front lift blocks ?

[philo]

I saw a front spring perch replacement useing 1/4 inch x 2.1/2 x 5 inch block steel then forming a round section for the axel. apparently this is stronger and aslo gave about 3/4 inch lift it looked good. what would happen if 2 1/2 inch steel box was welded on top of the perch as a lift? ive heard it before to never lift the front with blocks. but forgive me i dont know what happens when you do this.

 

[sapper]

because the blocks are sandwiched between the two when you steer there could be some shearing action going on and then your in big trouble. you can use the ORD zero rate add-a-leaves if the frount and they will give you 1" of lift thats safe

 

[Mudstud]

Blocks act as an extension on a lever. The further away you put the axle from the spring the more leverage you are applying to the whole system. How it applies is when you hit a bump it puts extreme force on the entire axle and spring assembly and can spin the axle out from under the springs. That would suck!

 

[Stephen]

You run into several problems with tall perches and or blocks/leaves, etc. The longer the ubolts the more opportunity for stretch and the more leverage there is against all the parts. I probably wouldn't run a tall (1") offset leaf with a custom leaf spring that's thick to start with. You really end up stacking a lot of stuff in there. Regardless of how it's fastened it's still a lot of height. Especially on a front axle that has high steering and braking forces.

 

[79Beast]

I agree with Stephen.(Duh) What you have to keep in mind is leverage. On a steering axle, there is already severe leverage side to side, as well as front to back, torque on the axlehouding, and combinations thereof. I have seen trucks with front lift blocks shoot a block out. Getting that fool home was a lot of work and a learning experience for me. It is worth the extra money to buy a lift spring or the zero rate add a leaf. If you really want to do it homestyle, try lowering you spring hangers. Don't forget your old buddy leverage...give everything some "delicious overkill" in the strength dept.

 

[jekbrown]

well, for what its worth, i noticed that the big furd in the most recent fourwheeler has welded-on-type "blocks" in the front to provide lift on the 2.5 ton rockwells. Of course, the top of a rockwell has quite a bit of surface area, and its flat... so you could attach a "block" pretty securely to something like that, I would think, and be ok. If you were to do something like that... its definitely the kinda thing you'd wanna consult with a pro about... wouldn't wanna just throw them on and hope for the best because as others have noted, there are some serious forces at work on the front axle that are not block-friendly.

J