LMM: Removing a lift.

[Novak]

There is no exact science to grinding this down. I used a 3" flap wheel on an electric grinder to smooth it out. I emphasize to TAKE YOUR TIME, don't force it down because this is aluminum and that flap wheel will eat through that differential housing in seconds with no force so be careful.

 

[Novak]

What the bushing looks like when tapped into the mount. This bolt is the one that comes with the kit from Cognito FYI.

 

[Novak]

This is the halfway point of the Cognito mount, however the first steps are important. The second picture shows how flush the mount is to the housing, this is an important trend for all three bolts. I used blue Permatex 24200 for thread lock and torqued the bolts down to 30ft-lbs and got a nice flush mount out of each bolt. If you don't get a flush mount Cognito says us to a washer to "shim" but if it were me I would used an air hammer and reshape the mounting area for my own personal comfort.
There is still one step left and that is drilling a hole into the differential housing for the last bolt but I wanna get an oring sized up first so I can put a part number that we can use to seal the bolt that will go through the drilled hole

 

[Novak]

Mounted up drop shackles, removed all the right hand tow package bolts and removed he stock shackle and installed the new drop shackle and repeated same process on the left hand side. Do it on side at a time you don't have to fully drop the tow package

 

[Novak]

Mounted up leaf packs, and left the bushing bolts on either end loose-ish until I have the weight down on tires and then I'll run through them and torque them and UBolts again.
If you have any trouble getting the little nipple on the bottom side of the pack lined up just use a ratchet strap to pick up on the pinion!



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[Novak]

Rear Bilsteins installed with factory hardware.

 

[Novak]

Brake line bulkhead reinstalled, after disconnecting this line I might as well flush all the old DOT out with some fresh fluid when I do the initial start up and bleed. Ran the breather tube to the top of the diff and other than torquing after getting weight on the ground the rear is done!

Just a little mock up!

 

[wilrob]

Patiently waiting to see this sucker on the ground... taking that lift off seems like more work than I thought!

 

[lutzjk913]

Patiently waiting to see this sucker on the ground... taking that lift off seems like more work than I thought!

Me too. Can't wait to see this

 

[Novak]

Prior to installing the LCA's you may want to check the mounting ears for anything like this, some lifts aren't an exact machine fit and they will suck your bolt holes in, I just used a punch and patience and evened them out and the LCA's went in easier.

After installing the LCA I moved onto the stock knuckle and mounted everything finger tight I totally, tighten the lower ball joints first because the upper required me to back up with a
7/32 Allen
18MM ratchet closed end

Once your done mounting the ball joints INSTALL NEW COTTER PINS ON LOWER BALL JOINT

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[Novak]

I installed the brake assembly and pushed the pistons down with my torsion key tool!
Ran the wheel speed sensor line up the control and plugged it in.




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[Novak]

*Each lift is different some use stock steering location and some don't and this step will ultimately depend on what you took off originally!
My lift advised me to flip the sway bar upside down when the lift was installed of course, however a way for you to tell if yours is flipped upside down is if the end of the sway bar points upwards like this

So just removed these bolts (x2 on each side) and swapped the bar right side up. Make sure your stabilizer bar is orientated above the tie rod once you mount it back up!

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[Novak]

Installed the front shocks with fresh hardware and note that the bolt head is facing the CV, more or less just peace of mind

 

[Novak]

Serviced both axles, why not?! The front diff is literally sitting on my tailgate and I can service both of them standing upright like the caveman dreamed of!

 

[Novak]

I removed the Vent cap on the front differential in preparation to drill the last needed hole to finalize the mount.

I drilled the hole through the mounting hole and used it as a pilot after stuff the inside of the diff with tape and paper towels to grab all the shavings

Removed the mount from the differential and cleaned both sides of the new hole with degreaser to get the surfaces ready for RTV, I then applied the RTV to both sides of new hole and reinstalled the diff mount and put blue locktite on every bolt thread including the one going through the housing, just slide it through the housing and use a rag soaked in degreaser to clean the threads off and apply your locktite.

 

[Chevy1925]

I would suggest you loosen the upper and lower control arm bolts until you have the truck at the ride height you want. Not doing this puts the bushings in a bind while at ride height and will kill them quicker. Unless you put poly/urethane/delrin in their place.

 

[Novak]

Then torqued to 70ftlbs

 

[Novak]

Now for the meat n' taters of this steakhouse dinner

degreased and cleaned up surfaces to be welded on.

 

[Novak]

This is where you need to pay attention,
When you "mock up" the differential mount you need to measure, measure, measure and when you're done do it again. You'll notice that my mount and the back end of my LCA ear there is the same distinct "C" shape, it's a good reference point to start with. And once you find that measure again. Honestly this part took 3 hours, why you in a hurry? Measure it again....

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[Novak]

Once we had our measurements figured it we started cutting down the diff mount.

Both the LCA ear and diff mount shared the same "C" shaped piece and that was the part that was welded onto the LCA ear at the factory so there can only be 1 "C" shaped piece when everything is done so do your best to smoothly grind the one off the LCA ear.

Once you have that done then grind UNDER the "C" piece on the diff mount