Lowering first gen 5-lug

hello again ,I removed the blocks in the back , should the springs be on top of the axle or under ? it seems high to me . Is the picture of the front suspension helpful to understand ? the truck seems more zippy to me with the blocks out burt is it safe to drive with nit slnted so much . Do you see how the water is pooled in the front ofthe bed . Thank you for your expertise and I'll be looking forward to any more advice .

 

I can't speak for the front, maybe one of the other first gen guys recognizes that. As for the rear, yes the axle is on top of the leaf springs. Only the 4x4 trucks would've been underneath the leaf springs. It's not exactly unsafe to drive it the way it is, but it will handle oddly because of the rake.

 

what is the rake ? would more pics of the front from different angles help ?

 

Rake is the angle of the vehicle from back to front. In your case, the rake is angled forwards. Like this drag car.

 

I plan on driving with about 700 lbs. up north from the SF bay area .The load will level it a little bit

 

that is a pretty drastic rake .I'll take some more shot when the rain lets up

 

It sure will. You're also missing the bump stops in the rear fyi. Either low profile ones or factory ones should be installed to protect the frame. 700 lbs is no big deal for that truck.

 

You need to clear, or maybe even enlarge the drain holes in the front of the bed.

Consider removing that plastic liner and treating the bed to something like you can get at www.monstaliner.com

 

I just sold my 85 4cyl. one ton that needs a new engine and a california catylitic converter but before I did I removed those rubber stops that i will put on .

 

You've got aftermarket upper control arms that were designed to correct the camber since it's lowered. It doesn't seem to have a ball joint flip done. Can you get a better shot of the spindle?

Edit: later pictures proved that it does actually have a ball joint flip (probably the full DJM kit considering the upper arms)

 

moe pics of my 2001's front suspension .If any one could tell if it's been lowered and how to get it up . Since i removewd the blocks , the truck seems more zippy and resposive

 

what is the spindle ?

 

Can it be brought back to factory specs easily ?

 

The spindle is the part that the upper and lower ball joints connect to that has the rotor and hub on it so the wheel has somewhere to bolt to. You can install "drop spindles" to reduce the overall height of the suspension without altering the spring height.

 

Yes, as long as we figure out what was changed.

 

I 'm not sure what you meant by reducing the height of the springs , I want to raise the truck higher in the front

 

did my last pics help to find out what was done ?

 

I'll take any pic that could help anyone understandwhat needs to be done ? I need to use this truck as a truck , not street show vehicle . I had many things that were necessary while finding a truck that fit many needs ,this one fit most except for the lowering which I hoped could be corrected . So thanks to all who are reading and taking me seriously

 

This is the spindle. You'd have to get a picture either from the back or with the wheel and rotor off the front for us to see if they are factory spindles or drop spindles.


edit: ideally of the front since that would clearly let us see the height of the stub axle in relation to the assembly

 

At the very least you'll need new factory style upper control arms whenever you undo the lowering kit that has been put on. Otherwise your front end will be out of alignment pretty badly