k30 SRW 4" Shackle Flip with stock rear springs

[All American]

I recently changed the lifted height on my 86 K30 SRW. Before the changes, the truck had a 2" lift that the PO installed (front spring lift, rear blocks) and 33" tires. It sat level with that lift.

After my modifications to the suspension, the truck sits higher in the back than the front. To give you some idea of the difference in back-to-front height the top of the bed at the tailgate is about 2" higher off the ground than the top of the bed just behind the cab. I'm running 35's now.

I want to level the truck's stance and that's where I need your opinions.

Here is what I did to change the lifted height:

Front:
-Replaced the old springs with 4" Tuff Country HD springs
-added 1" ORD zero rates

Rear:
-Removed the 2" blocks
-added 4" ORD shackle flip with 4" "super shackles"
-added 1" ORD zero rates
-Retained the stock spring pack, which measures about 3.5" thick

I'm wondering if the 454 and 8274 winch on the front end is enough to make the front springs sag by up to an inch? The Tuff Country website lists the spring rate for the 4" HD spings at 495 lbs which I guess may or may not be stiff enough for the weight.

The other thing I should have done before buying parts was measure the rear springs, as they are 1.5" thicker than those on my K5 and no doubt contributing to the "rear sits higher than the front" issue.

My thought at this point is to replace the front springs with Tuff Country EZ Ride 6" springs (spring rate is 465 lbs) then keep/remove the zero rates on the front/back as necessary to level the truck given that the new front springs may/may not sag a bit.

BTW, the ORD parts fit-up flawlessly. Thanks for making a quality product.

Thanks in advance for your advice,

Matt

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

On the front of your truck, measure from the top of the axle tube to the bottom of the metal bumpstop bracket that's above the front axle. A stock truck is 8.5-9", that will give us an idea of how the front is sitting.

Do you want the truck to be taller?

 

[All American]

Thanks Chris. Knowing a good measurement technique and points of reference was something I was wondering about. I'll take a measurement tonight and get back to you.

In terms of height, I'd like it to sit level with the back. I'm ok with a little rake to the front, but IMO I've got too much at the moment. I could pull the rear 0 rates but I'm not sure that would get me there and I really don't want to pull leaves out of the rear spring pack.

Now that I know a good measurement technique and the stock height benchmark I'm really curious to see where the front is sitting right now. Thanks again.

 

[All American]

The measurement on my K30 came in at 13", so it appears as though I'm netting about 4" of height after adding 5" of lift (4" springs + 1" zero rate).

Assuming the 8.5-9" stock height measurement distance applies equally to all K series trucks, I took the same measurement on my '88 K5 which has the same 4" spring lift on the front (Tuff Country 4" HD springs) and no zero rate, and it came in at 13" as well. So given that I only added 4" of lift to the K5 it would seem as though I'm getting an honest 4" height out of the springs on that application (front-end weight is mostly stock - 350 motor, winch bumper and winch).

Do you have a good measurement technique for the rear of the truck? Top of the axle tube to XX point on frame and what the stock distance for that should be? I'm curious to compare there as well.