Leveling Kit install - STUCK!

[JRT2006]

Hello, I have a 2009 Ram 1500 SLT 2WD with the hemi.
I decided to raise the front end with a leveling kit and purchased the daystar 2in coil spacers along with some ProComp ES9000 shocks (4wheelparts gave me the wrong ones).

Ive got the spacer installed on the drivers side but when I go to bolt everything back on....the space between the connections is so far apart. The sway bar connection just barely reaches and the ball joint on the upper arm is very far apart. Am I doing something wrong here? Should I compress the spring more (not sure how much more it will go). Ive got the lower arm supported up with a jack as far as it will allow me, any further and it just raises the entire frame.

(Update) I compressed the spring further. The connections reach with some force. The sway bar link reaches fine, the upper arm I have to push down really hard to get the ball joint to reach. I got the nut onto the upper ball joint (just a few threads) and as I go to tighten it, the entire ball joint rotates with each turn, so I am getting nowhere.

kind of stuck in a bad situation as this is my daily driver....830am beer is about to happen

thanks for any ideas and help

 

[DannyMK2]

you have to hold the ball joint with a small wrench on the tip while you tighten the big nut. once that nut gets tight enough, it wont spin anymore and you can torque it properly. also, if you loosen the sway bar brackets a little bit, it makes it easier to connect it. the sway bar is going to be more angled down due to the increased height.

 

[JRT2006]

what about the distance between the UCA and Ball Joint? I know the spacer put some distance in there, but is it normally that hard to get the two together? I mean with the LCA jacked as high as it would go before the entire truck raises, I'm still left forcing the UCA down onto the ball joint just to get a few threads through.

 

[DannyMK2]

use a pry bar to push the UCA down, or you could loosen the control arm from the truck and it will drop in, but thats more work then needed. if your sway bar is connected it will make it more difficult.

 

[JRT2006]

Okay, im sure this is taking me 12x longer than most on here, Im popping my install cherry.
I got the spacer on the drivers side in with the coil, everything reconnected. Theres a slight bulge where the coil goes into the spacer, as if it didnt set all the way in? Not sure if that will adjust to correct position when lowered or if its normal (please dont tell me it needs to be repositioned).

Working on the shock now. I have the ProComp ES9000 shocks with the stem up top. I have the bushing and washer on the bottom of the stem before it inserts, then the bushing and washer on the top of the stem after its through the hole, with the nut tightening it down. How tight does that need to be? There isnt much room to grab ahold of the stem with pliers to tighten, and using a socket turns the entire piston?

 

[012RAMbo]

When working on them by myself, I use a jack under LCA like you are doing, then get a ratchet strap and rput it on LCA and uca to pull it down. Also if you get a pry bar and put tension on ball joint it will keep it from spinning, it's tough hold the ball joint with one wrench and tightening the nut on at the same time. Got a pic of the bulge your talking about?

 

[DannyMK2]

Okay, im sure this is taking me 12x longer than most on here, Im popping my install cherry.
I got the spacer on the drivers side in with the coil, everything reconnected. Theres a slight bulge where the coil goes into the spacer, as if it didnt set all the way in? Not sure if that will adjust to correct position when lowered or if its normal (please dont tell me it needs to be repositioned).

Working on the shock now. I have the ProComp ES9000 shocks with the stem up top. I have the bushing and washer on the bottom of the stem before it inserts, then the bushing and washer on the top of the stem after its through the hole, with the nut tightening it down. How tight does that need to be? There isnt much room to grab ahold of the stem with pliers to tighten, and using a socket turns the entire piston?

i dont have a 2wd so i couldnt tell you whether or not the positioning of the spacer to the spring matters. maybe somebody could chime in on that, or if you could take a pic of the spacer that would help. i use an impact gun so having the ball joint/shock piston spin isnt an issue i usually have, but if your using hand tools you may need to use an open end wrench to start tightening the bolt down while you hold them from spinning with another wrench. once they get tight they wont spin anymore and then you can use a socket. i dont know the torque specs for the shocks off hand either. i would look at the amount the bushing gets crushed as you tighten and the number on threads that can be seen. if you havent touched the other side yet, use that as a reference. shocks dont usually require a lot of torque.

 

[JRT2006]

Attached are the best pics I could get for the little bulge in the spacer.

Also....is it normal for these shocks to sit that close to the coil?

 

[JRT2006]

Okay. I finished both sides. The passenger went smooth as butter besides the tie rod in the knuckle. Had a friend come over with his fork bar thing and pry it loose, unfortunately he went through the boot so I'll have to look into replacing that. Afterwards though, the coil and spacer and everything went in easy with a little pry.

Question, daystar 2.5" spacers and es9000 shocks, will the eventually settle and drop a little?
I ask because the front sits about 1/4 inch higher than the back now, which itself isn't that noticeable, but with the rams hoods being so beefy, it looks higher than 1/4.

I didn't take pics on level ground as the only thing level by my house is the garage which didnt.give enough room to get a full shot. So I took before and afters on my driveway which is slightly sloped.

Here are the before (first bought) and after (today) photos.

 

[JRT2006]

Easier comparison

 

[kivinglegend18]

How does it ride with the shocks? I just installed the same kit with stock shocks and i must say im not too happy.