When I was but a wee lad I had big dreams. I wanted a lifted truck on 33’s with a Skyjacker suspension under it. At that time this was considered a big tire and certainly the coolest thing on 4 wheels. Flash forward 30+ years and that dream is finally a reality.
The kit and the plan.
Skyjacker was kind enough to provide their 2.5-inch lift. It comes with all 4 coil springs and new Black Max shocks at all 4 corners. New swaybar end links and taller front bump stops complete the kit. Part number GB251PBLT.
The new dual-rate front springs are 2.5-inches over the factory springs and the rear are 1.5-inches longer. This gives the truck a nice level stance.
The plan was to install this setup in the driveway over the course of a single day and see how it went.
Driveway install.
Growing up I had access to my next-door neighbor’s lift and I have always been fortunate enough to do any major install on one. I decided to do this lift in the driveway to show how easy this kit is to install.
In order to do the work, you need a good floor jack. Something that allows you good control raising and lowering. Two sturdy jack stands with enough height so you can lower the axle enough to put the new springs in. Basic hand tools and a torque wrench. I did use several impact tools to speed up the process.
I started with the front suspension, there are far more parts to disconnect to get the springs in and it’s better to tackle it when you have all of your energy.
You are going to remove the wheels, the shocks, disconnect the driveshaft, remove the brake line brackets, disconnect the differential vent hose, and drop the drag link from the axle to be able to get enough travel to fit the new springs.
I went ahead and removed all of that from both sides so I knew I wouldn’t have any binding when I needed to move the axle up and down to fit everything. (I didn’t need to but in some cases removing the track bar could be necessary.) Skyjacker’s directions are very thorough and detail each step very clearly.
If I have one piece of advice on install – you need plenty of patience to get the bump stop bolt tightened. I don’t have a wrench that has enough bend and the passenger side isn’t open enough for a socket. Shipping a small prebent wrench would be awesome.
I would love to tell you I did it all by myself. In truth, I had help with the passenger side front spring and both rear springs from the wife. I couldn’t lift the spring into place and push down on the axle at the same time.
Install is as easy as reversing everything you did to take the old parts off.
Installing the rear.
Do you remember at the beginning where I said the rear was easier so I started at the front? Sometimes I’m wrong.
You don’t need to disconnect the drive shaft for the rear install. I did have to remove the rear calipers and disconnect every mount for the brake lines to get enough slack to install the springs. Oh, and I had to disconnect the rear track bar at the axle. After that, it was a piece of cake.
The whole process took about 6 hours including setup and cleanup. Not a bad day spent outside in 70-degree weather. The results speak for themselves.
