Pighuntin
Newbie
First time posting. I am Pig, pleased to meet everyone. A bit about me....From Albuquerque, land of Off-road. I am an ASE Master Cert tech. So.....if you are technical....I will get it. Being a Master tech does NOT mean I am 100% with fab work. Thats where this question is gonna lie.
The Truck. 1988 C1500. Standard cab long fleet side. 350 with 700R4(for the moment). Now.....The only relevant info to this is the rear suspension. Now I have owned this truck for 15 years. Done damn near everything on this truck. In any case, I used this truck for hog hunting. Put about 6 hogs in the bed....truck squatted horribly. So....I just added 2 leafs in the rear. Picked that truck right up and increased the payload to 4000lbs+. I am very happy with the spring rates, compression and load caps.
Now....3 years ago....1 among the MANY wrecks this truck has been involved in was a 4x4 Ford van that ended up passing me on the right and rolling into the right front wheel. This wreck ended up peeling up the upper control arm mounts off the frame a bit. I sledged them down and then welded them. Took it off road, cruised about 60mph, hit the worst bump(and believe me....it was bad) and stopped. The weld held. So....Continued using the truck. The way I welded the bracket, I couldnt get the camber right. Was eating tires left and right. 33x12.5x15.....They aint cheap. So...I decided to move on a plan that I started 7 years ago. A full driveline and SAS swap.
Now....after no help with the front, I finally got the front axle in and locked in. I have the rear axle out. I am gonna be using the rear leafs. So there is NO option to replace them. I know their rates too well. I have the rear leafs just hanging out in the breeze. Rear shackles are off the truck. The stock beginning heights of this truck before the work was 34" in the front and 37" in the rear. Now my front is 45". This is the lowest I can get with the frame mods. So...I need at least a 12" lift in the back. The question to this epic is this.....How can I get the rear leaf springs down far enough without creating something that will have alot of flex? I will NOT use lifting blocks. So eliminate that idea altogether. No axle wrap here ever. The furthest shackle flips that bolt on I can find are 6". Longer shackles create issues as well.
Whats the best approach?
The Truck. 1988 C1500. Standard cab long fleet side. 350 with 700R4(for the moment). Now.....The only relevant info to this is the rear suspension. Now I have owned this truck for 15 years. Done damn near everything on this truck. In any case, I used this truck for hog hunting. Put about 6 hogs in the bed....truck squatted horribly. So....I just added 2 leafs in the rear. Picked that truck right up and increased the payload to 4000lbs+. I am very happy with the spring rates, compression and load caps.
Now....3 years ago....1 among the MANY wrecks this truck has been involved in was a 4x4 Ford van that ended up passing me on the right and rolling into the right front wheel. This wreck ended up peeling up the upper control arm mounts off the frame a bit. I sledged them down and then welded them. Took it off road, cruised about 60mph, hit the worst bump(and believe me....it was bad) and stopped. The weld held. So....Continued using the truck. The way I welded the bracket, I couldnt get the camber right. Was eating tires left and right. 33x12.5x15.....They aint cheap. So...I decided to move on a plan that I started 7 years ago. A full driveline and SAS swap.
Now....after no help with the front, I finally got the front axle in and locked in. I have the rear axle out. I am gonna be using the rear leafs. So there is NO option to replace them. I know their rates too well. I have the rear leafs just hanging out in the breeze. Rear shackles are off the truck. The stock beginning heights of this truck before the work was 34" in the front and 37" in the rear. Now my front is 45". This is the lowest I can get with the frame mods. So...I need at least a 12" lift in the back. The question to this epic is this.....How can I get the rear leaf springs down far enough without creating something that will have alot of flex? I will NOT use lifting blocks. So eliminate that idea altogether. No axle wrap here ever. The furthest shackle flips that bolt on I can find are 6". Longer shackles create issues as well.
Whats the best approach?