[EagleChief]

Spent this past Saturday swapping out all of the suspension parts! Man, what a chore that was! It took us almost 11 hrs to complete, and, we didn't even complete everything. But, the 3.5"/5" drop is done, for now. And, as I write this up, the truck is at the shop getting an alignment.

I didn't get any pictures, unfortunately. But, I will have some before and after shots before too long.

Everything about the truck fought us tooth and nail. It took way longer that we anticipated! First off, the driver side upper ball joint was basically welded in. It took us about 1hr 30 minutes to get that ball joint out. We ground the rivets out, used chisels, a torch, spacing wedges, screw drivers, hammers... you name it, we used it. It. Took. For.Ev.Er!! The passenger side wasn't as bad, but still took us probably 45 min to get it out.

For the back, ended up just replacing the springs. Kept the stock shocks and left them in the stock location. Don't judge - it was late, we were tired and worn out, and we needed to get out of the shop. Boss showed up to lock up as we were finishing up. I do have the relocation brackets for the rear, and new shocks. But, getting to the rivets on the upper mounts was not going to work at that point. Eventually, I'll bring it back in and we'll remove the bed to make it easier.

But, in the end, it is "done". It looks SO much better! I'm extremely happy with the results. The ball joints were original, and completely destroyed. The tie rod ends were not as bad, but were still pretty much gone. Now, with new stuff, the truck is much tighter and more smooth.

Next will be the steering box and I need to go through the rear brakes.