Remove un-leveling kit

[thecastle]

So I'm new to truck mods. I purchased a 2019 Ram 3500 SRW truck used. It has stock 20" wheels/tires, and I use the truck mostly as a tow vehicle for my company. I noticed when trying to level my vehicle and trailer my truck is nose high. Unloaded the front measure 43" high and the rear is 42" high (slight variation side/side). The problem gets worse when I add a trailer and my rear end sags another 1" or so. Then I'm likey 2" nose high (41" at rear, never measured the front). I'd like to remove this "un-leveling" kit as 3" is way too much to level this truck, plus it makes the headlights unusable at night while towing. Do you think taking it to the dealer is my best bet to return it to stock, if I don't want to DIY. I'm not sure why someone would think making the nose higher than the rear is helpful on this truck? Should I leave it in place is there some advantage I'm missing in towing? Or is there some advantage for off roading? I don't plan to change the wheels and tires.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

First you need to see if it has a spacer or were the springs changed, if its just spacers you can just pull them out if it is springs you need to get a set of stock springs

 

[cj8rockcrawler]

If you have a spring leveling kit, I'm sure someone on the site would be happy to trade their stock springs with you as well.

 

[thecastle]

I spent time today looking carefully at the front of the truck. The shocks were mopar, and the springs maybe stock? I'm not sure since there were no lables. It looks like it was just a spacer. So I would need the stock spring perch? While I've wrenched a fair amount of cars, trucks are new to me as well as the whole concept of just lifting one end. So I can't say for sure. What I'm after is being able to tow at night while seeing the road ahead, as well as towing as close to level as possible. Any suggestions for rasing the rear to level the truck as a cheaper option than removing the front lift?

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

I spent time today looking carefully at the front of the truck. The shocks were mopar, and the springs maybe stock? I'm not sure since there were no lables. It looks like it was just a spacer. So I would need the stock spring perch? While I've wrenched a fair amount of cars, trucks are new to me as well as the whole concept of just lifting one end. So I can't say for sure. What I'm after is being able to tow at night while seeing the road ahead, as well as towing as close to level as possible. Any suggestions for rasing the rear to level the truck as a cheaper option than removing the front lift?

That’s a spacer lift. Personally I think they’re perfectly fine although I don’t like them over 2”. I think over 2” it’s time to shop for springs.

Anyway, unless you have air suspension, you can lift the rear to match with a lift block (3500 are leaf sprung) or you can lower the front down.

I have a 1” front /0” rear on my 2500 and I think it’s perfect. Looks fine even with a trailer

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

Pull the spacer out and you may need new spring isolators no biggy… personally i think leveling kits are silly a truck that gets used for work should have a factory rake unloaded even if lifted it should still have more height in the rear

 

[thecastle]

Unfortunately I don't have rear air-suspension, and no easy way to lift the rear without modification. I would lift the rear if its cheaper than removing the front lift to get to the same spot, and I don't loose capability. I would leave it alone if it was 1" leveling and the truck towed level. But 3" and the truck is always nose high even without a load in it, and its worse with a load and trailer. 3" is too much unless you mod the rear end as these trucks have about a 2" rake. As you can see in my picture its pretty nose high even with a litish trailer on the truck, and probably ~500 lbs of equipment in the bed.

Okay, new spring perches and some spring compressors and they are out of there.

 

[thecastle]

Looks like a 1" is all thats needed to run some fairly good sized off road tires.

 

[Riddick]

The dealer is more than capable of removing the spacer but that's the most expensive route. If you are not able to do it yourself I would research some off road/truck shops and take it to a reputable one. You will need to have the truck aligned once you remove the spacer. Be prepared to pay for about 2 hours of labor and the alignment. Also, since that is a fairly big spacer lift you more than likely have shock extenders installed, make sure they remove those in conjunction with the spacer.

 

[thecastle]

I have a customer who does custom truck modifications and builds service body trucks who could also do the work for me (they installed my 50 gallon tank), I just figured the dealer would have the parts in stock depending on what I need. What do I need to look for on the shocks? I didn't see anything that looked like a spacer or extender for the shocks. I was figuring the lift has probably killed/worn the front shocks and was planning on replacing them as well since they were working so far outside of their normal range with a 3" front lift. Nothing kills shocks faster than lifting or lowering your vehicle significantly. The front is also kind of bouncy so I think its a good indicator the shocks are tired. The truck also has 52K miles, I purchased it with 46K, and all of the miles I've had it, its been towing, mostly back and forth from Houston to Colorado springs.

P.S. I figured some kid probably owned the truck before me and did their mods as cheaply as possible ;-) Why do a 1" leveling when 3" is way higher? But we'll do it with spacers instead of new springs, control arms, shocks and etc, cause awesome and we don't need that extra stuff anyway! LOL

 

[Riddick]

I have a customer who does custom truck modifications and builds service body trucks who could also do the work for me (they installed my 50 gallon tank), I just figured the dealer would have the parts in stock depending on what I need. What do I need to look for on the shocks? I didn't see anything that looked like a spacer or extender for the shocks. I was figuring the lift has probably killed/worn the front shocks and was planning on replacing them as well since they were working so far outside of their normal range with a 3" front lift. Nothing kills shocks faster than lifting or lowering your vehicle significantly. The front is also kind of bouncy so I think its a good indicator the shocks are tired. The truck also has 52K miles, I purchased it with 46K, and all of the miles I've had it, its been towing, mostly back and forth from Houston to Colorado springs.

P.S. I figured some kid probably owned the truck before me and did their mods as cheaply as possible ;-) Why do a 1" leveling when 3" is way higher? But we'll do it with spacers instead of new springs, control arms, shocks and etc, cause awesome and we don't need that extra stuff anyway! LOL

The shock extenders go on the bottom of the shock, please see link below. If you crawl under your truck it should be obvious if you have them. I will say if you do not have them your stock shock are way over extended! The stock shocks are not great by any means, I highly suggest swapping them out when you remove the spacer. You have to remove the lower shock bolt to remove the spring/spacer so you are literally one bolt away from removing the shock. Popular aftermarket brands are Fox and Bilstein, both will be an upgrade over OEM.

Traxda - Kit #605090 2013 – 2022 Dodge Ram 3500, 2014-2022 Dodge Ram 2500 Front Shock Extenders and Hardware - Traxda

2013 – 2022 Dodge Ram 3500, 2014-2022 Dodge Ram 2500 Front Shock Extenders and Hardware

traxdaliftkits.com

 

[thecastle]

Thanks! I'll go back out to the truck today now that I know what to look for and check out to see if there are spacers. My suspicion is no on the shock spacers, but I didn't know what to look for..... I'm probably going to take it to my customers shop who specializes in these mods and have him remove the front spring spacers, put in fox shocks (front and rear), and maybe go crazy and add some rear air bags to ensure level towing, or not on the air bags. I just want a good tow vehicle that will tow level on pavement, and occasionally drive down long dirt/gravel roads (no crazy off roading, but some large construction sites, and some fun). I think the fox 2.0 shocks should be the ticket, plus they are pretty cheap (in the world of suspension). I may as well do the shocks if there was no spacer on them.

 

[tchur1]

Looks like a 1" is all thats needed to run some fairly good sized off road tires.

I would just remove the spacers yourself (or have your customer that does this work do it) It looks like you have stock springs in there still so just getting the spacers out should get you what you need.

You also dont NEED any lift to clear larger tires. Im running 37s on stock suspension and only had to do some minor trimming on the fender liner to get them to clear everything.

 

[Riddick]

Thanks! I'll go back out to the truck today now that I know what to look for and check out to see if there are spacers. My suspicion is no on the shock spacers, but I didn't know what to look for..... I'm probably going to take it to my customers shop who specializes in these mods and have him remove the front spring spacers, put in fox shocks (front and rear), and maybe go crazy and add some rear air bags to ensure level towing, or not on the air bags. I just want a good tow vehicle that will tow level on pavement, and occasionally drive down long dirt/gravel roads (no crazy off roading, but some large construction sites, and some fun). I think the fox 2.0 shocks should be the ticket, plus they are pretty cheap (in the world of suspension). I may as well do the shocks if there was no spacer on them.

I personally would hold off on adding air bags to the rear of the truck. With the trailer above your 3500 will have plenty of rake (rear higher) once you remove the front spacers, keep us posted. I recently installed the Fox 2.0s all the way around and am happy with the results. I was able to find them on ebay for 151 a piece..

 

[G Mcpherson]

You won't need Spring compressors. Just put the truck up on stands and remove the front wheels. Let the axle droop on each side to lower it enough to get the spacer out. You will need to remove the Brake line bolt for that to flex. Also the Shock bottom bolts. Look at Thurens website for instructions if you need.

 

[thecastle]

Thanks for everyones help. I’ve opted to remove the front lift, and revert to stock, instead of raising the rear. I did check and the owner who did this also added shock spacers in addition the spring spacers. The front springs are stock.

I went ahead and I’m having my customer do the work. while i agree it doesn’t look to hard to do and I’ve done suspension work before. Especially since these are not coil overs and will need some quality time with spring compressors.

im returning the front to stock, and I’m also going to try a pair of sulastic shackles on the rear. I’ve not decided if I’m putting in new shocks yet, as they seem to be in short supply here in houston for some unexplained reason. I’m thinking bilstien 4600 to the truck.

 

[thecastle]

The 3” front leveling kit comes off today. Return to stock rose height. I’m also putting on sulastic rear schakles. So it will be nice to see if they make a real difference. This weekend I’m replacing the stock shocks with bilstien 4600s. I’ll diy since the suspension is so easy to work on these trucks. I’m amazed at how cheap shocks are for trucks. Makes one wonder if they are quality….. I had an X5M with the auto leveling suspension, and adaptive shocks. They were $1200 each for the rears, not including installation and there are no aftermarket options. For the ram I can buy all 4 for $330, and with some simple hand tools replace them.

 

[Gondul]

This weekend I’m replacing the stock shocks with bilstien 4600s. I’ll diy since the suspension is so easy to work on these trucks.

FWIW, when I reached out Shock Surplus they said the 4600s are no different than OEM shocks, just better construction materials...for my needs (DD, towing, some back dirt roads) they recommended the 5100s.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

FWIW, when I reached out Shock Surplus they said the 4600s are no different than OEM shocks, just better construction materials...for my needs (DD, towing, some back dirt roads) they recommended the 5100s.

They must have been refering to the trucks that come stock with the 4600s because there is a difference between them and the other oem shocks also if you look the 5100s do not have a shock for these trucks last time i checked anyway…

 

[Gondul]

They must have been refering to the trucks that come stock with the 4600s because there is a difference between them and the other oem shocks also if you look the 5100s do not have a shock for these trucks last time i checked anyway…

FWIW, this was my conversation with them...

"4600 is an OEM replacement, so if you want a stock ride, this is the one to get... it isn't any 'better' than OEM."
"5100 does better at towing/hauling based on their own experience putting them on our trucks and customer feedback "

When asked about the 5100 front shocks being "only lifted trucks" they stated..
"Your compressed side is what matters the most and the difference is marginally different which should be perfectly fine."
So the 5100 will fit. We have compared them to 4600 with are OE replacements and this is what we get:

Bilstein 4600 Front
2 x 24-302074 - Extended Length: 21.45" - Collapsed Length 14.65"

Bilstein 5100 Front
2 x 24-268639 - Extended Length: 22.63" - Collapsed Length 15.03"

The compressed side is a little north of 0.25" and the extended is about a 1.25" difference. Your compressed side is what matters the most and the difference is marginally different which should be perfectly fine.