2014+ Lowering / Drop Kits

[keakar]

I see, so a 2/4 drop plus the 1" shackle drop, or the, 2" shackle drop?

I see, so a 2/4 drop plus the 1" shackle drop, or the, 2" shackle drop?

yes, if you want a strickly level drop then you need to add the 2" shackles to it but use the 1" drop holes one the shacles.

 

flip axle = 3" drop

remove spring spacer block = 1"-1 1/4" drop

2" drop shackles using the 1" drop holes = 1" drop

 

3" + 1-1 1/4" +1" = total rear drop of 5" + 2" drop spindles in front = truck that sits 2" lower in the front and stands level and flat

 

you need 3" rear drop (2" drop shackles and remove spacer block) to level the rear then figure out if or how much to drop the standing height on the whole truck, so if you flip the axle that's another 3"

 

this is why you need to decide if you are going to flip the axle or not before you start but either way the axle will need to be unbolted and retightened back down correctly (not something for a novice mechanic to try to do) so plan to do this where you have room to work safely and proper tools like jack stands and others to help you. flipping an axle is NOT a one man job.

Edited September 23, 2014 by keakar

[nate538]

I see, so a 2/4 drop plus the 1" shackle drop, or the, 2" shackle drop?

I see, so a 2/4 drop plus the 1" shackle drop, or the, 2" shackle drop?

Let me see if I can help clarify this a little for you. I'm not positive this is true for the rough country kit but with other flip kits you can adjust from 4-7 inches of drop with no additional parts if you start with a 4in. Here's how it works

 

Flipping the axle only with no other parts =7 inch drop

 

Flipp with new shakle mounts and factory shakles =6 inches

 

Flipp with mounts and lowering shakle 5-4 inches depending on what hole you use in the shakles

[nate538]

I see, so a 2/4 drop plus the 1" shackle drop, or the, 2" shackle drop?

I see, so a 2/4 drop plus the 1" shackle drop, or the, 2" shackle drop?

Let me see if I can help clarify this a little for you. I'm not positive this is true for the rough country kit but with other flip kits you can adjust from 4-7 inches of drop with no additional parts if you start with a 4in. Here's how it works

 

Flipping the axle only with no other parts =7 inch drop

 

Flipp with new shakle mounts and factory shakles =6 inches

 

Flipp with mounts and lowering shakle 5-4 inches depending on what hole you use in the shakles

[Danny_Sierra]

Great info guys. I think the 2/4 lowering kit itself requires an axle flip. So ima have to go that route. But if the kit can go lower then 4 in the rear without any additional parts then I'm good. If not, shackles are going on second. I'm going to order the lowering kit and the shackles as soon as I get out of work. Anyone know a good Installer in the dfw area? How much do they charge to install it anyways?

[keakar]

Let me see if I can help clarify this a little for you. I'm not positive this is true for the rough country kit but with other flip kits you can adjust from 4-7 inches of drop with no additional parts if you start with a 4in. Here's how it works

 

Flipping the axle only with no other parts =7 inch drop

 

Flipp with new shakle mounts and factory shakles =6 inches

 

Flipp with mounts and lowering shakle 5-4 inches depending on what hole you use in the shakles

.

Edited September 23, 2014 by keakar

[keakar]

Let me see if I can help clarify this a little for you. I'm not positive this is true for the rough country kit but with other flip kits you can adjust from 4-7 inches of drop with no additional parts if you start with a 4in. Here's how it works

 

Flipping the axle only with no other parts =7 inch drop

 

Flipp with new shakle mounts and factory shakles =6 inches

 

Flipp with mounts and lowering shakle 5-4 inches depending on what hole you use in the shakles

something doesn't add up with what you said here.

 

the axle is 3" round and the axle spacer is 1.25" thick so just flipping the axle can in no way possibly get you a 7" drop by itself, since the spacer is removed when you flip the axle so a simple axle flip by itself only gives you a 4"- 4.25" drop (3" + 1.25")

Edited September 23, 2014 by keakar

[nate538]

something doesn't add up with what you said here.

 

the axle is 3" round and the axle spacer is 1.25" thick so just flipping the axle can in no way possibly get you a 7" drop by itself, since the spacer is removed when you flip the axle so a simple axle flip by itself only gives you a 4"- 4.25" drop (3" + 1.25")

Your forgetting about the thickness of the leaf springs and the mounting hardware. Any gap between the axle and the spring lowers the truck when you have a flip kit instead of raising it like the stock setup

 

Look here you'll see they say the 7 in kit is easiest to install and comes with the fewest partshttp://djmsuspension.com/applications/chevroletgmc/2007-2012-silverado-2wd-kits/2007-2012-silverado-2wd-parts/ '> http://djmsuspension.com/applications/chevroletgmc/2007-2012-silverado-2wd-kits/2007-2012-silverado-2wd-parts/

[keakar]

Your forgetting about the thickness of the leaf springs and the mounting hardware. Any gap between the axle and the spring lowers the truck when you have a flip kit instead of raising it like the stock setup

 

Look here you'll see they say the 7 in kit is easiest to install and comes with the fewest partshttp://djmsuspension.com/applications/chevroletgmc/2007-2012-silverado-2wd-kits/2007-2012-silverado-2wd-parts/ '> http://djmsuspension.com/applications/chevroletgmc/2007-2012-silverado-2wd-kits/2007-2012-silverado-2wd-parts/

AHHHHH OK, damn I forgot all about that, cant believe I missed that part.

 

I was just thinking about the drive shaft thickness and not accounting for the difference caused by the leaf spring thickness

 

lol I was thinking I could just flip the axle and get a 4" drop out of just that but now I see what you mean, that would give me a 6" drop.

 

my plan is or was, assuming they fix my vibration, to do 2" drop spindles in front then the 2" drop shackles in rear and remove the spacers to get a 3" rear drop for a total of a 2" front and 3" rear lowering and semi leveling but that would still leave me with a 2" rake in the rear and that's still too much for my liking but if I had to I could live with

 

I definitely don't want to go with a full 7" rear drop, that's way too much.

 

I just want to return the truck to the normal stock height they used to be back in the 2006 and older trucks with a 1" rake in the rear.

 

so with that in mind, whats the best solution (involves the least work, labor, and tools) to pair with the 2" front drop spindles to get only a 4" rear drop? I really don't want to start grinding off the stock hanger brackets but all the 2/4 kits I see you have to replace the front (I assume) hanger brackets for the springs

Edited September 24, 2014 by keakar

[nate538]

 

so with that in mind, whats the best solution (involves the least work, labor, and tools) to pair with the 2" front drop spindles to get only a 4" rear drop? I really don't want to start grinding off the stock hanger brackets but all the 2/4 kits I see you have to replace the front (I assume) hanger brackets for the springs

Once you go past a 3in drop to a flip kit the labor gets a lot more involved. No one changes the front spring hanger anymore since they started fully welding them to the frame. To get a 5 in rear drop with these trucks you would have to do a flip kit with hangers and shakles. The hangers flip the shakles over so that the spring is on the bottom and the hanger is on top. This is to raise the truck back up from the 7 in drop you get from the flip kit. You would then use a lowering shakle on the first hole to further raise the truck to the 5 in drop. Hope this makes sense

Edited September 24, 2014 by nate538

[keakar]

 

 

Once you go past a 3in drop to a flip kit the labor gets a lot more involved. No one changes the front spring hanger anymore since they started fully welding them to the frame. To get a 5 in rear drop with these trucks you would have to do a flip kit with hangers and shakles. The hangers flip the shakles over so that the spring is on the bottom and the hanger is on top. This is to raise the truck back up from the 7 in drop you get from the flip kit. You would then use a lowering shakle on the first hole to further raise the truck to the 5 in drop. Hope this makes sense

ok , im not interested in flipping the axle and losing all my ground clearance so im trying to do this with hangers and shackles only

 

if im looking at things right, I think I can do a 2" drop shackle in the rear, then grind off the rivets to replace the front hanger bracket with a 2" lowering front hanger bracket and this should get me a 4" rear drop and I can later remove the spring spacer block if I want to get that extra 1.25" drop to completely level it out.

 

is my understanding of what these parts do and how they work correct?

 

will it work that way to give me a 4" drop without having to flip the axle?

 

also will I need to pull or at least raise the bed off the frame to do the front spring hanger replacements?

 

this is not the right one for my truck but this is the type of kit im looking at getting even if I have to buy it seperately: http://www.ebay.com/itm/221368132895?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Edited September 24, 2014 by keakar

[nate538]

ok , im not interested in flipping the axle and losing all my ground clearance so im trying to do this with hangers and shackles only

 

if im looking at things right, I think I can do a 2" drop shackle then grind off the rivets to replace the front hanger with a lowering hanger and this should get me a 4" rear drop and I can later remove the spring spacer block if I want to get that extra 1.25" drop to completely level it out.

 

is my understanding of what these parts do and how they work correct?

 

will it work that way to give me a 4" drop without having to flip the axle?

 

also will I need to pull or at least raise the bed off the frame to do the front spring hanger replacements?

No there is no front drop hanger that exists, the factory one is welded on with a solid bead it would take some major grinding to remove it. The only way around doing a flip for a 4 in drop is to combine lowering leafs with lowering shackles but then you would still have to contend with the spring bolt on the drivers side being blocked in by the gas tank. At that point you should also remove the bump stop mount from the frame as you will have almost no travel left with it there. I had my truck dropped 2/3 and I was happy with it. It could have been a little lower in the rear but that's a lot of work for an inch

[keakar]

yep, I have to agree with you, the 2/3 has to be my only option then because I want simple and not too involved and I see no way around the 2" front drop since IMO its mandatory to return it to "normal" height, then the rear I have to just take what I can get and at least it will go from a 3" rake to a 2" rake which is better then it is now.

 

I don't really know what the old stock rear end rakes used to be pre 2006 so maybe they were set at 2" back then?

Edited September 24, 2014 by keakar

[bigsapper]

I've got the Belltech 3/6 kit. If I had do overs, I would just level the rear down and be done with it.

[jimbaeumel]

No. I got 2" shackles too but it was still about ¾" too high in the rear so I removed the factory block that was approximately 1¼" and replaced it with a ½" block to make up the difference. Now it's PERFECT!!!

Where can you buy the .75 in. drop block? Im having trouble locating them online.

Edited October 3, 2014 by jimbaeumel

[LTZTom]

You can get 'em here:

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speedway-Aluminum-Extruded-Leaf-Spring-Lowering-Blocks,3353.html

 

 

Tapatalk via iPhone 6

Edited October 3, 2014 by LTZTom