About to de-lift but have questions

[Nutro]

Another dumb question. The 88 has a 5.5" lift on it with aftermarket 2.5" leaf packs front and rear and lift blocks rear and some home made shackles in front to lift it more.

I bought front HD shackles from ORD and I am going to remove the rear 3" blocks to make it 2.5 again.

I don't have any crazy tools or a lift so I am going to do this by myself in the street. No biggie. So...

On the front, do I loosen the U bolts on the front, loosen the shackles at the rear-most position, slide the jack and a large block of wood under the spring and remove the shackle, drop the jack a little then install new ORD HD shackle and slowly jack the spring back up and slide bolts in, put back on the ground then tighten U-bolts and shackles with the vehicle weight loaded and I'm done?

Rear same concept? Jack diff up, loosen U-bolts, pull blocks and taper shims, jack it back into place and tighten U-bolts and done?

This is assuming the shocks are removed front and rear.

 

[Bent77]

1) you want some kind of support under the frame, so the jack will lift the axle, not the truck. Repeat on Both ends

2) If you are not removing the front leaf spring, don’t loosen the U bolts. Just the shackles. See #1

3) The rear u bolts will likely be too long after pulling the block, and you may run out of threads

4) always have 2 tires on the front and chocked. Don’t run over or squish yourself. Watch this spring players when the bolts come out, the axle will move. Do one at a time

Drive shaft may not be too long....

 

[mechted]

It would be easier to secure the frame in place, then drop the axle down (tires removed) to remove the weight off the suspension on the front, then change out components and reassemble. It will be kinda a pain to get the shackles to line back up if you have any weight on them.

On my Blazer (~4" lift) I jack up the front axle, remove both front tires, then lower the whole front end until the frame is resting on my 6 ton jack stands. You can use a layer or two of 4x4 wood blocks as cribbing under the jackstand to elevate it up if needed. Once the frame is secure on the jackstands, then lower the front end down to a neutral weight position to remove and replace the shackles. One side at a time will cause some binding when you go to reassemble, just be prepared for it, dont completely torque suspension bolts until you are back on 4 tires.

As Bent said, no reason to touch the u-bolts on the front if the springs are staying in place.

 

[Nutro]

Done! Took a few hours and some cussing but that part is finished. I love the height now. Went from 4.5"F/5.5"R to 2.5" all around with ORD HD shackles. The best part? My 69 year old father handing me tools. Makes me sad that I used to be his tool gopher as a kid and now he can't do as much but his company is all I wanted.

 

[rampage]

Done! Took a few hours and some cussing but that part is finished. I love the height now. Went from 4.5"F/5.5"R to 2.5" all around with ORD HD shackles. The best part? My 69 year old father handing me tools. Makes me sad that I used to be his tool gopher as a kid and now he can't do as much but his company is all I wanted.

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Are those 35” tires? Looks like you’ll have fender rubbing when turning into driveways, or actually just turning. Could be an illusion though.

 

[Nutro]

Yes sir they are 35's for now. I'm trying to decide which wheels I want to buy then I'm thinking a 295/70/17 which is right at 33" or a 285/70/17 and new wheels. I might just keep the Ralleys and go 33's on those.

 

[Bent77]

It looks good, nice that your pops could help out