Question on installing my 2" drop springs

[crsevns90]

I have some 2" drop roush springs that I am planning on installing within the next few days on my '02. My question is can i just unhook the swaybar, shocks and lower ball joint and swing the whole spindle upwards and the lower control arm down and put in the spring that way without removing all of the brake parts and the spindle?

 

[Delta88]

I see this question has been here a while but, in case you never got an answer, I recently installed Western Chassis 2" drop coils in my '05 and it was dead simple. With the front on stands, and placing a floor jack under the lower control arm, disconnecting the sway bar end link and tie rod end, and removing the brake caliper and ABS sensor, I then removed the clamp bolt that holds the spindle to the upper ball joint. I was pleasantly surprised at how easily the ball joint stud separated from the spindle. In my youth I disassembled plenty of 60's and 70's GM cars to change coils or convert to disc brakes. Separating the ball joints from the spindle was always the trickiest part. Anyway, all that was left was to lower the jack and gently pry the spring loose, allowing it to simply drop out onto the driveway.

Obviously, installation of the replacement coils was even easier due to their shorter overall length. The whole job took less than 2 hours for both sides with the second sie going much faster, of course.

 

[JoshT]

Easy to separate the upper from the spindle? How? I spent 1-1.5 hours on that by itself when I did my lower ball joints on the 99. Maybe mine were just stuck worse. Ofcourse being a 99 with 150K miles probably didn't help.

 

[constant_projecttruck]

Just thank god you dont have Ibeams.

 

[Delta88]

Easy to separate the upper from the spindle? How? I spent 1-1.5 hours on that by itself when I did my lower ball joints on the 99. Maybe mine were just stuck worse. Ofcourse being a 99 with 150K miles probably didn't help.

That must have been the difference. My '05 has about 30k miles so things haven't had a chance to "weld" themselves together so much. I used a little spray lube, removed the pinch bolt and the spindle nearly fell out on it's own. After cleaning everything up for reassembly, I used a small dab of anti-seize where the stud goes into the upper.