What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

Idea for flexing suspension?

Mastiff

Mastiff

1/2 ton status
 Premium
Joined
Jul 21, 2002
Posts
3,263
Reaction score
265
Location
Tucson, AZ
I'd love to be able to flex out my new springs, both to help them settle and to really see how much range I need for shocks. If I still lived in Iowa, I'd have my father in law lift the tires with a tractor bucket, but now I don't have access to stuff like that. I have floor jacks, a big hi-lift, an engine hoist... I did okay using some wood to extend my floor jack, but it was a little hairy, and it still didn't go high enough. I played with driving onto the floor jack, but it didn't seem right. Engine hoist might have possibilities, but I can't see a good spot to hook it to. Any clever ideas?

I should point out that I can't just go offroad the thing yet due to driveline angle issues, no front driveshaft, lack of shocks... Besides, I'd prefer to do this in a controlled environment if I could.
 
For zims rig they welded a ring of some sort to an old steel wheel and used the engine hoist.

zims rig.jpg
 
When doing the engine hoist thing make sure its on its max capacity. Its best to find an old wheel but I have drilled holes in plate to bolt to at least 3 lugs. This allows you to go way over max flex.

The engine hoist is how I measure for shocks and bumpstops
 
Why not wrap a towel around your chain to protect the wheel, stick the chain through the upper most hole on your wheel, wrap it around the top of the tire (watch out for the caliper) and lift.
 
Does it actually wreck a wheel, or just ding it up cosmetically? I have a crappy old spare in the bed of the CUCV that would fit, but I don't want to wreck it. Using the wrong sized tire would work for shocks and stops, but not for tire clearance. The wheels I have on there are factory steelies, so they should be pretty tough. :thinking:

By the way, what's your method for setting bumpstops? Stephen at ORD was teaching me. It boiled down to either measuring from no-load droop (better/more difficult) and knowing the travel spec on the spring, or else making a few assumptions and going for about 5" (7" in the back) uptravel from level. The second way doesn't require any flexing obviously. I have the long bumpstops in back and they are way off. I'd go at least 9" before compressing them to a full stop.
 
So long as you pay attention, you should be ok. The towel I suggested was to prevent scratches.

If you look a the thread mentioned and zoom in, it looks like that guy ran his chain in one side of the wheel, under the knuckle (watch out for zerk) and back out the other side of the wheel. That would have taken a lot of the pressure off the wheel itself.

Just use common sense and don't hurt yourself.
 
Keep in mind that with no bump stops, you can overflex the springs. Flexing out the suspension as far as it can go really isn't the right way to figure travel for leaves.

If you want to use the full potential of the front springs, you'll need longer mounts and just jump to a 14" travel shock and set bump stops as you mentioned. If you want to use the stock mounts, you can do that, but the shock will be the limiting factor by quite a bit.

Assuming you're still planning on Tuff Country shocks, the stock mounts work pretty well there. Same story on bump stops.

You really don't have to worry about limit straps because the weight of the axle really isn't enough to hurt the spring.
 
38377k5 said:
Assuming you're still planning on Tuff Country shocks, the stock mounts work pretty well there. Same story on bump stops.

You really don't have to worry about limit straps because the weight of the axle really isn't enough to hurt the spring.
Click to expand...

My thinking was just that it's not good for the shock to be the limiter. Am I overthinking that? I figured I didn't want my axle to be hanging from the shock. I'm pretty sure using a shock as a bumpstop is bad news. That's my concern in the rear, even after I lower the bumpstop.
 
I use a big mound of dirt about 3' high. But it would be hard to get on it without a front driveshaft. I keep thinking I'll spread that dirt in the garden someday, but it sure comes in handy for suspension testing.

You could build some kind of RTI ramp.
 
I used a loading ramp to flex mine out when I got new springs. The building was abandoned though do no one to yell at me for it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom