What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

Time to build a suspension... (looking for input on springs)

brans87 said:
Not likely I will ever get to go to Moab since I live in NC and kids,house etc don't see that trip happen less I win lottery even though I would like to go sometime.
Click to expand...

Yeah. This truck is for running forest trails. I run a lot of these miles with my Saturn, the truck is just for doing the harder stuff and for vehicle camping.

For those who didn't follow that thread, here is me getting winched out of the one obstacle that I failed to conquer with the stock K10. Coming up this muddy riverbank I slipped into the left rut and high-centered. @76zimmer winched me out and we continued on our merry way.



IMGP0699.JPG

Slipping into the rut.

IMGP0701.JPG

The more successful trek down the first river bank. I managed my line and had no problems this time.

IMGP0686.JPG

But the quest for suspension is based on hard bumps like this stuff. I wanna be able to enjoy these trips without needing a chiropractor afterwards. :haha:


Some of the bumping is my lack of driving skill, but a lot of it comes from hitting those pesky bump stops. Decent shocks will help with this, yes?
 
I would settle for dana 44 right now if right gears but never find that combo. Cross over would be nice but not for price on a 10 bolt.
 
KirsL said:
I have a 6" super lift setup with the HD springs front and rear on my truck. Seems like a lot of spring for the size truck. Front springs are 600lbs per inch. But my truck is pretty heavy, 6000lbs empty. Is it a little stiff, yes. But anything over 500 or so pounds in the bed and she smooths right out. Anything less then that and it's not even noticed. I've carried about 2000lbs of mulch in the bed and she was a smooth as a caddy. Now I also have bilstein shocks which help a ton. I forget what a I spent on the springs since I bought them 14 years ago.

Now if the rig is always going to be loaded for trips and such it very well maybe worth getting custom springs from ORD. Course knowing about what your final weight will be or close to it is needed for them.

I have crossover on mine and it tracks awesomely. If you need to replace all or most of the parts I would just spend it on crossover.
Click to expand...

Mine won't always be loaded heavily, and I'm not thinking it will be crazy heavy, either. It'll be a 1/2-ton Suburban with a platform bed and camping gear. Camping mode shouldn't even be as heavy as when I use the truck for general-purpose hauling duties.
 
bent72 said:
Front hangers pushed forward. I didn't flip sides. Rear hanger in stock place. No aftermarket parts up front
Click to expand...

So did you detach the front hangers from the body mounts? Or is your '77 body mount different from my '84? Martin is who I'm thinking of with the side-flipping.

I'm happy with recycling stock parts up front. Can you compare the ride quality to something that I would recognize? I.E., are you beating your bones apart every time you hit a rock? I'm starting to think that better shocks and being more than 1" away from my bump stop might be all that I'm needing. :thinking:
 
KirsL said:
My truck was a k10. Then I put a dana44/14bff combo in, was going to put crossover on that. But before buying those parts I found a screaming good deal on a 60 so I went with that. No reason to not put crossover on a 10 bolt if it fits your needs.
Click to expand...

Also no reason to do it twice if I ever was to want a D60. :thinking:
 
brans87 said:
I would settle for dana 44 right now if right gears but never find that combo. Cross over would be nice but not for price on a 10 bolt.
Click to expand...

What gears are you wanting? I'm a little rusty on crossover tech, but don't some D44s come with flat-top knuckles already?
 
yes to flat tops to my knowledge 4:56 leaning toward with 35's and 700r4 some say 4:10 which is not far off from a 3:73 I have right now.
 
Man this thread has a "CK5 101" feel to it.

campfire said:
I'm already riding on the rear overleafs when the truck is unloaded (:doah:), so I'm not convinced that keeping them is a good idea. They're tired and saggy, and riding with the overleaf isn't helping the stiffness issue. If the stock 52s are wonderfully soft, why are you running the ORD springs in the front instead of using those? :thinking:

And are your "temporary" rear springs still the stock 52s that came with the truck?

I think I understand the barely streetable side of things now. I spent a lot of time watching your rig swaying back and forth on the trail. :haha:
Click to expand...
I never said my rig was barely streetable with the ORD springs, I've just heard people say it about 52's in front. If you could keep the sway bar it would be a non-issue, but you can't have sway bar and crossover (unless you do a custom sway bar). There's a difference between riding the overloads all the time and riding the bumpstops all the time. You can flip the overload leaf if needed. I've been talking about K5 springs and don't know what's in the farm truck. An off-road vehicle has body roll.

And using 52's up front can seem cheap, but when you figure in new spring hangers, maybe new shackle hangers, maybe EZ-inch to move the axle, etc., the price can get close to custom springs. The custom springs locate the axle wherever you want. When left to flex madly, the 52's die quick. The custom springs are more durable by using more thin leaves. This has all been covered in several threads.

brans87 said:
Why not a set of 4 inch tuff country EZ ride springs front and rear then zero rate if needed? same in front with new 52 springs and shackle flip? just throwing out ideas....
Click to expand...
The EZ ride is generally regarded as the best riding "lift kit" spring, but it's easily twice as stiff as ORD springs. And lift kit parts get worse riding from there. I've had Rough Country (worst), TC EZ-ride (medium) and ORD springs (actually work right) under this same rig, so I know what I'm talking about.

brans87 said:
Everyone saying Cross over has a 60 some still have 10 bolts
Click to expand...
You can do cross-over on either, but there's expense either way. If you won't run huge tires and think a 10-bolt can work for you long-term and can find deals on parts, cross-over can make sense. One of the biggest reasons to do it is that the short push-pull draglink can't handle large suspension travel. On-center on the street, push-pull is pretty good (IMO) if everything is tight under the truck. When the driver front tire droops 10" into a hole, push-pull may not be able to turn your wheels to the right anymore.
 
Last edited:
campfire said:
What gears are you wanting? I'm a little rusty on crossover tech, but don't some D44s come with flat-top knuckles already?
Click to expand...
Earlier ones do, check th u joint sizes though. Spicer 5-760x is the size you want.

I torched the rivets off and moved everything 4" forward. Lots of 6011 action. I can take better pictures if you like
 
Blue85 said:
Man this thread has a "CK5 101" feel to it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, this is suspension 101. I'm asking basic questions because I haven't done much in the way of suspension mods, and I feel like "dotting i's and crossing t's." A lot of this I've heard before, but hearing things is not the same as really understanding the potential pitfalls.

Blue85 said:
I never said my rig was barely streetable with the ORD springs, I've just heard people say it about 52's in front. If you could keep the sway bar it would be a non-issue, but you can't have sway bar and crossover (unless you do a custom sway bar). There's a difference between riding the overloads all the time and riding the bumpstops all the time. You can flip the overload leaf if needed. I've been talking about K5 springs and don't know what's in the farm truck. An off-road vehicle has body roll.
Click to expand...

This thread isn't about the Farm Truck, it's about the Suburban that I want to use next time. I'm just trying to take the lessons learned this year and apply them to the new vehicle. The comments about driving your truck on the street mostly came from Mrs. Blue. She successfully convinced Mrs. Campy that swaying trucks are no bueno. Deleting the sway bar may not be an option on my end anymore. :dunno:

Bumpstops are what the Farm Truck hit fairly regularly. I mentioned the Suburban rear overloads to indicate that the springs have permanently deformed. And that adding 1000lbs of stuff to the back of that truck causes much less spring travel than adding 1000lbs to the farm truck. That's the best way I have of measuring spring rate. As for flipping the overload, I'm not sure how much deformation the springs will take before they start failing. :dunno:


Blue85 said:
The EZ ride is generally regarded as the best riding "lift kit" spring, but it's easily twice as stiff as ORD springs. And lift kit parts get worse riding from there.
Click to expand...

I sure wish they would post spring rate info. I recognize that leaf spring rates are notoriously hard to define simply, but having some info would be lots better than what I have now. :doah:
 
Blue85 said:
And using 52's up front can seem cheap, but when you figure in new spring hangers, maybe new shackle hangers, maybe EZ-inch to move the axle, etc., the price can get close to custom springs. The custom springs locate the axle wherever you want. When left to flex madly, the 52's die quick. The custom springs are more durable by using more thin leaves. This has all been covered in several threads.
Click to expand...

I understand the benefits, I'm just mulling the cost. Since I don't have any spare 52s lying around I'm going to be buying something either way, probably for both axles. I'm also trying to decide how much of my issue is spring-related and how much is because I'm running old cheap shocks.

52s shouldn't require new spring hangers, just moving the old ones (as both Martin and Mark have indicated). Axle placement is more sticky as it appears both springs put the pins in the center originally. But when I can buy a new pair of 52s for $200 and ORD wants $680/$760 for spring pairs, I don't think their prices are very similar.

http://thesuspensionking.com/catalog/tables/73-87chevy_gmc_half.php
http://thesuspensionking.com/catalog/tables/73-87chevy_gmc_half_rear.php
http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/ORDCustomSprings.htm
 
campfire said:
Also no reason to do it twice if I ever was to want a D60. :thinking:
Click to expand...

If you know you'll never over tax either a 10b or d44 I would just upgrade one of those. I was planning on using the d44 since I don't plan to ever do any hardcore wheeling with mine. The 60 I got was just to good a deal to pass up, so I went for it.
 
brans87 said:
send me a D60 there like 1200 up here and need rebuilt
Click to expand...

If you're serious, I can look out for one. But the parts market up here in the middle of nowhere is sluggish to say the least. The last CUCV set that I considered buying sat on CL for $700 for a month, but there's no guarantee that I can find one (for any price) this month or next month.

Today all that I have in my area is a set of upgraded 4.88 D70 axles for $850. Sorry, man. The bursty nature of it is why the prices are cheap in the first place. :crazy:
 
Last edited:
Do you need a 60?

It's a lot of weight and little ground clearance for a lot of money. If you were going to strain the axles more I would see.

Yes shocks. Bilsteins are barely more than ranchos, but shocks are possibly the best investment for your truck. Other good brands as well. Ask questions. I would even call the vendors and manufacturers with your questions
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom