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4" susp and 35's???

Bronckelly

Bronckelly

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Apr 29, 2005
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Madison, Ga
Will this combo work on a first gen w/o trimming? I'm ordering a tuff country 4" susp. with all springs, and am going to buy tires soon too. Can someone tell me if this will work? I was thinking of going with 16x8 or 17x9 wheels with 315/75.16 or 315/70/17's. I'm going to get a set of factory wheels too, but i'm getting a set of goodyear mtr's for the 35's.


Thx,

BroncKelly
 
It will work fine for just toolin' around.
Any real 4x4ing though is going to be out.
 
I'll second vtblazer, adding the following you might end up w/ slightly more than 4" of lift though, I got about 3" from their 2" springs maybe a little more.
 
Yes 4" and 35" will rub when gettin flexy. The front of your rear wheel wells will rub and the rear of your front wheel wells will rub when your tires are turned and flexing.

One thing to relize is when you buy springs for the rear you want a bit more than the front. I run 4" up front and 5.5" in the rear, with the hardtop on I sit level. Now that I ditched the hardtop fer life I do sit up a bit in the rear but I like it that way.
Pre-made spring packs are set to Pick-Up weight specs not Blazers. Blazers have a much heavier butt and tend to sag the rear on matching lift springs. There are other ways to solve this besides a taller spring in the rear but that is the route I chose and all is fine.
Hope this helps
Burt
 
Burt,

I don't know if i'll need quite the 5.5" in the rear due to not much use of a hard top. Is there any other way to get maybe 1/2" to 1" more lift in the rear if i'm buying the 4" springs? I surely don't want "naturally trimed" fenders due to rubbing, and i don't really want to get the sawzall out either. 6" springs all around is too much for me too. I LOVE the setup on your k5, what are the specs?


Thx,

BroncKelly
 
Thanks Bronckelly
You can see my rear fender well (front of it) triming in this pic:
stlbndr4.jpg

The front fender well was just a small amount compared to the rear. My rockers were rusted out so I put 3x3 square tubing in there place, rock sliders.

Here is the only pic I could find on pavement:
gasup.jpg

Keep inmind I have LOTS of beer food and firewood in the back and it is perrty much level.
Anyway my specs are:
35" SSR Swampers on 15" wheels.
Front: Dana44 stuffed with all the aftermarket goodies, 4" Rancho springs
Rear Dana60 w/ SuperLift Superride 5.5" springs
I just put in and drove my new 454 w/MPFI setup:
P1010003.jpg

I have a SM465 manual tranny and NP205 xfer case.
I don't know what else you want to hear about so just let me know.

Oh and if you run 4" front and rear AND you have a saggy butt you can add a set of 1" blocks from ORD. I have never ran thease blocks but they are suppose to be great for getting just a tad more lift in the rear. Who knows you may not have saggy butt syndrom after your done :D
Hope this helps
Burt
 
THAT IS A BAD RIDE!! Man, your setup is perfect. I had a 74 Bronco that i built (partially myself) which was a mint top to bottom 325hp 351w 4:11's etc, etc, etc, which i just sold recently, and bought my 71 k5. I sold my Bronco for $18.5k and my first gen cost $6k. So i've got some build up money to use.......which by the way is the most fun i've ever had....shopping for my k5 that is. I'm trying to figure out ALL of the right things here before i get started, so i do it right the first time. This is the reason for my "20 questions" every day. My k5 has no rust, nice paint, and a good 350 which does'nt burn or leak ANY oil. The tranny is a th350...(i prefer a manuel..but oh well), and the tranny seems to be good too. The np205 is in good shape, along with the rear 12b and the front d44 with pwr discs!!!!! :D My plans for it go like this:

First:

1. Front and rear axles gutted and filled with 4:11's, Limited slips, Yukon axle shafts in the rear, new bearings, seals, etc.

2. New susp: I'm thinking 4" springs all around, w/ the zerorate blocks from ORD, rancho 9000's.

3. new wheels and tires: 16x8's or 17x9's w/ 315/75/16 or 315/70/17 bfg at, or goodyear mtr's.

4. factory body bushings.

5. Maybe swap the th350 for a built 400 and a new crate 350 or 383 at the same time. I'm trying to decide which setup there.

6. Line-x the interior, and a new custom cage...which a friend and i will build at his fab shop.

7. New seats...any suggestions?

8. New kayline fastrac soft top.

others to come....

what do you think.....add anything you think i should do. I'm not going to hardcore wheel it, just trail ride and go to the mountains with it. I do want a very capable rig though....you never know.. :grin:

P.S.....Your engine is the baddest thing i've ever seen.



Thx Burt,

BroncKelly
 
haaha Thanks, sounds like that Bronco was sweet!

So many ways to go so I want you to realy think about how you plan on using your new K5. If you realy are going to stick with light wheeling/camping/log roads then your D44 front and GM12bolt rear will give you good performance. Thoes tires you listed are they like 33s or closer to a 35"? With your 1/2ton axels and the weight of your K5 I would NOT go any bigger than 35" tires, so make sure that is your BIGGEST tire you want to run. I would hate to see you get deep$$$ into rebuilding your current axels and then wanting to step up to a 39" swampers. Most of the big tire K5s run Dana 60 fronts and GM 14FF rears. Doing things twice cost $$$$, I'm sure you know this :D
Just wanted to make you think about your axel upgrades.
The tightest posi traction is a Power-Lok ( I run thease in both front and rear on my Dana axels), I don't think they make one for a GM12bolt but I could be wrong. I had a Pro-Auburn in my 12 bolt before I twisted/granaded it beond repair (rokee move climbing a hill). Lockers are nice for the rear cuz both always turn, in snow this can be tricky.
I run Poly body bushings, black ones from Energy Suspension are impregneted with polygraphite to prevent 'poly squeek'. If you go with poly don't overtighten them, they get too hard.
After your lift I would spend the extra cash to get good HD drive lines with the proper length & balancing.
You also want to get rid of the factory shakels up front (the rear of your front spring) Go with ORD replacement shakels & bolt upgrade.
Spend some time looking at http://www.offroaddesign.com the owner Steve Watson is know around here as Dr. Watson, a master fabracator for GM trail rigs.
There are alot of other little things you can do to beef up your front end. Warn makes CMolly axels that are super strong...
Research EVERY option before buying there are alot of ways to go and ALLOT of opinions here so use up to your advantage (heck I am avoiding work right now hehehehe)
Burt
 
Thoes tires you listed are they like 33s or closer to a 35"?
Click to expand...


They are 35's, and i'm 99.9% sure that's the largest i want on my k5. Thanks for all of the info, you all's help is priceless. Being 35's are the largest i'm going to go with, i believe if built correctly, the 12b and d44 will perform well. WHick limited slip would you recomend for the 12b and d44? One fellow has quoted me an Eaton rear LS, and a true-trac LS front. Any suggestions there?


Thx again very much,

BroncKelly
 
For the front I would use this:
http://www.precisiongear.com/powerlok.htm
They are not cheep, they are in my opinion the best posi for a D44. Dana Spice use to make the Power-Lok but Precision Gear got the rights to pick up were Dana left off...Sweet Pois and very aggressive & rebuildable.

I ran the Pro-Auburn in my 12bolt
http://www.auburngear.com/aftermarket/products/differentials/

I only had it in there for 4000 miles then I dumped the clutch while climbing a hill, the front end came off the ground and then POW..BAM! TWISTED the whole 12bolt and granded the diff. I don't think an Auburn is rebuildable.

They way I understand Posi or Limitied Slip differentials is there are two types.
Pre-loaded posis like the Power-Lok or Pro-Auburn will spin both tires like a liocker...Untill the torque or pressuer becomes too great and the tire's axle will slip, like turning a corner.
The other type is it acts like an open until one tire begains to spin much fater than the other and the traction is suppose to goto the slower spining tire.

For me I liked the idea of acting locked and then slipping..locking back up...slipping ..locking. NOT open..open spinn apply brakes to transfer load spinning and more spinning...
hahaha
I hope this makes sence. Maby some one will chime in about the 12bolt...
 
Makes total sense. I'd also rather have the lock before open action too. I'll let you know what i'm going to do.


Thx again,

BroncKelly
 
I've got a 2" body lift (which is great for engine and tranny work) and a 4" Rancho lift in the front with heavy-half leafs and a shackle flip in the rear(about4.5") I still can put my 35" into the fenders. 6" overall and now that it's all "broken in" it flexes badarse. 4" and 35"s will work on the streat but as soon as you start wheeling your gonna rub.
 
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