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moving the front axle really far foward

twoslo4five0

twoslo4five0

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Living in a dump, VA
so my plans for my build are comeing togher well...and the parts are too

right now im working a deal on a 203/ford 205 doubler...

i know of a hp ford 60 from a 79 im gonna go pick up next weekend...

i have my springs for the front here laying in the floor of the shop..
they are 3 inch wide ford 57s...still working an mounting ideas but theese springs will push my axle really far foward...

after thinking about it today i called wfo and talked to trevor for a while about some reverce high steer arms with the drag link in the back where the tie rod is..

he says i can move my axle foward 6 inches with his arms and draglink ends..he said ord's arms dont allow for as much...

so what do you guys think about moving the axle foward 6 inches...

he said if i wanted to mount the draglink in the back with the tie rod i would have to move it foward like 12 inches :eek1:...so that wont be happening...
 
It depends on how much lift you have, but if you have crossover steering and move the axle forward 3" or more you may have trouble with the pitman arm hitting the u-bolts/spring plate.
 
38377k5 said:
It depends on how much lift you have, but if you have crossover steering and move the axle forward 3" or more you may have trouble with the pitman arm hitting the u-bolts/spring plate.
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he was saying something about running a box from a scout of a ford so the pitman arm will turn diffrently...
 
twoslo4five0 said:
he was saying something about running a box from a scout of a ford so the pitman arm will turn diffrently...
Click to expand...
What are you doing with this build, why do you want to move the front axle so far forward, why run the Ford 57's, trail only or DD, etc.?
 
38377k5 said:
What are you doing with this build, why do you want to move the front axle so far forward, why run the Ford 57's, trail only or DD, etc.?
Click to expand...
approach angle...in a perfect world i would like to be able to climb straight up a wall...kinda hard to do with leaves though....
 
and the 57s are super flexy and they were free...but the center pin is offset which i could correct with a set of zero rates but i would like to use it to my advantage and mabye a lil more if possible...
 
twoslo4five0 said:
approach angle...in a perfect world i would like to be able to climb straight up a wall...kinda hard to do with leaves though....
Click to expand...

A 90 degree approach angle is tough with leaves, and longer leaves only make that harder.

I think my approach angle is ~80 degrees, and I could climb up a wall if I wanted to by approaching it at a bit of an angle. Seriously, I doubt approach angle should matter that much to you. If it does for some reason, leaves probably aren't your answer anyway.
 
twoslo4five0 said:
and the 57s are super flexy and they were free...but the center pin is offset which i could correct with a set of zero rates but i would like to use it to my advantage and mabye a lil more if possible...
Click to expand...

You can always redrill the perches to move the axle forward or back an inch without zero rates.

If you use them, put clamps on them. You may get a little more flex without clamps but you will get wicked axle wrap. With springs like these you will have plenty of flex anyway.

You didn't answer whether this truck will see street time or not :dunno:
 
oh sorry it will see very limited street time mostly on the trailer or running to the store to get something to eat...i have a ton of tickets (lift,ect)so i dont really drive around in a lifted truck too much...just like a sunday afternoon or something...i would use my 52s out the back of my truck but the springs are bend and one is broken...
 
Ford 57" springs will flex well and will probably fit what you want to do pretty well.

I don't think moving the axle that far forward with leaves/without full hydro steering is a great idea. If your that serious about flex, offroad performance, approach angle etc. then you time/money are better spent on something other than leaves.

And you'll quickly find that none of this is cheap or easy :doah:
 
You can get a steering box that is identical to stock except that it has reversed gearing (I think a van application...I have one in the corner of my garage). Then maybe rotate the pitman arm 180 degrees on the sector shaft so it's pointing forward. I think this might allow you to then run a draglink over to a standard steering arm (pointed towards the front) on a axle moved quite a bit forward????
 
FYI dodge 52" springs have an offset center pin. TruckNutzDude has chevy 52"s and he tried to use a zero-rate to move his axle forward more. His pitman arm would hit the u-bolt plate
 
alright i just bought a truck i will be taking the axle out of for my rig...now its a ford 60 and the spring plates are on the bottom of the axle so would i still run into the same problems with the draglink/pittman arm hitting anything??here is a pic for reference...i would like to move it 5 to 6 inches foward with leaves...
my60.jpg
 
twoslo4five0 said:
alright i just bought a truck i will be taking the axle out of for my rig...now its a ford 60 and the spring plates are on the bottom of the axle so would i still run into the same problems with the draglink/pittman arm hitting anything??here is a pic for reference...i would like to move it 5 to 6 inches foward with leaves...
my60.jpg
Click to expand...

It depends on how much lift you have.

Running the inverted spring pads may help steering clearance but it sucks getting them hung up on rocks.
 
im gonna be running 4...i was thining that the pads would get hung up...im gonna run that at first if it becomes a problem i will flip them...
 
what is the best way to add a bumpstop to limit up travel???im kinda on the fence about running my springs with overloads or with without and bumpstops...what do you do chris??
 
twoslo4five0 said:
what is the best way to add a bumpstop to limit up travel???im kinda on the fence about running my springs with overloads or with without and bumpstops...what do you do chris??
Click to expand...

I have to run bumpstops because my suspension is basically at stock height and the pitman arm only clears the spring by an inch or two at ride height.

I'll snap a picture of my bumpstops tomorrow.
 
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