Project Dark Horse, Part 3 - Lowering Kit

The McGaughy's lowering spring is the same height as the factory coil (dirty), but it has more turns and the spring rate is reengineered to lower the truck and still provide a good ride.

With the new lowering spring in place, the strut assembly is reinstalled into the truck and the suspension bolted up.

The front end will be 2 inches lower, once the weight of the truck is on the spring and strut.

For the rear drop, chock the front tires, position the floor jack under the differential, lift the rear of the truck enough to relieve the pressure on the shackles, and position the jackstands forward of the rear axle on the framerails.

The Hotchkis-designed rear leaf suspension features wider leaves and shocks outboard of the frame.

Remove the brake hose bolt that goes through the front of the leaf spring pack.

Unbolt the rear leaf spring shackle.

Unbolt and remove the stock U-bolts that attach the leaf springs to the axle, one side at a time.

The longer McGaughy's U-bolt (left) will allow us to mount the springs under the axle.

With the leaf springs loose, move them underneath the axle, one side at a time, and reinstall the leaf springs. Don't attach the new U-bolts yet.

Install the flip kits between the leaf springs and the axle, making sure the side with the 45-degree angle faces toward the front of the truck.

With the new spring plates under the axle, install the new U-bolts over the axle, through the holes in the plates, and attach them with the hardware provided. Torque the bolts equally to 90 pounds.

Using a C-clamp on each end of the leaf springs, clamp the overload leaf to the leaf spring pack, collapsing the two ends of the overload springs and flattening the spring assembly so that the stock shackle bolts can be installed.

Bolt in the new McGaughy's shackles the same way the stock ones came out, using the original bolts and nuts.

Remove the factory bumpstops, and install the new ones in the same holes.

Unbolt the bottom of the rear shocks, install the McGaughy's shock extenders over the stock shock mount, and attach the shock to the bottom of the extender. Torque bolts to 60 pounds and you're done. The rear of the truck will now sit 4 1/2 inches lower than stock.

The McGaughy's kit brought the truck down just where we needed it to. Stay tuned for the next installment of the Project Dark Horse, where we will discuss the wheel and tire combo in more detail.