cutting the droop stops down on the frame?

[Balzer]

Im talking about the part on the frame thats below the back bar of the upper a-arm, it limits how far it drops. My 94 has what looks to be a 2-3" lift with diff drop brakets and rear add-a-leaf. My problem is its bottoms out before the truck is level, and adjusting so that it had room to move, gives the truck a HORRIBLE rake. I mean these truck always look like they have a rake just because the way they are built. But I would like it to be level.

My last 97 had aftermarket (superlift IIRC) upper a-arms that had clearance in the area in question but they where weak and light and I really didn't like them, they didn't support the upper ball joint very well.

My plan is to eventually go with a quality 6" but for now I would just like it level. Has anyone cut them down and capped them a bit lower to allow more clearance?
Im hoping this bandaid fix will only be for less than a year until I get a real lift on it.

Thanks in advance

 

[ndians68]

for drop brackets it has to have atleast a 4inch lift, in which case all you need is crank, a block and aal for it to be a 5inch kit

 

[Balzer]

No sorry but these are not 4" drop brackets they are only 2"ish and thats the problem when I crank it up level my upper a-arms are solid on those drop stops. I am pretty sure what I have is a very old 2" or 2.5" superlift. IIRC they had the best small lift available back in the 90's. (a bit before your time?) anyway I do know when I had my 97 they still made the upper a-arms but no longer made the 2" diff drop brakets (hence the reason I didnt have them on my 97 and rocked these putrid angles.)

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[ndians68]

i have never heard of these lifts, and still id say throw a block in the back and leave it up high imo, i guess you do learn something new everyday

 

[Balzer]

The above truck is my old 97 it was lifted nearly 5" with crank and the above mentioned upper a-arms.
I am talking about my current truck the 94 pictured below. I guess you just dont get what Im saying here, I CANNOT leave the front up high because its bottoming out on the drop stops on the frame and upper a-arm.
This is the truck in question in this pic the upper a-arm is solid againt the drop stops of the frame meaning there is ZERO drop (downtravel) for the front suspention. Decranking it for a decent ride makes the back too tall

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[ndians68]

rebuild front end

 

[Balzer]

WOW are you just pulling sugestions out of a hat? Thanks, but I have a feeling this is above your tech level.

 

[1997chevydriver]

Ok I've got a thought..... I would think if the lift kit you have would go beyond the droop stops then it should have drop brackets for the A-arms right.? I know you can get 2" without hitting droop stops and not need a diff drop. Here is the problem I'm figuring might happen if you cut the droop stops. 1 upper and lower balljoints will hate you and 2 tierods might not be long enough to get an alignment. I'm no lift expert just my train of thought.

 

[MOBS]

To answer your question, yes you can cut them out or even notch the frame more than needed, then go back and plate the openings. Only notch the outer side of frame rail, leave the inner side as high as possible, then get some good thick steel and bend it to match your notch and fill the opening(iron half-pipe comes to mind). As stated, it will continue to put your balljoints and tierod end closer to binding, so be careful how much you bring her down.

 

[Balzer]

Good thoughts. Like I said this will only be for a limited time as I plan on a 6" real lift sometime in the near future. Also I dont want to go too far with this setup I just hate the raked look, and want it level. The pic above is the truck sitting level but there is no downtravel, its like having no suspention at all. It only needs maybe an inch more clearance for this is right near the pivot point, an inch here will give more than an inch of travel at the wheel. Also I don't plan on wheeling this truck much, its going to be a daily driver for the most part.
I feel it should be fine the green 97 above ran for 2.5 years with those scarey angles and the balljoints and TRE's held up fine. (CV's are a differnt story LMAO)

I am confident it will work but wanted to know if anyone else has done it. I looked it over real good today and I couldnt see anything impotant that would be affected by it Such as the frame. Its been a while since I had a real lift on one of these trucks but I think this part gets cut off the frame with a 6" lift anyway??