I searched and did not really see anything here. Has any one lowered their truck? I am considering this kit http://djmsuspension.com/product-category/ford-f350-8798-kit/ . I have an 89 f350 dually 2wd. I have always loved the look of a lowered dually but I am worried I will kill my towing capacity. Does any one have experience with this? If I am pulling my car trailer with a car on it will the rear be sitting on the bump stops the whole time? I contacted the company and they are not giving me a direct answer.
Lowering 89 f350?
- Thread starter cardana24
- Start date
Waystro
No Class
In my opinion it's down right stupid to lower any truck
but if you do lower it then yes it will affect your towing.
but if you do lower it then yes it will affect your towing.
if built correctly, and depending on what your towing, it can be done, cleanly.
i will be doing this one day, i too think they look slick, and pretty damn awesome.
but thats the lowrider in me.
i am an automobile enthusiast, i enjoy everything from a 78 monte carlo on switches, to OG hum-v's not that H2 crap.
but if you tow a toyhauler i would not do it.
you will end up on your side.
i will be doing this one day, i too think they look slick, and pretty damn awesome.
but thats the lowrider in me.
i am an automobile enthusiast, i enjoy everything from a 78 monte carlo on switches, to OG hum-v's not that H2 crap.
but if you tow a toyhauler i would not do it.
you will end up on your side.
Looks like drop shackles and drop spindles??
I don't know how much room is under a 2wd, but there is tons of room under a 4wd due to the lift blocks to level it for the solid front axle. If you have tire clearance, you can loose any blocks under the springs and not really affect travel. You could always bag it to set the rear height while towing.
For a tow rig, I always wanted to do a dually with a single fat tire out back. Lots of pics if you go for it.
I don't know how much room is under a 2wd, but there is tons of room under a 4wd due to the lift blocks to level it for the solid front axle. If you have tire clearance, you can loose any blocks under the springs and not really affect travel. You could always bag it to set the rear height while towing.
For a tow rig, I always wanted to do a dually with a single fat tire out back. Lots of pics if you go for it.
Front would be a breeze.
Back would be a little different.
The biggest obstacle I would see is relocating the overload springs and the gusset they push against. if I were doing it, the overloads would come off and airbags would be installed to deal with the weight.
As for the bump stops. They can usually be shortened or swapped for a thinner style. I use to have an 1994 f-150 with about 6 inches of drop in the rear. I had to put a bolt in notch on that one. I also had a 1994 ranger that laced the frame on the ground on airbagged suspension. I love a lowered truck, when it is done right.
Back would be a little different.
The biggest obstacle I would see is relocating the overload springs and the gusset they push against. if I were doing it, the overloads would come off and airbags would be installed to deal with the weight.
As for the bump stops. They can usually be shortened or swapped for a thinner style. I use to have an 1994 f-150 with about 6 inches of drop in the rear. I had to put a bolt in notch on that one. I also had a 1994 ranger that laced the frame on the ground on airbagged suspension. I love a lowered truck, when it is done right.
larson
Full Access Member
I lowered the rear of my truck 3in with drop shackles. It still maintains all the OEM leaf springs so I can still tow **** like it was intended for.
My truck is just 2wd and the factory redneck rake of a stance was horrible so I got as close as possible to level with the front. It doesn't look low rider at all it just looks like an almost level 2wd f250. Everyone kept telling me to level the front with the back but thats stupid in my opinion if its not 4wd not to mention doesn't help mpg's at all. But in the end its your truck do as you please.
The drop kit I bought had brackets for the rear drop for the front of the rear springs to get as much drop as possible but it involves removing the overload spring and I had no intention of doing that so I just installed the drop shackles on the back leaf springs. I think just the shackles are like 60bucks and take about an hour to install. The truck in my sig is the one I speak of.
My truck is just 2wd and the factory redneck rake of a stance was horrible so I got as close as possible to level with the front. It doesn't look low rider at all it just looks like an almost level 2wd f250. Everyone kept telling me to level the front with the back but thats stupid in my opinion if its not 4wd not to mention doesn't help mpg's at all. But in the end its your truck do as you please.
The drop kit I bought had brackets for the rear drop for the front of the rear springs to get as much drop as possible but it involves removing the overload spring and I had no intention of doing that so I just installed the drop shackles on the back leaf springs. I think just the shackles are like 60bucks and take about an hour to install. The truck in my sig is the one I speak of.
crash-harris
Breaker! Breaker!
If you are looking for that way close to the ground look, I'll trade you my 2wd beams for your D60 
The D60 will hit the engine crossmember if you try to lower it that far. In my opinion, air springs are the only way to go on the rear to lower it way down and still be able to tow.
The D60 will hit the engine crossmember if you try to lower it that far. In my opinion, air springs are the only way to go on the rear to lower it way down and still be able to tow.
now lowering a 4wd isnt something i would do.
a 2wd would be cool with a set of "dream beams"
c-notch the rear frame, and install air ride on the back.
its not a very easy project to do correctly, lots of fab..
no you dont! trust me! they catch every f'n nail, and anything else possible
not to mention the tire roll when towing.
i may catch some flac for this pic..
these are 31 x 18" on a 15" rim, the truck i dubbed, "wannadualie"
and the last chevy i will ever own.
a 2wd would be cool with a set of "dream beams"
c-notch the rear frame, and install air ride on the back.
its not a very easy project to do correctly, lots of fab..
no you dont! trust me! they catch every f'n nail, and anything else possible
not to mention the tire roll when towing.
i may catch some flac for this pic..
these are 31 x 18" on a 15" rim, the truck i dubbed, "wannadualie"
and the last chevy i will ever own.
You must be registered for see images attach
Many guys here have lowered tow pigs. Hopefully they will be along soon
I know everyone does not like it, to each his own. I really like the look of them and if I am able to safely still two my car trailer then I would like to do it.
I am more of a car guy than a truck guy. I have a truck so that I can feed my car habit. All of my cars are lowered, and I have always liked the look of lowered duallys.
Yes the rear is drop shackles, and you extend the mounting point of the rear leaf springs up the frame closer to the cab. The rear give you a 4" advertised drop. The from is a 3" advertised drop and they do this by using a lowering I beam. They call them "dream beams". There are cheaper kits that use shorter springs in the front but this is the only kit I am considering at this time.
Yeah, I am trying to find the install instructions...I have seen them before but I can't find them right now. I want to say I remember them saying that you remove the overload spring. I have also considered putting air bags on to help in the rear if I have issues with the suspension bottoming out.
Do you have any pics of your truck with the rear lowered?
If you are looking for that way close to the ground look, I'll trade you my 2wd beams for your D60
The D60 will hit the engine crossmember if you try to lower it that far. In my opinion, air springs are the only way to go on the rear to lower it way down and still be able to tow.
I have not changed my sig yet, but I have a 2wd 89 f350, so I don't have a d60. The truck in my sig had a bad day.
now lowering a 4wd isnt something i would do.
a 2wd would be cool with a set of "dream beams"
c-notch the rear frame, and install air ride on the back.
its not a very easy project to do correctly, lots of fab..
no you dont! trust me! they catch every f'n nail, and anything else possible
not to mention the tire roll when towing.
i may catch some flac for this pic..
these are 31 x 18" on a 15" rim, the truck i dubbed, "wannadualie"
and the last chevy i will ever own.
You must be registered for see images attach
That's the kit I am looking at.
That's who I want to hear from.
http://thorbros.com/notches/8-pc-step-notch-kit-sold-pairs
this is what i would use for the rearend.
and buy the 10+ notch kit
this is what i would use for the rearend.
and buy the 10+ notch kit
I would not think that lowering the rear 4" I would need to notch the frame...but I don't know.
well, i tend to go to the extreme on my projects.
if im gonna lower a truck for pulling my car trailer, im going to LOWER THE HELL out of it.
sure, without a load on the back, youll be fine.
but when i towed a 4000 pound car, the rearend would hit on large bumps.
and i had a 3" c-notch.
when metal meets metal, it can do some crazy stuff. dont be the guy that jacknifes and rolls.
to answer your question, towing a car trailer will not be a problem, just dont go beyond your center of gravity.
physics can and will kick you square in the jewels.
LCAM-01XA
Full Access Member
The DJM kit is the right way of lowering a I-beam Ford. At least for the front. Belltech also used to make drop beams (supposedly even stronger than the DJM stuff, which is hardly weak to begin with), but they are no longer listed on their website, so my guess is they are no longer in production.
For the rear you can use DJM's setup but even after reworking the bump stops you'll have about 3" suspension up-travel left when empty, less when loaded heavy. The bump brackets for the overloads should be able to be relocated about 2" up, but that will require some fab work for which it's best that the bed is removed. Depending on how close your overloads are to the pads now, you may end up with them "slapping" every time you go over a bump unloaded - not really a drivability concern, but really freakin annoying. Dumping the overloads for a set of air bellows will solve all these issues, you don't need super-fancy setup with solenoids and all that nonsense, even simple industrial Schrader valves and a small plug-in air compressor (of the type used for car tires at home) will do the job just fine.
BTW depending on whether you plan on having a shop install that lowering kit ($$$), you may instead wanna look into 19.5" P30 GM wheels and some 225/70-19.5 tires - not gonna lower the truck, but the larger wheels change its overall look quite a bit (especially when painted in body color and dressed with stainless trim rings and center caps) and tires will make the thing handle like it's on rails and laugh at pretty much anything you can throw at a 1-ton truck.
For the rear you can use DJM's setup but even after reworking the bump stops you'll have about 3" suspension up-travel left when empty, less when loaded heavy. The bump brackets for the overloads should be able to be relocated about 2" up, but that will require some fab work for which it's best that the bed is removed. Depending on how close your overloads are to the pads now, you may end up with them "slapping" every time you go over a bump unloaded - not really a drivability concern, but really freakin annoying. Dumping the overloads for a set of air bellows will solve all these issues, you don't need super-fancy setup with solenoids and all that nonsense, even simple industrial Schrader valves and a small plug-in air compressor (of the type used for car tires at home) will do the job just fine.
BTW depending on whether you plan on having a shop install that lowering kit ($$$), you may instead wanna look into 19.5" P30 GM wheels and some 225/70-19.5 tires - not gonna lower the truck, but the larger wheels change its overall look quite a bit (especially when painted in body color and dressed with stainless trim rings and center caps) and tires will make the thing handle like it's on rails and laugh at pretty much anything you can throw at a 1-ton truck.
Thanks for your input. Do you have a link to some decent cheap bags for the rear?
