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Leveling kit

Bpiet378

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Has anyone in the Illinois area installed a leveling kit, just the spacer one? Custom Offsets in WI where I’m from wants $500 for the install and seems excessive to me.
 

LaxDfns15

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Has anyone in the Illinois area installed a leveling kit, just the spacer one? Custom Offsets in WI where I’m from wants $500 for the install and seems excessive to me.
I installed spacers myself in my garage without a lift or air tools in less than 3 hours. A shop could probably do it in 1.5-2. It's basically remove wheel, remove caliper, unbolt UCA, tie rod, sway bar, lower shock bolt, upper shock bolts, install spacer, reinstall.
 

Stevenc150

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Note theres 2 types of spacer kits:

1 goes on top of the strut assembly & has 3 bolts (easiest) Screenshot_20200503-152520_Chrome.jpg
1 goes inside the strut and requires a coil spring compressor (harder) Screenshot_20200503-152601_Chrome.jpg
 

Bpiet378

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Moved to Illinois, HOA had a hissy fit last time I worked on anything so I was hoping to find someone in my area that could do it with me.
 

LaxDfns15

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I hear you on the HOA. I'm having my fence built at our new house with 25 feet of driveway behind it just so I can work on the truck and the HOA won't scream at me.
 

Bpiet378

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Also did you have the dealer align it after or a regular mechanic?
 

LaxDfns15

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@LaxDfns15 any warranty issues installing these?
Also did you have the dealer align it after or a regular mechanic?

The thing about warranty that should be common knowledge but isn't: They have to prove that what you did caused the problem. If your wheel comes off at the hub, and they can't explicitly prove that your leveling kit caused it, that falls under warranty. They will fight you tooth and nail, but as long as you didn't cause the problem it's covered.

I had a local shop align it. My closest dealer is almost 30 minutes away, and I just moved to this area so I'm trying to find a shop I can trust.
 

Bpiet378

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@LaxDfns15 did you do the 2” or 2.5”? I’ve been reading max is 2” and that .5” is having people go nuts. I know this is going to stress the UCA anyways so I’d rather put the least amount of added stress on.
 

Bpiet378

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@LaxDfns15 sorry I saw that after and forgot to delete my comment. So I’m going with front Bilsteins after talking to some guys and lifting to the 4 setting probably to level the truck. I was thinking about going Bilsteins in the rear too in order to lift it 1” and keep the slight rake. I can’t find much on people doing rear spacers vs rear Bilsteins. Opinions?
 

LaxDfns15

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@Bpiet378 I have no idea about the rear. I've never had a rear coil truck before. I'm used to just throwing in a block under the leaf springs or putting in a helper spring, and calling it a day. I'm not 100% sure you can lift the rear with Bilsteins.
 

myles

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@LaxDfns15 sorry I saw that after and forgot to delete my comment. So I’m going with front Bilsteins after talking to some guys and lifting to the 4 setting probably to level the truck. I was thinking about going Bilsteins in the rear too in order to lift it 1” and keep the slight rake. I can’t find much on people doing rear spacers vs rear Bilsteins. Opinions?
The rear bilsteins are a shock only, but you can buy coil spacers to raise the truck up 1" in the rear, its pretty easy.
Another option is the icon coils which raise the rear up 1.5" so you wont need any spacers.
 

steve1982

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I was going to start a new thread for this, but probably not worth it. Just wanted to get the info out there somewhere on a recent thread.

The history and woes playing with the suspension on my truck...

Front:
- I installed top mount 2" spacers on the front coils a few months back. The truck still rode horribly soft and that affected the front end feedback while towing the boat.
- I removed the 2" spacers 2 weeks ago and installed the Bilstein 5100s, maxed out at 2.7" of lift (or whatever that number is for the highest ring)
- Dramatic improvement in ride quality which I believe is due to the preloading of the struts. Better steering while towing, etc. Very easy install too.

Rear:
- These trucks are famous for squatting the rear end with anything more than 6 ounces of weight on them.
- I added the "in spring" airbags 6 months ago hoping these would help, used them in the past successfully, but they did not help this truck. I think the 5th gen springs are just lighter than my 4th gen springs.
- I ripped out the airbags due to horrible performance while towing. It didn't help the squat much and walked all over the road while towing.
- I installed these: https://www.stengelbros.net/350-905XHD-Dayton-Maxx-Heavy-Duty-Coil-Springs_p_41403.html
-- NIGHT AND DAY IMPROVEMENT
-- 70% increase in load are the ones I bought. Love them. They have a 30% increase available as well which would probably be sufficient.
-- Tows great now. No bucking when you go over bumps while towing, no saggy rear end feeling, no sway issues
-- 2.5-3" of lift in the rear so it has a good stance. With the boat hooked up (~500 lb tongue weight) it only sags the rear about 1.5" which is perfectly level. (a little rake without the boat, level with the boat or towing my big trailer)
-- Only cost ~$220 delivered. A much better solution than air bags or spacers in my opinion.
- Bilstein rear shocks (0-2" lift) are next.
 
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Bpiet378

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@steve1982 thanks for that info! I think I’m going to go Bilsteins all around and I’m not towing much right now but I’ll consider those in the future for sure. Can you get an inch of lift in the rear from Bilsteins? Instead of using a spacer for now.
 

Bpiet378

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@steve1982 also can you use those springs with stock shocks?

@myles can you keep the stock shocks on with icon coils? Opinion on Icon vs Tuftruck? They both have 1.5” springs.
 
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