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3/4 ton conversions having its issues

makovai

makovai

1/2 ton status
Joined
Jun 6, 2006
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Location
oregon city
Before this whole thing started i picked the wheel and tire combo i wanted, and had this planned out fairly well (i thought). I have now completed the entire front end, and i have ended up with a rig that doesn;t have the turning radius of a stretch limo.
At first i had issues with about 1 foot of tire sticking past the fender wells, so i went to a narrower wheel with more backspacing. I sucked alot of tire under the fender, but now i hit my shocks and brake lines if i turn the wheels very far.:mad: . I'm getting frustrated. And the front is posed to be the ez conversion.


2180334_55_full.jpg


2180334_56_full.jpg
 
Well, it's looking good, to bad about the turning radius. Is there anything that can be done to recoup some of the turning radius?
 
What back spacing did you end up using?
4" is the most I've ever been able to make work.

Try using Ford shock towers and relocate the shocks, that'll help.
Change out the brake lines to braided (longer) ones too.

Have you installed cross over steering yet? Another good mod IMO.

dcp_3914flexed.jpg
 
actaully these are not the narrower tires, however they are the narrower wheels. i believe 3.5" backspace and only 12" wide compared to the 14" i had on earlier with almost no backspacing. They look great except for the 12" of tire that stuck out of the fender wells:D
The tires are 39x18 mickeys with alot of tread left, at least 75%. I did pick up a set of 39x15 mickeys as a backup plan but they are about 25% tread. If i use the 15" wide mickeys i could get less backspacing and it may work, but i was after the wide look. I geuss i could lose the dual shocks and tie the brake lines. It just wasn't in my plans to do that.
 
wow. the wide look IS cool, but those things are nuts. i dunno if you'll be able to get much in the way of turning radius with those tires.
 
Rear Steering

makovai said:
Before this whole thing started i picked the wheel and tire combo i wanted, and had this planned out fairly well (i thought). I have now completed the entire front end, and i have ended up with a rig that doesn;t have the turning radius of a stretch limo.
At first i had issues with about 1 foot of tire sticking past the fender wells, so i went to a narrower wheel with more backspacing. I sucked alot of tire under the fender, but now i hit my shocks and brake lines if i turn the wheels very far.:mad: . I'm getting frustrated. And the front is posed to be the ez conversion.


2180334_55_full.jpg


2180334_56_full.jpg
Click to expand...

Rear steering, that's what you need :D !!

Rig's looking great :bow: !
 
New update:

The front is finsished. Now i have the 12 bolt out and the 14 ready to go in. my newest issue is the truck is trying to teeter totter on the jackstands and i dont have enough room in my garage to come through the side. I have a jack under the tow hitch and i need to move it to get the 14 bolt under the truck :mad: This project is not fun.




2180334_60_full.jpg
 
if the truck is teetering front to rear, and the front is supporting itself on tires, jack the truck up and off of the jackstands and move them backwards. should free up the jack for you.
 
My K5 is sitting almost exactly like your right now - 14 bolt is out getting its Detroit installed. Do get those jackstands move a bit if it really is unstable - wouldn't do to have you get squished!
 
MattK said:
if the truck is teetering front to rear, and the front is supporting itself on tires, jack the truck up and off of the jackstands and move them backwards. should free up the jack for you.
Click to expand...

I cant. The jack stands are as far back as i can put them. The frame goes way too high to reach about midpoint of the truck.
 
Got anything heavy infront of the truck, like an engine block, or big tool box??? If ya do, ratchet strap from around front bumper to something heavy at floor level-will add more weight to the front end.
Then you can lower the floor jack and slide the rearend in place. If you still have the big tires on front, lower the air, so the nose dips down.
 
put those jack stand heads under the front spring eye. or slide them back just in front of and place a chunk of wood or steel across them both.
 
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