Rear Suspension

[Broncoholics]

Here's a way to get more flex out of the rear with any leaf spring.

You have to buy some 6" C-channel, mount it under the frame widthwise and add some box tube inside for the drop arm. Its pinnable for street use as well. I'll show two photos of two rigs. One flexing, one on flat ground. Check out both...

 

[Broncoholics]

Ah ***** here's the other photo... You can see the empty holes where its pinnable.

The hardest part of the upgrade is the shackel. It has a 90 deg twist in it.

 

[Broncoholics]

Ah what the heck, here's a photo of the same rig onthe RTI ramp to show it works well...

 

[stinger]

awsome flex

 

[jfrbronco]

Nasty truck!!

 

[highboy73]

can you tell me some more about that set up?

 

[Ktomek06]

Nice Flex!!

 

[Broncoholics]

Its easy to build. Get some 1/4"x6"w C channel long enough to mount between both frame rails. Bolt and weld it under the frame right where the rear leafs mount but keep it flush with the outside frame rail. Then get some 1/4"x 4"wx3"h or 4wx2h box tube and use this for the pivoting arm which tucks up into the 6" C-channel. There are two arms. One for the left and one for the right. Keep a gap betwween the two halves in teh center for movement and add a bolt for the box tube to pivot on (on the inside end). See above pohotos.

The second hole is to pin it for street use so the arm doesn't drop when hitting the brakes. The 90 deg shackle is the tough part. Most have 2 small round thick wall tubes welded perpendicular to each other (one on top of the other) to make the 90 shackle twist. Look at the photos and you can see why. Other than that, get long ass shocks and extended brake lines. B)

 

[highboy73]

what do you think of lowering spring mounts?got a 79 f-250 been thinking maybe drop front spring mount 2-3 inches cross member box in frame rail make longer shackles weld cross support in it then drop the rear suspension mounts 2 to 3 inches,do the same on it all just a couple inches box in the frame and build cross members,this is a daily driver so i don't want it acting funny,what do you think?

 

[Broncoholics]

Its do able. I cut the front towers off and lowered 1" to level my bronco and it worked fine. I wouldn't see why 2-3 would be any different up front. Just weld it in the same location just straight down 2-3" so the axle isn't twisted. The rear would be the trick. You have to keep the leaf spring mounts exactly the same width apart front to back (length of leaf) as it is now. So do lots of measurements and also if you want you can extend the rear fruther back a few inches if its an off roader.

 

[highboy73]

yeah i saw a ifs truck and all they did was lower the mounting points and i figured why not?what do you think about the rear?like i said daily driver but sime offroading for sure just not a rockcrawer,would like to hear your suggestions.

thanks

 

[Broncoholics]

If you are only going a few inches I'd go with a 2" block to raise the rear cheaply and keep the same ride quality you have now. If you use add-a-leafs, you will gain the height but will have a stiff ride. Blocks are a quick and cheap fix. New leafs are $500pr. I wouldn't sugest lowering the rear leaf spring mounts on the frame because its a lot of work and you have to keep each side measured perfectly the same otherwise it will dog tail.

Another idea for the front is to buy or build a 1" block under the coil cup (between the radious arm and lower coil retainer cup) and add longer bolts.

Most use these to straighten the coil due to "coil bow" using long coils and 7 deg c-bushings. But this is an easy way to lift the front an inch. A few Bronco web sites sell these.