Regular cab longbed 4" rear drop

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foxcoupe89

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Hey, newbie here and I'm sure it's a simple but I searched and couldn't find the best answer! Like the title says what's the best way to lower the rear of a regular cab longbed truck 4 inches. The front is easy but I see kits advertised for regular cab and extended cab short beds. Thanks in advance guys!
 

sewlow

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Hangers & shackles. Get the ones for a reg. cab. Although I can't see there being much, if any difference.
Easier to do with the box off.
That driver side hanger can be a bee-atch because of the fuel tank in the way & the box on.
7 of us in the shop & none of us could get our mitts in there. Had to get the office girl with her tiny little hands to help. Even then, we glued the nuts to her fingers because she couldn't get in there while holding the nut with 2 fingers.
After all is installed, check the pinion angle. More than likely it'll have to be corrected with some wedges.
And then...(and THEN!) the centering pin head in the spring pack will have to be extended in order to reach through the wedge & into the hole in the spring perch.
GM lists 4 center pin lengths for 400's, depending on the spring pack configuration.
Get the next longest listed. More than likely, your truck uses the shortest one.
Then get an appropriate nut & crank it down to the head of the new center pin with a bit of red loc-tite. Take that to a bench grinder & round off the nut down to the circumference of the pin's head.
Doing this requires that the U-bolts be undone. Do not re-use them. They're torque-to-yield. One time use, only. New ones are something 4 or 5 bucks each.
Inspect the bottom plates that the U-bolts go through, too. Notorious for rusting out.
 
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Cheap Heap

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Does anyone have issues with hitting the axle on the frame or any bed clearance issues while towing or weight in the bed with a 4" rear drop? I want to go as low in the rear as possible without a notch or clearance issues while keeping the truck usable for hauling.
 

Cheap Heap

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Thanks, sewlow!

I can only assume you didn’t bottom anything out during that haul?

Do you have a build thread or any other details on that setup? I’m curious about the shocks or anything else that should be considered for a 2/4 drop.
 

sewlow

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Nope. No bottoming out.
Had to get the truck on the trailer just right so as to distribute the weight properly.
Nope. No build thread. My excuse is...http://www.gmt400.com/threads/the-s...-why-i-dont-have-a-build-thread-thread.22574/
My choice of shocks. BellTech Street Performers.
I'd recommend a rear sway bar. I used one from an SUV type 1/2t 400.
Urethane bushing kit, but it can be a bit of a PITA to install the ones for the control arms.
 
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Dahead76

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I had to notch the bed mount on both sides to get the DJM hanger to fit. I taped the nuts to a wrench to get between the gas tank and frame.
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