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52s vs 56s in the front and why??

Blue85 said:
So all you have to do is move the front hanger forward and install new shackles or does a 56" spring swap force you to crossover steering? How far does the axle move? I have heard none and I have heard 4.5", which is a ton. If you didn't have crossover steering, could you run a swaybar to make it more street friendly?
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If you move mounts according to jekbrown's tech writeup you will move the axle 2" forward. I used the B-52 mounts from DIY4x, these have several mounting holes to fine tune the suspension to your liking.

I wanted my axle as far forward as possible so i mounted the hanger and spring in the forward-most holes to get 2.5"s. Any more than that and you will probably run into problems with the pitman arm hitting the u-bolt spring plate under suspension compression. That can be solved by many things. Full hydro steering is one, also you can move the steering box forward. And I have seen someone use a different pitman arm that had less drop, but they had to modify their frame. <<I beleive Boz42 was the one who did this.
 
muddermilitia said:
I wanted my axle as far forward as possible so i mounted the hanger and spring in the forward-most holes to get 2.5"s. Any more than that and you will probably run into problems with the pitman arm hitting the u-bolt spring plate under suspension compression. That can be solved by many things. Full hydro steering is one, also you can move the steering box forward. And I have seen someone use a different pitman arm that had less drop, but they had to modify their frame. <<I beleive Boz42 was the one who did this.
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Depends on how much lift you have and if you run bump stops or not.

My suspension height is pretty close to stock with 52's moved 2" forward from the stock wheelbase. I would probably hit the pitman arm under compression if the axle were moved forward another 1-2".

If you had more lift than me and cut the excess thread on the u-bolts pretty short you would be fine moving the axle further forward but you would need to run bump stops (most people running 52's have them anyway).
 
Well I may just have flex the suspension and see if i can get away with using a zero-rate to move the axle forward more. I already planned on using bumpstops to stop the springs when they flatten out.
 
muddermilitia said:
If you move mounts according to jekbrown's tech writeup you will move the axle 2" forward. I used the B-52 mounts from DIY4x, these have several mounting holes to fine tune the suspension to your liking.

I wanted my axle as far forward as possible so i mounted the hanger and spring in the forward-most holes to get 2.5"s. Any more than that and you will probably run into problems with the pitman arm hitting the u-bolt spring plate under suspension compression. That can be solved by many things. Full hydro steering is one, also you can move the steering box forward. And I have seen someone use a different pitman arm that had less drop, but they had to modify their frame. <<I beleive Boz42 was the one who did this.
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Sorry to hyjack, but I am a little confused and everyone posting here sounds like they know a bit about the subject.

Can someone tell me which spring length makes crossover and or high steer harder or easier to set up with hydro assist? I would rather go high steer, but it seems like most are saying a regular crossover would be easier.

I plan on running Kurt's B52 set up but I keep getting mixed answers as to which spring length would be easier? I don't want to have to move the steering box thats for sure.
 
muddermilitia said:
If you move mounts according to jekbrown's tech writeup you will move the axle 2" forward. I used the B-52 mounts from DIY4x, these have several mounting holes to fine tune the suspension to your liking.

I wanted my axle as far forward as possible so i mounted the hanger and spring in the forward-most holes to get 2.5"s. Any more than that and you will probably run into problems with the pitman arm hitting the u-bolt spring plate under suspension compression. That can be solved by many things. Full hydro steering is one, also you can move the steering box forward. And I have seen someone use a different pitman arm that had less drop, but they had to modify their frame. <<I beleive Boz42 was the one who did this.
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Yes it is I. I am running a stock ford steering arm, it is flat(no drop). It required me to "C" notch the frame. Not a big deal to me because I have the weld-on frame repair, the ORD box brace & Hydro-assist. If not for the assist I might worry.
 
SHAPER said:
Sorry to hyjack, but I am a little confused and everyone posting here sounds like they know a bit about the subject.

Can someone tell me which spring length makes crossover and or high steer harder or easier to set up with hydro assist? I would rather go high steer, but it seems like most are saying a regular crossover would be easier.

I plan on running Kurt's B52 set up but I keep getting mixed answers as to which spring length would be easier? I don't want to have to move the steering box thats for sure.
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Imo the spring length will not matter. You will need crossover. To run high steer w/out a lot of problems you will need to run it behind the axle instaed of in front. You could run the tierod in front, like I did, but I moved my front axle foward 3" & got into trouble w/ the pitman arm & the tierod hitting when I stuffed the suspension. That is why I modded the frame & run a ford pitman arm. Assist is another challenge because you will have to build some sort of mount for the ram.


I am running 56" fronts w/ WTO assist & ORD crossover high steer.
 
full hydro... problem solved. :thumb:

j
 
muddermilitia said:
I would, but I plan on driving my rig on the street a little
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I am in the same boat. We drive to the trails and have to hit hyway between them as well.

I will have my rear 52 available once I swap out the 64s, so I didnt know if is was worth it to get some 56's if there was less issues with clearance once the axle was moved forward a maximum of 2 inches
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So I can run the tie rod behind the axle on a "regular crossover set-up? Does Kurt or ORD have a kit that does this?

Where would I mount the Hydro assist then? Anyone got pics of a set up like that?
 
The spring length only matters on weather or not you want to move your rear shackle mounting point.

Northwest fab makes the behind the axle high steer arms.
 
what do you do for the front hanger? use the b-52 with 56's? or isnt there something about swapping the hangers from side to side that works?
 
Kert's B52 will work with 56's IIRC, or you can move the stock front hanger in front of the body mount instead of behind it. I think you are thinking of rear shackle flip brackets that can be swapped side to side to accomodate longer springs.
 
You can flip the front hangers side to side. The hanger is a two piece unit and to save a little work you can leave as one if you swap sides with them.
 
twoslo4five0 said:
and if your running 56s in the front there is no reason for the b52 kit...just move the hanger foward..
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:confused:
You dont need the b-52 kit for 56s or 52s. I went with them for the additional .5" of movement plus my original body mounts were in sad shape
 
muddermilitia said:
:confused:
You dont need the b-52 kit for 56s or 52s. I went with them for the additional .5" of movement plus my original body mounts were in sad shape
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i was refering to not having to move your rear mount to tune your shackle angle...with 56s you dont need to move it and have good angle...
 
You don't need to move the rear shackle hanger with either a 52 or 56. A 52 with a stock style of shackle will give you the same shackle action as stock length spring just with more flex in the longer spring. It just reduces the amount of flex you will havecompared to that of a longer shackle but is still better than a stock length lift spring. A 56 with the 7.25" shackle would seem to be ideal because you use the stock rear shackle hanger and get massive flex. I wonder if it is too much flex because DS angles could be horrific. Kurt's B52 kit would be nice for a couple of reasons. 1- the stock front spring hangers are barely catching any frame on the forward most bolt hole and 2- The adjustability of the B52 kit would allow you to position your axle where it works the best for your particular set-up and build off of that. The B52 kit is basically a superior mounting system. My .02 cents.
 
boz42 said:
Yes it is I. I am running a stock ford steering arm, it is flat(no drop). It required me to "C" notch the frame. Not a big deal to me because I have the weld-on frame repair, the ORD box brace & Hydro-assist. If not for the assist I might worry.
Click to expand...


Got a pic of the notch boz?
 
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