d44 coil perch question

[madmax401]

where can i get them new ? i looked at ruff stuffs website and they had new mounts to weld on to my d44,but on top is just a flat round plate with a hole through the center. i was looking to find something to weld on there with little or no fabrication at all. my d44 is a full width f150 71-77 style with the 4 cast wedges. my plans are to keep the radius arms and wedges where they are (if possible) and put new coil mounts on the d44. does any body sell a coil mount that holds the coil spring down the same way that the stock d44 coil mounts?? i like the way that my coil mounts have 2 bolts holding the spring to the d44,and really won't feel comfortable with less then that.

 

[madmax401]

well, i found the lower coil bucket and coil retainer at wild horses for 90 bux for the set. they are the same as factory with the 2 bolt holes on each.
how will i attatch those to the after market coil mounts that im going to have welded to my d44 ? the original buckets bolt to radius arm mount which i will not be using as im adding new coil perches and moving them inward. any suggestions or picx would be helpful.
thanx

 

[mhughes165]

ideally, if u want the bes setup your going to need to move the location on the axle where the radius arm wedges are welded, and order some new wedges from bronco graveyard. the added strength of the radius arm and the radius arm wedges prevent damage from occuring that would occur if u mounted them anywhere else

 

[madmax401]

i was kinda affraid somebody was gonna say say something like that (fearing the fact that i have to relocate the wedges) those wedges look like a pita to re-align ..they are slightly offset from each other. theres a bunch of sas coil trucks in here that just added coil perches and didnt move tyhe radius arm wedges. i took my d44 to a welder last weekend to put new leaf perches on my 14 bolt ,my prep work was done allready .....so that was a quick easy job for the welder . as for my d44......i didnt let nim cut the wedges off and move them in . i was affraid that he'd do the job and without exact measurements on things....i wasnt willing to take that risk. do i need to unload the 44 again .....cut the old wedges off..........buy new wedges.....assemble the radius arms the the d44 with out welding the wedges. simply just to measure and mark their positions ? maybe tack the wedges where they wanna position themselves and then take it to the welder to make it a forever weld?
another question....how will i know what degree insulators to buy for the newly relocated radius arms? or there's nothing to worry about ...the stocks will work fine ? this is my first SAS....and i'd like to get it right the first time out. i just got my 14 bolt in yesterday........and its friggan sweet.

 

[mhughes165]

since you going to be getting new weges you will not need to run degree bushings, u can actually just degree the wedges on the axle to the proper angle, and that way u can run factory or stock poly bushings, and later on if u want to lift it more u have room to play cause then u can still add degree bushings

 

[mhughes165]

oh ya, and u can also tack them on where they need to be once u set the degrees, u can do that with a standard welder

 

[madmax401]

thanx , i wasnt looking forward to that . but, at least i can tack those puppies in place with my 110 arc welder. i was thinking about getting a hobart 140 mig from norther, it says it'll handle up to 1/4 inch. i only have 110 here at the house . do you think that'll be adequate ? or am i going to have to step it up to 220 ? i can weld so-so and am confident that i can do what needs to be done>>>>>>just no welder is all. somebody broke into my garage about 5 years back and stole all of my tools ....including my welder ,grinders ,blue point airguns (900ft lbs) and my little pee wee 80 mini bike. its just soo hard to replace everything and having to start all over again. i'm sure your feeling my pain

 

[mhughes165]

ya i know man, and a hobart will be more the adequate todo most of the welding you need, remember kiddies, its just not the welder, its the prep work and person doin the welding that makes a good weld.

if u get the new welder brush up on your welding alot before you do suspension parts on your own(so your confident the welds will never break) then have at it

 

[madmax401]

Thanx mhughes165 for the vote of confidence. I do plan on practicing on the smaller ** less important projects (like bumpers and such)first to freshen up my skills before i attack my suspension welds. that would totally suck if the rears fell out while driving because of some crap a** welds.

 

[madmax401]

doing f150 coil mount

I am going the route of doing the f150 coil mounts and springs. today i cut my spring mounts off the frame and test fit my f150 mounts. only 1 bolt matched up and i was very suprised at that. the other holes ill have to drill when i get some new bits. now i wont have to move the radius arms in as much because the f150 mounts move my springs outward a few inches. eh , well see what happens when i get the other side done and measure the width. sure would be nice if i dont have to relocate the 4 wedges. ill keep you posted.
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