I have 1 1997 swb with stepside bed... 2wd with 350 and i was wondering that instead of buying an expensive lowering kit, couldnt i just remove a leaf spring or two from the back to lower it and be level with the front? if so, how many leafs would need to come out? would this worsen or improve my handling/ride quality/body roll? thanks

 

I can only see that going very baddly.

 

Actually that is a perfectly fine way to lower it. The only downfall is your truck will lose a little load capacity. It will ride better empty though. Just take out one and it will level your truck out. You should use a couple good c-clamps to hold them together before you take the bolt out of the middle (makes reasembly alot easier). Don't take out the very bottom one. I think I took out the 2nd from the bottom when I did mine. I had lowered the front with spindles (2 inches) and put the lowering shackles in the rear (2 inches) and it was raked too much so I took out a leaf and it sat perfect and rode awesome! Again...your truck will not haul as much once you do that. I didn't care on mine b/c it was definitely not a work truck.

 

Wow i am suprised. Well in that case more power to ya. I honestly had no idea. It just didnt sound like a great idea to me.

 

wow sorry to wake a dead horse.. just been busy with other things and havent visited in a while.. well i have a new ride (2010 Mustang GT) but i kept ol' red and decided some things were in order to get her back into shape.. replacing the broken front air dam is in progress, and while i was at it, i looked and saw that some lowering shackles for the leafs in the back for 2" drop was only about $40-50 depending on the company. either using the shackles or removing a leaf spring, would i need to replace the shocks/struts in the rear? and if i just buy a kit to lower the back 4" and front 2", most commonly with the spindles you mentioned shamrock, would i then need to replace the shocks and struts? (im assuming struts in the back and shocks in the front, correct?) thanks again for the help in the previous posts!

 

You have shocks all the way around on your truck. The front should be OK and the rear may be OK with the stock shocks. I would lower it and drive it to see how it rides. That will tell you a lot. There are a few factors - are your current shocks the original's, are they weak already, etc. So drop that bad boy and take it for a ride and you be the judge. I have done some in the past and the owner was perfectly happy using the stock shocks and then I have had the guys that just had to have the shorter shocks installed. Personally the only time I replaced my shocks (again ever vehicle is different) is when I did a 4"-6" drop on a 94 extra cab that I had for a while. Good luck and let us know how it works out.

 

thanks alot man. ive been thinking and looking, and since the shocks are original, i think im gonna take the more conservative route and just drop the back 2-3 inches... im running fairly wide tires that are still stock height so i dont want any rubbing with the fenders if i hit a large bump or pothole (which we seem to have a lot of in backwoods alabama) and the tires are 255/70r15 if anybody is looking for a set that is fairly wide and still stock height, so speedo adjustment is not needed... i wanna drop it, maybe put some different wheels on it, new tires cause the ones i have now are worn badly, roll pan, new grille (possibly billet),.. ah i could go on and on... this is too addicting!! need money though... job hunting sucks!!