Newbie installing a lift! Almost done!

[jeff in co]

I have the 2.5" BDS and my front was just a little springy....so I took one of the front leafs out of the pack. Rides better and probably dropped just a touch too. I also like the rear up more than the front. Before doing anything drastic, drive it for awhile to get everything broken in and settled. Then adjust if its still not to your taste.

 

[4x4blaze]

Wow, thanks a ton for all of the replies guys! & That is exactly what I wanted to hear about the add-a-leafs! But anyways, I've got the rear springs back together and ready to go! Spray bombed them, new greasable ORD bushings installed, and got the add-a-leafs bolted on! Going to try to get the axle back underneath the truck today and then determine how big of shims I will be needing.

Only issue that I have ran into is that I have not been able to find the torque specs for the greasable bushings? I did a lil searching through this forum, and it seems that 40ftlbs is a good number, but I'm not positive that's what they want them at? So I probably won't torque them till I hear some feedback

& @6.2Blazer, I'm glad to hear that about the spacers! I don't think anyone truly loves spacers, but most truly do hate the narrower rear ends these have... & this truck will be lightly "wheeled" here and there, but nothing insane.. pretty much just my weekend sidekick! So hopefully I'll have good luck with them!

 

[4x4blaze]

Well I finally got the axle back under the truck.. And here are my angles:

 

[4x4blaze]

Shot it twice just for kicks, but it looks like they both came out really close.. So I'm guessing a 6° shim (?) would get me in the ballpark?

Also, I'm a little concerned that my rear driveshaft is a little too short? I've got roughly 4 inches of lift in the back with the super shackles and zero rates.. Plus the axle being relocated towards the rear an inch to compensate for the flip.. Dont want to jump this thing or do something stupid and have it pop out

 

[4x4blaze]

& here's a little teaser pic! Still on its dinky tires, but loving the way it sits! Thanks for all the help along the way guys, dont know what I'd do without CK5..... & Still quite a few things to do, but this is the first time it's been on it wheels in over a month! Slowly but surely....

 

[jeff in co]

Looks great!

 

[4x4blaze]

Looks great!

Thanks man!

& I forgot to post this on here, but a couple days ago, I called ORD to figure out what the torque specs were on there greasable bolt.. They told me 75 ft. lbs. Just figured I'd post it since it may be able to help someone out in the future!

 

[obijuank5]

Speaking of bolt torque, don't forget after it's first test drive and after a few hundred miles just go back over everything you touched and check for tightness on all the bolts.

 

[4x4blaze]

Well this weekend I finally started to get the shocks on the truck. But now I'm afraid that my front shocks aren't long enough to run in the auxiliary position (originally had dual front shocks) as I had planned. This thing is kicking my a$$ to say the least.... Heres a picture of how it looks



Also, these shocks came with 2 different sets of bushing so you could run them in either "stock" or "auxiliary" position. But as you can see, I'm not sure if that's possible.

 

[4x4blaze]

I'm also afraid of the rear end having a boat load of droop.... and the rear shocks acting as the limiting straps... Yet another unexpected problem....

Lift it they said. It will be fun they said.

 

[Blue85]

Have you looked into swaybar disconnects? Even if you want to run the swaybar all the time, the disconnect gives a pivot point so the front half of the spring isn't fighting with the swaybar for length and the rig rides better. Plus, the option to disconnect make a huge difference off-road.

 

[K5wrench]

Shot it twice just for kicks, but it looks like they both came out really close.. So I'm guessing a 6° shim (?) would get me in the ballpark?

Also, I'm a little concerned that my rear driveshaft is a little too short? I've got roughly 4 inches of lift in the back with the super shackles and zero rates.. Plus the axle being relocated towards the rear an inch to compensate for the flip.. Dont want to jump this thing or do something stupid and have it pop out

I istalled the ORD 4" shackle flip on the rear of my 86.
Required a 6 degree shim to point the pinion back down.
Also lowered the transfer case 3/4" using steel strips and the old front shackles.
Got my pinion and tcase output angles within .8 degrees of each other.
Operating angles (driveshaft angle minus pinion or output angle) of each joint are within .8 degree too.
After that, i measured from the output spline of the tcase to the ear of the pinion yoke.
Called Tom Woods Driveshaft and had them build me a new standard 2 ujoint Cardan driveshaft.
Had i wanted a Double Cardan at the tcase, i'd have left the pinion pointing up at the tcase output like it was after the shackle flip.
One thing about a double Cardan or cv driveshaft; they are heavy and put a lot of load on the stock bushing in the output housing of the np208.
It is recommended that a slip yoke eliminator kit be installed.
So i decided to just stick with a 2 ujoint driveshaft but had a new one made to proper length.
Knowing that even if i set the pinion and tcase angles within 1 degree parallel of each other, the 13 and 14 degree operating angles of the ujoints will shorten their lives to about 20%.
100% being 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 5 years.
I can live with 20%.

But you should decide what you are going to do about those angles, and which type of driveshaft you want to run, before you have a new shaft made.
Have a look at Tom Woods Driveshaft site.
Lot of info there.
There is also one called Bella something.
Lots of info there.
Now, i still ended up with a 20 degree slope on my driveshaft.
That is way beyond normal.
Never fully be smooth.
Thats why a lot of guys go with a cv shaft, slip yoke eliminator or not.
Cv shaft will always be smoother.

Lifting trucks is a compromise.

Those shocks are too short.
Send them back.
You wont be happy.

 

[K5wrench]

Have you looked into swaybar disconnects? Even if you want to run the swaybar all the time, the disconnect gives a pivot point so the front half of the spring isn't fighting with the swaybar for length and the rig rides better. Plus, the option to disconnect make a huge difference off-road.

I've got the Tuff country 3" lift HD springs up front with ORD shackles and sway bar correction/disconnect.
Longer brakelines too.
If you go this route and disconnect the swaybar, you'll get 10 inches of extra travel out of the front end.
Makes the stock front driveshaft bind at the cv.
Either grind the ears and hope for the best or measure and have a new 1310 cv front driveshaft made.
They handle 30 degree angles where the stock 3R cv binds over 20 degrees.
Dropping the transfer case, even an inch to help rear driveshaft, makes it worse for the front driveshaft cv.
Get a long travel spline, Tom Woods calls it an "X" spline.
I worked at Driveline Service in San Jose for 3 years.
Tom Woods knows what they are doing.

Of course, you can just wheel your rig without correcting the angles of drivetrain components or lengthening driveshafts.
A lot of guys do.
Their rigs vibrate, leak, and later you find them broken down on the trail or highway with metal parts and oil dripping out.
I know.
I was that guy once.
Now i go all the way.
Did you know a 1 liter plastic Coke bottle and duct tape can seal the rear output of an np208 after your driveshaft explodes?
Drove home on the front.

 

[4x4blaze]

About the shocks, ended up jacking the front up to see how far the front axle would droop.. And luckily, it stops about an inch before the shocks hit full extension. And as @Blue85 stated, this is probably from the sway bar binding. If I end up putting a disconnect on it, it will probably allow it to drop further.

But anyways, I did drive it around the other day! Just to find out that my rear shaft wasnt long enough...It wouldnt make any noise under acceleration, but would chatter when it wasnt under load at the slip yoke. So, the driveshaft is currently at the shop being lengthened! Hopefully ill get it back tomorrow so I can start racking up some miles on this thing!

Oh, And heres a couple teaser pics!

 

[4x4blaze]

The only thing I have a question about is the front spring mounts..... They seem like they are being pinched far too tight..? It looks like it needs shims or washers possibly but im not sure. i have them torqued to 50. What do you guys think?

 

[obijuank5]

Pretty normal with aftermarket springs.

 

[4x4blaze]

& @K5wrench , you are correct with the 6 degree axle shims. I did the math and thats exactly what it came out to be. All of my angles are in the green. & Wow, sounds like you have quite a bit of experiece four wheeling these beast! Theres no way i could reply to all of the things you mentioned, But thank you! Lots of helpful info! & Don't forget, I want this truck to be capable and be done right, but this truck is primarily just my weekend cruiser! Or Mall Crawler if you will But i do have a tendency to get rowdy and do stupid thigs every now and then....

 

[4x4blaze]

Pretty normal with aftermarket springs.

Good to know! Is it worth my time potentially shimming it to get them straighter? And does 50 sound like a reasonble torque value?

 

[obijuank5]

I think that is way too low. I would double check a torque chart somewhere. It is a good thing you're using Stover nuts though. I have never shimmed them before. I don't think it will be an issue by any means.

 

[K5wrench]

& @K5wrench , you are correct with the 6 degree axle shims. I did the math and thats exactly what it came out to be. All of my angles are in the green. & Wow, sounds like you have quite a bit of experiece four wheeling these beast! Theres no way i could reply to all of the things you mentioned, But thank you! Lots of helpful info! & Don't forget, I want this truck to be capable and be done right, but this truck is primarily just my weekend cruiser! Or Mall Crawler if you will But i do have a tendency to get rowdy and do stupid thigs every now and then....

Just remember to get a longer spring center pin.
The shim needs to be bolted to the spring pack with that center pin.
5/16 head.
They sell them at Autozone.
Get steel shims too.. no aluminum.

The actual proper way is to cut and turn the spring perches and shock tabs.
Shims are second best.