[racinhart]

everyday driving and wear has killed my tie rod ends. has anyone replaced their tie rod ends with the larger a/m ones the off road guys use. is this possible on my 2wd and is it worth it for longevity and durability. thanks guys

 

[2SloTaco]

I have had the same problem there too. I replaced everything in my front end except the power steering rack. I guess the many years of riding on the ground really took a toll on my suspension. Have you popped any ball joints?

 

[slamdtaco]

What year is your truck. Mine is a 95 and has been lowered about 2 1/2 yrs. No problems.(yet)

 

[2SloTaco]

My truck is also a 95. The reason I think mine wore everything out is the severity of the lowering. I had a 5/7 drop. Now the truck has some 2 1/2 in. springs from E.L. and I have had no more problems in a couple of years. I want to bag it soon though!

 

[slamdtaco]

I have about a 6/7 drop and it's been that low for about 2 yrs. How long was yours that low? I did pop 1 ball joint, but I think that was because the shop only flipped the top one. I replaced it and flipped the bottom ones and no probs since.

 

[2SloTaco]

I think that the problem with my truck was with the quality of the parts that I used. I used the POS upper and lower control arms from Chassis Tech and their 2" springs. I hope everyone sees this post so I can warn them to stay away from these products. They were very poor quality, and definately wouldn't stand behind their product.

 

[racinhart]

no i have not popped a ball joint yet, that's next i'm sure. my truck is a '99 w/ Bell Tech coils up front and chassis tech drop leaves w/ blocks in back- aprox. 3"5". I do a lot of pounding driving through the streets of Houston and these streets suck. I think it's in my best interest to get the DJM control arms and go buy stock springs-if anyone has stock springs for a '99 2.4 standard cab let me know. I feel like the drop coils are not as good as expected for ride comfort.

 

[racinhart]

oh yeah, it's been lowered since i've had it for the past two years. no other major problems until this one now. so i've got to replace rod ends first then i'll buy the DJM control arms. thanks to all of you for the input and thanks to the guys running this kick ass site.

 

[Syke Fu]

6/7 drop

Is that a static 6/7 drop? And how do you drive yours that low without tearing up your frame? Also, how high is yours off the ground?

 

[slamdtaco]

Re: 6/7 drop

Not sure what you mean by static. I have 225/40/18's so that is a little bigger than a smaller 17" tire. My frame never hits anything. The only thing that hits is the front crossmember and the front leaf spring hangers on speed bumps. Maybe it's my shocks that keep me from dragging the frame. I'll measure it for you in about an hour or 2.

 

[slamdtaco]

Re: 6/7 drop

I measured right under the front and rear body mounts for the cab. The frame is 3 1/4" in the front and 3 3/4" in the rear from the ground.

 

[Syke Fu]

Re: 6/7 drop

Damn! I'm definitely gonna consider that 4/5 drop then. Thanks for the info.

 

[slamdtaco]

Re: 6/7 drop

Here's my newest pic. It shows the front about an inch lower than the other pic.

 

[Syke Fu]

Re: 6/7 drop

I'm not seeing the pic. Is it an attachment?

 

[slamdtaco]

Re: 6/7 drop

The pic to the left, under my name. It's the same angle, but newer and is an inch lower in the front.

 

[Syke Fu]

Re: 6/7 drop

Oh i see. One more question for you. About how far do you drive in an average day with that drop?

 

[slamdtaco]

Re: 6/7 drop

about 40 miles per day. I've put 40k miles on it since I bought it, probably 30-35k while lowered