Old Dog New Tricks
Story by Mark Dunham Photography by DJM
Four wheel drives have been around a long time. In fact the first recorded 4WD may be a French road tractor built in 1898. More recently Dodge began to mass produce 4WD’s in 1934, Ford introduced their first 4WD “F” series in 1948, and in 1957 Chevy got on board with a 4WD pick up of their own. The popularity of 4WD and off road has never been greater, so your wondering, why am I telling you about 4WD’s I am a lowering guy! Patience gentle reader patience, old dog - new tricks. There’s a new sheriff in town, a new fad is born, it’s the latest thing, give up? Dropping 4WD’s used to be an adventure in the world of custom suspension sometimes it worked, sometimes, well you know. Times have changed, four wheel trucks don’t just pull stumps and yank cows from the mud, they are the family ride, the toy hauler, the project truck. Just as trucks have become a preferred cruising choice, 4WD trucks have taken their rightful place in the business of urban people hauling. The modern 4WD can be lowered just like their 2WD cousins, infact those 22’s that you’ve had your eye on would look pretty hot on that 4WD Avalanche, if only you could lower it, and were going to show you just how to do it. We knew DJM Suspension had been working on a line of 4WD lowering kits so off we went to DJM to find out what was going down. What was going down is a 2004 4WD Chevy Avalanche. Using their unique Calmax control arm system DJM brought the front down 3 inches while maintaining the full use of the four wheel drive and the GM alignment figures. On the rear they used a coil spring and hardware combo along with some frame modifications that allows a 3 inch drop with enough suspension travel that you cannot tell your driving a lowered truck. Seems almost like magic, but it drove like stock, with improved handling, Old dog - new tricks. Here’s how it went down.
#1 Careful measurements should be the first step in any lowering job |
#2 This identifies any bias the truck may have, and defines the OE stance. |
#3 After securing the truck with a good jack stand remove the front wheel. Now remove the tie-rod end. This will free up the spindle for better access. |
 #4 Making a simple hanger for the brake caliper before removing it will save you from a classic mistake. You do not want to damage the brake lines by letting it hang. |
 #5 Loosen and remove the 10mm bolts that secure the break line to the upper control arm, loosen and remove the cap head screws securing the caliper to the steering knuckle and remove the caliper. |
 #6 You can now see the caliper out of harms way and not hanging by the brake line. |
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 #8 Remove the shock absorber. |
 #9 Remove the center axle nut from the front axle |
 #10 Completely remove the front axle. Removing the sway bar end link first will make it easier |
 #11 loosen the lower ball joint nut but do not remove it. This will hold the spindle on when you break the taper. Now break the tension on the lower ball joint taper by hitting the side of the casting with a hammer or if nessecary use the correct size pickle fork to break it. Be careful you will probably mess up the ball joint boot. The Calmax control arms come with new ball joints and boots however. |
 #12 Support the control arm with a bottle jack. Remove the nut and free the spindle. Lift the control arm slowly |
 #13 Remove the control arm |
 #14 Now you have the front end to the point you can start to install the new 3” control arm |
 #15 Pre-fit the control arm, torsion bar and torsion key. Make sure everything slips in freely. you may have to sand the hex end of the torsion bar to remove excess paint or clean rust off the keys. |
 #16 Even if the control arms come pre-drilled for the grease pathways always re-drill just to make sure they are clear.. After installing the grease zerks pre-grease the pivot points. Now is the time to find out if everything’s is flowing well. |
 #17 With the ball joint boot in place fill the ball joint with grease. pre-lubing at this point really makes the ball joint last longer. |
 #18 Hang the new control arm on the truck. Give the tabs on the receiver a little tap with a hammer to open them slightly. this makes it easier to slide the bushing into place. Replace the bolts but do not tighten the nuts. |
 #19 This is the finished control arm. This will give you an idea how to index the torsion bar when fitting it to the control arm and torsion key. As you slide the torsion bar into the key you will be slightly lower that the finished height after the arm is pulled up and the key is bottomed out |
 #20 Before putting to much tension on the control arm install the lead bolts about half way. This will prevent any chance of stripping the threads. Now you can completely install all the parts that were removed. |
 #21 Make sure to use the proper front shock absorber and install with the nut facing outside. |
Make sure to use the proper front shock absorber and install with the nut facing outside. |
 #23 Remove the sway bar end links. loosen but do not remove passenger side D bushing. Remove drivers side D bushing and slide the sway bar to the passenger side so the next hole in the truck lines up with the D bushing mount. There is only one hole the other will have to be line drilled. |
#23 Remove the sway bar end links. loosen but do not remove passenger side D bushing. Remove drivers side D bushing and slide the sway bar to the passenger side so the next hole in the truck lines up with the D bushing mount. There is only one hole the other will have to be line drilled. |
 #25 Unbolt the trailing arm at the axle |
 . #26 Install the trailing arm lowering bracket with the supplied hardware. Use 3 !/2”x 1 1/4 bolts on each side. Then install the arm with supplied hardware |
 #27 Removing the bump stop mount is optional. Start by removing the sheet metal bracket welded on the frame. We used a plasma cutter because it makes it quick to completely remove the bracket. Be careful not to cut into the frame. |
 #28 This is the bracket that was cut. Notice a careful, clean cut will not prevent the bracket from being re-attached in the future. |
 #29 With a little cleanup using a 4” grinder and some touch up paint the frame looks stock. |
 #30 Using the cut out as a template mark the spot for the new bump stop. Drill with a 5/16 Drill |
 #31 Now tap with 3/8-16 thread. |
 #32 Screw in the new bumps stop directly. Part # 10s |
 #33 Install the bolt that will serve as a new mount for the relocated sway bar link. Use the 1/2” x5 bolt supplied and insert though the stock mount using in 1” spacer inside the the mount. Tighten with the standard 1/2” nut. Now you have a solid mount that locates the sway bar out of the way of the pan hard bracket. Install the spring and jack up the rear end to bring everything together. Install the link with the suppled hardware. Adding a little grease to the bushing would be a good idea now. |
 #34 Finally install the new shock absorbers and install the wheels. Your done |
 #35 It is important to move the truck to seat the torsion bars, move the truck back and forward applying the breaks. Using a torque wrench tighten the nylock nuts to 30 ft lbs and pre-align |
 #36 Always check and record the after installation measurement. |
DJM tells us
this kit will also work on many other GM application such as Suburban, Yukon,
Escalade, Tahoe even the 4wd Silverado using a Hanger/Shackle rear kit. |
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