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Recommendations on how many leafs to keep in the 52/56 spring swap and ?'s about pushing axle back.

handloader90

handloader90

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52" springs up front
Front spring hanger flipped
DIY4X shackle sanger
6" shackles

56" springs out back
ORD shackle flip (mounted "Wrong Side")
DIY4X 6" shackles

Both sets of spring packs still have theoverloads and all of the leafs.

Front 52's: 4 leafs + overload
Rear 56's: 7 leafs + overload

I'm wanting to know about removing the overloads and maybe a few leafs?

What can I get away with to make it a softer ride, gain more articulation and not have to worry about spring wrap.

I may need degree shims up front and an EZ-Inch in the rear, a traction bar will happen at some point.

Also, I know the 56's are offset 26/30. Currently setup with the short end forward and I don't like how close the rear tires would sit to the front of the rear fender, I want to push it back but not into the rear part of the fender.

I've read that 56's will push the rear axle back 4", I've also heard that it is realistically about 2" with a shackle flip due to the fact that a shackle flip naturally moves your axle forward a little bit.

Just looking for some guidance and recommendations from guys who have ran this setup and what the sweet spots are.

Thanks!
 
They hit when I had the 4* shims at 6 springs

I could roll the drag link from being 100% down and it would raise it enough to clear at full droop
 
What size flip are you using? You're right about the natural push forward but it's less with a 2.5" flip. At one point I had my 56's backwards plus an offset Zero Rate for a total of 5" rearward shift, IMO it was pretty awkward looking. After flipping the springs back and forth with the ZR's looking at the axle positions I ended up going with the 56's backwards and a ZR set 1" forward for a total of 3" rearward push.

One thing to consider is with the 56's mounted backwards the axle is now on the far side of the arc of the spring causing the pinion to roll down and a lot more potential for axle wrap. These weren't big issues for me as I was rewelding perches anyway so I rolled the pinion back up and I'll also be installing a traction bar to combat the wrap.

Oh, I'm also running the full 56" pack with the overload removed (for height). I still have a nice ride and decent flex.
 
Your fronts will want to have 3 leaves in place of the overload. Cut them to taper evenly in length and whatever you rob the leaves from, measure thickness with a caliper to make sure it's close to the top 4 of your spring pack. Another similar 52" spring pack is a good place to go for donor material.

Keep all 7 in the back and replace the overload with 1 or 2 of the same thickness. Or keep the top couple leaves and replace the rest with parts from a 52" pack for the thinner material. Taper the length down so you don't have a bunch of unsupported overhang anywhere. At this point you'll probably want a total of 7-8 leaves. Then move your shackle flip back on the frame 1.5" or a squeeze more. You want the main eye to shackle point on the frame to be 53.75 to 54".
See this thread for some more info on the shackle angle thing:
https://ck5.com/forums/threads/fron...tter-ride-in-a-73-87-k10.327964/#post-3707722

This is why I'm not a 52 front/56 rear fan. The springs can work and the extra length is nice to have but you trade off approach angle and it's a lot of work to make the leaves right and most guys flounder around on crappy springs while they solve all the problems. You really need to have 2 complete sets of springs to have enough parts to build the packs you need then it's a lot of tape measure and cutoff wheel work to fit it all up nicely. A set of our custom leaves up front will bolt in and work really good with no guesswork and same situation in the rear or if you want to mess with it a set of 64" 1/2T truck springs will work really nice and not have to be custom built by anyone.
 
Stephen said:
Your fronts will want to have 3 leaves in place of the overload. Cut them to taper evenly in length and whatever you rob the leaves from, measure thickness with a caliper to make sure it's close to the top 4 of your spring pack. Another similar 52" spring pack is a good place to go for donor material.

Keep all 7 in the back and replace the overload with 1 or 2 of the same thickness. Or keep the top couple leaves and replace the rest with parts from a 52" pack for the thinner material. Taper the length down so you don't have a bunch of unsupported overhang anywhere. At this point you'll probably want a total of 7-8 leaves. Then move your shackle flip back on the frame 1.5" or a squeeze more. You want the main eye to shackle point on the frame to be 53.75 to 54".
See this thread for some more info on the shackle angle thing:
https://ck5.com/forums/threads/fron...tter-ride-in-a-73-87-k10.327964/#post-3707722

This is why I'm not a 52 front/56 rear fan. The springs can work and the extra length is nice to have but you trade off approach angle and it's a lot of work to make the leaves right and most guys flounder around on crappy springs while they solve all the problems. You really need to have 2 complete sets of springs to have enough parts to build the packs you need then it's a lot of tape measure and cutoff wheel work to fit it all up nicely. A set of our custom leaves up front will bolt in and work really good with no guesswork and same situation in the rear or if you want to mess with it a set of 64" 1/2T truck springs will work really nice and not have to be custom built by anyone.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tech.!

When you say move the shackle flip roughly 1.5" is the keeping it the flips orientated the correct way or flipping them to the "wrong side"?
 
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