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Spacers removal for lowering rear end

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old thread, new question, please advice

I just got my 06 drw 3500, was measuring bed height, tailgate height etc. to set up for towing my drag car trailer, dont want to ding up my box like my 01 The 07 is about 1-1 1/2 inches taller than the 01 at the top of the bed rails. The box is 1 inch deeper so the suspension must be very close to the 01 in height. Heres my question, can I take all 3 of the small spacers on the bottom (measures just under 1 1/4") and the 1/2" block between the overloads and the springs and put all 4 on top. Will this have an adverse effect on the overloads performance. I go about #27000 loaded going down the road, I have no idea of the g/n pin weight, I suspect I am on the overloads some of the time. I have read all the threads on here here I could find on this subject and I havnt seen anybody do this or even ask about it. I started the project tonight and did one side, but I figured I better check with you all before I finish the job. I figure I am just dumb enough to overlook the obvious. I dont think its an option to work on the trailer with the type of axles I got, plus it will be a lot of work not to mention make loading the car that much more difficult. Any advice would be greatly apprecated.
 
Moving the 3 spacers to the top will lower your over all bed height but not give you anymore clearance between the bed & trailer.

Moving the overload away from its contact pads will cause more sag when loaded, I would leave that spacer where its at unless you want that added sag to help level the trailer.
 
I realize moving the spacers to the top will lower the overall bed height and not give me any more clearance. But I will be able to adjust the goosenesk down to the point the trailer is back to level, whick will get me a little more clearance.
 
My recently acquired '04 3500 4x4 srw short box has been driven in the ice, snow, and salt of Minnesota for 5 1/2 years.



Yesterday I started with the driver's side spring and got to the point of removing the bolt that goes through the spring pack (the one with the rounded head). This bolt is thoroughly rusted in place. I was able to get the nut off the top but cannot budge the bolt. Any suggestions short of drilling it out?
 
make sure the spring pack is clamped, soak it down in penetrating fluid. then go buy some new bolts that are 1/2" x 5" i believe [measure before you get new ones] a standard hex head fits into the spring perch pocket so don't worry about the round head. then have at it with a maul and beat the thing out. pipe wrench on the bolt head can try and break it free too. .

i had the opposite problem when i did mine. i could not get the nut off. i stripped many vise grips of all their teeth along with some small pipe wrenches of their teeth too holding the bolt head. in the end i cut the bolts down the end with a cut off wheel then buzzed them off successfully with the impact gun.
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OTC tool #7249 is a ball joint press that should get it popped loose. It has a round hole on one side to go over the rounded end of the stud and then a screw press to push on the other end. maybe a local parts store has one to borrow or a tool rental may have it.

Looks like this:

#ad




Once the stud moves, some more penetrating fluid, a hammer & punch should drive it out.

Like nickleinonen said, use new bolts.
 
Got Her Did

I was able to get the bolts out and remove the spacers using lots of penetrating oil, a big hammer, an impact wrench and a little heat.



Thanks for your advice.
 
For those of you who lowered the bed (as noted in klenger's website :-laf ), did you notice any changes in MPG?

Also (I would guess so), but if the bed were removed would that make it easier to access the u-bolt nuts? And generally make the mod easier because everything is more accessible?
 
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I flipped the spacers on mine. Headlight aim needs to be corrected or you will get flashed. Never saw any mpg gain. It changed all my receiver ball heights. I went back after putting a toolbox in the back. They look better level. Fuel tank worked better level.

John
 
I pondered this mod a while back... someone mentioned that it made removing the bolts from the caliper slide pins impossible. They were correct, I looked that situation over this past weekend and it would be impossible to remove the top caliper bolt. I think you could most likely remove the entire caliper bracket and still be able to service the brakes without much additional work.



Between that and the possibility my ride-rite airbags wouldn't work, I never did this modification (although it would definitely help with my 5vr angles).
 
For those of you who lowered the bed, if the bed were removed would that make it easier to access the u-bolt nuts? And generally make the mod easier because everything is more accessible?
 
I guess that I am next on the list to do this rear drop. Thanks to all for the information. I will do this at a buddys' shop that has all of the tools and lifts that I don't have.



Are there any issues with pinion angle when doing this ? I read that it helped vibration in the '04 and want to make sure that I do this right. I waited until I reached 100K miles to do any mods, and the odometer turned last week.



Thanks
 
Should not affect the pinion angle, that is controlled (in the 3rd gen) by the spring perch... plus its getting "flatter", and not more extreme, so it should only help.
 
Thanks Steved. . I have 3 spacers so I should get a slightly greater drop at the rear bumper.



I really wanted to drop the front and rear, but won't spend $ 900 on kits that are sold as for use on a 3500, and the manuf. web page for the same product lists it only for 1500!!!!!



Kicked myself in the butt today after I realized that May Madness was in my town and I missed it 2 years in a row.
 
For those of you who lowered the bed, if the bed were removed would that make it easier to access the u-bolt nuts? And generally make the mod easier because everything is more accessible?





I think it would be unnecessary, the bed isn't in the way during the process.



I will be removing the blocks this weekend, and I already have Ride-Rites installed... so we will see how it goes.
 
I agree that its not necessary to remove the bed, but since I just did it to install an AirDog and 'tank vent mod', I can see/access the top bolts easily. Plus that will be about 300 lbs. (short bed weight - my guess) less to deal with. :eek:)
 
Completed this mod Saturday afternoon... couple things.



The zero-rates (what the aftermarket would call the spacers) are curved, make sure you if you install them at the top that you orient them curve up. They do fit nicely on top of the springs, convenient storage. I noted mine were stamped "2" and "3", and figured "1" was probably reserved for the 3500s.



One centering bolt needed heat to remove, but was not cross threaded... it was tight enough a Mac 1/2-inch impact (I believe its rated at 500#s) would not budge it. Needed the threads chased afterwards, but again they were not cross threaded. I was able to get all the bolts out of the springs with minor tapping with a small hammer and punch.



The main issue I encountered were the airbags... they would not allow enough "droop" from the axle to remove the centering bolts. This required wrapping a ratchet strap around the spring and frame to pull the spring upwards slightly.



All in all, took about 4 hours (I cleaned all the parts, spacers, shims, and never-seized everything). The truck still has a very slight rake to it, maybe a 1/2 inch front to rear and my 5vr matches up almost perfectly now (tows better too). The most irritating part was finding a flat piece of ground in western PA to adjust the headlights... I may take them to a dealer and have them bubble level them.



As for the airbags, they fit fine. I have Firestone Ride-Rites that I bought through Summit Racing. The bags are a little "flatter", but they still have plenty of room to move. I figure with the minimum recommended 5psi, they will still act as bump stops, if needed.
 
FWIW, if you take the spacers out and run airbags (around the 5psi minimum recommended), you may bottom out on large bumps. I have found this out twice, on the same bump... it is definitely bottoming out, and I can only assume its bottoming out on the shocks. This is all but unloaded (only have my 5th wheel hitch and toolbox in the bed).



I will be adding a little air tonight to compensate... should only take about 10psi to make up the difference...
 
Good point and a while back PacBrake established that if you remove those blocks to use the 2wd single bellows bag vs the 4wd dual bellows bag so as not to bottom out which is what I did, however even at 5 psi I wasn't satisfied with the unloaded ride so pulled them off in favor of letting the leaf springs carry the full load.
 
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