Downey 4 inch lift

[FJBen]

Looks sweet man!!! I just hangin' out here on the beach! relaxin' missing my cruiser tho...let me know if you need any help when i get back.

 

[PabloCruise]

Looks sweet man!!! I just hangin' out here on the beach! relaxin' missing my cruiser tho...let me know if you need any help when i get back.

Dude!

Good to hear from you!!! Hope your kickin' it right on the beach...

The old shock mounts gave me a bad time coming off, but I got them.

Driveshaft should be in tomorrow, order shocks, then I might be good. I say might cause I'm worried 'bout my third. Trying to find a coarse pinion, 4.11 third to drop in. If you have one sitting around, let me know...

Have a great vaca!

 

[Hulk]

TJ, your Cruiser is looking good. Why not go with 33 x 12.50 tires? I love mine. Can't remember if you have PS though -- if you have only manual steering, the 10.50 tires might be a better option.

Are you planning to cut the rears of the rear wheel wells?

 

[PabloCruise]

TJ, your Cruiser is looking good. Why not go with 33 x 12.50 tires? I love mine. Can't remember if you have PS though -- if you have only manual steering, the 10.50 tires might be a better option.

Are you planning to cut the rears of the rear wheel wells?

Thanks Matt!

No PS yet, but plan on it soon...

Not sure if Bobo shipped his 33x12.50 - nope, looks like they are up for grabs!

DEFINITELY plan on cutting wheelwells...

Wheelwells will need to be opened up, and exhaust pipe moved.

 

[PabloCruise]

Driveshaft is in!

I ordered up my rear driveshaft to be stretched - 26 inches, flange to flange...

It came in, and I estimate about 1.5 of the ~2 inches of slip are inserted. I think this will work well, as I believe most lift spring packs settle in a little bit over time, which should expose more slip yoke.

 

[norm]

Downey 4 inch lift springs suck

I've been lurking here for a while but now I really have to put my 2 cents in.

I have the Downey 4" lift springs and HATE them. The ride is brutal, and that's on the street. They remind me of the 3 leaf Rancho springs that were sold to suckers in the 80's. Those were so bad, I had to "rock crawl" down dirt roads that my friends with stock springs and add-a-leafs drove down at 10 or 20 MPH. I got rid of those and used stock springs with add-a-leafs for the next 14 years. Last year I bought some 4" Downer springs on ebay because they were advertised as being soft riding. What a load of crap.

I've ended up removing the 2nd leaf off the rear and replacing it with the stock leaf. I took the front 2nd leaf out and replaced it with the rear 2nd leaf because it had more arch. I left off the lowest leaf and replaced it with the stock one. I have 140lbs of sand in the back (no hard top) and it's ALMOST tolerable around town.

When I compared the Downer 2nd leaf with my add-a-leaf, it looks identical! Which makes me wonder, if people say add-a-leafs make for a rough ride, how does an add-a-leaf combined with 3 more stiff as hell leafs make for a soft ride?

 

[PabloCruise]

Norm - this is pretty interesting to me...

What shocks did you put with these springs?

 

[freightdog]

Nice - Diamond Plate.......

Looks good dude!

Where are the new shocks?

Took mine out for a 127 mile dirt road test - the fronts do not have enough collapse - my bad - gonna buy the MAF towers from 4plus - that should do the trick...

 

[PabloCruise]

Nice - Diamond Plate.......

Looks good dude!

Where are the new shocks?

Took mine out for a 127 mile dirt road test - the fronts do not have enough collapse - my bad - gonna buy the MAF towers from 4plus - that should do the trick...

How are the 4Plus towers diff from el cheapo deluxe F-250 mounts? ($20 a pair...)

 

[PabloCruise]

Nice - Diamond Plate.......

Looks good dude!

Where are the new shocks?

Took mine out for a 127 mile dirt road test - the fronts do not have enough collapse - my bad - gonna buy the MAF towers from 4plus - that should do the trick...

$200?!?

I would urge you to read up on the F250 mount first

 

[FJBen]

How are the 4Plus towers diff from el cheapo deluxe F-250 mounts? ($20 a pair...)

My guess is that they bolt up, and require less mods. But the price

 

[freightdog]

How are the 4Plus towers diff from el cheapo deluxe F-250 mounts? ($20 a pair...)

I am not familar with that option -

I am readin!

Cool thanks!

So - we are talkin a trip to the boneyard

 

[PabloCruise]

My guess is that they bolt up, and require less mods. But the price

A little booty fab is good for you! Keeps you sharp!

 

[FJBen]

I am not familar with that option -

I am readin!

Cool thanks!

So - we are talkin a trip to the boneyard

Nope...buy them brand new at the Ford dealer, ~$20 a pair. Unless you really want to go find them on some crusty Furd in a boneyard for $10.

 

[freightdog]

Nope...buy them brand new at the Ford dealer, ~$20 a pair. Unless you really want to go find them on some crusty Furd in a boneyard for $10.

What year F250? any?

Sounds great - you just saved me a bundle!

 

[PabloCruise]

What year F250? any?

Sounds great - you just saved me a bundle!

Take a trip to the Tech Trivia section of MUD - it lists part number E5TZ-18183-A for a 1988 Ford F250...

Now you can spend your money on important things like your woman and beer!

 

[Magoo]

well i guess i will say that im not too happy about em as of yet.but im gonna make things different by swapping out some leafs,maybe increase shackle angle and get some soft shocks.they ride ok on the street but are brutal on the trail.im gonna fix that though.
with that said i probably should of went skyjacker,but i think with a little time and aggrivation my springs are gonna work out just fine.and i hope they work out for you as well TJ.
shawn

 

[norm]

downer spring shocks

The guy at TPI talked me into getting Black Diamond shocks, I couldn't tell the difference between them and the cheapest non-gas shocks at Kragen. I noticed the front of my Cruiser hardly dives at all when I jam the brakes at a stop sign. I think they are just too stiff.

 

[PabloCruise]

Shawn,

What shocks did you put on? I am thinking my shackle angle looks o-k, but have yet to wheel it - waiting to weld on mounts...

 

[PabloCruise]

What happened to the other Downey thread?

I am guessing the guy deleted it?

So far, so good. Got front shocks on last night (Doetsch-Tech 8333), (see the F250 thread ) and so far it rides WORLDS better than it did with 20+ year old springs and shocks on there...