• Longer upper A-arms. *
• Front steel braided brake lines.
• Stronger center cross-member. *
• Front and rear bump stop extension plates. *
• Stiffer front torsion bars.
• Additional leaves for your leaf springs.
• Extended heavy duty rear-shackles and bolts. *
• Four new heavy duty CALMINI shocks and dust boots.
• Mounting hardware is also included.

Installing the Front Suspension

• Remove the four bolts that hold the stock crossmember in place, then remove the stock crossmember.
• Install the CALMINI replacement crossmember and tighten those four bolts.
  Installing the crossmember is not necessary, but does allow later installation of the CALMINI heavy duty skidplate. The stock crossmember actually gives slightly better ground clearance, but the CALMINI crossmember is made of heavier duty steel. One draw-back to the new crossmember is that it slightly blocks the oil-drain plug on the V-6 oil pan. Removing the oil plug is still possible, but this crossmember makes changing your oil a much messier process. Removing The Torsion Bars
  
• Locate your torsion bar adjustment bolts, at the back of the long torsion-bars protruding from the rear of the lower A-arms. On the Rodeo, one of these bolts is underneath a skid plate that must first be removed.
• Remove the torsion bar adjustment bolts with a 27mm socket. They are fairly long, and take quite a while to remove manually, without air tools.
• Once you have the bolts out, and the torsion bar is unweighted, pull the torsion bar to release it from the height control arm.
• Lift the height control arm up toward the floorboard and out of its socket, then remove the torsion bar.
  The picture shows the remaining empty bracket.
  Don't install the new torsion bars yet. Removing the Front Brake Lines
  
• Disconnect the front brake lines from the caliper and drain the fluid. The usual disclaimers about paint and brake fluid apply here.
• Disconnect the front brake lines at the hard connect point on the frame support of the upper A-arm.
  
  
  
  
  
  Disconnecting the Upper Arm from the Spindle
  
• Remove the cotter pin from the upper spindle bolt.
• Remove the nut from the upper spindle bolt to free the spindle assembly from the ball joint.
  
  
  
  Removing the Upper A-Arm
  
• Remove the four bolts that hold the ball joint to the upper A-arm.
• Remove the two large bolts from the mounting tower that hold the upper A-arm's pivot pin. Keep track of where the shims came from -- you'll want to put them back in the same position to approximate camber until you can get the truck aligned.
• Remove the upper A-arm assembly. This assembly includes the upper A-arm, the brake line, and the pivot pin assembly.
• Remove the pivot pin assembly for re-use with the new CALMINI upper A-arm.
• Install CALMINI's polyurethane bushings (if you neglect to grease them, the squeaking WILL drive you nuts) into the CALMINI upper control arm, then install the pivot pin and brake line into that arm assembly. Finishing the Front End
  
• Reverse these instructions to reassemble the front suspension.
• Install the dust covers on the two front shocks, and remove the old shocks and replace them.
• Install the new CALMINI steel braided brake lines using the stock mounting hardware, and bleed your new brakes.
• Install the bump stop extension plates for the front end.
• Install your new torsion bars. Don't adjust the ride height on the front of your truck just yet. You'll need to match that to the rear-ride height once the rear is complete. For now, install the front wheels, lower the truck, then move to the rear of the vehicle.

Installing the Rear Suspension

• Remove the rear bump-stops.
• Remove the axle u-bolts.
• Remove the shocks
• Jack up the axle assembly to unweight the leaf springs. Removing the Rear Leafs
  
• Remove the front spring pivot bolt.
• Remove the rear spring pivot bolt.
• Remove the upper shackle mount.
• Remove all four u-bolts. Extending the Bump Stops
  
• Remove the two bolts on each side that attach the stock bumpstops.
• Install the CALMINI-supplied lowering spacers. Installing the Additional Leaves
  
• Isuzu installs its leaf spring clamps with a large rivet. You can drill out the rivet or grind off its head and hammer the clamp free. You may also choose to heat the clamp with a torch and bend it open to unclamp the spring. If your drill both ends of the opened clamp and connect them with a bolt, the clamp can still prevent the leaves from fanning but does not limit articulation the way the stock clamps do.
• Remove the spring center pins.
• Install the new CALMINI leaves in the middle of the stock leaf assembly between leafs 2 and 3. (See arrow)
• Install the new center bolts and cut off any excess length with a hacksaw. Finishing the Rear
  
• Drill out the center hole in the spring pad on the axle tube to 1/2".
• Attach the leaf spring assembly using the stock front pivot bolt and the new CALMINI supplied rear shackles and bolts.
• Secure the axle to the leaf springs using the supplied CALMINI U-bolts.
• Install the dust covers on the new rear shocks, and install the rear shocks onto your vehicle.
• The arrow points to the new leaf spring clamps. Use a c-clamp to fit these tightly to your leaf spring, and then bend the tabs over with a hammer. If you don't get it just perfect, they tend to rattle constantly. Install your rear wheels, and lower the truck onto its wheels.

Adjusting the Suspension

• Measure the height between the bottom door line at the rear of the rear door.
• Compare it to the height at the bottom door line at the front of the front door.
• Adjust the torsion bar ride height adjustment bolts clockwise to add height to the front of the vehicle and increase spring pre-load. Adjusting the bolt counter-clockwise will lower the vehicle. You may find it easier to turn these bolts with the front end suspended.
• Adjust these bolts sparingly (1 to 3 turns at a time) and then drive about fifty to sixty feet to settle the front suspension and give you a more accurate reading.
• Level the truck for best performance. Aligning Your Wheels
  
• Take your vehicle to a shop to have it aligned ($35 to $45).
• Keep an eye on height and alignment as the springs 'settle in.'

Summary

...back to homepage...