My 52"f/56"r swap: Phase 1 - Prep work

[MTMike]

It's starting to come together. We start work on Tuesday

ORD Greasable main-eye bushings in the front springs.... they've got the 1/4" shoulders to fit the narrower rear springs in the front hangers.

And the cheap-O wal-mart C-Clamp I was using to get the bushings in. Stupid Chinese crap. That's OK though, my BFH got the job done

All 4 springs - the 2 on the left are the 4" lift TC 56'ers for the rear, the 2 on the right are the 2" lift TC 52's for the front.

Here are the 7.25" shackles from DIY4x - got them painted & clearcoated.

WFO Concepts Crossover steering kit - The knuckle came milled & drilled. I don't have the draglink yet - Trevor wanted to wait until I got the suspension done so I could give him measurements. Props to him to ensure that it's done right the first time

More pics to follow after we get started. Thanks to everyone here for all your help in pointing me in the right direction with my truck

-Mike

 

[cybrfire]

Looks like you got some nice components. Good luck with the install. Should go well.

 

[muddyblzr]

looks good are you going to move the front hangars up any or just use the longer shackles? im almost to that step in the process. good luck keep the pics coming

 

[HELLBENT DESIGNS]

looks like you are off to a good start!

 

[nvrenuf]

How are you mounting the 56's? Forwards or backwards?

 

[nvrenuf]

TTT

Got it finished yet?

 

[MTMike]

We had to postpone starting on tuesday til wednesday due to weather. When we got under there yesterday we realized that the bumper on the front was welded over the place I need to move the L-brackets for the front springs. We got the bumper cut off last night (about 10 total inches of 3/8" plate with dull sawzawl blades) before it was time to go home and sleep becuase it was late and I'm getting old.

I'm going back out after work tonight and we're going to finish cutting the bumper mounts off and start busting rivets out - then the weekend will bring nothing but getting caught up on website work i have to finish. 5 paying customers all waiting for their stuff don't care that I wanna build my truck We'll start again on Monday night. I'm hoping to have the front springs done by wed or thurs of next week.

Now whats this about running the 56's backwards? What does it accomplish? Why should I do it? Why not? Obviously, I hadn't planned on it

 

[nvrenuf]

Some people are installing them backwards to extend the wheelbase. The 4" difference bewtween the 52's & 56's is behind the center pin so if you run them backwards you gain approx 4" in wheelbase.

The advantage/benefit is improved departure angle. I'm not sure about any negatives.

 

[MTMike]

Some people are installing them backwards to extend the wheelbase. The 4" difference bewtween the 52's & 56's is behind the center pin so if you run them backwards you gain approx 4" in wheelbase.

The advantage/benefit is improved departure angle. I'm not sure about any negatives.

Ahh, ok. Thanks for the info.

I can think of some negatives for me anyway:
1) I'mma full body, and that'll really throw off my fender alignment (even with the trimming i'm gonna have to do anyway)
2) I'd may have to lengthen my rear driveshaft. It's already pretty long due to having 12" of susp. lift under there now, but going 4" back requires a lot more shaft than going 6" up.

It still may be an option I may consider down the road (it woudlnt' be hard to flip-flop them around) but I'm not going to worry with it this time.

 

[MTMike]

looks good are you going to move the front hangars up any or just use the longer shackles? im almost to that step in the process. good luck keep the pics coming

I'm planning on moving the front hangers and the frame/shackle mount forward just like jekbrown did in his writeup in the Tech section.

 

[Bhintz]

what are you going to do w/ the front driveshaft

 

[MTMike]

what are you going to do w/ the front driveshaft

The truck came when I bought it with a 12" suspension lift (which will be for sale when I'm done) and a custom-made Arizona Drivelines shaft. Well the AZDL CV joint is defective and they don't want to do anything to fix it since I didn't buy it from them, and it's been over a year, and they dont' warranty custom shafts (every excuse in the book ) I'm gonna give Jesse at High Angle Drivelines a call with my measurements after it's sitting on all 4 feet.

 

[beater_k20]

I'm gonna give Jesse at High Angle Drivelines a call with my measurements after it's sitting on all 4 feet.

smart move, considering even if AZDL did do something about it, the product would be inferior anyways.

 

[mouse]

It looks like a good plan to get some flex out of your truck. How far down are you lowering it?

 

[MTMike]

It looks like a good plan to get some flex out of your truck. How far down are you lowering it?

I'm lowering the front suspension to ~6" (2" lift 52's up front) and 8" in the rear from 12" across.

I'm also debating on whether or not to keep the 3" body lift. - It's already in there, but I may decide to take it out.

 

[mouse]

Personally, I hate body lifts. Of course its more work to take it out, but it would look better in the end. Maybe swap in a 1 inch body lift to limit the amount of change.

 

[jekbrown]

I'm not a fan of tall body lifts... but its nice having an inch or so between the body/frame sometimes...

j

 

[HELLBENT DESIGNS]

I'm not a fan of tall body lifts... but its nice having an inch or so between the body/frame sometimes...

j

i agree.since you cut front bumper off now would be the time to go to an ORD 1" lift

 

[MTMike]

I've pretty much decided (but not 100%) on removing the 3"er, but I'm focusing more on the suspension at this time.

I should have progress pics tomorrow night