Does anybody know what diameter the locating pin on a set of lift blocks should be for a Chevy 1-ton (14-Bolt FF)? Are chevy's 5/8 or 9/16?
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CK5
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modifications to make generic "one size fits all" lift blocks to fit a chevy truck.
- Thread starter 1-ton
- Start date
I have a set of rear lift blocks with 5/8 diameter locating pins. The application says that they will fit all trucks with rear springs located on top of axle. This definitly includes my 1-ton truck with a 14-bolt FF, but I have found some other suspension companies that have lift blocks for chevys with only 9/16 diameter locating pins on their lift blocks. Do anybody know if these blocks are going to work without any modifications?
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Well, no replies yet. I guess I am getting into a detail that is not commonly known by too many people.
metto
Registered Member
maybe cause no body likes lift blocks 
Well, I can underestand that, but I want to use lift blocks because I want to retain the stock rear spring ride. My truck is mostly a tow rig and not a serious wheeler that will be whipped to within an inch of its life trying to climb hills at full throttle from a dead idle stop. Thus axle wrap is not a serious issue.
big83chevy4x4
3/4 ton status
the holes in the spring perches for my 14bsf are partway in between 5/8" and 9/16", i drilled my new perches for 5/8" and have almost no movement. i think the old ones just had some mud or something it in.
on my D60 I know they are 9/16"... and since I swapped stock rear springs into the front and didn't have any "pins to big" issues... I'd guess the perches on my ff14b are the same. Both axles are from mid-80s rigs... not sure if the center pin size changed over the years or not...
j
j
I think I am going to have to drill out my 14-Bolt FF spring perches too, and then find a spring pack bolt with a 5/8 locating pin.
Z3PR
Banned
What about lift springs ??1-ton said:
ColAdo82K5
1/2 ton status
All centerings pins I have seen/purchased are the 9/16 size. When I put new perchs on my axle, I drilled for 9/16 and it fits very snug.
Blake
Blake
Every major suspension manufacture I have talked to only has generic "one size fits all" lift blocks with 5/8 center pins. They insist these will fit any full size truck (including chevy), but they must be wrong because a guy in town that owns a custum spring shop says that all full size chevys use a 9/16 center pin. He said that Dodge and Ford are the ones with 5/8 center pins.
Drilling out my spring perches to 5/8 will not be a big problem, but what will be a problem is the spring pack centering pin. My truck uses a 3/8 spring pack bolt with a 9/16 centering pin head, and there is no such animal as a 3/8 spring pack bolt with a 5/8 head. I talked to a machine shop that said they could add some weld to a 3/8 spring pack bolt with a 9/16 head, and then mill it to a 5/8 diameter.
The guy at the spring shop said I could just go ahead and drop the 9/16 center pin into the 5/8 hole in the top of the lift block, and it would be no big deal, but I would like to everything on my suspension to have a good fit.
I could also drill out the spring pack to 7/16, so I could get a spring pack bolt with a 5/8 center pin head, but that is a lot of work. I will get this done somehow.
Drilling out my spring perches to 5/8 will not be a big problem, but what will be a problem is the spring pack centering pin. My truck uses a 3/8 spring pack bolt with a 9/16 centering pin head, and there is no such animal as a 3/8 spring pack bolt with a 5/8 head. I talked to a machine shop that said they could add some weld to a 3/8 spring pack bolt with a 9/16 head, and then mill it to a 5/8 diameter.
The guy at the spring shop said I could just go ahead and drop the 9/16 center pin into the 5/8 hole in the top of the lift block, and it would be no big deal, but I would like to everything on my suspension to have a good fit.
I could also drill out the spring pack to 7/16, so I could get a spring pack bolt with a 5/8 center pin head, but that is a lot of work. I will get this done somehow.
You could also use a grade 8 allen bolt for your leaf spring centering pin. They are 5/8" head on a 3/8" bolt. That is what i used when i installed my shackle flip with custom made tapered zero rates. 
ColAdo82K5
1/2 ton status
I have a set of 4 inch, cast, angled lift blocks with the correct 9/16's head on them if you are interested.
Blake
Blake
WOW! Good idea. Thanks
Thanks for the offer, but I just pad $55 for these blocks, and I think I will try to make them work. These blocks are not half bad. They are super beefy (they weight about 10 pounds each), and the centering pins are made of high grade steel, instead of the centering pins just being a cast iron part of the block mold (like some other lift blocks I have seen). But, If this job turns to sh!t for some reason
, I will look up this thread again to contact you.
I scored some spring pack bolts today from a local custum spring shop. They where able to find a set of 3/8 spring pack bolts with a (get this) 11/16 diameter centering pin head. Now all I have to do is drill out the lift blocks center pin 5/8 top hole to 11/16, and I am in business.
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You would be better off i think by making the center pin bolt head smaller and not the block hole bigger. Also should be easier to make the bolt head smaller.
That is what I was going to do at first, but the lift blocks I have are really beefy with a lot of cast iron material to work with in the area of the center pinhole on top of the block. When I went to the spring shop, I brought one of the blocks with me, and after the guy that owns the shop looked at it, he was the one that came up with the idea to drill the lift block instead because it was so beefy, and the material is softer and much easier to drill. The lift blocks center pin hole is only going to be drill out 60 thousands of an inch bigger, so it should not be a problem.
