kelderman air ride 4x4 front picture

[David Muench]

Makes sense, thanks. Hopefully I'll install them tomorrow.

 

[Jeff Kelderman]

if you have any questions this weekend, you can call my cell phone 641-660-6607.

jeff

 

[David Muench]

I have just one question - are the upper spacers identical/interchangable? The part that goes on top of the air bag between the bag and the top of the spring bucket. I just want to make sure since I don't see an L or R on them, and they do look mostly identical.



Thanks for everything.

 

[Jeff Kelderman]

you are correct. they are the same part.

 

[nkiewel]

No Drill?

This looks like a cool setup. Are both the 4" front kit and the 4 link rear kit "No Drill"? Does the rear kit add some lift too? I would like to squeeze some 37" tires in there like Duck's buddy did...



Thanks,

Nate

 

[David Muench]

Unbelievable.



I can't get the front wheel off! It's stuck on the hub. arrrrgghhh

 

[David Muench]

Whew, problem solved.



They wouldn't pry off up in the air, but by putting a few of the nuts back on loosely and putting the weight of the truck back on the tire, they pried off.



Back to work. .

 

[mr plow]

how come u don't have

a WEBCAM!!!! so we all can see. that would be ideal. then you could have a web broadcast. Oh well, we will have to settle for pics and comments.



good luck. If i lived close by i would help you.



plow.

 

[David Muench]

If I had the bandwidth. . (no cable modem/DSL)



I just finally finished the disassembly. Getting out the shocks was a real PITA. I ended up taking out the inner fenders so I could get to the top of the shocks better. The coils came out not too badly. . The driver's side was easier though. I didn't end up needing a coil spring compressor, which is good since I can't find mine.



I think I'm going to have to call Jeff now, I can't figure out how to get a wrench on the bolt for the bottom mount. .

 

[David Muench]

Whew, done. Pretty much.



I finished installing everything, checked everything for clearances, and inflated the bags. I ended up putting 85-90 psi in them to raise the front end 1. 5". I think it looks pretty good, but it's still in my barn so it's hard to tell. I haven't test driven it yet, I am too tired. I'll let it sit overnight to make sure it doesn't loose any air, and test drive it in the morning. I also haven't tested to see if I have any clearance with no air and the BFG 315's.



But so far, it looks nice. Removing the old coils and shocks were by far the worst part. Installing the new stuff was straightforward for the most part. I installed with the RS9000X's with the boots (since I'm not going to be offroading the truck), but I am not sure if I'll end up keeping the boots. . They rub on the upper shock bracket. Not that that should cause problems, but it may wear holes in the boots. I also need to pick up some wire loom to encase the air lines with where it rubs on a few things, but it should survive until I get the loom.



Test drive report tomorrow.

 

[David Muench]

All finished. I had a few problems this AM, but they were all my doing. Part of it was bad math, I accidentally had it inflated to 2. 75" over stock instead of 2". That caused front driveline vibrations above 55 mph. I let it down to 1. 75" over stock, and I like how it looks. I have the front RS9000X's set to 3 (out of 9). It rides nice. It's not a dramatic improvement since the rear is still stock, but some of the harshness is gone. I also had some clunking from the front driver's side, but that was just a shock that needed tightening.



Here's some pictures:



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[HEMI®Dart]

Looks nice David. You work quickly.

 

[Hammerhead]

WOW!

David, If that isn't super stud tough looking then I don't know what is. Oo. Oo. Congratulations on a job well done. The wait for the pictures just about killed me.

 

[The Frankster]

WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!



You da man... ..... DAVID! Nice work... . when can you come and do mine?????





Frankster

 

[David Muench]

Thanks, I'm very pleased with it. I hit every pothole I could find on the way in to work today, and no problems or rattles.



The install was actually very easy - it was getting the old shocks out that was the biggest PITA. That and the wheels getting stuck on. I put plenty of never-sieze on the hubs to prevent that from happening again.



I'm looking forward to the rear air-ride for the short box '03 coming out - I just hope that it will fit with my BFG 315 spare tire wedged up under there. It's tight back there as it is.

 

[Jeff Kelderman]

very nice dave. i realized after i talked to you on saturday that i told you to use the bottom hole in the shock mount, instead of the top hole. i was worried about it all weekend but i see you figured it out.



jeff





ps

the four link kits that replace the leaf springs will fit the short box.

 

[David Muench]

You said top hole on the phone. . At least I heard top hole.



BTW, I wasn't able to get a socket on the back side of the lower bracket. . There is a hole, but it's way too small to fit a 3/4" socket through. Not even the nut itself would fit through the hole. I ended up duct taping the nut and washer to the end of a box wrench and sticking that up through a gap from below, and doing it by feel. The front side was no problem getting a socket on it with a few extensions.



I can't afford the 4 link.



BTW, you said you were running your shocks at setting 2. . Do you have the 9 position 9000X shocks or the 5 position 9000's? Just curious.

 

[Jeff Kelderman]

i have the 9000 5 ways on my truck. setting 2 is what i have them on.



jeff

 

[michaelmurray]

Dave,



I think you would get a better ride if Kelderman made the upper mounts 2" taller so you could run the bags at 55 to 60 psi. The extra pressure is supposed to be used for extra weight and not increased height, so I think your ride is a little stiffer than what it could be.



Jeff,



Do you plan to make a 2" taller upper bracket?

 

[David Muench]

I need to check the pressure on my bags now that they are leveled out properly. They aren't as high as they were before, and I think it rides pretty well.



I believe the 0-4" kit has 2" taller upper spacers. If you ran those with only 2" of lift, I wonder if the truck would bottom out too easily. Dunno. .