my neibhor bought a beautiful black 4 door short bed 03 duramax-alli it has a 6 inch suspension lift on it. now he decides he wants to lower it back to stock position ( for goose neck trailer ) but the problem is that the person who owned it before him took it to some hack job shop. -:t:rant: bottom line they cut off the front a-arm mounts to install the lowering kit!! my question is does anyone know of a company that offers a bolt or weld on replacement mounts for stock location of a-arms?? :help: any info it appreciated thanks guys!! merry x-mas kennyt

You have to cut of the a-arm mounts to put the lift on when using a bracket style kit. Why do you call it a "hack job" ? Did they not cut the metal cleanly? My advice is to have a frabrication shop build new mounts for the a-arms. It would be best if they had another truck to use for a refference.Your only other alternatives are to change the whole frame or cut the brackets from another frame. Anyway you look at it it's not going to be cheap. That's why they say bracket kits are not reversable where most spindle lifts are. He may be better off to trade trucks for an unlifted one or change trailers.Good luck to your friend.

BIGBLOCKBILL, The reason he called it a hack job, and I would have done the same is that unlike you, one that knows the real details, it blows ones mind that you would cut brackets off the frame to install a lift kit.
I won't do anything to my truck that can't be undone, but that is just me, to each their own of course.
Merle

Why on earth would anyone BLOW there money on,what im sure is a awesome looking truck,just to put it back to stock?WOW!

probably got a good deal and actually wants to use it for work unlike alot of us here on DP...including me (usually.) :)

One way is to find a guy with a similar truck that wants a lift and have a shop move it over. Then they can use the parts. It would be almost easier to trade it if he wants it stock height though..

This is why I always recommend knuckle lifts, I hate how the full drop kits have you cutting all that stuff off. Plus they are easier and quicker to install.

Tell him to stop by the local 4x4 shops that install these lifts and see if they have any of the brackets they recently chopped off laying around. I know that when i put the 4 inch kit on my dually a few years ago I had the original brackets in a bucket of scrap for some time before I ever tossed them.

BIGBLOCKBILL, The reason he called it a hack job, and I would have done the same is that unlike you, one that knows the real details, it blows ones mind that you would cut brackets off the frame to install a lift kit.
I won't do anything to my truck that can't be undone, but that is just me, to each their own of course.
Merle

I'm trying to think of a 6" lift that doesn't require cutting and I can't think of one. He better look at more than the control arm brackets, again I can't think of a 6" lift that you don't have to cut the FRONT DIFFERENTIAL HOUSING off! He might need a front diff housing. I know that on the Rancho, RCD and CST you have to cut the diff upper mount off.

If I used a knuckle lift on my truck I would have no problem taking it back off. You just need the parts and be able to weld...

You're right clyde, every knuckle 6 inch except skyjacker you have to cut one part where the diff hooks in and the mounting ear off the front of the diff. Skyjacker doesn't cut the diff, moves it over instead, but I was told that can get the driveshaft really close to the oil pan on the duramax..

Anyway, both can be welded back, but you would have to have the part... Diff can be found on ebay fairly often though. That was why I said best to find a truck to swap with, then you can just trade differentials and take the other parts and weld them back. A good lift shop should be able to do this no problem. Heck you might find one that has everything laying around like dog walker said.

I was just saying that most lifts require cutting, he was qualifying that as a hack job. That would mean everyone who has a 6"+ lift has a hillbilly hacked up truck. Thats a good idea though to find someone to trade, everything that gets hacked off one truck can be welded on to the other! Good idea.

Could a person cut the goose neck down 6 inches or jack up the trailer?

Could a person cut the goose neck down 6 inches or jack up the trailer?

That would be the easier way to go, IMO, if there actually is an easier way out of this...

The brackets should have been bolted on in place of the stcok ones that were cut off. I'd take it to a 4 wheel shop and ask them if it could be done and how much. Then make some phone calls to local salvage yards for the stock brackets if I had to.

Two really good ideas! Trading our finding a shop that has cut off brackets from a install ! what a great resource this is! Scott

take it to a 4wd/offroad shop they should be able to fabricate new mounts and get it back to normal. We do it all the time at the offroad shop i work at. It usually ends up costing somewhere between $500 and $700 with new stock shocks, u bolts, and stock height blocks. If the diff is cut you will have a tough time getting it back you might have to buy a new diff. If you need one let me know i know of a place you can find them.

Scott

Leave it alone, you can tote a gooseneck all day long with a 6" kit.

I was just saying that most lifts require cutting, he was qualifying that as a hack job. That would mean everyone who has a 6"+ lift has a hillbilly hacked up truck.

I totally agree with you, I don't think it's a hack job either, it's just how they are done. I was just explaining for the people that didn't know how the lifts work. I know you know more about them than lots of guys. I actually was rather irritated at the title of this thread, thought about changing it...

Could a person cut the goose neck down 6 inches or jack up the trailer?
If you shorten the gooseneck then it is closer to the tailgate and side of the truck. You usually can go a couple inchs but if you went really far you would chance smashing your truck whenever you went through a dip in the road.
You could raise the trailer, but on most trailers that would make them harder to use. For instance a cattle trailer would be too high then for the cows to step in, and a flatbed with a dovetail wouldn't sit the dovetail on the ground flat anymore...

Unrelated to this, but we have a bumper hitch trailer with a welder in it that I do plan to lift because it drags on the ground on a rutted road. It has the springs over the axle so I plan to put them under to raise it about 4 inchs. This won't affect the use of the trailer though.

Like ockgator says, you can usually tow with that much lift on most trailers anyway. After all, look how tall a dodge is stock. I have a friend that had a OBS truck with about 4 inchs of lift and 33s and his hitch height was not quite as high as the hitch on his dad's dodge.

I would suggest that you find a good 4WD shop. They can most likely get the mounts needed to fix this. They will have to be rewelded and this will require precise welding abilities. Make sure you find someone that knows what they are doing. I know that with both of my trucks, I lowered one back down to stock and had to have the bump stops and some other misc brackets welded back onto the frame and subframe. Should not be a problem for a good shop and welder to do.. Good luck..

Where are you located?

i have a 6 in. fabtech lift with 35's and my gooseneck trailer fits on my truck with no problems. why would he buy a lifted truck and then lower it?

I was just discussing this kind of issue with my dad this weekend. He bought a used gooseneck horsetrailer, and is getting ready to have a 3" beam welded between the axles and frame. And this is for a stock height d-max. His neighbor does this on all his trailers. Only way to keep them from getting hung up on some of the mountain roads, and the cows/horses don't seem to have a problem with it.

May be an option, would get it closer to level. Could he go down a size in tires? I'm with bob d though - did he do any research on it before he bought it, or look at how the kit was installed?