Belltech 2/4 drop

[Cross88]

2nd person that has had bottoming out issues, both of you are 4x4. I wonder if my 2wd will have that issue cuz I feel like I have more factory rake. I’m getting helper bags regardless, so it doesn’t bother me...more just curious.

 

[Cross88]

So a bit of information, according to airlift the only kit available made to fit our new body style rams, at least the 2wd is the 60828HD (1000HD). Which is a 2100pnd capacity. I’ll be going with that one, plenty of capability for my use. In conjunction with a hellwig rear sway bar, pedal commander, wheel spacers and probably a drop in filter. Yay allowance from tax returns haha.

 

[lrobbi]

So a bit of information, according to airlift the only kit available made to fit our new body style rams, at least the 2wd is the 60828HD (1000HD). Which is a 2100pnd capacity. I’ll be going with that one, plenty of capability for my use. In conjunction with a hellwig rear sway bar, pedal commander, wheel spacers and probably a drop in filter. Yay allowance from tax returns haha.

Just in case those don't work because of the the lowering springs... These will work. (Air Lift 60824 Air Lift 1000) I have these on mines now and they are approx. 4.0" shorter than the ones made for our trucks. The capacity is much less (1000 lb), but they still will work to keep from bottoming out and I tow with these now. They have been good. Again just a back up in case you need to go with a shorter bag after the 4" drop in the rear. Amazon has them for $87.00

 

[Cross88]

Just in case those don't work because of the the lowering springs... These will work. (Air Lift 60824 Air Lift 1000) I have these on mines now and they are approx. 4.0" shorter than the ones made for our trucks. The capacity is much less (1000 lb), but they still will work to keep from bottoming out and I tow with these now. They have been good. Again just a back up in case you need to go with a shorter bag after the 4" drop in the rear. Amazon has them for $87.00

Awesome! I appreciate it, didn’t even think about the length difference from the drop. I may need to get those. My travel trailer is 6500lbs dry, but I also have a good wdh set up so those 1k bags will probably be sufficient. By the way, have you got your drop kit installed yet?

 

[lrobbi]

No I have not done it yet, I am without my truck for a week starting today, Just a few small scratches and door dings BUT soon as I get it back - I hope to jump on it! I can NOT wait to get them on and take it for an alignment. I think this is going to be a nice setup

 

[Cross88]

No I have not done it yet, I am without my truck for a week starting today, Just a few small scratches and door dings BUT soon as I get it back - I hope to jump on it! I can NOT wait to get them on and take it for an alignment. I think this is going to be a nice setup

That’s unfortunate, but hell yea, I can’t wait to get mine installed either.

 

[Cross88]

Haven’t installed the kit yet, but there is about a 4.5” difference in length between the oem 2wd rear spring and the 4” drop spring of the max trac kit. Oem is just over 19” and the maxtrac is just under 15”

 

[lrobbi]

Haven’t installed the kit yet, but there is about a 4.5” difference in length between the oem 2wd rear spring and the 4” drop spring of the max trac kit. Oem is just over 19” and the maxtrac is just under 15”

Looking forward to some pics.!!!

 

[Cross88]

Finally got my Maxtrac kit on and I'm super happy with the way it looks! I only have about 25 miles on it since the install but I'd say the ride is very comparable to the GF 2/3 on my 4th gen. It did bottom out once on the way home with the bump stop trimmed as the instructions show. I have helper bags but I haven't competed running the lines so no air in them yet. My plan is to cut off the bump stop cups and add a stubby 1" screw in style. I hope to have enough clearance for daily driving and the helpers will be used when I haul my boat or load the bed.

Install was fairly straightforward but I have some experience with lowering 4th gens, so that helped. The pictures in the instructions could be a little larger, especially for the rear upper shock bushing orientation. I chose to not follow the directions on the front and left the lower control arms where they were and removedthe uppers instead. I knew I wasn't going to be able to get it aligned until this weekend so I figured not getting the camber/caster all out of whack from side to side was my best bet. Truck drove straight, even with the tires toed out a little.

Front strut is set on 5th groove down from the top (2.5"), rear was installed as it comes. Actual drop was 2- 5/8" in the front and rear was 3.75". Front is 1/2" lower than the rear, for what I consider a perfect daily driver rake.

I'll add some updates after I get the bump stops cut off and some more miles on it. Getting snow today so won't be getting anything done for the next couple days. Lowered 4x4 FTW!

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Do you by chance have the rough measurement of the oem 4x4 rear spring? Curious what the difference may or may not be. My 2wd oem rear spring measured in at just over 19” in length with no tension.

 

[1badws6]

Has anyone with a lowered 4x4 had any issues with the front CV joints binding? We got some snow the other day, I had auto 4wd on pulling out of my driveway and the truck started jerking. The wheel wasn't quite full cut but it was turned a good amount. Turned 4wd off and issue went away.

Truck is lowered about 2 5/8" in the front. Didn't expect the CV's to bind at this height but I guess I just won't turn that sharp while using 4x4.

Any other 4x4 guys have this problem?

#lowered4x4life LMAO

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[Cross88]

Has anyone ever done the “heater hose” mod for a top spring isolator? Running some heater around the top coil and just not using the isolators? Get maybe 1/4-1/2”, haven’t measured the isolator. But if I can get that extra little drop when I go to do my 2/4 drop without cutting coil, I think I just might.

 

[Scr8pin]

Has anyone ever done the “heater hose” mod for a top spring isolator? Running some heater around the top coil and just not using the isolators? Get maybe 1/4-1/2”, haven’t measured the isolator. But if I can get that extra little drop when I go to do my 2/4 drop without cutting coil, I think I just might.

I did the heater hose idea on a 2008 ford ranger I dropped 6/9 a few years ago using DJM and belltech kits, but I didn't use heater hose, I used Teflon hose. I tried using gas line hose prior but it squeaked like a boss once the wd-40 wore off the hose, the Teflon hosing slides easier and doesn't squeak, the hosing I used resembles PEX piping from home depot, then I cut a doughnut out of a rubber 1/4" sheet and put that between the Teflon hose and the spring pocket, gave me about a 1/2" drop.

 

[Cross88]

I did the heater hose idea on a 2008 ford ranger I dropped 6/9 a few years ago using DJM and belltech kits, but I didn't use heater hose, I used Teflon hose. I tried using gas line hose prior but it squeaked like a boss once the wd-40 wore off the hose, the Teflon hosing slides easier and doesn't squeak, the hosing I used resembles PEX piping from home depot, then I cut a doughnut out of a rubber 1/4" sheet and put that between the Teflon hose and the spring pocket, gave me about a 1/2" drop.

Very nice. Maybe I’ll do something like that. I have about 1.25” of rake still after my maxtrac 2/4 drop. But I’m going to see how the truck sits with airlift 1000 helper bags and my trailer attached before I adjust the non loaded stance.

 

[Scr8pin]

Finally put on my lowering kit. Used the max trac 2/4 kit but went with the 3” setting up front, aligned ok, drop ended up being 3 1/4 up front and 4 1/8 out back.....question is though, anyone else find their trac bar is too long by like 1/4-1/2”? My back drivers side wheel sticks out about a 1/2” and my passenger side is in 1/2” so it’s dog tracking. I contacted max trac and they don’t know why right now. Has anyone else come across this? I’m hoping max trac figures it out cause I really don’t want to shell out for an adjustable trac bar.

 

[Scr8pin]

Another shot of the drop

 

[Cross88]

Looks good, I used the same kit along with other parts and ended up setting the front at a 1” drop. My 1/4 sits as pictured here. I have about .5-.75” of rake. I have airlift 1000 helper bags, hellwig sway bar, adjustable end links and adjustable trac bar. I also have ihc 4 link relocation brackets on order. But yes, my left to right centering was off as well. The adjust trac bar fixed that.

 

[1badws6]

Finally put on my lowering kit. Used the max trac 2/4 kit but went with the 3” setting up front, aligned ok, drop ended up being 3 1/4 up front and 4 1/8 out back.....question is though, anyone else find their trac bar is too long by like 1/4-1/2”? My back drivers side wheel sticks out about a 1/2” and my passenger side is in 1/2” so it’s dog tracking. I contacted max trac and they don’t know why right now. Has anyone else come across this? I’m hoping max trac figures it out cause I really don’t want to shell out for an adjustable trac bar.View attachment 58632

I ran into the same problem with the trac bar bracket when I installed the Timber Grove (6" CRM) air bag setup on mine last week. I didn't notice the issue with the maxtrac springs but the truck wasn't as low either. With the maxtrac kit, my truck ended up going down 3.75" in the rear vs about 4.5" now with the Timber Grove setup. The rear end was shifted over so far that the trac bar bracket was hitting the frame and bottoming out. I ended up cutting the bracket that the trac bar bolts to, off the trac bar mount, moving it over about 1/2" and welding it back on. Rear end is centered now.

Truck is sitting pretty damn level now.. Measurements from the ground to the wheelwell (taken at the center of the wheel center cap) are about 34". This is with stock tires. I took a picture of how much clearance I have between the frame and upper control arm mount. There's about 1.5" clearance. Pretty happy with this setup so far.

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[Cross88]

How do you like your bagged rear? Smooth unladen? Good support when loaded? Looks good.

 

[Scr8pin]

Awesome thanks guys, yeah I’ve spoken with max trac and they weren’t even aware that we all have this problem, let’s see what they come back with but for now I’m going to go for an adjustable trac bar. One of the designers of the kit spoke with me and is going back to the drawing and possibly modify the rear trac bar mount .

 

[1badws6]

How do you like your bagged rear? Smooth unladen? Good support when loaded? Looks good.

So far so good. It's a little stiffer than it should be but thats because I bought the 6" CRM and have to add more air pressure to get up to the 5" drop. I hooked up my boat, I added 5-8 more psi of air to get back to the same ride height. The ride was pretty damn stiff. I may try to fab a bracket to go between his lower mount and the bag to make it sit at 5" with the bag in the sweet spot for air pressure.

I did also buy some bump stops for it. When the rear sat level with the front, the control arms were tagging the frame pretty often. Since I put the bumpstops in, it's rode pretty nice. I'll be taking the boat out this weekend so I'll try to keep the air a little lower this time to see how the ride is. Hoping the bump stops with the lower pressure is the hot ticket.

I've also read that you kinda need double adjustable shocks with the bags. Thinking about it, it makes sense. The adjustable compression and rebound would really settle down the jouncing action of the bag. So I may also order some vikings for the rear here pretty soon.

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