Poor Mans Lift

[Guest ExcessCustomz]

K i got all the info regarding the poor mans lift my last few questions are.

 

1.) If i do the jgc coils and crank up the t-bars can i go 1 month of street driving without buying new UCA's cause im going to buy the Rough country ones soon?

 

2.) I was told that by cranking up the t-bars the likelyhood of breaking my front axles is Great since they will be at a Bad angle is this True?

[Precise1]

1) You'll be fine, but remember, you may be paying for 2 alignments...

2)Theoretically, yes but the word would be "greater". In reality, if this was a guarenteed issue, no one make, buy, or sell suspension lift kits or components. Who told you that ?

 

B

[94extreme]

K i got all the info regarding the poor mans lift my last few questions are.

 

1.) If i do the jgc coils and crank up the t-bars can i go 1 month of street driving without buying new UCA's cause im going to buy the Rough country ones soon?

 

2.) I was told that by cranking up the t-bars the likelyhood of breaking my front axles is Great since they will be at a Bad angle is this True?

can't be much worse then the angles you get with the longer UCAs..

[Guest ExcessCustomz]

k i cannot seem to find any here in town i was hoping on doing this today all i can find is a 97 6 cylinder will those springs work or does it absolutly have to be the v8 ones

[jj big shoe]

I'm pretty sure the 6 cyl. ones won't be as thick and compress too much. The V8 ones are like .52"-.55" or so. You could also use coils from a Ford F150, but they give you a harsher ride. All the info you needis in The Garage section under How-To's.

[mws]

Yup, what JJ said.

The V8 engine is much heavier so requires higher spring rates.

The 6 cylinder springs will likely fit, but whether your truck will end up sitting higher than stock or not is an unknown. But definitely lower than if you used the V8 springs. The final height depends on the static length of the spring AND the spring rate. Spring rate is determined by the diameter and length of the spring wire (uncoiled).

[87pathy]

Yup, what JJ said.

The V8 engine is much heavier so requires higher spring rates.

The 6 cylinder springs will likely fit, but whether your truck will end up sitting higher than stock or not is an unknown. But definitely lower than if you used the V8 springs. The final height depends on the static length of the spring AND the spring rate. Spring rate is determined by the diameter and length of the spring wire (uncoiled).

I thought that the coil rate was a combination of teh wire thickness used for the coils and the distance between the coils. if you ever look at varaible rate coils, the coils are closer together at the top than they are at the bottom..

[Precise1]

Yes, get the V8 and only the V8 springs... Slick got some new progressive ones from Kragens or Grand Auto for like $80 and her ass is WAY in the air !! Well, you know what I mean...

 

B

[Guest ExcessCustomz]

K thanks i kind of thought so just wanted to make sure. I am ordering the Springs from Autozone for $75 for the set so i cant wait to put them on and crank up the T-Bars i just hope everything will be fine untill i order my UCA's i am not even going to align it untill i get my UCA's

[94extreme]

they are $75 bucks at AZ? i think the junk yards around here want $40 ea. cool, i think i'll look into that soon.

[statikuz]

ouch, $40 apiece is painful:

 

from the original thread: "I bought my JGC coils for $10 each at a local junkyard, which seems to be a common price for pull-it-yourself yards."

[Mr. Pickles]

ouch, $40 apiece is painful:

 

from the original thread: "I bought my JGC coils for $10 each at a local junkyard, which seems to be a common price for pull-it-yourself yards."

Yeah, true that. If that's all you can get, I'd look new. I paid $20 per and scoffed, but they were already out so I didn't even have to turn a wrench.

 

As for not aligning till you get your UCA's, depends on how much you like your tires. Sure you could go without, but you're steering will be crap with your tires pulling easy in ruts and stuff, and you're gonna smoke your tread pretty quick probably. That could get spendy.

 

If you have a Firestone nearby, they offer a lifetime alignment for around $125-145 or so, depending if its on sale. I paid for it last spring- say 9 months ago. I triple checked up front that it was for the life that I owned the truck, that it wouldn't matter if I had aftermarket parts installed prior to or after, and even if it mattered if I did the installs. No for all. I had it aligned then, then again in August after installing the Rough Country UCA's, and again recently a bit after a wheeling trip and getting my new tires, just to be on the safe side. No questions each time, even with shiny new aftermarket parts installed. Already, that's 3 alignments under my belt in under a year and worth the up-front cost. I've heard of guys even having it done every other oil change or so.

[94extreme]

i've only had one vehicle re-alligned in almost 20y of driving/owning cars..

[mws]

I thought that the coil rate was a combination of teh wire thickness used for the coils and the distance between the coils. if you ever look at varaible rate coils, the coils are closer together at the top than they are at the bottom..

Excellent question.

 

The best way I've found to understand a coil spring is to "uncoil" it in my mind. Once I can see it as a long, straight piece of spring steel wire, I can understand it better. If you play with a few long steel rods, it is easy to see how diameter and length affect how much it bends under varying loads.

 

The concept behind variable rate coils is actually variable length. Huh?

When the spring compresses enough for two coils to touch (coil bind), the amount of spring wire that can flex is decreased by one full coil. So as each of the closer coils come into contact with each other, the spring wire gets effectively shorter and shorter, hence, stiffer and stiffer. Until they touch, each coil deflects the exact same amount per unit of increasing load.

 

On my motorcycles, I frequently cut a few coils off to stiffen the suspension as it is a whole lot cheaper than buying new springs. If I have a fork spring with 50 coils, cutting 5 off will increase the spring rate by 10%. I then add a rigid spacer to bring the suspension back up to the proper height and preload.

[mws]

i've only had one vehicle re-alligned in almost 20y of driving/owning cars..

Ahh... You've clearly never owned a 1965 Ford! That front suspension was so flimsy I had to align it every 10K miles or so to avoid horrible tire wear!

[k9sar]

Yes, get the V8 and only the V8 springs... Slick got some new progressive ones from Kragens or Grand Auto for like $80 and her ass is WAY in the air !! Well, you know what I mean...

 

B

*snicker*

[Mr. Pickles]

i've only had one vehicle re-alligned in almost 20y of driving/owning cars..

Susp lift, new UCA's, ball joints, wheeling, etc. pretty much requires it. And with a lifetime service, you better bet I'm gonna do it whenever I feel the need. Especially since they have a shop about 2 blocks from work= drop her off in the morning, pick her up in the afternoon. :contract:

[Filthy Luker]

I do my own alignment. It's nothing that a measuring tape and some rope couldn't handle.