Put the 1.5 inch leveling kit on last night. Does it settle at all? The front is the exact same height as the rear now (Screw FX4). And the right front is about a quarter inch higher than the left front. Is that normal?

 

You need to get it aligned and then I should be the same.... plus save your tires

 

I've got an appointment in the morning. The guys at autospring told me to drive it for a day, then get it aligned. Will the alignment make that much of a difference as far as the final ride height goes?

 

Mine did not drop that much, maybe a quarter inch after I had it re-aligned.

 

What all is needed to install this kit in my driveway? I assume this is what you did.

 

...and how long did it take to complete the install (less alignment)?

 

I did it at my cousins detailing shop (just easy because I could pull it into the bay and have plenty of room to jack the truck up. I first jacked up the front/put jack stands under both sides. Took the wheels off. Put the jack under the lower control arm and put some pressure on it. Take the nut off of the bottom of the ball joint. I had acess to a ball joint separator.... don't really know if there is another way to do it but that is how I separated the ball joint by hitting the separator with a sledge (one good whack) take the nut off of the bottom of the sway bar end. next you have to lower the jack. Take the Bolt out of the bottom of the strut assembly and remove the strut. Next you bolt the spacer on top of the strut assembly and reverse the process, repeat on the other side. It took me around 3 hours but I stopped a few times inbetween, plus took my time. Now that it seems that we are getting into some good weather I will wash the truck and post some before and after pics.

 

Just finished the alignment and am going to pick it up right now. After I put the kit on the steering wheel was off slightly to the right. Hopefully that's taken care of and also hopefully the front is a little lower after being aligned. Only $40 for the alignment, plus $125 for the kit, installed myself... not bad compared to what I've read about some guys paying.

The install was easier than I thought. Of course, air tools make it easy.

My brother in law and I did it one side at a time. Jack the truck up under the frame.
Take the wheel off.
Take the stabilizer nut off the lower control arm.
Take the bottom nut off the ball joint.
Instead of using a seperator, hit the spindle that the ball joint taper sits in with a big ball peen hammer. This flexes the spindle around the taper and the ball joint pops right out. Seperators can damage the rubber around the ball joint.
Put another floor jack under the lower control arm and lift until it compresses the strut.
Unbolt the lower strut mount and the three upper strut nuts.
Push the upper control arm up and remove the strut.
Mount the leveling ring on top of the strut.
Replace strut.
Re-assemble everything (the ball joint is a little tricky--just push down on the upper control arm and the threads will pop through the bottom.
Do the same for the other side.
Drive it for a day, then have it aligned.

It took about 30-45 minutes for the first side, and 15-20 for the second.

I'll try to get some after pictures up soon. But right now I'm going to go pick it up from the alignment shop.

 

Wow, big difference between before and after alignment. The truck rides and steers better, the wheel is straight and the front came down a hair.
The shop said it was "toed in a mile." Each side was 11/32" in. Caster and Camber were unaffected, though.

Take a look at my gallery and let me know what you think.

 

Was the spacer 1.5 inches or was the lift 1.5 inches?

 

The actual spacer is 1-1/2 inches. You get anywhere from 2-1/2 to 3 inches of lift out of it, from what I've learned. The guy on here who convinced me to use the autospring lift only got 2-1/2 inches of lift, but I got 3 inches.