The Lone Ranger – Kage’s ’94 X-Cab Leaf SAS and Bed Bob

[kroussinoffroad]

subscribed... look's awsome.

 

[4.0B2]

subscribed... look's awsome.

ditto!

 

[Josh40601]

could always mount them under the frame....like Kyle's.....

l8r, John

the only thing about this john is the location of where his springs will be. The frame is arched right there, not to mention that is right where the frame is riveted together. I dont know if that will matter, but it is something at least worth mentioning.

 

[Kage]

I'm subscribed on this one.

subscribed... look's awsome.

ditto!

Thanks guys, I'll try not to go down in a ball of fire

Mine didn't squat that much, but then again i haven't taken the overload off yet. I wish there was some way i could help ya buddy

could always mount them under the frame....like Kyle's.....

l8r, John

the only thing about this john is the location of where his springs will be. The frame is arched right there, not to mention that is right where the frame is riveted together. I dont know if that will matter, but it is something at least worth mentioning.

Josh, that's somewhat what I'm afraid of, I plan on pulling the overloads, but I can't see how that's going to make them flatten out too much. The frame on this truck isn't rivited together so I can do what I need to do with the spring placement (I thought it was only the newer trucks that were like that )

John, I'd like to throw the springs under the frame like Kyle, but I think I'd have to use the Stock Ranger springs to get it to work out (Hmm.. there's a thought, that doesn't sound too bad. How much do ranger springs flex?). Or I'd have to run them Spring under on the rear if I want to keep it around 4" of suspension lift.​

From what I've read, it looks like when you keep everything the same (Mounting point height wise) the chevy leaf's net about 3" of lift. The mounting point where I was wanting to put the front spring eye is about 3" lower than stock location, so that would net me about 6" of lift unless I rotate the spring some so that the rear eye by the shackle is significantly higher than the front spring eye by the cab.​

I don't know what that would do the spring characteristics right now in relation to how well it would move around. I've got alot more reading to do and not a lot of time to do it in ​

Thanks fro the comments guys!​

 

[kris97ranger]

you could always mount them under the frame like kyle but run it spring under the axle. do a shackle flip and go for the articulation in the droop side of things. even maybe a c notch like the low riders for the up travel.

thats my plan anyways

 

[Andres629]

Just spitballin' here... why not box the frame and run 'em on the inside of the frame rails?

 

[kris97ranger]

Just spitballin' here... why not box the frame and run 'em on the inside of the frame rails?

this isnt a bad idea.... i think i dont really know i know ive never seen it done. and it sounds like gwaii would try it. haha but even with the overloads in i bet itd flex real good due to the extra leverage

 

[Andres629]

IIRC chvlfrk did it on his street/strip truck, I'll see if I can hunt it down.

**edit**Nevermind, he mounted them under the frame rails. The only downside I can see to mounting them inside the rails is loss of road manners. But as long as you mount your shocks outside the frame rails, you should gain some of that stability back...

ALSO, just thought of it... to get a little less lift out of an inboarded spring, draw from the Explorer's setup. Why not box the section of frame where the shackle will go, drill it out with a hole saw, sleeve it and use a leaf spring bushing through the frame and make your own shackle? Again, just spitballin'...

 

[kris97ranger]

ALSO, just thought of it... to get a little less lift out of an inboarded spring, draw from the Explorer's setup. Why not box the section of frame where the shackle will go, drill it out with a hole saw, sleeve it and use a leaf spring bushing through the frame and make your own shackle? Again, just spitballin'...

i have seen this done with toyotas on pirate and dont see why it wouldnt work here

 

[Andres629]

I haven't seen it done yet, but I don't doubt that it has been. Would be worth some research anyway.

 

[Kage]

Thanks for the spitballs (I guess that’s how I should put it ).​

I’ve been wrapping my brain around the best way to solve this issue, and it comes back to the points that were brought up above:

1. Leave the leaf’s outboard and Hack up the rear cab mount to work
   1. This should give me a stable ride, and it really isn’t that big of a deal to grind rivets off. I’m just tired of grinding.
      
   2. I can get the spring eyes closer to being "level"
2. Placing the springs under the frame.
   1. I ‘might’ lose some on road manners, but this can be overcome if its too much of an issue. The problem here is that it looks like I’m going to get too much lift placing the springs under the frame
      
   2. I can Box/sleeve the rear (good idea) to raise the rear of the spring up some to try to get the truck lower. BUT I don’t know how much "out of level" these springs will tolerate before oddball characteristics show up.
3. Boxing the frame in and moving the mounts up from there:
   1. This is actually pretty a pretty novel thought. I hadn’t considered moving the front mount "inside and up" to make it work out. I know one side will wind up being close to the exhaust, the other side would need to have the brake lines/fuel rerouted (Need to do that anyway, so no big deal). I don’t think it would wind up handling any different than if I were just inboard the springs some.
4. Run the springs in a SUA fashion
   1. This is kind of a last option as I think running the springs under the axle is just asking to get the rear hung up on stuff.

I think I just need to get myself use to the idea that I need to hack/remake that rear body mount (read – Stop being lazy). That way I can get the spring eyes closer to being level.​

I foresee some trial and error in my future this weekend, should be fun! The worst that happens is that I slip and wind up linking the rear. Lif'es outlook is a little different when you're not afraid to bust out the sawzall ​

 

[kris97ranger]

are you running a body lift? because if you do a 3" body lift i think you could run some 2x4 square tubing along the top of the frame like a cross member and do the rear body mounts the way the b2 guys when they throw the ranger cabs on the b2 frames. and then thatd fix the body mount being in the way

 

[Kage]

are you running a body lift?

1" NHL lift (just enough to help clear the doubler... when I get there).

because if you do a 3" body lift i think you could run some 2x4 square tubing along the top of the frame like a cross member and do the rear body mounts the way the b2 guys when they throw the ranger cabs on the b2 frames. and then thatd fix the body mount being in the way

Can't say that I'm really one for body lifts (or much lift at all for that matter, I'm trying to run 4" worth of suspension). But the cross member idea is worth looking into depending on how that lines up.

Thanks!

 

[kris97ranger]

yea i think id go the higher up crossmember route even if you just run the puck as your body mount or cut the stock body mount down to 1" tall

 

[kris97ranger]

could you box in the body mount to make it a hanger?