I'll definitely be posting pics of the install. Hopefully this thread can turn out well, and be a decent how-to for the next guy!

 

It specifically says it will not fit two door trucks. Not sure why, though

 

I began the install by removing the driver side upper and lower control arms. The instructions tell you to use some torsion bar tool to unload and remove the tbars. I don't have that tool, so I used my super secret alternate method (more on that later.)

I first backed out the tbar adjustment bolts all the way:


I then began taking the control arms and knuckle apart. Remove the brakes/rotor, and bust the tie rod off:


At this point, you'll need to separate the upper and lower ball joints from the steering knuckle. This is where my alternate t bar method comes in.

So, you still have some spring tension on the t bar, and and lower control arm. With a floor jack under the lower ball joint, and taking tension off the suspension, loosen the upper ball joint nut, but leave it threaded on the ball joint stud. Smack the knuckle with a large hammer to break the ball joint loose. Remove upper ball joint nut, and raise upper control arm away. Slowly lower the floor jack, allowing the lower control arm to drop down.

With a 36mm socket and impact, remove the axle nut. Remove lower ball joint nut, and separate from steering knuckle. There is the ABS wire attached to the knuckle. I just left it attachedto the kuckle, and set it out of the way:

 

Now, with the knuckle out of the way, it's time to remove the control arms and shock. The shock is simple enough, bolt on bottom, and a bolt on top, and it comes right out.

The upper control arm has two bolts, where it pivots on the frame. Keep in mind, the bolts won't turn, only the nuts. The bolts aren't round, they have a flat side, this is how the alignment is adjusted. Remove both bolts, and remove upper control arm:


The lower arm is fairly easy as well. It also is held in by two bolts. The front bolt is inside the frame, but there is an access hole to reach it. You will have to drop the sway bar to access this hole, though:


Once both lower control arm bolts are out, slide the arm out of the brackets. The tbar will still be attached at this point:



Using the same large hammer from earlier, drive the lower control arm towards the front of the truck, until it's off the tbar.

So, this is as far as I've gotten, before I decided to call it a night:



Tomorrow I should have the passenger side broke down, and have the tbars and their crossmember removed. After that, it's time to drop the diff! I'll be sure to keep this thread updated with my progress. If anyone has any questions, or wants specific pics, lemme know!

 

Great documentation so far! This will be a good thread for people to reference.

 

Thanks for the write up so far. I can already tell that I'll be looking at this thread before the installation instructions that come with the kit! If what you said is true, then they are no different from the 2.5 lift instructions, which I only used for the differential cutting. Although they are good, your picture quality is A LOT clearer and detailed then theirs lol.

 

What is nice about their instructions is they tell you the size of all the fasteners. I can eyeball a 3/4 vs an 11/16, but an 18mm or a 21mm? Forget about it.

 

Got the passenger side all busted down:



Next came the torsion bars. Since at this point, I had the t bars completely unloaded, i was able to completely remove the t bar adjustment bolt, and the block it threads into, leaving the torsion bars and keys like so, moving freely:



To remove the torsion bars from the vehicle, they need to first be removed from the keys. I loosened the nuts holding the tbar crossmember to the frame, but left the nut on. This allowed some movement of the cross member. I then "slide hammered" the tbars forward and backward, until they came out of the keys. CAUTION: when the tbars come out, the keys will drop out. They are fairly heavy, and will not feel good when it hits you right in the face! (And no, I didn't have to learn this lesson the hard way, lol)

Victory against the tbars!



Now with those out of the way, you can drop the tbar crossmember down. Once it's down, go ahead and remove the crossmember hangers:



The bolt is accessed through a hole in the frame:



Be careful when removing this bolt, so as to not drop it inside the frame!

That's all so far, I might go back out later and drop the front driveshaft, though. After that, it's time to drop the front diff!

(Sorry for the potato quality of the pics, it's hard to take a decent photo under the truck with crappy lighting. If anyone needs or wants a better pic, let me know!)

 

Not sure about anyone else, but coming out nicely for me... can see everything your describing.

 

So, had some more energy, and decided to drop the diff!

First, remove the drive shaft. To keep the shaft from turning, engage 4wd, with truck in park:



Now you'll need to disconnect the wire by the actuator housing:



Also, the actuator cable itself will need to be disconnected from the vacuum actuator, if yours is so equipped. I've already converted mine to a posi lock setup, so I just disconnected it from the bracket I made.

Now it's time to start unbolting the diff. You will need to have some support under the diff before you start unbolting it. It's heavy, and not gonna feel good when it lands on your face. A floor jack works well.

There are three locations the diff is secured to the truck. I began by removing the two bolts on the passenger side axle tube. These are the easiest to get to. There is a bolt and bracket at the bottom of the diff housing. Remove that bolt, and cut the bracket according to the instructions:



Not the best picture, but there was an "L" shaped piece on the right side of that bracket. This must be removed in order for the diff to come down.


The last bolt is on the top of the diff. You can get a wrench on the bolt head fairly easily, the nut is accessed through the driver side wheel well. There is a hole in the frame that is supposed to give access to it. Mine wasn't quite wide enough, so I had to cut a little:



Using a sawzall, I made two vertical cuts, and beat the metal down with my BFH. This granted enough clearance to get the impact on the nut.

When all four bolts are removed, the diff will be completely free. It took a precise series of yanking, shoving, and wiggling, but it eventually dropped down. Lower the floor jack, remove the vent tube, and violá! This is what your front diff looks like:



That's all for tonight. Next step involves some more cutting, and finally I can begin to bolt on some new stuff!