[durtyburd]

i have come across lots of info on rear leaf mods, but none for the front. my problem is that my 4" susp lift has over time changed to 3.5" on the pass side, and 2.5" on the driver side(apprx). i can tell by looking at the leafs that the one leaf pack is alot flater than the other. also, no broken leafs so what gives??
i would like to restore height back close to the original 4". is now a good time for a swap, or is rearching again the answer?
i also noticed i don't have any shims under the axle, should i look into these to tilt my pinion up a little?


:help

 

[Spudzz]

Well I guess the best place to start would be with what kind of a setup do you run right now? What do you have for shackles, springs, and a hanger?

I don't know if this applies to your lift but doesn't the drivers side need a single shim to make it sit flat? The stock drivers side spring is different from the passenger side I think, ergo the shim.

Waggies and Toy rears look to work well up front to name only two, there are others. If you can get yourself into a shop a few $20's worth of steel, a welder, and some ******* engineerin' juice should get you some new shackles and a hanger...

The spring you pick could move your axle forward or backwards but if you stick to 22.5" from eye to pin it will stay in stock location. Toy rears will move it forward, this will tell you what the rest will do.

As for pinion angle you can adjust that by design when and if you choose to build a hanger and shackles. A larger drop hanger will rotate the pinion up to the t-case. The amount of drop can have a negative effect on steering so you'll need to balance that with the shackle length.

Here is an IFS swap with some good info
Making your own spring packs

 

[durtyburd]

i bought the truck with the lift so don't exactly know what was done. far as i can tell the hangers and shackles are stock. i have also heard that there should be a spacer in the driver side. sounds like part of the problem but not an inch worth.
i need a little bit of 4x4101 here. are waggies a brand of aftermarket springs, why are they so common, and do you have to modify shackles and hangers?
the steel, shop, welder, and ******* juice is not a problem, but time is. will do these mods if it comes down to it, but a quicker solution would be looked at first.
maybe i am wrong here, but couldn't my sag on the one side be caused by failure(drooping ect.) of one spring within the pack?
would turfing the one spring and swaping in a different one solve my problems?
dropping the front hanger to tilt my pinion up makes sense. is there a % of length between the shackle and hanger that works and does not effect steering?

thanks for the awesome links

any info is greatly appreciated

 

[Spudzz]

The psacer is 3/8 to the best of my knowledge so it not being there is not the cause of all of the sagging.

Waggies are an OEM spring from a Grand Wagoneer, you cane learn more about them here. A search of the board will turn up more good info too, they are a well docummented swap.

I've never rebuilt a spring pack so I can't offer any help on replacing bad leafs to get back to your lift hieght but I'm sure someone else can.

As for a % formula of drop front vrs back I don't think there is a hard and fast rule. It would seem to me that different spring lengths and centering pin locations will effect the amount of drop needed from front to back to get a good balance. Just be sure to tack weld the peices in place and lower the truck to see how it will work in various locations, once you find the sweet spot melt it all toghter.

 

[durtyburd]

sweet....appreciate the info. waggies looks like the way to go, i could use more flex to. anyone know where i can pick up a set, and how much should i expect to pay?

 

[Joe M]

Talk to BBP about waggy springs, I believe he popped them on and they were a LOT softer than expected.