Suspension Lift Kit Question

I recently did a complete overhaul on my 67 bronco suspension. I used the 3.5 inch suspension lift kit from wild horses and it looks great but I have a problem. For some reason or another the rear end is sitting up about 1.5 inches higher in the rear than the front. I would think since it's one whole kit the bronco would actually sit level. Does anyone have any ideas out there as to why it's sitting higher in the rear versus the front or is it suppose to sit that way? Any help is appreciated.

Adam

Hi Adam.,

Unfortunately, there's no "one size fits all/everybody's happy" susp. lift.

Having said that., with the progressive coils & 11 pack leafs., their pretty amazing these days. Smooth., quiet., & ride as good or better than stock.

Hindsight..., it's always good to measure your rig at several points prior to lift.

Rule of thumb.., it seems no two rigs come out exactly alike with the same set-up.

A large % of folks want what you got so they can load the rear with equipment, etc.

This usually req. 3.5" front coils & 5" rear leafs.

(You might check the #'s on your springs to see if they packed the mix-n-match kit by mistake.) i.e. you could have 3.5" rears & 2 or 2.5" fronts. (or could be 5" rears)

You didn't offer much info. such as Eng., hard top., spare tire/package rack., winch., etc. as these can come into play as well.(did you get the 11 pack?)

With the 11 pac's...you can add or subtract leafs as desired.

HTH

B

adam12 said:

I recently did a complete overhaul on my 67 bronco suspension. I used the 3.5 inch suspension lift kit from wild horses and it looks great but I have a problem. For some reason or another the rear end is sitting up about 1.5 inches higher in the rear than the front. I would think since it's one whole kit the bronco would actually sit level. Does anyone have any ideas out there as to why it's sitting higher in the rear versus the front or is it suppose to sit that way? Any help is appreciated.

Adam

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Thanks Bob for the information. Yeah it's the 11 pack. I didn't think that they maybe mis matched. When I did the conversion in the front it lifted the front end considerably...but when the did the rear end it really jumped up in the air. I was curious if I by passed the shackle that pivots and just bolt it to the rear where the shackle would bolt if that would work. It would definately lower it down by a couple inches. With that being said you may know more than I if you can even do that. There is no spare tire rack on the back, 302 engine. I'm going to call wild horses on monday to see if they have any ideas as to why it's not level.

Thanks

Adam

"I was curious if I by passed the shackle that pivots and just bolt it to the rear where the shackle would bolt"

That would be a resounding "NO"

I spoke with Wild Horses today and it's apparently the correct lift. The gentleman said it will take a while but eventually the leaf springs will settle in and the rear end will lower down. I'm curious if anyone has had the same experience where the leaf springs eventually settling in?

Welllll...,

No one is commenting but., I've had good luck with all the EB suppliers.

----However----

I've not seen springs settle that far (1.5 inches)

I would expect the coils to settle more than the leafs.

You might take some pics & send to them....I think they need to see what you're up against.

Bully Bob said:

Welllll...,

No one is commenting but., I've had good luck with all the EB suppliers.

----However----

I've not seen springs settle that far (1.5 inches)

I would expect the coils to settle more than the leafs.

You might take some pics & send to them....I think they need to see what you're up against.

Click to expand...

If you have a winch or a heavy bumper the front will pull down more, if you do not have a metal top, the rear will be higher, I and other offroaders have taken out leaves too level our trucks.

Mine is off road only so I am running 8 out of the 11 pack plus I take the retaining bolts out(which I believe they help with axle wrap when installed) but wow the truck flexes great and keeps the tires on the rocks, But If you drive on the street it can be squirlly. Taking out one or two leaves too level should not hurt you, shoot the factory leaves where only what 4 and a load leaf..

Good luck The leaves and bushings will settle in a little but I have not seen the 1 1/2 either, dont over torq your shackle and shock bolts either.

Thanks guys. Yeah I thought the same thing about it settling. I don't have a winch on it nor a metal top. I do have a metal top for it but I'm pretty much just using the bikini top. I even thought about putting the top on it just for the extra weight until it settled in. Right now I'm agreeing to the idea of maybe taking a leaf or two out of it. Thoughts a good idea of taking a picture of the lift and sending it to them. I don't want to throw wild horses under the bus because I've had nothing but great experiences with their service and parts but this lift seems to be way off. I'll figure it out one way or the other. The positive note is the lift makes the bronco look a **** of alot better than stock.

I have a WH's 3 1/2" lift kit sitting in my basement waiting for me to find the time to install it. Any chance of posting a couple of pic's? I'd be interested in seeing how it came out. I've never installed one myself, just wondering over all how long it took and how complicated it ended up being. Thanks Mike

I have the WH 4.5 springs in the back & they have settled down to between 3.75" & 4". They are great springs & I would buy from them again. The fronts are the ones that don't settle real easy.

Piper Mike - Putting on a lift is actually fairly easy and straight forward. The main problem you are going to have are the nuts on the back of the radius arms. 9 times out of 10 they are rusted on and will take an impact or a big cheater bar to get off, but give yourself an advantage, about a week before you do it, soak them in a penetrating oil like WD-40 or PB-Blaster. Anything to help loosen them up. Just be careful when you do it so you don't damage the threads on the end of the radius arm. If you have any mechanical skill what so ever, you can do it in a weekend. The rear will be the easier side because it is just a pull off, put on. The front is going to take a lot longer because you have all of the steering components to deal with. I would set aside at least 1 weekend to do the front if you are an average shade tree mechanic. I completely rebuilt my front end a year or so ago & installed new coils, bushings, steering linkage, PS box, brake lines, etc. and once tore down, I put everything back together from the knuckles out in a day. About 8 hours. But I have done it a couple of times before too, so I knew what I was doing. Just pay attention when you are pulling everything apart and set the reusing parts aside in a fashion that you know how to put them back together.

Thanks for the input S_ bolt19, the point you bring up is one of my concerns, but for a different reason. The guy I bought the Bronco from had already done quite a bit of work to it including rebuilding most of the undercarage and drivetrain, it looks brand new, it's just not lifted. the truck rides good and tracks strait. It ain't broke and I'd hate to ***** it up just to run 33's. Like Adam 12 said though..They do look good!

I purchased a Wild Horses 5.5 lift. I bought the coils and the leafs. My 73 looked like a stink bug after the install. I wasn't happy at all. The rear sat at least a couple inches higher. I called WH and they assured me it was normal. I was told the springs would settle after some use-not just highway driving. I set out and flexed the springs every chance I could, and they settled. I only flexed it out a fews times and it was nearly level. Shortly after the installation of the lift, I removed it and began the frame up rebuild. I now have the suspension re-installed with a heavier 351w, C4 and transfer case installed. My Bronco sits nearly level with basically nothing in the rear (no bumper, spare, etc). *The one thing I did is add 3/16 plate to the lower coil cups. I traced out the plate and fully welded it to the bottom of both lower coil cups to add strength & support. I am also running Cage radius arms. Hope this helps.

I have the same problem. My 76 sits higher in the back with the Wild horses 3.5" lift. I am hopfully going to remove 1 or 2 of the leafs to try to level it out. I will let you know if it works. If you have found a solution already please let me know what you did.

"I am hopfully going to remove 1 or 2 of the leafs..."

Not advisable....throw a couple sand bags back there & go out & bounce it around a bit.

------ALSO------

Make sure the shackle bolts aren't over-tighened...this will cause limited movement.

Called wild horses and they advised me to take out the bottom 2 leafs. I have had this suspension in since 2003, and they have never settled level. according to wild horses this is common, because they build them that way, so if you are not rock crawling and streching out the suspension it will never settle level.

Even though WH told you to remove a couple of leafs, I would do what Bully Bob said. If anything, go find something to stretch those springs out on because it could be that it just needs to be stretched to get that settlement in. I would definitely try to settle them before taking out a leaf.