1997-03 Dodge Dakota 2 Wheel Drive Upper Control Arm Kit

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Disconnect the negative terminal on the battery. Jack up front the end of truck and support the frame rails with jack stands. NEVER WORK UNDER AN UNSUPPORTED VEHICLE!
2. Starting on the Passenger side of the truck, remove the front tire, brake caliper, sway bar link and the stock shock. Remove the nut holding the tie rod onto the spindle, then separate the tie rod from the spindle and tie it up out of the way.
3. Supporting the lower control arm with a jack, remove the two nuts holding the spindle to the upper and lower ball joints. Separate the spindle from the ball joints and set the spindle aside.
4. Slowly lower the jack supporting the lower control arm and remove the stock coil. USE CAUTION, THE COIL SPRING CAN BE UNDER LOAD! Be sure to remove the upper rubber insulator from the coil pockets.
5. Remove the two nuts holding the upper control arm (UCA) to the frame and remove the UCA from the truck. Supporting the UCA cross shaft in a vise, remove the two nuts at the ends of the cross shaft in the UCA. Using an air hammer or press, remove the UCA bushing out of one side of the UCA and slide the cross shaft through the UCA.
6. Supporting the cross shaft in a vise, lubricate the end of the cross shaft with the supplied Teflon lube. Place one sleeve, one bushing (with the lip out), and one gold washer on the end of the cross shaft. Be sure to thoroughly lube all contacting surfaces. Apply a small amount of thread locking compound to the threads of the cross shaft. Install and torque down one of the supplied new outer nuts to factory specifications, DO NOT REUSE THE FACTORY NUTS.
7. The a arms are labeled passenger and driver side. Starting with the passenger side UCA, thread one grease fitting into each a arm bushing end. Using the supplied 5/16” hardware attach the new upper ball joint to the UCA as shown in figure 1. The top surface of the upper ball joint will mount against the bottom surface of the UCA, insert the bolts from the bottom up with the nuts on top of the UCA. Take the passenger side UCA and insert the cross shaft through the rear of the a arm, try to line up the grease fitting with one of the grease holes in the urethane bushing. Lubricating all parts thoroughly, place one sleeve, one bushing, again lining up the grease holes, and one gold washer onto the UCA. Apply a small amount of thread locking compound on the threads of the cross shaft torque down one of the supplied new outer nuts to factory specifications, DO NOT REUSE THE FACTORY NUTS. Install the supplied bumpstop on the UCA with the urethane facing inboard.
8. Using a die grinder cut the welds attaching the stock upper bumpstop pad to the frame, the pad is shown in figure 2-4 with the white arrow. BE SURE TO CUT THROUGH ONLY THE WELDS AND NOT THE FRAME. Sand any remaining weld off the frame. Bolt the UCA cross shaft to the frame using the stock hardware, ALIGN THE GROOVES IN THE CROSS SHAFT WITH THE GROOVES IN THE FRAME BEFORE YOU TIGHTEN THE CROSS SHAFT ALIGNMENT NUTS.
9. Using tape attach the rubber coil insulator to the top of the lift coil. The top of the coil has a tighter wind then the bottom. USE CAUTION WORKING WITH COIL SPRINGS, THE SPRING CAN BE UNDER EXTREME LOAD. Have a jack ready to place under the lower control arm for support.

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