OK guys. Need help with suspension

[BBQ BOY]

I have studied and studied all suspensions. I am wanting a 4" SUA lift. I am pretty set on Bilstein shocks. I am leaning towards the MAF shackle reversal. What other shackles should I get? I was looking at the HFS greaseable shackles and pins. Also are the MAF 4+ reverse U bolts worth the money? They claim to add another 1". I am just stumped on spring brand. Choices are HFS, Alcan, Skyjacker, Safari and OME. OME only comes in 2.5" only I think but if I add the MAF 4+ U bolts and maybe longer shackles then I may be able to achieve the 4" right? I will have a winch on the front and one day get the 4+ rear tire/cooler carrier. This will be a daily drive or driven a good bit since I have a car.

 

[Hard40]

To each his own. This is what I did and am happy with the look and feel but I was building a offroad cruiser. Since you are on the street a lot you may want to tone it down a bit: Downey front springs on alll four corners, springs reversed on all four corners, MAF ubolt flip kit on the rear, Black Diamond Shocks, 5 inch shackles, extended brake lines. Many other non suspension mods. The spring reversal on both front and back will give you 98+ inches of wheelbase. Anything approaching 100 inches is the holy grail of offroading. Using front springs in the rear avoided the rear-end sag that tends to happen with offroading a 40 while carrying some weight in the rear; spare, tools, parts, JP, Chuck etc. Wheather shackles are greaseable is small potatoes. I have seen skyjacker springs break offroad. A 2-1/2 inch lift looks good, lets you run a 33" tire and is safer on the street. I am running Dakkar 2-1/2 on my 79 FJ40 restoration. It's a nice look and rides as good a a cruiser can. Good Luck....by the way replacing springs is a game best played by a young man.

 

[Trollhole]

I have studied and studied all suspensions. I am wanting a 4" SUA lift. I am pretty set on Bilstein shocks. I am leaning towards the MAF shackle reversal. What other shackles should I get? I was looking at the HFS greaseable shackles and pins. Also are the MAF 4+ reverse U bolts worth the money? They claim to add another 1". I am just stumped on spring brand. Choices are HFS, Alcan, Skyjacker, Safari and OME. OME only comes in 2.5" only I think but if I add the MAF 4+ U bolts and maybe longer shackles then I may be able to achieve the 4" right? I will have a winch on the front and one day get the 4+ rear tire/cooler carrier. This will be a daily drive or driven a good bit since I have a car.

For a daily driver I wouldn't do a shackle reversal. It's just not needed. Plus it makes the front end tires stick out and look funny in my opinion. Unless you plan on making this an off road, rock crawling monster I'd stay away from it. Spend your money somewhere else.

I have no advice on springs. As I'm SOA.

 

[Trollhole]

Good Luck....by the way replacing springs is a game best played by a young man.

Amen!

 

[IndianDoc]

Young mans job

I am an old man and just did it, don't look forward to that again soon at least not by myself. 2X on the young mans job

 

[mooker82]

I am an old man and just did it, don't look forward to that again soon at least not by myself. 2X on the young mans job

Lol. Its not that bad. I replaced all mine in the front yard with hand tools and a floor jack in a day. It was a long, long, long day though.

 

[Trollhole]

Lol. Its not that bad. I replaced all mine in the front yard with hand tools and a floor jack in a day. It was a long, long, long day though.

On most old cruisers the spring pins become welded to the spring bushing. When this happens a BFH won't even help. A couple of the fixed pins are difficult to whack at anyway because some part of the cruiser is blocking them.

The only job I have ever done where this was easy was when the springs were somewhat new or like on mine they had greasable pins.

In any event expect to have to cut some of the pins out. I've used a cutoff wheel on a grinder, a sawzaw, and by far the most effective but nastiest way a cutting torch. Works every time.

 

[scott johnson]

I have the 4+ u bolt flip kits front and rear. Yes they cost alot but they work great and moves everything up top so you dont get hung up in the rocks. That being said... My truck is primarily a trail rig. Yeah I drive it back and forth from Summerville to Mt p and to the beach in the summer but it rides like a trail rig. Not for the faint of heart. I drove it to the crab boil and thats about as far as it will ever go. My max speed with all my mods is about 60-65 so I stay off the interstate. Before you order a single part you need to sit down and figure out what you primary goal is with the 40. Some things to consider:
1- daily driver or trail rig?
2-how many road miles will I put on it if it is a trail rig?
3- what am I willing to spend?
4- do I want it to look good or wheel good?
5-does function or ride quality matter most?
6- body work or mechanical
When you figure your budget for your build, the max that your willing to spend add anothe K at least. When you do the lift there is always going to be some thing extra you didnt think about. In addition to all the obvious stuff you have to remember the little things like extended brake lines (go stainless) ,caster shims, drive line angles, and the possibility you might have to get a longer drive shaft.
Go through the truck with someone who knows them and identify all the issues. Make a list and prioritize. Get it road worthy and go from there. I learned the hard way and did alot of work in the wrong order.

 

[mooker82]

On most old cruisers the spring pins become welded to the spring bushing. When this happens a BFH won't even help. A couple of the fixed pins are difficult to whack at anyway because some part of the cruiser is blocking them.

The only job I have ever done where this was easy was when the springs were somewhat new or like on mine they had greasable pins.

In any event expect to have to cut some of the pins out. I've used a cutoff wheel on a grinder, a sawzaw, and by far the most effective but nastiest way a cutting torch. Works every time.

Yes. That was really the worst part. I had to use a cutoff wheel on some. Most I could get out with a BFH and som heat from a plumbers torch. It is also easiest to just cut the u-bolts off since you will be using new ones for the lift. Also just go ahead and order new spring pins since you will more than likely break them of mess them up. Also get new bushings for the shackles if you are going to reuse your stock shackles. I like the rubber ones but some people like urethane.

BBQBoy...I would start spraying all the bolts with PB plaster. If you do your lift yourself you will be thankful or if you are paying someone they will be thankful.

 

[BBQ BOY]

I have the 4+ u bolt flip kits front and rear. Yes they cost alot but they work great and moves everything up top so you dont get hung up in the rocks. That being said... My truck is primarily a trail rig. Yeah I drive it back and forth from Summerville to Mt p and to the beach in the summer but it rides like a trail rig. Not for the faint of heart. I drove it to the crab boil and thats about as far as it will ever go. My max speed with all my mods is about 60-65 so I stay off the interstate. Before you order a single part you need to sit down and figure out what you primary goal is with the 40. Some things to consider:
1- daily driver or trail rig?More of a daily driver. 75%
2-how many road miles will I put on it if it is a trail rig?
3- what am I willing to spend? $1500
4- do I want it to look good or wheel good? Both
5-does function or ride quality matter most?Both
6- body work or mechanical
When you figure your budget for your build, the max that your willing to spend add anothe K at least. When you do the lift there is always going to be some thing extra you didnt think about. In addition to all the obvious stuff you have to remember the little things like extended brake lines (go stainless) ,caster shims, drive line angles, and the possibility you might have to get a longer drive shaft.
Go through the truck with someone who knows them and identify all the issues. Make a list and prioritize. Get it road worthy and go from there. I learned the hard way and did alot of work in the wrong order.

Getting road worthy as we speak.

I am considering OME simply because of reputation and ride quality but I LOVE the look of a 4" SUA lift. that is my dilemma. I was told by Cruiser Outfitters that a 4" is not going to ride as good as OME 3".
I will be riding with y'all and want to know if the OME 3" with 33's will be sufficient enough for places y'all go.

 

[BBQ BOY]

I am leaning towards Alcan since I have so many special request.

 

[CruisinTiger]

If you have a dilema between 3 and 4" lift, base it on the size tire you want to run. Something else to think about is if you wanna save some dough now go with the 3" and then down the road you can always come back and add a leaf. It's just another option to look at and also unless 2 vehicles are parked next to eachother I can't tell by looking at it if it's a 3 or 4" lift. Have fun and good luck!