help with 2 wheel drive leveling kit!

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ACW141

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Hey guys i had a rough country 2.5 inch leveling kit installed on my 07 1500 2 wheel drive sport, and now have a loud metal on metal clunk from the front end when i go over any type of bump (such as a speed bump) at anything over 5 mph. I took the truck back and they explained to me that "the control arms dropped when the front end went up and is now hitting the top of the spindle"? Also that "all that could be done to fix it is pay them to remove the kit". Am i crazy or does that seem like BS? I know im not the only person who has ever put a leveling kit on a 2 wheel drive. Someone please give me some info that can actually help!
 

ZakkBaker

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You could always call Rough Country and ask maybe? Doesn't sound like your shop is to helpful lol. Hopefully someone will chime in and help ya, I'm curious as well.
 

Blake

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I bought a 2.5" spacer for the front of my truck and its also making a metal clanking noise. It's gotten so bad I don't even have to hit bumps now. But I don't know what the noise is coming from. I've replaced the wheel hubs and bearings, brake calipers, brake pads, rotors. And nothing under the front end shakes when I pull or push on them. People are telling me its my shocks because they're over extended. Which I don't know because I didn't know you had to change those out and put 3" longer ones in there..
 

lmeavtitn

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I bet it's your shocks. it is recommended to replace your shocks with some that are longer to compensate for the lift. I ran into the same problemon my 1500 when I leveled it. once I replace the front shocks the noise when away.
 

4.7Ram

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yes unfortunatly it is the control arm hitting the springbucket, now if you have an aluminum light greyish looking control arm you can use the 2.5 inch spacer and be okay, u will need longer shocks tho, for those if you just buy shocks from a 07 3500 those will fit on directly and they are 2.5 inches longer and there like 30 bucks a peice. now if you have the black looking steel bulky upper control arm then the most you can do an 1.5 spacer
 
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ACW141

ACW141

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Thank you 4.7RAM for the info. Unfortunately i do have the black bulky upper control arms and am experiencing this problem. I am determined to not go down to the 1.5 level due to the fact that i already replaced the shocks and went through this process once. Whenever i get a free second to myself im going to try to afro-engineer some type of bumper so when it does hit it wont sound like the whole front end is going to explode lol. I just hope im not causing any damage.
 

LS5DodgeRam

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Buy a lifted control arm, or get a control arm ball joint spacer to compensate for a little wiggle room
 

4.7Ram

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what you could do is look for the aluminum control arms or a replacement style look alike and that should help
 

darrenk

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I have a set of 3" lift spindles i used for my 07 which i will be removing here soon. They are the best way as i used spacers on my 03 but it rode horrible so i ended up getting spindles for it and bought same ones for my 07 as it doesnt change the ride
 
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ACW141

ACW141

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So your saying if i switch from the 2.5 spacer to the 3 inch spindle lift ill have no problem with the control arm hitting? Do you think it would be easier/cheaper to install the spindle lift over a new control arm? Sorry for all the questions, i am doing my own research on this but its always great to get a second opinion if its available.
 

4.7Ram

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So your saying if i switch from the 2.5 spacer to the 3 inch spindle lift ill have no problem with the control arm hitting? Do you think it would be easier/cheaper to install the spindle lift over a new control arm? Sorry for all the questions, i am doing my own research on this but its always great to get a second opinion if its available.

yes you will have no problems, and theres more work to adding the spindle but its not hard to instal, it can all be done yourself. itll ride better, your ball joints will be happeir and will save you money in the long run.
 

darrenk

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yes you will have no problems, and theres more work to adding the spindle but its not hard to instal, it can all be done yourself. itll ride better, your ball joints will be happeir and will save you money in the long run.

x2 just a few more steps if you have it apart to put the spacers in took me around 3 hours this last time to install them
 
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ACW141

ACW141

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Only a few more questions.. I hope! If i do the 3" lift spindles do i need to upgrade to longer springs? Will i need to put a block in the back or will the truck eventually sink down and be level? Do i need to replace my new longer shocks that i got with the spacer install back down to stock length? Also what brand of spindle are you using? I found a few DIY'S on other forums that have convinced me that i can do it so now im just trying to get everything lined up and at my door! Im ready for my truck to ride nice again!!!
 

4.7Ram

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no you wont need longer springs, all it does is drop the wheel hub location lower so you can keep the springs, the long shocks just leave em, and this kit would firlmly level your viechle, if anything youll sit a 1/2 of an inch higher in the front but you wont be able to tell, so no need to buy blocks for the rear. spindle brand, ive only seen a couple ebay ones and a fabtech i belive, other then that i wouldnt no were to go, maybe a local offroad store?
 

darrenk

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airbagit dot com has the 3" spindle, i am using a longer shackle in the rear to raise the rear 2". it is just the cheapo ones from Autozone and i am using 6 washers at the top 3 on each side as it was narrower than the factory shackle.
 
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ACW141

ACW141

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Thanks for all the help guys. I have my new headlights coming in on monday, an as soon as i get caught up on a few things ill be ripping out those spacers and installing the spindles. Ill keep you posted as soon as the spindles hit my front door.
 

gearhead

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Hi guys,

new to the forum. I think I too will be going with the spindle lift. I got 2" spacers from daystar and I honestly have no idea how your truck is on the road with 2.5". When i was installing mine, with 2" spacer, the upper control arm was about a half inch from the coil bucket. This may very well be what you are hearing. I aborted the install when I saw this, maybe check that out under your truck.

As for the spindles, anyone who is running them, do they seem t be a quality product? I heard crown suspension offers spindles as well as Ebay. There was a company ATOMIC that was doing long travel but their website is still not functioning.

After seeing how these spacers reduce tolerances, I'm not sure how people are able to run them. Anyway, thanks for any help on my question and also good luck with your lift. I hope your able to single out the problem and get it fixed, believe me i can relate to the frustration.
 
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ACW141

ACW141

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As I explained in my original post, the problem is most definitely the control arms hitting the bucket. The only reason my truck has the spacers still installed is because it was installed by 4 wheel parts and I had no clue it would be making a problem. I personally don't have the time, being that I work on privately owned sportfishing boats and do a lot of traveling, to spend a day uninstalling the spacers without installing the spindles at the same time. I have tried using 4 wheel parts to uninstall them, being that I am very dissatisfied that they did not warn me as they were doing the install I considered the fact they may value their customers and would want to help me out by taking it off for a minimal charge. However they wanted 500$ for the uninstallation! I very politely told them to take their prices and their work and to cram it as I am never going back there. So as soon as I can I will be doing the uninstall, and the install of the spindles at the same time.
 

gearhead

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WOW that is CRAZY! i really can't believe they would charge 500 for that! We have 4wheel parts here as well. I used a company here in AZ called desert for the parts but they only wanted $400.23 for the lift, shocks, installed and alignment. $500.00 is INSANE!! Not to mention they should have called the moment they saw that, because you can't bolt the suspension back together and NOT see the pending issue. I'd seriously consider writing a letter to corporate.
 
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