52" in front - Bushings?

[Art'74]

I am putting the rear 52" spring in the front of my '74 K5. As you know, the spring is 3" and the bracket is 3 1/2".

Where do you get bushings that fit the spring eye and are 3 1/2" wide?

Mfg. & Part no.s would be great.

Art

 

[txfiremank5]

Most people just use spacers. DIY4x, one of the vendors here sells 1/4" spacers just for that. His website is diy4x.com.

 

[nvrenuf]

Most people just use spacers. DIY4x, one of the vendors here sells 1/4" spacers just for that. His website is diy4x.com.

+1, That's what I did and they worked GREAT!

 

[MTMike]

+1, That's what I did and they worked GREAT!

I got the spring-eye bushing kits from Offroad Design. The bushings have a 1/2" shoulder on each side and act as a spacer.

Mike

 

[79k20350]

the correct bushings are ones used for aftermarket lift springs (the front eye bushing) Aftermarket lift springs are 2.5" wide so they need to account for the same differance.

 

[nvrenuf]

Doesn't that leave a gap in the middle? May not be a problem, just curious.

I used the DIY4x spacers so mine would have regular bushings, nothing special to buy or remember if I ever have to replace them later on.

 

[79k20350]

Doesn't that leave a gap in the middle? May not be a problem, just curious.

I used the DIY4x spacers so mine would have regular bushings, nothing special to buy or remember if I ever have to replace them later on.

No, it leaves no space. stcok springs are 3" wide + 1/4"+ 1/4" total of
3 1/2". The aftermarket lift springs (such as tough country) are 2.5" wide, just like stock rear springs. That means they have to make uo that 1/2". so 1/2" bushing on each side = 3 1/2". Nothing hard to remember. Call up your favorite offroad shop and tell em you need bushings for an aftermarket leaf lift spring.

 

[79k20350]

im not a fan of spacers... more parts to loose when taken apart and more of a pain to get them all into place when setting the springs in. with bushings it much easier.

 

[dremu]

I am putting the rear 52" spring in the front of my '74 K5. As you know, the spring is 3" and the bracket is 3 1/2".

Where do you get bushings that fit the spring eye and are 3 1/2" wide?

Mfg. & Part no.s would be great.

Art

Well spacers in and of themselves sound kinda iffy, but if you're gonna be putting on new shackles... see attached. 3/8" flat stock for the shackle proper and 1/4" for the 'spacer' part at the bottom, welded on. I may later add some reinforcement between the two, but for now they seem pretty stout.

-- A

 

[nvrenuf]

Well spacers in and of themselves sound kinda iffy, but if you're gonna be putting on new shackles... see attached. 3/8" flat stock for the shackle proper and 1/4" for the 'spacer' part at the bottom, welded on. I may later add some reinforcement between the two, but for now they seem pretty stout.

-- A

That's what Kert @ DIY4x built for me. As for loose spacers, I was going to weld mine to the front hanger also but now that I have B-52's I'll leave them loose for the adjustability.

79k20350, maybe I'm missing something but it still seems like there would be a gap in the middle of the bushing since you would be using a bushing set for a 2.5" spring on a 3" spring.

 

[CyberSniper]

79k20350, maybe I'm missing something but it still seems like there would be a gap in the middle of the bushing since you would be using a bushing set for a 2.5" spring on a 3" spring.

Stock rear springs are 2.5" wide.
Stock front springs are 3" wide.
Aftermarket front springs are 2.5" wide.

Take the bushings from an aftermarket front spring and put them on a stock rear spring (depending on year, earlier ones had smaller diameter bushings) and you no longer need spacers.

67-70 4x4s are another source for these bushings.

 

[79k20350]

Stock rear springs are 2.5" wide.
Stock front springs are 3" wide.
Aftermarket front springs are 2.5" wide.

Take the bushings from an aftermarket front spring and put them on a stock rear spring (depending on year, earlier ones had smaller diameter bushings) and you no longer need spacers.

67-70 4x4s are another source for these bushings.

exactly. the whole reason you need the spacers is because the rear springs are 1/2" narrower than fronts...

 

[nvrenuf]

I had the widths backwards in my head.