter]

BIG Use the proper tools I hate watching you tube videos of guys impacting the shaft nuts on and off especially if you're re using them

Back together with the new calipers

Here I am clearly SHOWING OFF!!!! Not too many shops use a wheel lift to put tires back on

 

[Quick_Shifter]

Here is the finished angles. I didnt take pictures of removing the 2" rear spacers and bump stop plates as there were no bump stops in the back. I sent him a link to purchase a set from @AllMoparParts.com. Falcon shocks does not disclose their extended and compressed shock lengths the only thing they would tell me on the phone was that the rear shocks in that kit were good up to +2". I can confirm that they are not good up to +2 because they were at their max. The rear droop was sad, I didnt measure but the final result was much better all the way around.

Please do your own research and dont just take your truck anywhere this particular truck was dangerous to be out on the roads with us and our families

 

[IDSandman]

O.M.G! I would be livid if I were him. Well, I would have done the work my self but still…!

 

[Quick_Shifter]

O.M.G! I would be livid if I were him. Well, I would have done the work my self but still…!

I see stuff like this all too often.

 

[IDSandman]

I see stuff like this all too often.

I bet man, unfortunately.

 

[Quick_Shifter]

They fed him a story about how the one guy is a baja racer from California and he's the one that designs all the suspension packages. When He got his truck back (in May 2021) After a day or two of driving he called and said the truck wasn't tracking right. Their response was we cant align it because only the dealer can align rams. This is an example of anyone can know just enough to be dangerous

 

[Fatbob Frank]

Hacks be hackin'...

 

[Mbrigh3]

So I had a truck in last week the poor kid has been battling a terrible ride since May. He took his truck to what he though was a reputable shop and they assured him they new what they were doing. @Mbrigh3 knows all about this when he took his truck to a reputable shop. Consider this a public service announcement. Since you’re reading this you are already on the right track doing yourself a favor by researching and not just taking someone’s word.

So long story short this kid takes his truck to a shop and asks to lift it up (level it) the shop sells him a Readylift 4” (not for offroad use kit). Which is fine those kits do what they are supposed to do and are a great budget friendly kit. However this shop also sells him falcon shocks all the way around. I’m trying to keep this short so I will break it up and explain it better. (Im not a fan of reading novels)
Here is what I found when it arrived
View attachment 477489
Anyone with Readylift UCA's Knows they come with a spacer (Washer) for the bottom (Disregard the swaybar I already started disassembly)
View attachment 477488
Tires on the ground under full weight. These angles would have never left my shop. Reminds me of those Taco guys
View attachment 477487
Yes That is grease all over because the old CV boots were destroyed. These are new axles
View attachment 477486

The Truck has an off-road bumper but no winch or anything that would justify why they are set to the (Heavy Accessory notch)

The More I looked the more I found so I just tried to keep my lunch down going through this previous shops mess

i PLEAD THE FIFTH

 

[Treburkulosis]

Good lord what a mess. Glad you were able to make it right for him.

 

[G-Ride990]

Dang man you do great work!

That other shop should be ashamed of themselves. The way they set that truck up is so dangerous is it hard to believe. How the heck did they break the pistons in the caliper???

Side note, I want that caliper hanger thing you have. I always just zip tie calipers out of the way. Is that hanger actually made for that purpose?

 

[augiedoggy]

O.M.G! I would be livid if I were him. Well, I would have done the work my self but still…!

Not at all condoning anything but are we sure the kid didnt have a part to play here? It does Seem crazy a shop would install those spacers with the lift struts but I hear of people doing it all too often on the ram forums.. I see other choices there that appear to made for looks vs performance or reliability as well.

 

[Nick@GotExhaust]

As always, phenomenal work @Quick_Shifter !!!

 

[Quick_Shifter]

Dang man you do great work!

That other shop should be ashamed of themselves. The way they set that truck up is so dangerous is it hard to believe. How the heck did they break the pistons in the caliper???

Side note, I want that caliper hanger thing you have. I always just zip tie calipers out of the way. Is that hanger actually made for that purpose?

Yes sir you can find them on Amazon cheap

 

[Quick_Shifter]

Not at all condoning anything but are we sure the kid didnt have a part to play here? It does Seem crazy a shop would install those spacers with the lift struts but I hear of people doing it all too often on the ram forums.. I see other choices there that appear to made for looks vs performance or reliability as well.

It happened to @Mbrigh3 literally about a year ago. A shop told him they knew what they were doing and he rolled out with the front completely wrong. Half the stuff he was promised wasn’t installed. It happens far too often

 

[Quick_Shifter]

Hacks be hackin'...

I see a lot of it and don’t want to mud up the forums with the majority. But when it comes to this kind of stuff that is unsafe I try and put it out there. So when you’re reading other posts from my I’m only talking from experience

 

[RJL1]

Outstanding work @Quick_Shifter ! I bet the owner is beyond happy at this point.