B-52 beyond

[F-ingrob]

Im ready to do a B-52 BEYOND swap
my questions are how do i measure a rear leaf spring from a chevy truck to fit on the front of my blazer and then hows the ride i drive to my wheeling spots not looking for a handling rig but drive able truck

 

[Twiztedmods]

What's your current setup? I would probably stick with the 52" spring found in the K5's rear. Do a search, There is a ton of info on this topic.

 

[U-711ipmc]

I researched this for a while and everyone stated it creates more body roll. Most said its manageable on the road.

 

[F-ingrob]

my current set up is 4" lift dana 44 3/4 ton cross over steering

 

[cybrfire]

If you are looking for a 52" spring, any spring from a 1/2 ton pickup or a blazer from 73-87 will be a 52. 3/4 tons and suburbans from 73-87 were mixed between the 52's and 56's.

To find a 52 in the above mix, just pull a tape from eye to eye straight across. It will measure shorter than 52 but you'll certainly be able to tell a 52 from a 56 this way. If the springs are not on the truck, a cloth tape works good to measure the length of the main leaf by laying the tape on the top spring measuring along the arc.

Dodge also has a 52" spring. We've used a few sets of these as well. They have a 2" offset in the center pin. These can work quite well for gaining some clearance in the front by moving the axle forward away from the firewall.

A blazer spring is a good candidate for the swap. More importantly, if you are sourcing junkyard springs, finding one in good shape is the key. The Majority of the springs you'll be looking at will be worn out. A junkyard local to us usually has a large area full of leaf springs. It's nice to be able to grab several sets and compare the free arch of the spring. Just as an indicator of the springs condition.

Ride after the swap depends greatly on what spring you end up with. While I've yet to have a set that is unmanageable, some will create more body roll than others. Shock absorbers will also play a role here as well as how the shocks are mounted. In my experience, cheap shocks can get you by but a good quality shock can make all the difference.

I've spoken to a few customers that put on the 52" springs looking for "mad" flex and found the lightest duty 52" spring they could get there hands on and backed that up with a cheap pair of "lift kit" shocks they had lying around. This combination will probably never work very well. While the "mad" flex was achieved, the rig became difficult to drive. Use a little common sense when looking at springs.

Call me or PM me anytime you like.

 

[xenomarine]

I'll definitely have to look into this as well, it would be pretty cool to have a bit longer spring up front. Also I like your little tagline underneath your display name, that's true as hell!

 

[Kay86K5]

cybrfire pretty much nailed it. I have done the 52 spring swap, as my sig indicates, and yes I can tell I do have a little more body roll, but nothing too crazy. I went with a middle of the road shock setup (ProComp 3000's) and I feel they do just fine but I bet if I spent over $100 on some really good bilstines or something, I wouldn't tell too much of a difference over my old 4" lift front springs.

I have been telling people that you really can look at it two ways. Do you drive your rig on the street alot (I mean Daily Driving type of street driving), or do you do occational driving around town but really do more offroad and care about flex? If you DD your rig, than you probably don't want to go with the 52 swap, either stick with 4" lift springs, or spend a little more $ and get some custom sets from ORD or something like that. My rig is build more for offroad. I drive it on the street every once in a while just for kicks and giggles (to Walmart or something and piss off all the people with Smart cars), so dealing with a little body roll doesn't bother me at all.

 

[F-ingrob]

i drive my blazer just as much off road as i do in road
i drive it 4hrs to my ranch which is hwy driving and then 40 miles down a winding 2 lane road
i have rancho 9000's which are adjustable
i also dont have a sway bar now and dont care about a little body roll its not a race car
i just want a little more flex up front
thanks for all the input