Had a busy Saturday. Installed Deavers, Icon Bumps, 4 shocks all around, and Geisers. All done by myself in one day.
My toolbox and all parts loaded up in my trailer, heading to my friend's garage. Notice my 4x4 jack extension on the right needing to be cut up.
Hit 111,111 on the way up. Noticed it just in time to grab a picture.
Deaver +3's vs stock.
Rear done.
Old parts.
Unfortunately I forgot to grab photos of the front because I was over it and just wanted to be done at that point. Not sure if it's the shocks, Deavers, or a mix of both, but the truck now feels absolutely dialed in the rear. Before my rear end would donkey kick with the slightest imperfections, and now it's unfazed on washboards, railroad tracks, and those damn highway pressure ridges. Install of everything went super smooth except for the ICON kit. I think something was slightly warped with the kit or on the truck because some of the holes were a B**** to line up. My truck is nearly 100% rust free and I really appreciated it after doing this work.
As for the Geisers on the front, I set them to midperch and they're definitely firmer than stock but take big hits much better. I'm trying to refrain from driving it too much until I get an alignment done. I'm really happy with the overall stance of the truck.
The shocks were completely original and had all 111,111 miles on them. I knew they were bad but after taking them off I realized they were
BAD. I could actuate all 4 easily with just my arms, didn't even have to put weight on them. Seemed like the same effort as pulling a straw in and out of a fast food cup.
I have a Corsa extreme exhaust and it just barely kisses the Deavers at full droop. I can put a small amount of pressure on it and it will push out and away from them. I'll probably axle dump it at some point but I'm happy with it for now as there's basically no interference. It did prevent me from installing both crossbars on the ICON kit but again, I'm not really worried about it.
Part of me wishes I did this in stages so I could feel how each component changed the truck, but I'm happy it's done and over with. I feel like the new shocks are overshadowing the improvements that the Deavers made because right now I'm just ecstatic that I don't bounce down the road anymore. I can say I notice bumps much less than I did before.
Cost breakdown...
ICON Bumpstops: Brand new in box from Facebook Marketplace - $1,000 + $100 shipping
Deavers: $1,632 + free shipping (Thanks SVC!)
4 OEM Shocks: $1,303 + $40 shipping (Rockauto)
Geisers: Used $250 + $100 shipping (Thanks
@Skyfrog !)
No sales tax in Montana
Total cost: $4,425 and a few years of my life.
Considering the shocks had to be done no matter what and the good deals I got on the other parts, I'm happy with my purchases.