Rear uneven height after adjusting shackles?

[bobbywalter]

yeah....only people who live outside of the rust belt think ubolts are re-useable.

although they can be reusable- the wormy ass units on a oem ranger can be stretched easily. if you know how a stretched threaded shaft that is transistioned to flat form fails, then you will be weary to reuse the 1/2 in ones. especially if you have to go over 150 pounds to re-seat everything....

. i step up to 9/16 or 5/8 to make sure and dope the hell out of them with antisieze and run way under on the torque capacity ensuring i can reuse them....as i never know when swapping out an axle is going to happen or when i will be popping in my heavy spring packs to run heavy.. a 5/8 can hold enough tourque to ruin the axle and mounting plates ect so dont just torque it down with a 5 foot cheater... it sux to open up the holes in the spring plates but worth it.


since the truck is lifted and you are not certain those are oem springs....i would consider running the heavier spring offering for the ranger....it is definitely ideal. the ride is not harsh unladen in any case....but not having enough spring is a sure way to bust them.

my light springs are the hd f150 2wd springs....which are 2650 iirc....there is a 33...but different arch. i run the 9 in arch.....and i go up from there if i need to load the truck.

i usually just get them at michigan truck spring. almost always the best price and unfortunately made from chinesium,,,,they are cheap and effective enough i dont care...when one pops i just toss em and get new ones.

though i am sure prices now are getting out of hand.

9/16 u bolts 3 1/2 spread are usually 12-15 bux each. look at your bolts carefully...measure for stretch....if they are good...they are good. use them. otherwise it is not too bad to replace them.

 

[bobbywalter]

so i looked up my springs.... generally could get them 88-109 each depending on sale or not. 180 each now. those are the hd 2wd 150 units....


i was looking it up for a 2011 ranger.

same for the 5 pack ranger springs. make sure you know what size your spring bolts are. should be 5/8 at the hanger and 9/16 at the shackle. that can be a variance on early trucks.

 

[bobbywalter]

oh....for running the f150 2wd springs....its 80-96. and you have to build pin offset plates to keep the axle centered. they are not a direct swap but not hard to install either.

 

[JJMaine]

Awesome thanks guys! I will be sure to check them over real good when I have them off the truck. Any little bit I can save helps as Ive been spending a lot on this beast!

 

[JJMaine]

Bobby, I hadnt thought of the spring bolt size on them but the ones I ordered from General Spring said they specifically fit the 2011 Ranger (1200lb rating). I hope they are correct they should be here tomorrow according to the tracking.

 

[bobbywalter]

hopefully those are stock springs on there now.... as long as they are what they say coming in the mail it looks like you should be good to go.

 

[don4331]

Some place in there, Ford changed from Imperial to Metric for the shackle bolts. The sizes are close but not identical.

The spring shop I got my last springs at, just bent and threaded rod while I waited. They've been running fine since installed - but then again, 4wd for me is for getting to in-laws in winter snow, not for rock crawling. So, they aren't overstressed...

 

[SenorNoob]

On the F150 springs... I've been looking at 43-883 springs myself. Should be a 2-4.5in lift depending on what was stock. and close enough to bolt in. (Maybe an inch off?) It uses the same eye bushings as at least one stock Ranger spring. 1655lb.

 

[JJMaine]

So Im putting in the new leaf springs today and they fit fine and are the same exact dimensions as the old ones but now the lower shackle bolt is rubbing the hitch again!

I checked and the width of the bushing are exactly the same on the old and new springs so Im not sure where the issue is? Before I had near to a 1/4” of room between the bolt head and the receiver hitch.

Can I grind an 1/8” off the top of the bolt head or is that unsafe? I really dont want to notch my hitch.

 

[SenorNoob]

Can you get wider shot? I'm wondering what the real cause of this is.

I would be concerned with trimming the bolt head. Although most of the force in this case is facing the other direction.

 

[JJMaine]

Sure sorry. My phone camera won't focus far away so I can only get close ups lol. I'll go grab my old phone and take a few photos. Thanks!

I'm thinking maybe try loosening the I bolts and see if the spring settles back to where the old one was?

 

[bobbywalter]

if the hanger is in the right place then its possible the hitch is for a different application..... more picture for sure

 

[JJMaine]

They were hitting when I first bought the truck but only because they put the bolts in the wrong way so the nuts were towards the hitch. After I had taken them out and turned them around they cleared with 1/8-1/4" gap. I have photos of the side with the new spring and the other side that still has the old spring with clearance between the bolt head and hitch.

 

[JJMaine]

In that first photo the spring end looks tweaked doesn't it?

Also, the old and new spring bushings look like different sizes but they are not. Both the metal sleeves are the same length

 

[bobbywalter]