Hidden costs of lowering

[SquareOne]

So my spindles and flip kit came in today. This will be the third truck I've lowered, but the first square. I know that there are going to be some "surprise" expenses along the way.

I am going to go ahead and do the ball joints and bearings and maybe freshen up the brakes while I'm there.

I'm not trying to mess with the control arm bushings or anything with the tie rods. Is there anything anybody has experienced along the way that I should order now and not have to hunt down on a Sunday when I'm trying to put it all back together?

More pics to follow!

Sorry about the sideways pictures. I can't figure out how to get them right side up. I hope I have better luck lowering my truck!

[LT7A]

I'll let others speak up on the peripherals and incidentals involved in lowering a square. Sounds to me like you've got it covered. I've lowered one truck so far and it was less involved than what you're into but I have another one to do similar to what you're doing.

As far as your pic, I opened it in MS picture manager, twisted it, saved it, and reposted it (deleted it). If you do a search you may find there's an easier way. By the way, you have a darling little boy and he's probably going to follow in your footsteps since he's already checkin' out the parts. I didn't fix the spindles pic since nobody gets offended by sideways spindles.

Another good way to get the info you want is to read peoples' build threads that tell about going thru the lowering process.

Good luck,
LT7A

[D13]

New U bolts and nuts for the flip kit.
Since you appear to not be installing a notch, shorter bumper for the rear.
Clean and pack, or just replace, the front wheel bearings.
Spring bushings for the rear.
Every time I pull a caliper I have a brake hose fail (then again It's usually rust, from the beautiful Michigan road salt). Since you'll probably have to do some minor rerouting of the hoses, why not install new hoses, and put in some 1 man bleeders and some rubber caps for them?

[Bennydog]

I just did mine, ended up doing sway bar bushings tie rods and ball joints. Also your rear leaf bushing are probably shot. I did all the control arm bushings too. as stated before brake lines are something to look at. Also shorty rear bump stops.

[kacy]

Bump stops front and rear, need to make sure the control arms arent hitting the frame and the spring wont bind at full compression front and rear. Shorter sway bar bolts, maybe cut the spacer depending how low you go. Now is a good time to replace the control arm bushings etc. After a drop like this it can change your alignment, first thing they are going to do when they get it in the air is check everything for worn out parts and offer to change them for you. Check them your self and replace if necessary.

[HunterRotten]

I post to imgur and then post here with an [IMG]URL HERE[/IMG] tag. Photos can be posted much larger and not as compressed. Also right side up and as many as you please per post.

Anyways, to the topic at hand.
- I had a control arm that was bent, so I went ahead and replaced them with CPP tubular control arms.

-My mcgaughy springs lowered me way more than what it was supposed to so I got moog springs for a 454 truck.

-Shocks were old and worn out (original ones on the rear axle) so I replaced them all with belltech nitro drop shocks.

-Rear leaf springs were worn and heavily learning towards the gas tank side, so I had to get new packs.

-I had gotten a swaybar for the front but it hung down too low, so I got a little plate from CPP that tucked it up behind the bumper.

There's probably more, I had to get a shop alignment etc..

[Jay2Cor517]

Exactly what everyone else has said. I ended up changing all the bushings, tie rod ends, adjusting sleeves, ball joints, idler arm etc. everything except the center link (I suggest MOOG brand). The reason being is two-fold: a) your truck probably needs it and b) concerning cost, you would hate to replace these items twice. So budget yourself for better products. It's not really a hard job to replace these items, but it aint a lot of fun either and can be quite time consuming--especially by yourself. I also would suggest buying one these if you're going to do this job, Genius Tools 484468S - 1/2" Drive 72-Teeth Flex Head Ratchet with Rubber Handle - 670mm Long http://www.toolpan.com/Genius-Tools-...996.html<br />

[Shugalou]

Something else to consider if you do replace the shocks they may not have the bolts included (belltech did not) Shackle bushings while you're in there. And if you are lucky like me every bolt on the shackle was seized so I had to drill out the bracket and bolt back in.

If your rear leafs are shot plan on getting them re-arched and adding a leaf. I needed to do this twice as the first time wasn't enough.

You might want to refinish the parts with some POR 15 while you have them out.

My driveshaft kept falling out of the trans when I was doing mine and when I put it all back together the ujoints were making noise. Had to replace those and balance the shaft.

Depending on how the exhaust is routed over the axel there may not be enough clearance. There wasn't on mine so I cut before axel and put a turn down on easily.

But like people have said above replace all the bushings if they are old.

[LT7A]

Lots of good info here. Still glad you asked? I thought of a couple additional things that are already alluded to here but some specifics might help. Drop shocks are good since the mounts break off if the shock compresses fully before the bump stop chimes in. Shock mount extensions are available for the rear if you want to use your current or full length shocks.

Also, based on what you have pictured, your truck will ride noticeably lower in the rear than the front unless you do additional work up front -- springs? You may want to install what you got and then see how much further you want the front to go down and then order your springs accordingly. As mentioned above though, the amount the springs lower the truck can be pretty approximate compared to the advertised drop.

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by Jay2Cor517

I also would suggest buying one these if you're going to do this job, Genius Tools 484468S - 1/2" Drive 72-Teeth Flex Head Ratchet with Rubber Handle - 670mm Long http://www.toolpan.com/Genius-Tools-...ng_p_4494.html This thing really came in handy through out the weekend when I did the work. It made the task a whole lot easier than a normal length ratchet. Along with this "cheap-decent" Harbor Freight 20 Pc 3/4 in. Drive SAE Jumbo Heavy Duty Socket Set https://www.harborfreight.com/21-pie...set-40996.html

The links got jacked up so I fixed them.