Spring over? Why not.

[BlueCruiser84]

I had another thread with a couple questions in it, but I figured I would post up a thread following just the spring over. I'll try to be thorough, but, as I am finding out, it is very easy to skip over steps when I am doing the writeup, so please feel free to ask me any questions you might have.

This spring over is being performed on the truck in my sig... A 1984 fj60 with a 2f on BDS 2.5 inch lift springs.

**********THIS IS HOW I DID IT, NOT HOW IT MUST BE DONE. The best thing about a spring over is deciding how you want to tackle the job. Use the threads as a guide, but remember that every truck is different.

I started with freeing the front axle and removing it from under the vehicle. This consists of removing the u-bolts, steering, front or rear shackle/spring hanger, brake line (from frame to axle), swaybar (if it's still hooked up), driveshaft, steering stabilizer, axle breather, and lower shock mounts.

I used a pickle fork to remove the drag link from the pitman arm as well as the tie rod from the steering arm. It worked.... but I'm not sure if I did something wrong or if the end of the drag lik was just so seized into the pitman arm that it decided to come apart this way. I'm not too concerned because the end was shot and I am replacing it with high steer, but I was just curious.

Here is the front axle out of the vehicle with everything still attached. I was planning on putting it on the work bench, but when it came to choosing between blowing out my lower back trying to lift that housing or having to work on the floor I decided to stay nice and low.

 

[BlueCruiser84]

Next, came the most time consuming part so far. Cleaning and grinding everything off of the housing is a slow process. I removed the upper u-bolt mounts, the steering stops (because I plan on doing a cut and turn), the steering arms and links, and the brake lines. I did it all with a 4 1/2 inch grinder with couple cut-off wheels and a grinding wheel, but if you have a plasma cutter or torch or access to one then, by all means, use it. The whole "cleaning" process took me about 3 hours.

Drivers Side

Passenger Side

After all that was done I started removing leaves from the spring packs. I am using BDS 2.5 inch springs and, as per GLTH60's suggestion, I removed the second to bottom leaf in the pack. My center pins were torn up so this is where I stopped for the day.

Hopefully I can hit the hardware store and Dodge dealership early tomorrow to pick up some bolts and perches and get this front end situated.



Questions? Suggestion? Tips? Tricks? I'm open to all.

 

[kling-on]

Looks good. I got ruffstuff kit and the front perches rock for the CNT haven't started mine yet keep the pics comin

 

[Randy88FJ62]

As a side note: I would check your caliper bolts on each knuckle. The 12mm x 1.25 fine threads tighten down into the casted knuckle housing and have a tendency to get Aluminum shavings in the threads from the caliper housing. Make sure to clean the threads. A friend and I were rebuilding his front axle and we missed this part. He stripped the threads during reassembly and we had to replace the knuckle (you can also use helicoils to replace the threads.)

Your knuckles and outer axle housing look clean. It’s a shame you have to take it apart. If you think that getting the draglink off was tough, wait until you take off the pitman arm. That was a bitch for even my truck which is rust free.

What is in the yellow bucket? Regearing or locker?

 

[slcfj62]

This is starting to look like a good thread to point people to that think a spring over is as simple as an OME style lift suspension.

 

[BlueCruiser84]

As a side note: I would check your caliper bolts on each knuckle. The 12mm x 1.25 fine threads tighten down into the casted knuckle housing and have a tendency to get Aluminum shavings in the threads from the caliper housing. Make sure to clean the threads. A friend and I were rebuilding his front axle and we missed this part. He stripped the threads during reassembly and we had to replace the knuckle (you can also use helicoils to replace the threads.)

Your knuckles and outer axle housing look clean. It’s a shame you have to take it apart. If you think that getting the draglink off was tough, wait until you take off the pitman arm. That was a bitch for even my truck which is rust free.

What is in the yellow bucket? Regearing or locker?

I'll check the caliper bolts. It IS a shame I have to tear the knuckles apart since I rebuilt them not too long ago, but I am putting in some 4.11 thirds so it is a must. Also, this thing is heavy as sh*****tt with all that stuff still atached so I am debating doing it before I move it around anymore.

The yellow bucket has a 4.11 third member in it. The crate behind it and another bucket over near the rear tire also have one in it. I picked up two fronts and a rear from an fj40, so now I have a total of five third members....

This is starting to look like a good thread to point people to that think a spring over is as simple as an OME style lift suspension.

Yea, it's definitely not that easy, but for me it's just fun to learn new things and test my abilities. It's not a daily driver so I'm not pressured to finish it any time period (accept by my mom who wants her side of the garage back), so I can take my time and do it right.

Looks good. I got ruffstuff kit and the front perches rock for the CNT haven't started mine yet keep the pics comin

I am just going with Dodge spring perches for the front and rear. They were ten dollars a box and with the 2f I don't see any real problems with monster horsepower tearing them up. The part number for anyone interested in going this route is P4120074.

Are there any other sources for U-bolts that anyone has found other than the obvious ruffstuff, etc.? I hate ordering stuff offline and would rather just walk into a store and buy them.

Back to the garage....

 

[Randy88FJ62]

This is starting to look like a good thread to point people to that think a spring over is as simple as an OME style lift suspension.

SLCFJ62,
I humbly disagree: An OME suspension is bolt on, correct? A decent SOA requires modifications that are not just disassembly and reassembly. Take for instance the following modifications:

• Notching transmission cross member in order to clear the front driveshaft to tcase (not required on my 88 FJ62.)
• The debated Cut and Turn of the front axle in order to set pinion angle and castor angle independently.
• Welding spring perches on top of both axles.
• Modifying shock locations in order to maximize articulation, droop, and stuff.
• Rear Axle Wrap Prevention: Run modified spring packs like PismoJim or fabricate a single A-Frame Ladder style Anti-Wrap Bar.
• Hysteer: Custom steering linkage lengths which can be bought from mud vendors.
• Driveshaft lengths: Prevent binding due to increased pinion angles (some upgrade to DC shafts.) Even if DC shafts are not needed, the lengths of the driveshafts usually change

I doubt that these modifications would prevent anyone from attempting a SOA but they should be considered as they are not bolt on modifications. They are serious modifications that affect steering and safety which should not be taken lightly as our lives can depend on the quality of work that is put into it.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

SLCFJ62,
I humbly disagree: An OME suspension is bolt on, correct? A decent SOA requires modifications that are not just disassembly and reassembly. Take for instance the following modifications:


]

Actually, I think that was his point.


How is yours coming along? I have not seen a progress report in a while.


Regarding the perches-the Dodge perches are cheap, but they are not that good. They are too short to help much with axle wrap. I would personally use better ones, and the Ruffstuff ones are excellent and also fairly cheap.

U-bolts-Good U bolts are expensive. Any spring shop can bend these up for you custom, but again, the ones from RuffStuff are super great, USA made u-bolts. Napa sells U-bolts in many sizes, unfortunately they are made in China and no longer come with the industry standard tall nuts.


The Caliper bolts are not a huge deal. Just use a bit of care and don't run them in with an impact and It is very unlikely you will strip the threads.

I'll be interested to see how it works out using lift springs for your spring over. That truck is going to be enormous/topheavy.

 

[Randy88FJ62]

Actually, I think that was his point.

How is yours coming along? I have not seen a progress report in a while.


Regarding the perches-the Dodge perches are cheap, but they are not that good. They are too short to help much with axle wrap. I would personally use better ones, and the Ruffstuff ones are excellent and also fairly cheap.

U-bolts-Good U bolts are expensive. Any spring shop can bend these up for you custom, but again, the ones from RuffStuff are super great, USA made u-bolts. Napa sells U-bolts in many sizes, unfortunately they are made in China and no longer come with the industry standard tall nuts.


The Caliper bolts are not a huge deal. Just use a bit of care and don't run them in with an impact and It is very unlikely you will strip the threads.

I'll be interested to see how it works out using lift springs for your spring over. That truck is going to be enormous/topheavy.

Drew,
I misunderstood his point and took in the wrong way. Oh well, I added a few things that a SOA requires into this thread so that should help.

My SOA is slow and steady. I messed up with the 6 stud block kit. When welding them on I did not preheat the knuckle enough and one side cracked at the weld when installing the front axle under the truck. I have decided to deal with that later and move forward with the actual build. My front axle is mounted as well as the steering. The rear axle needs the perches welded to set the rear pinion angle. I still need to do shock mounts, shocks, brake lines, and figure out how to deal with the rear disk brake e-brake setup. Not too much is left, hopefully I can make a lot of progress after Christmas before new years. I have that week off so I should be able to keep the project moving.

 

[Lost]

i bought a pitman arm puller today...set it up, get it REAL tight, and whack the arm with a hammer and it will come off easy. i think using pickle fork is the harder way...

 

[specialk396]

Looks good so far, let me know if you need a hand....and Merry Xmas

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I'll be interested to see how it works out using lift springs for your spring over. That truck is going to be enormous/topheavy.

Eh, he'll probably be ok. I have some lift springs in the rear of my rig that I took a leaf out of and they're nice and flat after a little breaking in.

Good work thus far, keep it up!!

 

[BlueCruiser84]

i bought a pitman arm puller today...set it up, get it REAL tight, and whack the arm with a hammer and it will come off easy. i think using pickle fork is the harder way...

I plan on getting a pitman arm puller. I did one on and XJ and that is exactly how I did it. I have just been soaking it with PB blaster every time I walk by.

Looks good so far, let me know if you need a hand....and Merry Xmas

I certainly will. It's been mostly a one man job except for moving the damn axle around. You are more than welcome to come take a look if you happen to be on this side of the mountain. Just let me know.

Eh, he'll probably be ok. I have some lift springs in the rear of my rig that I took a leaf out of and they're nice and flat after a little breaking in.

Good work thus far, keep it up!!

Thanks! It's a great time. After taking the second to bottom leaf out of the pack in the front they sit just about an inch higher than flat. I think it will be perfect and I'm glad I went with the lift springs rather than negatively arched worn out stockers.

Now for some pictures.....

 

[BlueCruiser84]

Here is what I got done before I was FORCED to eat dinner with the family at a japanese steakhouse/sushi buffet for Christmas eve

Leaves removed, springs put back together, and axle ready to go under. Moving the front axle around by yourself isn't easy, but I got creative with jacks/stands/blocks 'o wood and somehow positioned the axle where I needed it.

Here is a picture of the pack with the second to bottom leaf GONE. I realized it makes it much easier if you clamp the pack together before trying to loosen the center pin. I bought some grade 8 bolts for the center pins of the springs because the original ones were all worn out.

This is the pinion angle I came up with. I started with an angle finder, but I scrapped that idea and decided to hook the driveshaft back up and configure it with the U-joint on the pinion having zero angle. I chose to do it this way because I don't really care what the pinion angle is as long as the DC shaft is not going to vibrate.

I was wondering, though, should I set the pinion pointing DIRECTLY at the Tcase? or should I set it so it is down a degree or two to account for the springs settling?

 

[BlueCruiser84]

In the last picture in my post above you can see that I used a 1.5 inch wide WOODEN perch on the passenger side to set my pinion angle. I set the "perch" on the OUTSIDE* of the spring and it worked great.

After I sorted out the pinion angle I used a piece of cardboard and a wire to make a template for the inner* side of the passenger spring perch.

*When I say outside in this instance I mean closer to the knuckle on the passenger side and when I say inside I mean closer to the pumpkin.

I set the pinion where I wanted it and bent a piece of wire around the housing where the inner leg of the passenger side spring perch would rest. I then traced that onto a piece of cardboard, cut it out, and used the cardboard to make sure it was going to fit nice and flush on the housing. Here is a picture of what I came up with.

I now have to cut this shape into the side of my spring perch and pray that it fits flush and level in both directions.

That's all for tonight. Merry Christmas fellas, let me know what I've done wrong and what questions you have. Maybe I can get some work done tomorrow.

 

[kevin in okinawa]

i bought a pitman arm puller today...set it up, get it REAL tight, and whack the arm with a hammer and it will come off easy. i think using pickle fork is the harder way...

unless you are the luckiest guy in the world, getting the pitman arm off "easy" is the biggest understatement of the new century...that thing was a PITA and we used a combination of EVERY technique/trick known. but, in the end it came off!

 

[CruisinFJ60]

id angle that pinion angle down a little, not much just a hair to account for the settle of the springs over time.

 

[BlueCruiser84]

id angle that pinion angle down a little, not much just a hair to account for the settle of the springs over time.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking I just wanted to be sure. Everything else looks ok, though? I'm gonna head out there and clean things up and hopefully get the perches tacked on.

Merry Christmas

 

[GLTHFJ60]

id angle that pinion angle down a little, not much just a hair to account for the settle of the springs over time.

That's exactly what I did. I angled it down maybe a degree and I have not had any vibes, due to the d-shaft at least

 

[Lost]

unless you are the luckiest guy in the world, getting the pitman arm off "easy" is the biggest understatement of the new century...that thing was a PITA and we used a combination of EVERY technique/trick known. but, in the end it came off!

it took longer to go to crappytire to buy the puller then it did to get it off. it wasnt hard, but i assure you it was on there real tight. using a hammer to shock the arm witht he stress of the puller is the key.

i also want to mention i started my soa today, in the drive way, its only -5*c and raining, but not to worry, now that the truck is out of commision, i can take as long as i need...LOL

ill start my own soa thread soon
one or two bolts a day is my goal