My suspension plan (hopefully)

[ckblum]

Feel free to give suggestions on this, thats why Im posting it here. My plan is to have a cheapish truck that cycles a decent amount of travel, nothing crazy but give some suggestions on how to modify the stock suspension as much as possible. Im not a crawler or anything, Im more into faster "prerunning" type stuff and trail riding. Im a student on a budget too so please give suggestions to cheaper/better alternatives. The truck is a 1987 Extended Cab 4x4 2.9L, I also have another identical parts truck thats an 88. I will be using stock un-modified beams too. Truck will be running 31's and I may cut fenders but fiberglass front fenders will hopefully be put on to finish the truck.

Anyways heres the plan for front and rear. I think I can do it all for under $1500 and Im confident my setup will work better than an off the shelf kit from Rough Country or just some "lift" kit. Plus the cost will be broken down over time. Overall I can be proud to build my own suspension that is custom made for my application.

Front:
STX Brackets - 2" higher than stock? So that also leaves me an additional 1.5" on top and still be able to align, please correct if Im wrong. Possible 3-3.5" of lift.
Extended Radius arms - Probably have to put out the cash and buy some JD or Skyjacker ones but these are essential, drop brackets wont do.
Coils - Need help with this, soft or stiff and what kind? Something from a Jeep ?
F-250 Shock mod - Mount longer shocks, pretty straight forward.
Bilstein 5150 Shocks - This is my first choice because they are a reservoir and are fairly cheap shocks, just need help choosing valving.

Rear:
Durango leaves - Highly unlikely though, I just heard they work and have higher arc, please suggest a different pack if you know (Deavers would be ideal lol). I also have another set of leaves from the 88 parts truck that have 5 leaves instead of the 3 that are on now, they also seem to be softer too, may repack and clean and add teflon pads.
Reverse hanger/longer shackle - This will also eliminate my factory block if I use higher arc leaves, also modify spring perches for more lift.
Bed cage - I dont mind cutting holes in the bed to mount longer shocks, I will most likely build this myself or maybe find one used for cheap.
Bilstein 5150 - Same choice as front, longest shock I can fit. Not sure what valving for the rear.

 

[canyoncritter]

Im going to assume 4wd


stx highrider bracket will bascily alow you to level the truck and minmal camber/caster correction.like a stock truck. you can get aprx 3inches of lift out of them.with the larger camber bushings, just like withthe stock bracket and "levling" coils.

best thing to do, is put the bracket's one and use a .5 or zero degree bushing, and find 0 or .5 on camber with a angle finder.and measure the ride height of the spring that would be needed.
then take a 2.5 degree camber bushing and drop the beam down till you find half degree /---\ on this side of camber, then measure again what the springs ride hieght would be.....then start combing the threads on here for coil spring height info.

anything after about 3.5 inches of lift you will be rubbing the front drive shaft on the radius arm mount crossmeber even with the STX crossmember.

with longer radius arms you should be able to get in the 12 inch travel range.

for a desert/daily driver you will want a medium firm coil spring.stock f150 spring might even fitt the bill.for somethign cheep.

the 5 leaf pack would be the better pack vs the 3 leaf.if you take the over load out and set up your bumpstops correctly and some decent shocks valved right would be fair for what it is.

ethier deaver or national spring is the common of the shelf pack that would work best....2wd deaver type springs will work, but they will be 2inches under the lift heigh on a 4wd. Ie if deaver says 4inchs, you'll onlt get 2 in the 4wd cause they dont take in for the block.

if you have any fab skills you could make a shock mount like this too

the first gen. off the duff radius arms I have seen look to be knock off's of autofabs.....Im not a fan of the single tube radius arms for high speed play.but thats just me.

I like my autofab products so they would be my first choice on radius arms.

dave@threat makes nice product's too and good prices.
threatmotorsports.com


shocks, for just out of the box throw away shocks the 5100's will be your best choice. IMO. the f350 diesel superduty front shocks from bill 4-6 inch lift shocks rode decent on my truck what little time I put on them.
may or may not work with the f250 mounts your thinking of.depends on what the lenth you will need of they could work or not.

you could always look for a pair of used 2.0 fox of bills. resi shocks. they can be found cheap sometimes.and you can rebuild and valve them.

foa 2.5 shocks are a decent bang for there buck if your trying to keep a budget.and want a larger shock.
F-O-A.com

trim up the fenders, untill or if the truck get wider.and put the fiber money some place to make a use vs looks.you may enjoy it more.you can make cut fenders look nice if you take your time.

If you happen to want a pair of C&T dana 35 beam housings, I have a pair that I would sale at a fair price.

and if you dont already have the highrider brackets I have some of those too.

 

[tanbuddy]

Probablly gonna want to do something wiht the steering too, a drop pitman arm or a super runner style steering assembly. Good luck finding the stx brackets there like a needle in a haystack

 

[ckblum]

Thanks for all the info canyoncritter. The idea with the STX brackets is exactly what I was going to do. PM how much you want for the STX brackets (just the pivots or the rad arms drop brackets too?).

I was also looking at FOA shocks too, they were on top of my list for shock choices. I was even thinking of saving extra and buying some coilovers cause the price is pretty cheap, then I realized I would need to fab mounts and an engine cage and then buy the coils for them too so it would probably end up being 1000+ just for coilovers.

I also like the shock mount you made there, Ive never seen that before. Does that allow for a longer shock vs the F-250 mounts?

Another thing I would like to do is put in a cage later. Since that is really expensive I might just make a good bed cage tied into the frame to keep the cab from crushing in the event of a roll over though.

EDIT: Tanbuddy, I already got two sources for STX Brackets so Im not too worried about finding them. Plus I've heard Autofab specializes in using those for their kits, Im sure I could pay a bit more and get some from them too.

 

[86ford]

a locker or 2 can make up for flex. with 31s you really do not need to get much lift to clear completely. i would look into xj springs, as long as they do not make the truck unable to be aligned they will offer the most bang for your buck. not to mention you can always use limiting straps and lower the bump stops if need be.

once again, lockers are hugely down played by people who dont understand how and why you need them. ever person who has a locker knows exactly why you need them. nothings worse than 2 spinning tires slightly off the ground. if you are not overly experienced on the trails you really need to research all the crap that goes along with "lifting" a truck thats going to run trails as opposed to making a mall crawler.
more flex=longer brake lines, clearance issues inside the beam window (as i just found out)

back spacing becomes a big issue with longer radius arms, a lift and wider than stock tires

shocks are the LAST thing you pick because u need to know your measurements so you can atleast know what your potential droop and stuff is.

word of advice, tackle the front lift first and build the rear to match, its really easy to adjust the lift in the rear an inch or 2 but the front goes all out of whack in many cases with only an extra inch or 2.

86

 

[canyoncritter]

if you keep the truck mild and keep a head about driving it you can get away with out a cage for the time being. just rember no seats and 5 ponts till the cage. ok done with my saftey lecture lol


I did not run make those buckets , but I have made a set like them before for a older ranger I had at one time.I recomend 3/16 plate to make them.


You can make the mounts like that as tall as you will need,with what you have in mind no problem.they will make room for a longer shock

you will have to cylcle the sus. to figure out where to make them and what lenth shock you will want. a 8inch foa, king, or 10 inch 2.5 saw(sway a way) would proably fit the bill.you can find thier dimension on thier pages. and tey are from center to center of the eyes/uniballs

the f250 shock mounts, Im not sure if they would hold a 2.5 inch shock like the foa's.as the shocks body may be to big around.

I sent you a question/anwser back about highrider brackets.

 

[UrbanRedneckKid]

?Just curious? How are you going to use OEM STX radius arm brackets with Extended radius arms???

The OEM brackets/crossmember is mounted on the upward curve of the frame and the extended arms are mounted further back on the frame.

I can see using the pivot brackets workin fine. Also, don't most extended arms come with a new crossmember/ mounts.

*Edit* or am i just assuming your using these brackets...
Also I didn't put nearly that much work into my suspension and it flexes great, though it's mostly rear flex

 

[ckblum]

Yea Im not looking to flex through any rock gardens or anything, its front end travel that I want, not just flexing the rear to make up for lack of front movement. I want my front end to be tuned for trails and soaking up rough terrain.

I would just be using the beam pivots and then putting on some extended rad arms. If I cant get the rad arms right away Ill have to use all the STX brackets together until I get them.

 

[metalmacguyver]

?Just curious? How are you going to use OEM STX radius arm brackets with Extended radius arms???

The OEM brackets/crossmember is mounted on the upward curve of the frame and the extended arms are mounted further back on the frame.

Its not perfect but it works......

 

[rickcdewitt]

that your truck with the ninja turtle arm's mac? i'll need too look at your build sometime

 

[metalmacguyver]

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21890


ckblum, I have the stx pivot brackts that were with the radius arm crossmember that I am now using. Let me know if you want them.