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56" spring swap help needed

doonjumper

doonjumper

1/2 ton status
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I put the front springs in today, they are 56". I mounted the b52's in the furthest most forward position and am using 6" shackles. My angle is at 58 deg with no body or engine on the frame. When runnin' 56"s dont you leave the front rear hanger in the stock location? Do I need a longer shackle perhaps? The springs are out of a mid 80's c 10 1/2 ton and do measure 56". Any suggestions? Thanks!

0223001930.jpg
 
I have 7 inch shackles in mine and they are rather close to the frame. My front leafs are basically flat also so plan on that as a base line.
 
That isn't a half bad angle, a longer shackle would probably help a bit, but I don't think I would bother myself. You may want to notch the body mount to allow the shackle to swing all the way back btw
 
Russell said:
That isn't a half bad angle, a longer shackle would probably help a bit, but I don't think I would bother myself. You may want to notch the body mount to allow the shackle to swing all the way back btw
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This is my angle with JUST the frame weight. There is no motor,tranny, TC or body on the frame .......Just the frame
 
In my 84 I moved the front hanger foward@ 2", I think. I also used a 7" shackle. Under full compression my shackle would bottom out on the frame.
 
I didn't move the rear hanger either but like Keith, my springs are flat with all the weight on them I will measure my angle with an angle finder tomorrow
 
I thought that with the 52" springs you did not need to move the rear shackle hanger but with 56"s you do. All i can say is that without any of the weight there that's currently missing when you do get the weight there that shackle angle is going to become REALLY large and the spring will probably hit the frame and a longer shackle would make it worse.
 
4X4HIGH said:
I thought that with the 52" springs you did not need to move the rear shackle hanger but with 56"s you do. All i can say is that without any of the weight there that's currently missing when you do get the weight there that shackle angle is going to become REALLY large and the spring will probably hit the frame and a longer shackle would make it worse.
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If I moved the hanger forward the ange would get worse. If I move it back it will hit the body mount. Wouldnt a longer shackle put the spring further from the frame creating extra room? The angle would still be bad but at least it wouldnt be bottomed out, Or am I missing the picture?
 
doonjumper said:
If I moved the hanger forward the ange would get worse. If I move it back it will hit the body mount. Wouldnt a longer shackle put the spring further from the frame creating extra room? The angle would still be bad but at least it wouldnt be bottomed out, Or am I missing the picture?
Click to expand...

The rear shackle mount gets moved backward and you have to cut a portion of the body mount to make things work. I just recently seen a thread on here where someone had done it.
 
Yeah I saw hat one too, but tons of people said it didnt need to be moved in "52's vs 56"s" thread starting around post 38. I dont see any other option at this point other than to move it back.
 
There's no need to move the shackle mount.
But you'll probably need a longer shackle.

Remove the leaf from the shackle in the rear.
Measure your spring along the arc, then measure that length in a straight line from the front spring mount.
swing the shackle backward until it intersects with the measurement.
Then see if it's enough frame clearance for the spring-eye.
If it's not, you need a longar shackle.

This way you can easily measure how long shackles you need as well.

I don't know how much more to the front, the front mount is moved with your B52:s, but when I moved my front mounts 4", I think I needed about 7,5" shackles.
But I ended up making them 8.25", so I could tie them together for increased side-stability.

20090226.jpg


This is how my shackle-angle looks like at ride-height
20090228_003_.jpg


And assuming your doing a crossover conversion as well,
make sure you use poly-bushings in your leafs, otherwise it will wander alot side-ways on the road.
 
just swapped in 56" in mine. in stock form i didnt like them so i took the 2 longest leaves out of my lift springs and its awesome. perfect shackle, height, and flex
 
Possibly a dumb question, but, you guys did relocate the front hangers, right?

I put a set of 56" rear springs up front of my K5 for a bit, with 7.5" shackles out back and stock hangers reversed up front, and even with the 6.2L diesel / NV4500 / NP241 and full body installed I still had a decent shackle angle out back.

I took them out again cause they were able to flex way more than everything else up front could (steering, shocks, brake lines, front driveshaft etc), but will be going back in once I have some cash flow to buy parts that'll flex with them.
 
Russell said:
Possibly a dumb question, but, you guys did relocate the front hangers, right?

I put a set of 56" rear springs up front of my K5 for a bit, with 7.5" shackles out back and stock hangers reversed up front, and even with the 6.2L diesel / NV4500 / NP241 and full body installed I still had a decent shackle angle out back.

I took them out again cause they were able to flex way more than everything else up front could (steering, shocks, brake lines, front driveshaft etc), but will be going back in once I have some cash flow to buy parts that'll flex with them.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm runnin Kert's B52's
 
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