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question regarding 63" leaf springs

ryanstrucking

ryanstrucking

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I have a 87 K5 dana60 front dana 70 rear and I'd like to move my rear diff back a bit and increase my flex. I was looking into 63" springs for the rear,52"maybe for the front. I already have a shackle flip in the rear with a add a leaf, longer shackles in the front with 6" BDS springs. Any input would be awsome.
Thanx in advance for your comments.
Ryan
 
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1: I'm not sure you can move the diff back 6" without hitting the gas tank, in fact, I think you will hit the tank on compression. Watch out for that.
2: I'm not near a K5 to look at to see what the frame looks like 12" farther back than the stock shackle mount location and it might not be a great place to mount the brackets, but that would be relatively simple to fab your way around.

Otherwise, it sounds like a good plan to me.
Oh, 3: I moved my rear axle back 3" on my K5 with a set of custom 63" springs and just barely had to trim the front of the wheel opening to fit a 42" tire. You might end up with a funny looking tire cutout if you go back 6". If that matters to you.
 
i was going to do the rear 4" back until i got under there with the parts.
i went with 63" springs from off road design (really 64" 3"lift springs) and ajustable 5.5" - 6.5" inch shackles (stock 4") and 2.5 inch shackle flip. turn the shackle flip around so it moves the mounting point 2" towards the rear. then bolt them to the rear mounting holes from the stock shackle mounts and drill 2 more holes for the rear hole of the new mount. to bolt them up you must also saw zall off the frame hump so the shackle flip mounts flat up against the frame. then move the front spring mount 3 inches to the front of the truck. now with 3" more space up front, 6" of space in the rear and 2" of space from mounting the shackle flip brackets on oppisite sides gives you 11" of room made up for your 12" longer springs. this also moves your axle 3" towards the rear. the longer shackle also makes up for the 1" left with good shackle angle.

like me i have a 6" lift with this set up of 3" lift springs , 2.5" shackle flip , 1.5"-2.5" longer shackles (divide in half for lift amount (.75" - 1.25")). now remember you moved your front spring mount 3" forward on an angled part of the frame, you will gain approx. a 1/4 - 1/2 inch in lift height depending on year of k5 . this gives you a total of 6.50" - 7" with 1/4" gain in lift from front mount or 6.75" - 7.25" with 1/2" gain. ( of course depending on your prefered shackle point (adjustable shackle) and suspension sag. i use 5.5" setting and ground off the 6.5" hole

now as for ground clearence a 4" shackle flip is 8" longer than stock with bracket and shackle. this set up of 2.5" shackle flip and 5.5" shackle is also 8" longer. the only major difference verses stock 52" spring is now the spring is mounted 8 inches further back so little loss is there when going up something very steep but you gain great driving control and awesome suspension movement. the trade off is well worth it!!:grin:
 
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Without me starting a new thread, what is the reason for moving back the axle in the rear? I can see it would give you a longer wheel base and dshaft. Doesnt the tire swing rearward toward the back during compression due to the shakle being on the back? Or is there just more room in the front (of the rear)for fender clearance to begin with.I am going to 64s soon and would appreciate everyones input
Thanx Nick
 
if you were wondering i have a 6 1/4 inch suspension (1/2" longer front shackles) but need 7" in the rear like most k5's because of the damn 330lbs. fiberglass top. lots of adjustment in this system incase you want to take it off and go with a canopy top like me.

good points of the 64" springs with longer shackles and shackle flips (63's)

1st- i wanted the longer wheelbase for better departure angle.
2nd- you gain stability and a softer ride on and off road.
3rd- more droop in the suspension= more travel
4th- longer drive shafts= better driveline angle
5th- if done right your drive shafts are alot closer to or is equal in length, this means if one d-shaft breaks you can swap out the other one in place for a trail fix to get home of just carry an extra d-shaft for a spare on either end but still it's only one instead of two.
6rd- you only need to cut one side of the wheel opening instead of both sides.
7th- stock type of spring, easy to come by and cheaper than custom made springs
8th- braging rights

bad points

1st- loss of min. clearence when going up an incline due to the spring eye being so far back. but this is a misconception because you gained more than you lost when you take account the axle has been moved back 3 inches for better departure angle.

putting on the new springs is not that hard if you have all the right tools :hack: and some mechanical no how. this can become complicated if you let it. just take your time doing it. it is worth it!!:thumb:
 
ryanstrucking said:
I have a 87 K5 dana60 front dana 70 rear and I'd like to move my rear diff back a bit and increase my flex. I was looking into 63" springs for the rear,52"maybe for the front. I already have a shackle flip in the rear with a add a leaf, longer shackles in the front with 6" BDS springs. Any input would be awsome.
Thanx in advance for your comments.
Ryan
Click to expand...

I converted to 63" springs about 6 months ago, i used the rear springs from a 89 half ton truck and cut the overload springs down so i could get a good negative arch.
I moved my foward spring perches so that the holes on the rear of the perch bolted up to the front holes on the frame, redrilled the front holes and bolted to the frame after plating the back side.
I too have the shackle flip in the rear. I moved it back untill the front shackle flip holes lined up with the rear holes on the frame bolted them up, drilled the rest and bolted as well.
Note: if you go this rout make sure you get the shackles that go in the 63" springs there a little longer. this set up moved the rear axle back 3" from stock and i have ample clearance between my 14 bolt and fuel tank. I recomend it if your a budget builder like myself.
The whole thing gave me 6" of lift in the rear
 
All good info, thanks for posting it up. I'm looking a going to some 64's in my 'sub but will move the mounts around to keep the axle in the same location so I use the same driveshaft and fender holes.
 
Old post but I'd thought I'd through one in here.
I have since done the spring swap and it works awsome, I managed to move the rear diff back aprox. 5" (1/2" clearance diff/gas tank on full compression)
I left the front of the rear hangers in the stock position, did a shackle flip and added longer than stock shackles.
Again turned out great with the eception of a bit of axle rap :(
Heres a couple pics of the truck now.
I went a little over board on the trimming.:eek1:
The last picture is what it looked like with 6" lift and 38's

wheelin 248.jpg


wheelin 260.jpg


wheelin 061.jpg
 
I was thinking of redoing mine the same way. Moving my front hangers up 3 inches did a couple of things i didn't like. What's 2-3 more inches of wheelbase? Traction bars do alot towards axle wrap.
 
Hate to bring uo an old post. But have a ?. going to do like smash metal done on his rig. was just wanting to know how it looks on truck. how far back does it sit in the wheel well.<<<. dont know if i spelled that right. if you have some pics please send to [email protected] .Thanks
 
I was talking to a local fab shop and they suggested doing 63" springs and moving the spring directly under the frame (ie. moving spring perches on axle etc.). What kind of reprocussions would this have? They said it would give me a lot more travel with the 63's. Any validity here? I know it will take more fab time but wondering if anyone has done this on their rigs or have seen it done on any K5.
 
one ck5 member did it awhile back . youll get more sway in the corners and possible general squirrelyness on the road if you do that. This is all in theory though as I havent done it on my truck.
 
Yeah that is what I figured also, just the shear fact of the springs being so close seem like it will be pretty squirly. But that also lends itself to the idea that it will flex pretty darn well also though. What do you think?
 
Nevermind my thoughts of moving the springs inward, but when you do 63'' springs what is the best way to do it? Move the rear shackle as far back as needed (concerned with hitting the tank) or moving them both..(Front bracket: rear holes mount to where the front holes were; Rear bracket: front holes mount to the rear holes)?
 
Curious if anyone has done this swap with little or no change in axel location. I have cut out fender flares to keep my truck legal, and would like to leave it that way. Thanks.
 
So I moved my ORD reverse shackle bracket as far back as it is long (ie. the front holes are now bolted where the rear holes were; so roughly 6" ), and the brackets were switched sides to move it back an additional couple inches. The front bracket is bolted as far forward as it could go; so it is right next to the body mount (probably moved forward 2").

I have a great shackle angle with ORD's 6" shackle with no weight on the truck.

But does anyone have any ideas or opinions if I am going to hit the tank with my 14bff?
 
Eyeball the center pins and add a few inches . That should give you a good guesstimate.
Or you could eyeball the center pins againt the bumpstops.
 
eyeball the center pin and add a few inches to the back to see if it will hit the tank?

Just making sure I know what you mean by that.
 
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