Suspension ideas/suggestions. New Pics 10/6/05

[koldsimer]

As happy as I am with my blazer in its current state, I can't help but think that the current suspension is limiting its potential. It flexes good enough for a blazer but I want more! Up front I have BDS 6" lift springs with a zero rate and ord hd shackles. In the back I have 56" 4" lift superlift springs with a 4" ord shackle flip kit. Both front and back, my shackle angles are near verticle. Both sets of springs flex well enough to flatten out completely on compression, with the shocks being the limiting factor in the front. It seems that neither shackle is able to swing at all in their current spots, which is extremely limiting when it comes to droop. Up front, I plan on moving the rear shackle hanger exactly as it's done for the 52" spring swap and use a shackle that's apx. 7.5" eye to eye. I have some 3/8 x 1 1/2 cold rolled flat bar, so strength shouldn't be an issue with the shackles, even with them being that long. In the back, I want to run the 6" HD shackles that ord is making. To set these at a more effective angle, I want to move the hanger forward apx. 2". I would like to see the shackle at about 45-50 degrees when the truck is loaded. I think that I can guess with most of the placement issues so that my lift remains about the same. In the front, I think that I can also get the hanger high enough so that caster and u-joint/driveshaft yoke bind wont be issues. Any thoughts or ideas anyone?

 

[koldsimer]

C'mon guys! Nobody has any advice? Not even a "go search newbie"?

 

[MTMike]

It sounds like youre heading in the right direction.....

Part of the problem with the rear shackle angle is the lift springs... they're arched more, and are slightly shorter at ride height than a stock spring of the same length. Before you move the rear shackle hangers, try reversing them (puttin the left on the right side & right on the left) if you havn't already. IIRC, the ORD shackle hangers are not symmetrical, so by reversing them you can effectively move the upper shackle bolt's centerline forward or backwards a couple inches without having to drill new holes in the frame. Either way you go, just make sure you don't get the shackles too flat or when the spring compresses you'll get shackle lock.

On the front, you need to look at going with some ford shock towers to get the upper shock mount higher so that the shock doesn't limit uptravel. The longe shackles should really help with the droop as well. Watch it if you move the front shackle hangers higher as you could run into having the spring eye contacting the frame on compression.

Good luck!

Mike

 

[koldsimer]

Before you move the rear shackle hangers, try reversing them (puttin the left on the right side & right on the left) if you havn't already. IIRC, the ORD shackle hangers are not symmetrical, so by reversing them you can effectively move the upper shackle bolt's centerline forward or backwards a couple inches without having to drill new holes in the frame. Either way you go, just make sure you don't get the shackles too flat or when the spring compresses you'll get shackle lock.

When I first put the shackle flip in I tried reversing the sides and it was just a little too far forward. With a lot of compression on the spring the shackle would lock up. I'm thinking of trying to flip my shackles back to the original holes and flipping the sides and seeing how that would work with the 6" shackles. The last thing I wanna do is drill more holes in the back of my frame, but if I have to, oh well.

I got the new style ford shock towers and have already ground that damn ford oval off of them. I just hope that I get the rear spring hangers for the front springs in the right place. More holes in the frame, ya know? I guess that i can always have some fudge factor with the shackle length....

Thanks for the suggestions. Anyone else? What about a brace in the front shackle?

 

[koldsimer]

Well I got the majority of the front end done today. It turned out to big a much bigger pain than I thought it would be. My shackle is now sitting at about 15 degrees forward as opposed to about 15 degrees back. I guessed wrong with the shackle length. They are 6 3/4" and need to be about 5 1/4". They should sit closer to 20 degrees forward with the correct shackle length. If anybody plans on doing the hanger move with regular length springs, the shackle doesn't need to be anywhere near the length necessary for the 53" swap. Tomorrow i will mount the shock towers so they rest right in the middle of my 14" travel shock, or at least that's what I think should be done.

 

[MTMike]

Do you have any pictures?

 

[Greg72]

Well I got the majority of the front end done today. It turned out to big a much bigger pain than I thought it would be. My shackle is now sitting at about 15 degrees forward as opposed to about 15 degrees back. I guessed wrong with the shackle length. They are 6 3/4" and need to be about 5 1/4". They should sit closer to 20 degrees forward with the correct shackle length. If anybody plans on doing the hanger move with regular length springs, the shackle doesn't need to be anywhere near the length necessary for the 53" swap. Tomorrow i will mount the shock towers so they rest right in the middle of my 14" travel shock, or at least that's what I think should be done.

If you're trying for every last inch of travel (and who isn't, right? ) the correct procedure would be to remove the shocks completely and flex the suspension until the spring is flat under compression. Then take a measurement from the lower shock mount. Ideally, you want to run out of uptravel on the shock just as the spring goes perfectly flat (by the way, your bumpstops should be setup to prevent you from getting negative arch and/or blowing out your shock by using it as a bumpstop).

If you only have 5 inches of uptravel before the spring is flat, it's a waste to establish 7" of shock uptravel with your bracket positioning. Take that extra 2" of travel and use it for "droop" instead.

It's a lot more effort to set up the shocks this way, but you'll get the maximum benefit from those 14" travel shocks...


Oh yes, and this thread is worthless without pics!

 

[Leper]

c'mon K wheres the pics? Do I need to come over and take 'em for ya?

 

[koldsimer]

Well, lets see if I can attach some pics....

 

[koldsimer]

The angle is not exactly where I wanted it, but it should droop much better than it did with absolutely NO shackle swing before hand. My caster went down another couple of degrees which will force me to run the tom woods superflex u-joint that's been sitting in a box for a month. I'm gonna try to talk a buddy or two into some wheelin tomorrow so I can flex it out and see how it performs.

 

[koldsimer]

Well I went out and flexed it a little bit today. It flexes so much better with the new suspension up front. I'm getting at least 6-8 inches more droop and 3-4 inches more compression. The only problem is that the spring eye is making contact with the frame on full compression. I think that I will make some shackles about 1/2 longer to see if that fixes it. The rear is still limiting flex... hopefully the 6" ord rear shackles will help out back. Here's some pics.

 

[85mudblazin]

Where in Texas are you at?? Damn you have my next set of tires

 

[koldsimer]

I'm just north of Dallas. I bet you'll love the iroks!

 

[GRAYTEXK5]

looks good. where are you wheelin in those pics? is it in DFW somewhere? I have been trying to find new places to go. every time I find a decent spot, they always end up closing it.

 

[koldsimer]

Up in the allen/frisco area. I know a bunch of fun, if not short trails around here. Lots of "urban" wheeling- under bridges, through creeks and behind shopping centers. There are a few good places still out in the sticks, especially out by lake lavon. Let me know if your ever headed this way.

 

[koldsimer]

couple other pics...

 

[koldsimer]

If you look closely in the last pic you can see just how horrible my shackle angle was before the move.

 

[MTMike]

Very Nice!!!

 

[k5 krawler 50]

'm bumpin this thread for more pics of that sweet blazer..

 

[koldsimer]

'm bumpin this thread for more pics of that sweet blazer..

Here ya go.... these were taken today while testing my new ORD 6" rear shackles. MUCH better droop out back, but it still needs more! I think my stiff superlift springs need more weight to make them compress fully.