Anyone? Picture of ruff stuff frenched 63" swapped in. (1 Viewer)

[Farz]

Hey all.. new SOA happening in my micro-garage. I was looking at hanger options for these 63" springs and am looking at these.

Does anyone, who has used this kit, have a picture of how they set up theirs? I'm definitely looking at losing some of the height that the SOA brings. The girl already gets all loopy when we get our lean on and tipping this pig over would really put a damper on this love triangle.

Thanks for any help!
Mike

 

[Wile E Coyote]

This is what Google told me to show you:
https://www.google.com/search?q=fre...renched+leaf+spring+hangers&tbm=isch&imgdii=_

 

[Farz]

Outstanding, this was all I could come up with with my lackluster google-fu.

https://www.google.com/search?q=i+h...K1yASvj4CYDg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=672

 

[Spook50]

Unfortunately I don't know of anyone with the frenched hangers installed. I'm kind of up in the air if I'm going to fab my own when I eventually do a 63" swap or just order a Ruff Stuff kit. If you decide to go for it I'll be curious to see what you end up with.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Outstanding, this was all I could come up with with my lackluster google-fu.

https://www.google.com/search?q=i hate you&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=1qXRU9XIHIK1yASvj4CYDg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=672

I give you the pics you asked for, along with some ample bonuses if you'd scroll down and "click for more results" ( . Y . )

Sooooo, It seems it's NOT thanks for any help, then.

 

[Farz]

No worries man, I looked at ze' google pics prior to posting and saw the same stuff, but you never know what vehicles they're under and whatnot. I was just hoping someone had already done it on here and I could just go ahead and ripoff their strategy.

 

[Farz]

I'll keep you posted- I'm still grinding crap off the front half and brainstorming on the rear. I should probably start a build thread, but I'm afraid it would just drag on forever!

 

[The Phoenician]

ok stupid question time, what do you mean by "frenched"? I think of something else when I hear that.

 

[Farz]

So Frenched would be the recessing of the shackle hanger into the frame- This Ruff Stuff kit calls it Frenched. I think I got it now though, I was just curious as to whether anyone was also recessing the leaf hanger as well.

I dunno. I think I kinda figured out what I want to do. Sometimes. Just need a visual to push me out the other side of the tunnel, so to speak.

Maybe I'll just start a build thread and ask all of the million questions I have in there. I don't foresee an end to my ignorance anytime soon.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Get the spring pads tacked in, slap the springs on, bolt on the tires and roll the axle under the truck. Experiment by clamping the springs to the frame using big c-clamps with varying thicknesses of wood sandwiched between the spring eyes and the frame. Clamp the piss outta it and you can set the rig's weight down on the tires, very carefully. Even a small side-load like using the truck to push off of while moving around underneath will send the truck down onto your melon, so don't be dumb. This will give you your own visual and allow you to set pinion angle, driveshaft length, etc at true ride height.

That's how I got my measurements and got the confidence to commit. I'm not the kind that can easily conceptualize...it needs to be laid out in front of me more than most. I used lots of Ruff Stuff on my junk, and frenched the aft front spring shackle mount ( I did a DIY shackle reversal as well) into the frame but it stayed SUA and I used rear 1/2t Ferd springs in the rear and Blazer/S-10 rears in my front...not that similar to a typical SOA setup.

 

[Farz]

Thanks Wile- I've been thinking front spring options as well.. What's the length/width on the s-10 springs? Do you notice any issues with sagging? I picked up 3/4 ton Heavy duties for the rear (planning on heavy bumper, swingout and lotsa camp gear back there.) I'm worried now that the the front will sag while the rear could pretty much take a direct nuclear strike. I've heard that even with an add-a-leaf the stock fronts will still sag in an SOA configuration. I really want to get this as correct as possible the first time.

As far as roughing in and experimenting with placement, pinion angle and such I'll take your advice. I have a pretty healthy imagination when it comes to my own bodily harm which keeps me on my toes. I will however take heed.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Both spring sets I used are typical domestic 2.5" width, so narrower than stock Toy stuff. The rear Ferds are 54", and the Blazer/S-10's are 45" or so from my flawed memory bank. The only advantage to the domestic stuff is the ease of junk yard scrounging any needed replacements, but then there will be other downsides to offset that. I'd forget them unless you're REALLY stubborn like me and instead think about using your current rears up front like the mini-truck guys used to do. If the RUF idea doesn't fly, at least break the packs down to have good leaves to cut down and add to the fronts as needed.

 

[Farz]

That's good info, I hadn't considered the adding a rear leaf into the from pack. Thanks!

 

[Spook50]

The rear-to-front trick was something I was planning on doing a while back. Plan was 63" 5-leaf Chebby springs in the back (if it was too stiff I could always remove one leaf), and then moving my OEM rears up front while at the same time doing a shackle reversal. If my math worked out right, a SR would help maintain proper pinion angle by compensating for the different angle the newly placed rears would hold the axle at. End goal was better road manners, more comfortable ride, more flex when needed, and having the suspension height 2.5-3" over stock.

Now if I eventually were to find a good way (ie, affordable and somewhat easy to get dialed in) to go with coils and a 4-link setup in the rear, I'd drop the leaf spring idea and go that route.

 

[Farz]

The rear-to-front trick was something I was planning on doing a while back. Plan was 63" 5-leaf Chebby springs in the back (if it was too stiff I could always remove one leaf), and then moving my OEM rears up front while at the same time doing a shackle reversal. If my math worked out right, a SR would help maintain proper pinion angle by compensating for the different angle the newly placed rears would hold the axle at. End goal was better road manners, more comfortable ride, more flex when needed, and having the suspension height 2.5-3" over stock.

Now if I eventually were to find a good way (ie, affordable and somewhat easy to get dialed in) to go with coils and a 4-link setup in the rear, I'd drop the leaf spring idea and go that route.

I've been on the fence with the SR, but a rear to front swap might happen. I also like Wile's idea of stealing long leaves out of the rear and chopping them down and putting them in the front pack.

The 4-link setup would be awesome though! (way outside of my capability)

 

[lcwizard]

Frenching in the shackles can't gain you a much when looking to lower the truck. The spring eye can only get so close to the frame. If you can raise the
shackle side spring eye by 1" you'll only drop it ( the truck ) 1/2". Having your springs built with reverse rotation eyes would do more

 

[Farz]

Frenching in the shackles can't gain you a much when looking to lower the truck. The spring eye can only get so close to the frame. If you can raise the
shackle side spring eye by 1" you'll only drop it ( the truck ) 1/2". Having your springs built with reverse rotation eyes would do more

That's good info, perhaps it's not worth the effort in the end. ... Alternatively, maybe I could just get fatter as a way to lower the truck's center of gravity.

PS I love those recovery shackles!

 

[SNLC]

I think frenching can be a solid way to keep a SoA truck lower. Every little bit counts. I recently bought some 62.5" Deaver leaves and some RS frenched hangers for a project I am working on. I also bought some 2"x.25" DOM tube to sleeve the shackles into the frame. I am SoA'ing a truck and don't want it to high, it will never run anything bigger than 35's. This is the route I am going, time will tell if I regret it or change it around.

Cheers

 

[lcwizard]

Simply running reverse wrapped eyes can lower you 2" , depending on the diameter of the spring eye.
Example of reverse eye...

 

[lcwizard]

this pic shows the issue with frenching the shackle. The shackle has to be made longer so the gain is minimal if anything. A spring over with a flat spring can run a pretty short shackle if the bushing tube is placed on the bottom of the frame. A short shackle won't clear through a range of motion, in many cases, when it's frenched through the frame. The other consideration is whether the centerline on the frame is the correct centerline of the spring. Many hangers are offset because the frame rails are not parallel right and left so moving the hanger fore and aft along the rail may change it's position relative to the center of the frame rail.