With the electrical system up to snuff I started digging into brakes and suspension. I replaced a bad wheel cylinder but otherwise the brakes seemed to be in good shape. The truck had a bit of a lean to the right, and it didn't take long to figure out why:
The original spring had broken. The whole front of the frame and suspension was covered in years of oil, grease and dirt. I ordered 2" drop springs from...Speedway
and popped them in. Between saggy and broken orignal springs, it didn't end up lowering the truck at all. But at least it was safe. I also replaced the front shocks with stock length Monroe Magnum replacements.
I did a tune-up on the engine, flushed the cooling system, and drove it to work and on a longer drive to return the borrowed engine hoist. The truck ran great but definitely leaned a lot in the corners. I hit the PickNPull and grabbed a sway bar and A-arm brackets from a square body truck and bought the lowered version of the frame mounting brackets from CPP. I bought MOOG bushings too. The bar made a dramatic difference and was totally worth it. I did some truck things with my truck, hauling mulch and putting miles on it to see what else it needed.
