It was completely expected, but the latest incarnation of the Chevrolet fullsize pickup is hugely successful. It's hard to walk around a show nowadays without tripping over a rocker-laying new-body style Silverado, and there's nothing wrong with that. Lowering these trucks though, is a different story. For the first time in over 50 years, Chevrolet is running a coilover assembly up front, making drop kits a bit more complicated than they were in the past.
Of course, the aftermarket came to the rescue, and drop kits are now out on the open market. When the owner of this particular '09 Silverado wanted to drop his truck, he wanted to go as low as possible without cutting into the bed floor, and the answer was this 4/7 drop kit by McGaughy's Suspension. The setup includes drop spindles, a bolt-in C-notch, flip kit, and coils, all of which dropped the truck down in just a few hours of work.
To get fast shipping and a low price on our McGaughy's drop kit, we called Stylin' Trucks and had the kit in our hands in just a few days. Stylin' carries more than just accessories and performance products, they also carry a full line of suspension components as well. To make taking photos of the install easier, we went to Lowboy Motorsports, located in Mesa, Arizona, to handle the install, but this kit can easily be installed with basic hand tools in your own garage.
Check out how we quickly dropped our Chevy and if your Silverado needs a new altitude adjustment, give McGaughy's and Stylin' a call.
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The McGaughy's Suspension 4/7 drop kit was unpacked and laid out on the floor, ready for i
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Todd at Lowboy Motorsports, in Mesa, Arizona, started by unbolting the strut assembly from
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Next, he unbolted the caliper and rotor from the spindle, and then he hung the caliper fro
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Todd removed the stock brake rotors from the spindle by unscrewing a phillips-head screw t
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Next, he unbolted the tie-rod-end from the spindle using an impact wrench.
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The lower control arm ball joint bolt was loosened and removed, then the ABS sensor line w
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With the spindle off of the truck, it was placed on a workbench and the hub was unbolted f
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McGaughy's spindles are cast and come without any finish, so Todd laid down a quick coat o
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The brake shield needed to be trimmed as well, so Todd took a pair of tin snips to the met
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The top bolt on the hub is the one with the stud, so a bolt has to be secured from the fro
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Todd unbolted the strut from the top of the frame and removed it from the vehicle.
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The strut was then placed in a spring compressor, and then disassembled.
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The stock bumpstop had to be trimmed a little bit to provide extra travel for the drop. To
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To finish up the front suspension, Todd reassembled the strut with the McGaughy's 2-inch d
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Todd started taking apart the rearend by unbolting the shocks from the axle using a 1/2-in
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Next up were the u-bolts, which an impact gun zipped right off, but you could also use a l
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To install the flip kit, Todd unbolted the shackle from the rear leaf spring hanger and dr
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The axle was now flipped onto the top of the axle. The leaf spring pack was then secured t
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Here you can see the flip kit installed on the axle. Now, all Todd had to do was install t
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To install the dropped shock hangers, a hole had to be drilled in the stock mount on the a
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Because of the large 7-inch rear drop, a C-notch had to be installed in the frame. The C-n
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The McGaughy's unit comes in two pieces, which clamp the frame together to make the notch
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After the notch was cut out using a plasma cutter (a Sawzall can be used if you don't have
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Once the holes were drilled out, Todd slid the metal insert into the frame. This insert ha
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There are two threaded inserts that go on the bottom of the inside of the frame as well. T
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Finally, the notch was bolted to the frame, clamping the notch to the steel and making the
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To cap off the new lowered stance, a set of 22-inch II Crave Alloy No. 8 wheels were bolte
FROM THE DRIVER SEAT
There were really only two issues with the drop kit, and that's installing the C-notch and the need for new rear shocks. Lining up 10 holes on two different planes can be pretty frustrating, and even with the help of a lift and power tools, it took 4 hours just to get the C-notch in. New, shorter shocks were required and purchased right after this install. The only other issue was the wheels. Originally, the owner was going to get 24s, but went with 22s instead. A nice set of two-footers would have filled up the rest of that wheelwell gap and made the kit look perfect. Otherwise, the truck needed an alignment (which we recommend for any suspension mod), and drove great. There were no rubbing issues to speak of and now the Chevy turns heads when cruising around town. Shipping from Stylin' was fast and we even caught the drop kit on sale for $710.99, which is $70 off their regular price.
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
Time Spent Working: 10 Hours
Degree Of Difficulty: Moderate
(cutting the frame isn't hard, but it can be nerve racking)
Tools Needed:
Assorted metric sockets/wrenches, Phillips-head screwdriver, Sawzall or plasma cutter
Parts Used:
McGaughy's 4/7 drop kit 34023 $789.99 (reg. price)
II Crave Alloy No. 8 22x9-inch wheels (black powdercoated/machine finished) $1,199
Falken Ziex S/TZ-04 265/35R22 tires $568
TOTAL: $2,556.99
(prices from discounttiredirect.com, and stylin.com and does not include tax, shipping, or installation)