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Drop 'n' Go Part II

Air Ride Technologies' Strong Arm/Ridepro E
February, 2009
Photography by Scotty Gomez
0511Cl Air 01 Z
0511Cl Air 02 Z
Four bolts and the rear suspension... 
   
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Four bolts and the rear suspension is a heck of a lot easier to work on! Even though they're equipped with a hydraulic lift, GO-EZ figured it'd be a lot easier to do a four-link install on the ground...with the bed off.
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The Belltech flip kit served... 
   
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The Belltech flip kit served the truck well, but the leaf springs were not a sufficient means to allow the rear to drop adequately with airbags. Off they went.
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With the springs, shackle... 
   
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With the springs, shackle brackets, and shocks gone, Jason measured for the impending four-link.
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As you can see, the '73-87... 
   
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As you can see, the '73-87 chassis provides ample room outside the framerails to run a parallel setup.
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We were supplied with Air... 
   
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We were supplied with Air Ride Technologies' universal-style four-link, which incorporated a gusseted frame bracket and an axle bracket with built-in shock mount.
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To make room for the rear... 
   
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To make room for the rear brackets, the old spring perch was buzzed off with a plasma cutter. Also notice that the Belltech frame notch is still in place--since we didn't want to cut the bed floor, this was sufficient.
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Prior to any brackets being... 
   
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0511Cl Air 08 Z
Prior to any brackets being welded on, Jason verified that the pinion angle was correct in relation to the transmission tailshaft (at ride height).
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With the brackets tack-welded... 
   
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0511Cl Air 09 Z
With the brackets tack-welded in place, the travel of the four-link was checked before final welding was done.
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Placement of the upper and... 
   
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Placement of the upper and lower airbag plate mounts will help determine overall travel and a comfortable ride height level. You'll want to place them so that the 'bags have adequate air pressure at the desired ride height; not too little and not too much air. For the lowers, a notch had to be trimmed for shock mount clearance (right).
0511Cl Air 11 Z
Keep the mounts level and... 
   
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0511Cl Air 11 Z
Keep the mounts level and inline with one another. Also, make sure that the placement of the 'bags is such that when inflated, the bladders (rubber portion) of the 'bags never, ever come in contact with any other part--period.
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Here's what you should have... 
   
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Here's what you should have for rear 'bag mounts if done correctly. Air Ride supplies kits like this with traditional sleeve-style bags, but you also have the option of using dual-convoluted ones, like the front.
0511Cl Air 13 Z
As it turned out, the integrated... 
   
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0511Cl Air 13 Z
As it turned out, the integrated shock mounts on the rear four-link bracket would not work in this situation; GO-EZ had to fabricate new mounts to bring the shocks inside of the framerails, as shown. Shock bracket location is just as important as 'bag location--you don't want the shocks completely bottomed out when the 'bags are deflated, and you don't want to mount at extreme angles either.
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The Panhard included with... 
   
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The Panhard included with the kit needed a bit of tweaking, as it was a tad too long and the extra-capacity differential cover made it difficult to make a straight shot from the frame to the rearend. Jason shortened the bar and made a nice little kick in it to clear the cover.
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With direction to do their... 
   
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0511Cl Air 15 Z
With direction to do their best to avoid having to mount any components inside the bed, GO-EZ was able to locate an area for the compressor on the leftside framerail ahead of the rearend. The compressor is sealed and can withstand certain levels of outer elements.
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With absolutely no room to... 
   
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With absolutely no room to spare (look closely in the photo), the air reservoir tank was mounted just forward of the compressor.
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Immediately behind the rearend,... 
   
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Immediately behind the rearend, the sending units (also sealed) were mounted on the exterior of the chassis. All airline plumbing was routed along with the frame as well.
0511Cl Air 18 Z
The final portion of the install... 
   
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0511Cl Air 18 Z
The final portion of the install involved mounting and hooking up the Big Red solenoid blocks. While the plumbing and electrical may appear complicated, all is connected with press-in fittings, and the wiring pre-determined with locking connectors; all you do is hook it up and go. Stay tuned for next month when we dial in the RidePro E programmable electronics.
0511Cl Air 19 Z
After we worked out our wheel... 
   
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0511Cl Air 19 Z
After we worked out our wheel situation, we finally got the 20-inch Coddington Harms mounted up, and man what a difference it makes from the old 15s! Though the rear could probably use a little more "meat," we went with BFGoodrich's g-Force T/A KDWs in the 265/35ZR20 variety, which keep the truck level and looking good when paired up with the 255/35/ZR20 fronts.

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