72 blazer with 56" springs question.

[k5 krawler 50]

A friend of mine wants to know if he could install 56" rear springs on the back of his 72 blazer by flipping his ORD flip to other sides, and keeping the wheel in the center of the wheel well? Any help and advice is much appreciated. thanks.

 

[k5 krawler 50]

ttt.. does anyone know or have done this to their first gen? Need help as soon as possible, thanks in advance.
Cory

 

[Greg72]

Do you have a measuring tape??


Think about this logically:

• What is the current measurement from the front spring hanger to the spring pin on the existing springs? That is what determines the position of the axle under the truck.
• What is the measurement of the new spring between those same two points?

If the measurement of the "new" spring is longer, the axle will be moving BACK with the new spring installed. If it is the same value, the axle will stay in it's same position in the wheelwell.

As for the shackle reversing trick: That will only help you in fixing a FUBAR shackle angle (or at least make it better, hopefully) but it has nothing to do with the position of the axle under the truck.

With that same tape measure, you can measure the "offset" in the shackleflip bracket and calculate how much further back the shackle mounting hole would be if that offset was turned the opposite way.... it's really not a hard calculation, but it would help to be looking at the parts when you're trying to understand how to figure it out.

IIRC, normal rear springs are 52" and you are looking at 56". That means you are probably adding 2" on either side of the spring pin.....my "prediction" is that the axle will want to move back 2" with the new spring setup, and flipping the brackets MIGHT get you enough extra length on the shackle side.....(though I think this is where the swap will take a bit more effort to solve)

 

[k5 krawler 50]

that makes sence, and i'm to dense to think like that, so thanks for the heads up there. The spring's ceterpin is at 26" from the front( i think) and 30 from the back, meaning the centerpin isn't exactly in the center. I Dont know if that has any thing to do with the axle moving, but if the 52" springs have a 26 on center, center pin, and if the 56" springs have the 26 in portion of the spring facing forword, then the axle wouldn't move at all, correct? I hope that makes sense, thanks for the help.

 

[Greg72]

Makes sense to me....but it DOES mean that you're going to have a long "tail" on the back side to deal with.

The 1st Gen shackle flip has a pretty good offset to it, so flipping them might get you close to what you need.


Post up some pics if you decide to try this...I'm considering trying a longer rear spring just for fun. You can be my guinea pig.

 

[k5 krawler 50]

Hey, if he does it i will deffinately post up some pics. thanks for the help.
Cory

 

[dremu]

that makes sence, and i'm to dense to think like that, so thanks for the heads up there. The spring's ceterpin is at 26" from the front( i think) and 30 from the back, meaning the centerpin isn't exactly in the center. I Dont know if that has any thing to do with the axle moving, but if the 52" springs have a 26 on center, center pin, and if the 56" springs have the 26 in portion of the spring facing forword, then the axle wouldn't move at all, correct? I hope that makes sense, thanks for the help.

What you first-gen snobs forget is that 56"s are not symmetrical ... I forget the exact measurements, but IIRC one side is the same as a 52" (i.e. 26") and the other is 4" longer (~30").

So you COULD keep the stock wheelbase with 56"s.

-- A

 

[Greg72]

What you first-gen snobs forget is that 56"s are not symmetrical ... I forget the exact measurements, but IIRC one side is the same as a 52" (i.e. 26") and the other is 4" longer (~30").

So you COULD keep the stock wheelbase with 56"s.

-- A

Yeah, if it weren't for the brochures on slosh.com, I'd still believe that 1972 was the final year for the K5!!



Fartknocker...

 

[Leper]

When I did the swap on my 91, the axle stayed in the same place. I know yours is older, but it should be the same. I didn't remember the springs were offset when I first went to install them. I got one right and one wrong and I was like WTF happened? lol
FWIW I went from stock 52" springs and a shackle flip and a zero rate to a 4" , 56" spring with the overload removed 6" shackle and no zerorate, and the truck was only .5" higher.

 

[k5 krawler 50]

cool,thanks for everyones help, i'm still hoping my friend goes throu with this because i think it would be a cool project to share with people.