Lowering my new d50

I got it yesterday and did a tune up and removed lower valance and rear bumper. Today I got home from work and added 3in. blocks and found out this truck was not only lowered before but it had some leafs taken out. I started on the front but it got to dark. I wanted to as if there is an easy way to do the front. What exactly do I have to unbolt and remove. I want to remove the springs and cut them. Any help would be great. Thanks.

Here Are Some Steps For the Front And the Back!!


Short 7 step tutorial on how to remove coil springs.

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Removing coils 101:

step 1: put truck on jack stands

step 2: remove wheel

step 3: remove bolt that holds sway bar, and the two that hold the strut bar (strut bar bolts from underside of control arm, top is a bump stop.)

step 4: remove tie rod end. (this may take some effort, better get some PB Blaster and a mallet

step 5: put jack under control arm, jack it up so its just barely below the edge of the arm. (a half inch at most)

step 6: remove cotter pin from ball joint. loosen ball joint but don't take the nut off the whole way. You may want to spray some PB Blaster on that too and knock it with a mallet till it drops (the jack should be in place to catch it when it drops)

step 7: lower jack slowly. remove spring. cut. Replace in reverse order.

*note: make sure to cut bump stop in half for a MUCH softer ride.

15 step guide on removing middle leaf spring.

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Step 1: Jack back axle up. And place jack stands under frame.
Step 2: Lower the axle.

Step 3: Remove shock absorber. Remove U-bolts. And pull the spring perch off.

Step 4: Jack axle up so that it is slightly higher than the springs

Step 5: place c-clamp on spring pack. (you probly don't have to do this but just for good measure.)

Step 6: Unbolt the bracket for the emergency brake line and move aside.


Step 7: Remove center bolt of the spring pack

Step 8: Pry the "teeth" off of the clamps that go from the middle leaf, to the top leaf. They wont come off completely because their riveted to the middle spring, but just pry them back with a flathead screwdriver.

Step 9: release c-clamp and drop the bottom spring and middle spring.

Step 10: Replace center bolt and bottom leaf. Use the c-clamp to hold them together while putting the bolt back in. (Some use a different bolt, but i used the existing one and it worked fine for me.)

Step 11: CUT BUMP STOPS!!!!!!!


Step 12: Re-install e-brake bracket and line

Step 13: Re-install bottom plate and u-bolts

Step 14: Re-install shock absorber.

Step 15: Lower truck and go!

*NOTE: My drop took at least 2 or 3 days to settle completely.

nice write up, one thing id like to add..... make sure you have extra loot to spend cause if the front has never been apart you will be breaking about every bolt that can break!!!

Use PB Blaster, WD40, Liquid Wrench And Pray it often to get it loosened up!

can anyone possibly send me pic of tie rod end? I cant friggin find it lol. It's there im just not that familiar with suspension parts and dont know exactly what im looking for. thanks you

ok so why do i need to take the tie rod end off? it's not atached to anything that will bother the spring removal. At least not that I can tell. And If you do need to remove it...Im having trouble. I cant get it to drop. Any tips?

The tie rod end attaches to the spindle. It's what turns the wheel when you turn the steering. You will need a ball joint tool. It looks like a wedged fork. You put it on the tie rod end ball joint and hit it with a hammer and it will seperate the ball joint from the spindle. IF you try and just hit the ball joint stud make sure you have the nut on the end or you WILL damage the threads on the ball joint. You can probably get by without removing the tie rod ends but the spindle will deffinitely have to be removed from the control arms.

I got everything worked out. Thank you all for the help. I am just putting the finishing touches on the lowering process and should post pics tomorrow.

Glad to hear everything worked out. Progress is always good.

Only place I know to get drop spindles and coils is airbagit.com, they are good quality though. You're gonna want atleast 16s with spindles so to not rub on anything