Lowering the rear of the 2500 4WD

[hchristy]

The clearance between the 5th Wheel and the bed rails is only a couple of inches. The trailer has the springs on top of the axles sooo doesn't look like I can get the trailer any higher. The other option is to lower the rear of the truck. Read somewhere that Dodge has a replacement block for the rear axle that is 1 7/8" shorter than the standard factory block.



Does this sound familiar to anyone?



Thanks much.

 

[JPS]

Lower 2500

What year is your truck? Last time I checked at dealer these parts were on back order. That was a couple months ago. I did make my own spacers and bought new U bolts. Still have some steel left over if you are interested. shoot me an e-mail. jps -- email address removed --

 

[klenger]

http://www.klenger.net/dodge/tsb-lower-rear-axle.html

 

[Texas Diesel]

klenger, how much did that cost you? I heard that the TSB was about $900.

 

[KMeek]

I bought larger diameter trailer tires--that gave me another 1 1/2 inches.

 

[time1]

How far in front of your rear axle is your hitch mounted? It seems that the farther back you mount the hitch the more clearance at the tailgate.



I had a 99 Quad Cab, 2500 4x4 that had the hitch mounted about 3 inches in front of the rear axel centerline. I now have a 3500 4x4 that sits about 2 inches higher at the rear than the old 2500. After much trial and error (sitting the rails on the bed floor and setting the hitch on the rails and then setting the 5th wheel pin on the unsecured hitch) I found that if I centered the hitch directly over the axel centerline I had almost the same bed clearance as on the older 2500. I can’t feel any difference in the way the 5th wheel pulls due to the hitch placement. This might or might not be because of the 3500’s dual rear wheels being a more stable towing platform. At any rate, the rig pulls just fine. Oo.



I did not want to lower the rear of the truck because of the cost (I have heard about $900) Also, according to the TSB from DC the over load springs and sway bar have to be eliminated when installing the lowering blocks. I paid extra for the towing package and did not want to pay more money to eliminate it.

 

[WOT]

There are lots of posts on this. I was in the same boat (had about 6", but the trailer wasn't sitting level by about 2 "). Maybe not a big deal, but that's about what I was lacking in clearance to prevent my hitch on the back of the camper from dragging on my driveway (have a pretty good incline at the end).



Anyhoo, just pulled the blocks off & took them to a machine shop - $30 each to remove 1 1/2" from them (the actually machined the surface to match the existing one - so no need to drill and put a pin in to center on the springs). Went to a truck & frame shop got 4 new 9/16" u-Bolts bent - $25. Total job = $85 + my labor (about 1 1/2 hours of actual work).



Works great... .