['63GENIII]

Finally getting back to finish up a few items that were bothering me from the last go round. So far Ive logged at around 7 - 8 thousand miles on the new suspension. Unloaded, its a real comfortable ride, articulates well stops better than before and is an all around improvement for my usage.

There are however a few shortcomings which I was hoping to address before our summer camping trip in 3 weeks, namely;

Ball joints- since I first swapped the front axle onto the truck (7 years ago?) I knew the ball joints on the Dana 44 were marginal. There was a little play evident in that I could rock the wheels top to bottom maybe 1/4". Bearings were repacked and adjusted so I knew it wasn't that.

Front spring pack stiffness - although the ride is super smooth now with the 52s, it has become clear that I needed something a little firmer. The 5/16 - 5 leaf pack has always been a little looser than I like for my taste. I was thinking that maybe going to a 6 leaf pack of the same thickness. Then there was also the issue of a possible hairline crack in the 2nd from the bottom spring on the drivers side. Couldn't tell at the time if it was a scratch or what but back in February, the boy and I were driving and heard what sounded like a 5/8 or 3/4 wrench either fall out of the truck or get kicked up by the wheel. We stopped in traffic, looked around and didn't see anything. Well, lets just say that I found out yesterday what the sound was.

Aside from the ball joints and springs, I was going to do inner and outer bearings and seals, new calipers, vent the axle, install some Warn Premium hubs, change the gear oil and giver her a coat of paint to match the rest of the underside.