I got some 2" drop Western Chassie lower control arms I will be installing soon. I was wondering what the safe/correct way to remove the stock ones is....do I need a spring compressor or can I just jack up the truck by the arm and lower it slowly. Also is the bolt from the arm pressed into the upright and if so how do I remove it? I know they come with used lowering shocks, but would the stock ones be fine for just a 2" drop, they only have about 15,000 miles on them. thanks for the help

 

to the top, want to do this soon!

 

When I put my control arms on, I used a spring compressor on one side, but not the other. If you can just lower the jack slowly, you do not need a spring compressor imo. First thing I did was remove the factory shock. Then I place a floor jack under the control arm so the spring didn't pop out and hit me. Then I used a pickle fork(ball joint seperator) to seperate the lower conrol arm from the spindle. Once this is done, you can SLOWLY lower the jack so the spring decompresses. A good idea is to put a chain around the control arm and spring just to make sure it doesn't pop out if the jack goes down too fast. Once the spring is out, remove the two bolts at the back of the control arm and do the opposite to install the new one. Make sure to get the spring back in the pocket on the lower control arm when doing this.

As far as the shocks, I think most lowering control arms are made to work with stock length shocks. My DJM 4" drop control arms are made for the factory shocks and that is what I have been using for a year now. Hope all this makes sense, if not post up and I will try to clarify anything not understood.