6" 52s up front

[bigbadchev84]

ok so i got a few questions......i am currently running 8" springs up front with zerorates, i am wanting to go a little different route....i got some 6" lift springs and am selling my 8" all spring lift to my brother....i was wanting to use the 52" 6" lift springs up front, i was wondering if anyone knew roughly what amount of lift i am gonna gain, as for the back i am thinking some 56s,57s, or 64s in the back, are there any pros or cons to this? i know i will have to go crossover on the 44 but i have a line on some flat tops. this will be a street driven vehicle and a weekend warrior.

 

[54inches]

I have heard that front 52's give you 4", but better ride, so 10" all together....

 

[blazinzuk]

I know a guy that did 4" lift 52s up front 8" of lift so I assume that a 6" would give you 10" of overall lift. Thats how much I have, and the 52s are probably going to be soft. Be prepared for body lean. You get used to it, not a big deal to me

 

[bigbadchev84]

Will the stock bushings work for the front? i will be buying the front brackets and what size rear shackles am i gonna need? 7.25? also what would be the best solution for the rear? shackle flip is gonna be on and i have no clue to the rear springs....

 

[blazinzuk]

I think you need aftermarket bushings for the springs. What brand are they? I really don't know about the rear. I would get long shackles for the rear. I would say talk to whomever you are buying the flip from. Most should have enough know how to set you up with the right stuff for the rear. One peice of advice for the front though if you extend the shock mounts to get more flex out of it you will probably have to put some money into a front driveshaft.

 

[dremu]

Will the stock bushings work for the front? i will be buying the front brackets and what size rear shackles am i gonna need? 7.25? also what would be the best solution for the rear? shackle flip is gonna be on and i have no clue to the rear springs....

The stock front springs have different eyes front-to-rear; rears have the same size both ends, so no, the existing bushings won't work.

When I did my 52's I ordered two sets of stock rear bushings from ORD. Some folks use thicker, i,.e. longer nose bushings up front, as the shackle are IIRC 3" on the inside and the springs are 2", plus the usual 1/4" shoulder making 2.5" ... so you have to add 1/2" overall somehow. (I may have the numbers wrong, but it works out to 1/2" of space.)

Kert @ DIY4X sells 1/4" washers for each side; I ended up just welding some 1/4" flat stock inside the bottom end of my front shackles as it was easier for me to do (see attached.) This allowed me to use stock (i.e. 1/4" shoulder bushings) on both ends of the spring.

Lordie I hope that makes sense, but you asked THE ugly question w.r.t. the 52" front swap.

-- A

 

[MTMike]

The arch of the lift springs in the front will net you more than the ~4" that stock 52's give you. I wouldn't be surprised if you netted 12" with 6" 52's in the front.

Stock height 52's

2" lift Tuff Country 52's:

Clearly more than 2" difference.

 

[bigbadchev84]

MTmike how do you like the 56s in the back any regrets on doing the 52s up front?

 

[MTMike]

MTmike how do you like the 56s in the back any regrets on doing the 52s up front?

I really like the 52/56 combo. The front was quite a bit of work, and required crossover steering, ford shock towers and a long-slip high-angle driveline. The rear was cake to do.

I love the flexibility.... going over obstacles that cause every jeep ahead of me to lift a tire, I just crawl right over with all 4 tires on the ground.

If I could do it all over again I wouldn't have used JCWhitney stock replacements up front.... i would have found some junkyard 52's.

Mike

 

[cybrfire]

Couple ways to attack the spring bushings. Simplest way is to put 1/4" on each side of the lower end of the shackle, like Dremu did. Pretty simple to do. We do make the spacer washers for this purpose.

Aftermarket bushings in the springs can make up the 1/2" difference as well.

I think the best all around solution is to put in a new frame eye hanger and adjust the width of it to suit. Done this in the past for a few guys and now you have the potential to have the same bushings in all 12 locations on your truck. So if you feel the need to carry spare bushings in the event of spitting them out, It's not hard to have the right one on hand. Another side line benefit is, you also end up with the same size 9/16" bolt. It's a nice upgrade from the puny 7/16" one that is in there from the factory. Once in a while you hear of a 7/16" braking and of course anything can be broken.

Like MTMike said, I have also heard that the advertised lift to actual lift, isn't a direct correlatioin<(is that the right word?), when putting rear springs on the front and gets further off the higher you go.

 

[bigbadchev84]

well i have done some searching and there is tons of info, but is there somewhere that has a complete or close to complete material list? i guess i will just need to get the front spring hangers and start tearing apart and putting it back together, i just want to get all my ducks in a row and keep the down time to a minimum. i may just go with a set of 56s in the back and a flip and whatever else corrections are needed. i am way not looking forward to shelling out the cash for the front driveline