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52" rear springs on the front!

muddysub

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52\" rear springs on the front!

Ok everybody out there with 52" rear springs on the front of their trucks, I need pictures of your spring hangers and shackles. I'm going to buy a pair 52's, and I want to put them underneath the front end of my suburban. What do I have to do to make these fit, and how much lift will they give me, Do I need to add or remove any leaves from the pack. Any tips will be greatly appreciated.
 
Re: 52\" rear springs on the front!

One thing to add, when doing the 52's you have to go crossover also (if your not already).
here's how I done mine They still aren't finsihed yet, I've been parting out some trucks to pay for the rest of the mods
 
Re: 52\" rear springs on the front!

Real quick and dirty:

- About 4" of lift
- I used the ORD greasable Shackles drilled out the bottom hole to use the bigger rear spring bolt.
- The front is cake. Remove "L" from behind the body/spring mount and put it in the front.
- And the crossover is a needed thing.
- I cut off the ends of the old lift bushing to take up the extra room.

You can see that I had to cut my "L" down to fit.

pose001.jpg


This can be the flex you might end up with. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

ff2.jpg
 
Re: 52\" rear springs on the front!

have to go crossover huh? hmmm.. i didnt wanna do that until i got a dana 60. well i could still buy them and wait and do a D60/crossover/52" swap all at once, that would be fun!

sandman, i see what you did. thats easy, shouldnt be a problem at all. will a stock bumper still bolt on with the spring hangers relocated like that??
 
Re: 52\" rear springs on the front!

DSC03953.sized.jpg


DSC03958.sized.jpg


yes, you have to go crossover since your axle will move forward 2 inches. you only need to remove the overload leaf.

as for the resulting flex...

DSC01433.sized.jpg
 
Re: 52\" rear springs on the front!

[ QUOTE ]
sandman, i see what you did. thats easy, shouldnt be a problem at all. will a stock bumper still bolt on with the spring hangers relocated like that??


[/ QUOTE ]

I have no idea. I have heard that you have to modify your brackets though.

I left the overload in. With the BB and the winch and stuff I thought it might be best. I also wanted to control the axle wrap some. Looks like removing it can make a bog difference!
 
Re: 52\" rear springs on the front!

which springs do you use for this? are they off a newer 1/2 ton? 2wd or 4wd? and do you have to move the rear shackle, or just use a longer one in the stock position?
 
Re: 52\" rear springs on the front!

Stock Blazer rear springs. The truck spings are longer. Mine came from an '88 or so. You will need a slightly longer rear shackle.
 
Re: 52\" rear springs on the front!

Could you add a leaf or 2 to get more lift. Has anyone done this. Can you get up to 6" of lift without seriously affecting the flex.
 
Re: 52\" rear springs on the front!

my spring with the overload removed give me about 4 inches or more... so i'd think a zero rate and an overload would be good for 6 inches. /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif
 
Re: 52\" rear springs on the front!

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
sandman, i see what you did. thats easy, shouldnt be a problem at all. will a stock bumper still bolt on with the spring hangers relocated like that??


[/ QUOTE ]

I have no idea. I have heard that you have to modify your brackets though.

I left the overload in. With the BB and the winch and stuff I thought it might be best. I also wanted to control the axle wrap some. Looks like removing it can make a bog difference!

[/ QUOTE ]

Sandman, have you tried pulling the cross bolts from your leaf packs to let them fan out more on the droop?
 
Re: 52\" rear springs on the front!

I have not. At full droop the shocks are about done ( I can move them down a few inches and still be OK on hte stuff) and the brakline is about also done ( I could also do something about that as well). I basically just threw them on and went. I have trashed some rear springs by over flexing them so I decided to play it safe and just go. I might change my mind in the future. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Re: 52\" rear springs on the front!

could you use rear lift springs for this...maybe like 2" EZ rides, for about 6" of lift, and still have good flex? or would that kill a lot of the flex? and would it cause any other problems running lift springs?
 
Re: 52\" rear springs on the front!

ahhh yes i was wondering the same... i ned about 6-7".
 
Re: 52\" rear springs on the front!

I will let you know in about a week. I am getting ready to use an aftermarket lift spring to keep my 7" lift height. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
Re: 52\" rear springs on the front!

I had kinda thought about using rear lift springs to keep a little heigth. Heck with it though. I'm gona go back to stock springs for the 4" and stuff 44's in there one way or another.
 
Re: 52\" rear springs on the front!

I think 44" are doable. I believe I could fit 42's now and with some firewall work, I bet the 44's would make it. Nicer drivelines angles are just a bonus. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Re: 52\" rear springs on the front!

Gots to order some bushings for my factory springs. That's pretty much all that is holding me up.

I like what its gona do to my drivelines, specially with that HP60 up front. Should almost be a straight shot /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
Re: 52\" rear springs on the front!

[ QUOTE ]
I think 44" are doable. I believe I could fit 42's now and with some firewall work, I bet the 44's would make it. Nicer drivelines angles are just a bonus. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I did the 56" Spring Swap (more or less the same, just longer "tail" end of the spring) and I have 42's. They seem to be fine. Moved the axle nicly away from the firewall. I haven't put my inners back in yet, but I imagine I'll be able to get at leasy 60% of the inner back in. I intend to bridge the remainder with rubber matting to the firewall.
 
Re: 52\" rear springs on the front!

Thata good to hear. I wanted my next tires to be 42" Iroks. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 

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