lowering rear end
Sit. Stay.
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 18,308
Likes: 20
From: Washington State
It will indeed affect rear ride height! oh wait... 
Negative effects due to lowering kinda depend on how you actually go about lowering it. Let's say you use a quality drop kit and just install the rear part of said kit. You shouldn't have any negative effects as far as handling is concerned. Even you ride shouldn't be all that much worse (maybe even better?) unless you are attempting to use as much travel as you had before.
You may corner a tad better due to less understeer and body roll.
How far down do you want to lower it?
Negative effects due to lowering kinda depend on how you actually go about lowering it. Let's say you use a quality drop kit and just install the rear part of said kit. You shouldn't have any negative effects as far as handling is concerned. Even you ride shouldn't be all that much worse (maybe even better?) unless you are attempting to use as much travel as you had before.
You may corner a tad better due to less understeer and body roll.
How far down do you want to lower it?
Senior User
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 435
Likes: 0
From: San Jose, CA
I lowered the rear of mine with 2" Belltech drop shackles. It looks great and sits just about level. Only bad thing is a slight vibration at 20 mph, but only with easy acceleration. You can fix that with shims, but to me it's not even worth it. I hardly notice. The Groundforce 2" shackles come with the shims.
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 314
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I lowered mine with the Ground Force 2" drop shackles and it looks and rides great. I had to use the shims to cure a low speed driveline vibration that developed after installing the shackels. Good thing they are included with the kit. Be sure to use lots of grease on the shackles, bushings, and spring mounts or it they will squeak like crazy.
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New User
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 23
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Originally Posted by Monsta
It will indeed affect rear ride height! oh wait...
Negative effects due to lowering kinda depend on how you actually go about lowering it. Let's say you use a quality drop kit and just install the rear part of said kit. You shouldn't have any negative effects as far as handling is concerned. Even you ride shouldn't be all that much worse (maybe even better?) unless you are attempting to use as much travel as you had before.
You may corner a tad better due to less understeer and body roll.
How far down do you want to lower it?
Negative effects due to lowering kinda depend on how you actually go about lowering it. Let's say you use a quality drop kit and just install the rear part of said kit. You shouldn't have any negative effects as far as handling is concerned. Even you ride shouldn't be all that much worse (maybe even better?) unless you are attempting to use as much travel as you had before.
You may corner a tad better due to less understeer and body roll.
How far down do you want to lower it?
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New User
Joined: Jan 2005
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Originally Posted by kd4crs
I lowered mine with the Ground Force 2" drop shackles and it looks and rides great. I had to use the shims to cure a low speed driveline vibration that developed after installing the shackels. Good thing they are included with the kit. Be sure to use lots of grease on the shackles, bushings, and spring mounts or it they will squeak like crazy.
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Senior User
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 314
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It lowered the rear almost 2 ". It does make getting things into and out of the bed easier. The shims must go between the spacer blocks and the spring pack with the thicker part of the shim facing the rear of the truck. If you put the shims between the spacer blocks and the axle they don't fit properly. My truck is also a 4X4 SCAB.
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2004
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You can take the 4X4 spacer blocks out but you will need to buy the 4X2 u-bolts to replace the longer 4X4 u-bolts. The 4X4 u-bolts are not threaded far enough up to tighten up without the spacer blocks in place.
Junior User
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 60
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I also did the Ground Force shackles and they worked great. Better handling, less "hop" and it doesn't look like it's butt is stuck in the air. The shims are a sign to me that these guys aren't cutting corners and know what they're doing- I'd avoid any kit that didn't have them.
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Joined: Jan 2005
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Originally Posted by kd4crs
You can take the 4X4 spacer blocks out but you will need to buy the 4X2 u-bolts to replace the longer 4X4 u-bolts. The 4X4 u-bolts are not threaded far enough up to tighten up without the spacer blocks in place.
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 314
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Riley,
I have heard of folks just taking out the spacer blocks and replacing the u-bolts and being just fine. There is always a chance that you might get a driveline vibe when altering the rear height. It just depends on how the pinion angle was set from the factory. It's worth a try just to see if it works. If you get a vibe you can buy some shims for it or put the spacers back in and do the drop shackles. Let us know how it turns out.
I have heard of folks just taking out the spacer blocks and replacing the u-bolts and being just fine. There is always a chance that you might get a driveline vibe when altering the rear height. It just depends on how the pinion angle was set from the factory. It's worth a try just to see if it works. If you get a vibe you can buy some shims for it or put the spacers back in and do the drop shackles. Let us know how it turns out.
