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Making plates is still an option. Bolts don't need to be too long because I am not running blocks. My axle has a three inch diameter.Quote:
Originally posted by TXsizeK5
What dimension Ubolts do you need?
EDIT: For length, just add about 2" (roughly) of leaf springs + 3" diameter axle.
If anyone has any that are that sixe or longer and would be willing to give them up for free or cheap, let me know. If they are too long, I can always just stack some washers on it.
I found some that will fit at Advance auto parts. However, these things aren't exactly heave duty, as in they are less than a half inch, kinda toward 3/8", whereas "tough" ones like the skyjackers are at least a half inch, even something like 5/8".Quote:
Originally posted by eight
O'rielley's will have the u-bolts in stock or can usually get them the next day. If they don't have it, just look on the back of one of the packages and find the pt# you need, they're all listed on there.
So will these work? I mean, how necessary is it to have monstrous u-bolts? The springs will be pushing down on the axle when the vehicle is at rest, so the bolts won't really have much stress on them, right?
If I am wrong, please post up and tell me what you think.
the u-bolts direct all the torque when you step on the gas. you can bend them and the axle will point up in the air. breaking one on the trial also sucks, but if they're not extremely long the stress factor is less. just stick to the normal wheeling motto "bigger is better" and you'll be ok.
Ordered Lift Springs for the front yesterday, and a kit to lower the front diff after lift (to releive the CV angles) today. All should be in by next weekend.
Doing the swap on this Saturday? Any one want to help? Call me or Mario. 713-417-8537. If I don't answer, then leave me a voicemail, I check it often.
Thanks a lot.
I'm a cheap bastard. I wouldn't go less than 1/2".
Quote:
Originally posted by eight
I'm a cheap bastard. I wouldn't go less than 1/2".
Thank you John Kerry, for soundly arguing both sides of the issue.
hey guys..we're gonna try to get this swap done quick....so come and lend a hand for 2 hours on saturday....not sure where we're doing the swap though.
I won't be here, but mi driveway su driveway
su tools, mi tools?
We kinda wanna borrow your welder cause mine sometimes has fits. (its older than the hills) We've got everything else though.
BTW, if anyone who is a good comfortable welder wants to weld the spring hanger on, come on over and zip em on so i don't have to bust out my mad welding skillz and screw up another toyota.
Also, Brandon, I figure....if we do in fact need to relocate the shackle hanger, we can just go buy some tube that will fit those poly bushings that i've got and weld them into some tube.
we're out there...stop by for moral support
starting back up at 3:15...don't be scurr'd now.
Well, we worked on the swap on and off periodically throughout the day. Got mostly done. Now it just needs shock mounts, shocks, shorter shackles, and the old sping hangers need to be torched. Oh yeah, and the front needs to get lifted...
P.S. Pics are coming shortly, gotta resize em real fast.
before...
Chevy springs (bottom) versus toyota springs (top). Notice the negative arch overload on the toyotas. Also, the toyotas are thinner and flatten out at normal stance.
After...gonna get some weird looks from people until I can get the front done.
P.S. I know its dark, but deal with it.
Mario did an amazing job tacking and welding the front hangers, as well as rigging up the shackles to accomodate the different widths (upper and lower).
These leaves are a lot softer and more flexible. The ride is already so much better, and that is without shocks. What a cheap and easy way to lift, not to mention the increased performance is phenomenal (sp?). Total, I think I spent 125-150 bucks on springs, hardware, and metal. The front will cost just about the same.
I would like to thank Eric for reaching out to some noobs and letting us use his tools and driveway, even though he wasn't even there.
Also, thanks to Mario for his welding and expertise and spring plates and time and so on.
P.S. Eric, you need to spray some WD-40 on your hi-lift. I almost killed Mario.
Brandon: Whoa, that went down fast!.....that was bouncy!....Mario...Mario?Quote:
Originally posted by TRDyota
P.S. Eric, you need to spray some WD-40 on your hi-lift. I almost killed Mario.
And I totally had you scared that you killed me....
My first reaction wasn't that I thought I killed you. My first reaction when the bed fell was,"Wow, these springs are FREAKIN bouncy!"
....No offense. We are doing some work on Mario's truck today, and a little on mine. Mario just got some new spring bushings so he can remount his front springs. Its gonna go down at about 1 or 2 this afternoon. Anyone is welcome to come out. My number is somewhere in this thread.
Lookin good Brandon. How much lift did those springs get you?
Springs...3", plus or minus some
Shackles...2-3", for now.
I'll only be able to lift the front bout 3", so I am gonna drill some different holes in these shackles to bring it down some. Driving around tonight (without shocks...***) I realized that my headlights covered a distance of bout 20 feet because I have 5-6" lift in the rear with no front lift. Looks so goofy right now.
James, when are you puttin more lift on the Chevy? ***...
EDIT: Or, since I used chevy springs on my toyota, I got some toyota springs you could use to lower your chevy, but somehow i don't think thats what you want to do.
you have the texas tilt goin' on
***...yeah, it is pretty bad. If it was someone else driving it, I would point and laugh. I just want to ride around with signs on my truck saying, "Its not finished yet!". .
It's not as bad as some guy drivin around in a ranger semester that was goin for a prerunner look. His front end was prolly 4-6" higher than the back.
As tempting as it sounds to go for some stock yota springs I think i am going to stick with my 6" spring pack.
How about some close-ups of the spring hangers, shackle hangers, dimensions, what you decided to do about brake lines, ubolts, plates, shims for pinion angle, etc?
Yes hi-lifts go down fast when you unweight them.
Why don't you take the chevy overloads off, or flip and cut the back off of them before you tear up your shackles?
I kinda wanna keep the overloads. The springs are soft enough that they will touch with enough weight. I will get some pics of my breaklines, cause I did have to rig them up a bit. I can drill these shackles and move them up without having to cut the ends off (right?) so I can adjust the height if I need to. Shims aren't needed with an 8" (hole to hole) shackle, but they will be needed when I shorten the hole distance. U-bolts were easy, just had to fab some spring plates. Bought the 1/2" u-bolts from advance auto parts for 5 each. And just a tip for drilling spring plates: MEASURE 4 TIMES, then cut them...not that I made that mistake or anything...:D
EDIT: And we had to do some, as you say, "ugly fabbing", or as Mario says "aggie engineering" to get the shackles to work. I gotta run, so I will take pics and explain why later.
I'd go as far as saying 5 times for you brandon.:flipoff2:Quote:
Originally posted by TRDyota
And just a tip for drilling spring plates: MEASURE 4 TIMES, then cut them...not that I made that mistake or anything...:D
dang brandon drill them shackle holes quick i saw that bad boy in the parking garage today and all i can say is **** you could run like 40 's in the back and the front is quished down tigher than a tin can ***.
Maybe I can do them tomorrow. Either way, a solution is needed asap.
Just bought shocks.
Rear Rancho 5000's : $37.99 ea., $3 for S&H
Bilstein HD's for Front: $75.99 ea., $6 for S&H
Should be hear round Monday. Now I am flat broke. Spent bout everything I got. Shocks were more expensive than any of the lifts I put on (counting front and back separately). Picking up the front lift coils next friday from home. Probably won't have time to finish the front before finals, but at least I can get some shocks on the rear.
Before the meeting tonight, I picked up James from his room. Some of the guys out front started laughing at my truck saying that it looked like some fat girls had been sitting on my front bumper. Real funny. Anyways, so I jacked up my truck at Mario's and took the shackles off. After the meeting, Chadnutz took me out to Riverside and I drilled the holes in the shackles about 2.5" lower. Overall it brought the rear of the truck down about 1.75-2", and now the shackles are at a 45 degree angle.
Now, after lowering the rear shackles, the need for shims is becoming apparent. The axle has moved back a little in the wheel well, and the drive shaft has started to slip out about a quarter inch. Shims should kick the axle forward some, fix the driveshaft, and improve the angle between the pinion flange and the t-case.
Thanks to FTAco07 and Chadnutz for their help tonight, as well as Mario and Bubba. The rear looks a lot better now. If I park on slight inclines, it almost looks normal...:D
Are you getting the front done to match next weekend?
I will be driving to Houston to take a bunch of stuff home in order to make moving out easier, then I have to work a lot. But I will pick up the coils and bring them back. The Bilstein HD Struts should be there too. However, I don't know if I will be able to install everything here because of finals and everything.
Also, I am going to need a coil depresser. Does anyone have one, or know of a place that lets you "rent" them? I think autozone might.
Autozone has them. Don't use coil compressors use strut compressors. Trust me!
This is the best I can do right now for the brakelines. If you can see in the top left corner, the untouched brakeline has some slack in it. I just had to bend that stuff all down so that it could stretch down more.Quote:
Originally posted by uglyota
How about some close-ups of the spring hangers, shackle hangers, dimensions, what you decided to do about brake lines, ubolts, plates, shims for pinion angle, etc?
As for the line running to the electric locker, It just had one little bolt keeping it tight, so it now hangs free.
Same with whatever that brake-fluid-distrubutor-sensor-thingy, or whatever that is on my axle that has something to do with breaks. It just had one bolt, and it is now unbolted and hanging free. Is that bad? Do I need to extend whatever that line is? Cause as of right now it is totally disassembled.
Sorry for the bad pic Eric, I'll get you some better ones, as well as some spring plates, hangers, shackles, etc.
not for me...for posterity :D
the hangy-down brake adjuster thing is your Load Sensing Proportioning Valve (LSPV), which makes your rear brakes work better when you have a heavy load. You can adjust where it's connected by changing the lower (axle) attachment point the amount that you lifted it, or you can just zip tie it up and out of the way, and you'll always have more braking in the rear.
First of all, if I just ignore the LSPV, will it go away? J/k. But seriously, is it gonna screw me over if I just leave it be? Or should I just bite the bullet and take the time/energy to ghetto-rig something up?
tie it all the way up....call it done. only thing it can do is give you more fluid to the rear