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56" spring mounting in the front.

which way would you mount 56's on the front?

  • Long side forward

    Votes: 3 17.6%
  • Long side rearward

    Votes: 14 82.4%

  • Total voters
    17
  • Poll closed .
what is the spring hanger on front of your shop beater for? i figured it was a proto type 52/56" hanger?
 
The front hanger is the 52" hanger. First production unit actually.
 
B56 could be just like the B52... but it would be the rear shackle hanger + that body mount integrated into one unit. Multiple mounting holes etc just like the 52.... :thinking:

j
 
been gone for a little while i haven't seen that yet, i'll go to your site & check it out. i don't see why the b-52 wouldn't work the same for a 56" swap.

kert i dropped u a pm
 
56 mounting will probably happen. I want to straighten out the b52 problems before getting into more!!! Have to wait a bit. In the meantime I can think it through and figure out how I want to go about it.
 
Has anyone thought about running 52's out of a chevy van. It's my understanding that the center pin is offset compared to standard 52's and that would allow you to run the B-52 kit and get a few more inches of approch angle with the short side foward.

Just a thought

troy
 
cybrfire said:
56 mounting will probably happen. I want to straighten out the b52 problems before getting into more!!! Have to wait a bit. In the meantime I can think it through and figure out how I want to go about it.

np, if you need any measurements off my 85s frame, I have a digital cam, autoCAD and a digital caliper. :grin: :thumb:

j
 
k5 krawler 50 said:
The 52's center pin is split evenly in the spring at 26 inches.. where as the 56's are offset 26" and 30"... so if put the 26 end forward then you move the axle 2 inches just like the 52's because they both have 26" from the center pin to the front.. i hope that doesnt sound to confusing..


what are you guys using for 56" springs i have a set of 56's out of a 75 1 ton and the center pin is right at 28" from either side. what are you guys getting them from that are offset
 
I dunno... but I have two sets of 56s and both have the offset. Maybe the 1-tons are different from 1/2 or 3/4 ton stuff? Are you sure the set you have is stock?

j
 
jekbrown said:
I dunno... but I have two sets of 56s and both have the offset. Maybe the 1-tons are different from 1/2 or 3/4 ton stuff? Are you sure the set you have is stock?

j

pulled them off of a 75 1 ton that was sitting at a local junkyard it had a flatbed on it so i dont know if it was stock or not. they were 8 leaves with a massive overload so i took out a few leaves and bolted one up on the blazer and the center pin is 2" further back then the 52's. i am still going to run them for a longer wheelbase but now i need a longer driveshaft.
 
ok, maybe i can clear this all up....
1. 52's oout of a van are skinnier, 2.25" wide compared to 2.5" of truck springs.
2. ALL 56" chevy truck springs are offest
3. With 56" spings, long side rearward, there is no need to do any differant bracketry than the b52 kit. With a 52" spring the common thing to do is move the front mount forward 4". being that the spring is 2" longerin front than stock, this moves the axle forward 2". then the rear mount is moved something like 3.25" or 3.75" i dont remember which one. No one took into consideration that th rear mount moves when doing the 52" swap and thats where confusion ensued. so now when you run a 56" spring the rear mount stay in the stock spot, while the front mount moves 4" forward. So the bracketry for a b52 will be the same as bracketry for 56's
 
depends on the shackle length you want to use. With hella long shackles, its possible to use the stock hanger location... some people prefer shorter ones though. I don't really care, long ones dont scare me... but some people don't dig 'em. Also, I dunno about other people, but I didn't move my rear hanger 4" forward when I did 52s... its a lot closer to 2.75".

j
 
79k20350 said:
ok, maybe i can clear this all up....
1. 52's oout of a van are skinnier, 2.25" wide compared to 2.5" of truck springs.
2. ALL 56" chevy truck springs are offest
3. With 56" spings, long side rearward, there is no need to do any differant bracketry than the b52 kit. With a 52" spring the common thing to do is move the front mount forward 4". being that the spring is 2" longerin front than stock, this moves the axle forward 2". then the rear mount is moved something like 3.25" or 3.75" i dont remember which one. No one took into consideration that th rear mount moves when doing the 52" swap and thats where confusion ensued. so now when you run a 56" spring the rear mount stay in the stock spot, while the front mount moves 4" forward. So the bracketry for a b52 will be the same as bracketry for 56's

I'm with you on all of that right up till you moved the shackle in the 52 swap. I know alot of guys have moved there shackle when using factory bracketry swapped from side to side and whatever. When using the B52 kit you don't need to move the shackle. That was one of the main criteria for its development. I'll PM Mudzer and get him to chime in here. He just installed a kit and might have some fresh photos.
 
cybrfire said:
I know alot of guys have moved there shackle when using factory bracketry swapped from side to side and whatever. When using the B52 kit you don't need to move the shackle.

hmmmm... that begs the questions... how far forward is the forward-most spring mounting hole compared to the standard 52" spring swap technique (as seen in my tech writeup)? I dunno about different frames, but on my 85 I'm pretty much out of steel... just horns sticking out past the hanger "L" bracket...

j
 
Kert is correct, when I installed my brackets and springs, I did not move the rear shackle mount whatsoever. Granted, the shackle sits fairly flat - I wanted nearly 90% downtravel 10% uptravel, because I don't jump my rig and really do not need uptravel vs. height of truck. Since I have an S-10 Cab mounted on a fullsize frame, the cab is narrower and fenders are trimmed, so having the truck low or near stock frame height is key for me.

Right now, I have 4 leaves from a factory 52" spring set, under the front of my truck.

I think, the 56" spring could be installed easily, but would definately require modification of the shackle hanger location.

I still need to experiment with front spring eye placement. Currently, I have the front eye in the second from front hole. We are working out all issues with having a 2.5" dropped draglink, shock mounts and ram fitting locations. Don't be alarmed - these are only issues I have created. I have custom shock mounts on the front tubework that will need modified. I have a dropped draglink, which will work, but we may consider going with straight now (anybody want to trade? :wink1: ). The AGR ram fittings are pointing up towards the sump of the oil pan, so these can be rotated a little.

Some tidbits I have found and will post up in the writeup:

  • 52's with overload and bottom leaf removed, will get you approximately 1" - 2" lift over stock. This is with 6" shackle in stock location, and front spring eye 1 hole back from the front.
  • 6" shackle will work with this setup perfectly.
  • No two frames are the same - not all frames are same side-to-side. My frame had holes 3/16" higher one one side vs. other.
  • ORD High Steer works flawlessly lock to lock, no matter which tire is flexed on the ramp. We have a 30° ramp we have been testing mine on and we are in the 800's out of the box. We are currently moving shocks and such to better this.
  • With this setup, a modified Engine Crossmember would probably be a good idea. Its not REQUIRED, but ramping a truck and wheeling a truck are two different things. The ramp is not always the most extreme your suspension will travel.
  • You may require a torque link. I am currently installing one from center of D60, forward to my winch mount. I am having a spring wrap problem due to having a 4 leaf pack.
  • DIY4X builds works of art!
I will try to get some pics posted up real soon.
 
ok, I've been confused about this issue because I wasn't looking at pics/drawings of the parts... just kind of imagining it in my head I guess. At any rate, compare these pics. First up is the standard 52" spring swap set up.. whats on my truck now...

lbracket_after_move.jpg


Next we have the B52 bracket...

adjfrtmount2.JPG


For some reason, I thought that the B52 bracket allowed you to position the front of your springs further forward than even the "L bracket relocation" type swap that I did for my write up. When Kurt said "you don't have to move your rear shackle hanger with the B52" a little light bulb went on above my head. The B52 doesn't allow you to mount things further forward... it allows you to mount them further back, which negates the need to mess with the shackle hanger. Makes perfect sense now, but I was dazed/confused about it. lol! Pic helps clear things up. I think what may have confused me initially is that the angled part of the spring hanger points toward the rear of the vehicle. When I first saw it, it looked like a approach-angle-friendly feature that would point towards the front. lol!

I now realize just how dumb all my "hey Kurt, make this work with 56s" posts must have seemed to everyone else... lol!!!

j
 
jekbrown thank u so much i was really confused too, i thought it allowed u to move the spring 4.25" foward also. i guess u are not the only dummy.
 
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