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| The 5-inch Premium Lift Kit #PLS600 comes with leveling spring spacers, reinforced nylon body mounts, CNC steering adaptor, bumper brackets and high-grade hardware. |
While some off-road enthusiasts look for the additional traction and off-road capabilities provided by a full suspension system, others are simply looking for an economical way to add larger wheels and tires. Cost is certainly a factor that leads many to look at leveling kits to provide enough wheel clearance. Most leveling kits however, only lift the truck an inch or two, which in the case of the '09 Dodge Ram, isn't enough to move up to a larger set of 35-inch tall tires. To do so, the Ram needs about a minimum of four inches of lift.
Another option is a body lift like Performance Accessories' new Premium Lift System for the new Dodge Ram.
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| Adding the front bumper brackets requires removal of the top radiator core cover, front grille and top bumper cover. |
The lift system raises the vehicle five inches, is simple to install, and is an inexpensive alternate. Although body lifts have typically been a pain to install, Performance Accessories' engineers say body lifting the '09 Dodge is much easier than most vehicles.
The kit comes with the company's reinforced nylon body mounts, grade-8 hardware, a pair of billet front spring spacers, and a unique CNC machined steering adapter. The system also includes black powder coated mounting hardware, thread locker, and a set of Performance Accessories' urethane Gap Guards that fit into the factory wheel wells to cover the newly acquired space between the body and frame.
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| Once those items are removed, you can access the 4 bumper bolts that hold the bumper to the frame. With the bolts removed, you can pull out the bumper and put it aside while you perform the rest of the installation. |
While the installation of the body mounts is a job that any experienced home mechanic can do with hand tools and access to a lift; but jack stands and a hydraulic floor jack can also accomplish the task. The leveling kit portion of the lift kit (spring spacers) however, should be installed by a professional installer with access to a spring compressor tool.
You can easily remove the body mount bolts while lifting up on a portion of the truck's body that is closest to each body mount. It's recommended that you do this procedure on one body mount at a time. Fortunately, the Ram's body has several double-wall areas that make for a good lifting point that can be raised high enough to add the 3-inch body spacer. The longer grade-8 bolts replace the factory hardware and the procedure is done to each mount around the entire frame of the truck.
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| To install the body mounts, lift a portion of the body that has the double-wall reinforcement as shown here. Unbolt the body mount and raise the body. Its easier with a lift but you can use jack stands and a 3-ton hydraulic jack. |
To access to the front body mounts and to install the bumper relocation brackets you must remove the bumper. This is done by first unbolting the upper radiator cover, grille, and the top bumper cover. This will expose the bolts holding the bumper to the frame. Once these are removed, you can mount the bumper brackets in place and mark where the two lower bolt holes must be drilled. Once this is done, the bracket can be installed with the provided hardware and the bumper can be bolted into its new position.
Once the truck is lifted with the body mount kit, the bottom of the fan shroud must be removed. It simply pulls out from its position to allow more room for the factory fan. The kit also comes with a CNC machined steering arm adaptor that attaches to the steering column under the hood, with a single bolt.
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| Use this process at each body mount and raise the body enough to insert the nylon reinforced mount. |
