A few weeks ago me and rene ( tRustyk5 ) decided to tackle my lift kit.
We set a date and went to town.
Parts:
4 in all spring BDS lift.
Diy4x front shackle eyes
Diy4x front shackles (5inch)
Greasable bolts
Moog front steering stabilizer
BDS 5500 hydro shocks
Raised Pro comp Steering Arm.
Moog drag link and connector
Dick cepek fun country 2s (33x12.5)
Pro comp Rock crawler wheels
This is how the truck rolled in
We got a bit of a late start since i had worked the night before being on night shift pulling piles out of the ground..
We dropped the two front tires like they were in need of, It gave me a real good refresher as to how gross the drag links were..
Then we started wrenching on the u-bolt nuts.. The impact didnt fit.. but i figured it was all a part of earning my stripes.
We got them ubolt nuts off both sides except for one that i got greedy on and filled the threads but rusty crap and it seized.. Its also the first thing that rene claimed defeated his impact...
so out came the grinder!
I started cutting out the leaf bolts and the shackles i was replacing as rene started to get the steering arm out.. He explained to me his technique but
since you can easily make the steering arm worse to get out by seating the cone washers deeper, i let him go at it..and at it...aaaand at it. After i had all the shackles and bolts cut on my side and the front leaf bolt on my side cut i paid my attention to him. After watching the 4 pound sledge do no damage to the 2nd and 3rd cone washer i suggested getting the 20 pound sledge out.. Weeelllll, it happened. It was hit with the 20 pounder a good 10-20 times and then back to the 4 pound it was..
Like mentioned in the previous thread, MPS was missed but the 20 pounder should have been good for some points..
After a little while longer.. i couldnt handle to hear the frustration and noise coming from that side anymore.. the guilt from having someone whos helping me, and working harder than me set in, And i suggested to him we should swap tasks.
Maybe about 6 hits later, i see the 2nd cone washer moving
I dare not take the credit for getting that POS off hahaha. We were both just so releived to have it off as the drivers side could now begin to take shape with new parts.
We installed the new steering arm which came with new nuts but not new cone washers.. The old ones werent too badly beaten.
IMG_3361
IMG_3364
Once we got the new DIY4x shackle eyes installed and the front bushings and bolts cut and the old POS shocks, that one ended being bent..
we could place the new shackles and leafs in place on the perchs. The BDS bushing sent with the kit worked perfect on the front stock hangers but were too wide on the DIY4x side so if anyone is using the new hangers and shackles with a BDS kit. you will need to trim the bushings down with a grinder.
IMG_3368
IMG_3379
The crap that came out. We noticed after that the previous owner had added a leaf on each spring with another 52 inch leaf spring... no wonder it rode like a dump truck all this time...
Back to the new stuff!
IMG_3365
MOOG steering stabilzer
IMG_3370
After a long 10 hours of wrenching with breaks for food and coffee along the way we decided to call it a night. We were both beat and could use the rest. My ole lady came and got me and i returned the next morning, Glad i booked two days off for this.
The next morning we started right back at it with more enthusiasm since the front was so close to being done.
At this point we had everything hand tightened just so it was all buttoned up for now.
Could add the last piece of the front suspension pieces...
The new moog drag link ends and connector.
We then double checked the nuts and bolts and put the tires on!!
The rear end didnt get nearly as many photos as i was more focused on just getting this thing up on its last 2 tires as i was dying to see it done, 5 months of anticipation was about to be over. The rear end, being less pieces still had its annoyances, we cut all the u bolts off. And the rear shackle hangers were a pain in my ass to get through due to 5 inch cutting disks and the access... i used a hammer to beat the crap out of them. While i was busy tackling the rear end, Rene found a way to fix my pathetic exhaust.. or what was left of it after the mud at work and my foot had made it fall off right after the blown out glasspack.. Once the rear end was finally ready for bushing and bolts. We fit them up to make sure everything would sit plumb and snug. We tightened up the rear end.
My existing rear shackles were a pain in the ass. we used c-clamps, ratchet straps and another ratched strap and a bottle jack but we got them in and done! next time i detach the leafs in the rear i will replace the shackles.
This was the exhaust that rene welded up while i was building the rear end. It was the best 20 min exhaust job anyone could have asked for. It sounds awesome. I will post a video the next time i am out in the k5.
We got the tires back on and we got it out of the garage!
Not knowing much about these trucks per say but having an alright understanding of vehicles since i had just fixed up a 1990 exploder and sold it, i proceeded to look around. Ball joints were shot, u joints were allllright i guess. Brakes ( front and rear ) were brand new..even though the owner before him decided to paint the drums and calipers red... Other then the typical things that are wrong with a vehicle when people assume they last forever until they fall to pieces, the thing looked decent.
k5 in snow 2 by smithblakek5
interior by
.
)
