I installed my Dakar leafs today. The install wasn't too bad. A 2nd person is almost a necesity though. Maneuvering the leafs around is a lot easier with two people. I also added the carrier bearing spacer. I've only got about 15 miles on the new springs, and I'm happy so far. The ride is smoother than stock. Potholes are not near as harsh when you hit em. The first inch or two of travel is soft, but then the firmness kicks in when you need it. The Donahoe shocks and the weight of the camper shell makes the ride real nice. The springs might settle a little bit, but as of right now the Dakars raised my truck about 1.5" higher than the Alcan AALs did. The overall lift is 3". I'll probably raise my front coilovers a little bit to make the ride more level. I'll give it a few days before I adjust anything.
Then I installed EBC rotors and Hawk ceramic brake pads. I got slotted rotors with dimples. The dimples make it appear to be a drilled rotor, but without weakening the rotor. Slotted and dimpled are less prone to cracking and warping than drilled and slotted, from what I've read. The install was pretty easy. All you need is a 17mm socket to remove the caliper, 12mm socket to remove the brake line bracket, clamps to compress the pistons, and some needle nose pliers to pull the pins. And a rubber hammer to knock the stock rotor off of the hub. The brakes feel good, but they need a week or so to get broken-in before I can really see how they perform. I included a picture of the part numbers on the boxes just in case anybody else wants to do this. I ordered the brakes from aj-usa.com.
I've got the stock wheels back on the truck. There was an error in the milling process that caused some vibration in 2 of the wheels. Boze made me a whole new set of wheels. They just arrived Friday. Instead of black powdercoat, I went with gunmetal gray. I also had the wheels made reverse rim, which means that the wheel will have a nice flat lip, longer spokes, no valve stem on the front, and a cleaner look overall. They look so awesome. I'll get the tires mounted this week, once the flush mount valve stems arrive.
My new beastly air jack
I love this jack. It made the job so easy.
It was gettin' dark outside. I'll get better pics later.
Then I installed EBC rotors and Hawk ceramic brake pads. I got slotted rotors with dimples. The dimples make it appear to be a drilled rotor, but without weakening the rotor. Slotted and dimpled are less prone to cracking and warping than drilled and slotted, from what I've read. The install was pretty easy. All you need is a 17mm socket to remove the caliper, 12mm socket to remove the brake line bracket, clamps to compress the pistons, and some needle nose pliers to pull the pins. And a rubber hammer to knock the stock rotor off of the hub. The brakes feel good, but they need a week or so to get broken-in before I can really see how they perform. I included a picture of the part numbers on the boxes just in case anybody else wants to do this. I ordered the brakes from aj-usa.com.
I've got the stock wheels back on the truck. There was an error in the milling process that caused some vibration in 2 of the wheels. Boze made me a whole new set of wheels. They just arrived Friday. Instead of black powdercoat, I went with gunmetal gray. I also had the wheels made reverse rim, which means that the wheel will have a nice flat lip, longer spokes, no valve stem on the front, and a cleaner look overall. They look so awesome. I'll get the tires mounted this week, once the flush mount valve stems arrive.
My new beastly air jack
I love this jack. It made the job so easy.It was gettin' dark outside. I'll get better pics later.
