Suspension kit arrived

My disc brake and suspension kit arrived this evening. I kind of felt bad for the UPS guy. The kit came in seven boxes and some of them were heavy. Man I wish I could open them up but we are leaving on vacation to go up to Arkansas to see Cristy's family.

Started tearing down the suspension

Now that I have a plan for the suspension I started tearing it down. I had to go buy a ball joint separator. Sears had a nice one that can be used with a regular hammer or an air-hammer. The upper ball joints came apart easy but the lowers were a bitch. I ended up using the air-hammer to get the pickle fork wedged in place and then I had to hit it hard with a sledge hammer.

Ordering new brakes and suspension

After doing some research I have decided on Classic Performance Parts Grand Slam kit. It is a disc brake upgrade kit and a lowering kit. The kit comes with everything you need. I chose to drop the front of the truck 3.5" and 4" in the back. Merry Christmas to me!

Cleaning and more cleaning

So lesson learned. While the truck was still running (and puking oil) I should have taken it to the coin operated car wash with a gallon of degreaser. Instead I have spent weeks scraping, wire brushing and spraying Simple Green on the frame rails and suspension cross member. Here are the results so far: