waggy d44 from leaf sprung to coil sprung?

[beaujt]

hey guys, i've been wanting to get an EB d44 for my truck, but the housings are so effing expensive everywhere i look that im thinking about the waggy d44. BUT i wanna stay with coil springs, can a waggy d44 be converted over to coil springs? without much trouble or is it a living nightmare? Maybe if anyone has done it before they could enlighten me on it too

 

[slammer67]

It's not all that hard to convert a waggy 44 to coil spring. It would be alot easier than converting the EB axle to leaf - 'cause of the radius arm wedges.

My waggy axle was converted to a 3-link/coil setup by a previous owner, I have since converted it back to leaf - spring over this time.

you just need to make the brackets or buy some from someone like ruffstuff and weld everything on.

 

[beaujt]

thank you, thats exactly what i was looking for my answer!

i've just heard of guys having problems with doing leaf overs on axles that had were leaf unders cuz the leaf perch on top of the axle would essentially mount itself right on the pumpkin... so i wasn't sure if that would be a problem with the waggy d44.

 

[slammer67]

it does take some work to leaf springs on top of the axle, but it's not that hard. you need to do some cutting and grinding on the housing to make room for the leaf perches.
and youll need to use a welding rod made for welding cast steel 'cause the drivers perch will be on the housing and not the tubes.

a EB 44 would be easier if you went with radius arms/coils, but a waggy axle isnt that hard, its a popular axle for SAS's. I like it cause its a couple inches wider than the stock setup for more tire clearence. I believe the EB axle is about the same width as the stockers.

 

[beaujt]

oh, i'm planning on staying with coils, but i might 3 link the front end or something. cuz i've already put an exploder rearend in my truck, that was cake job to do, just had to go buy a tool to get the degrees right on the angle of the perches.

so the coil spring mount will sit on the pumpkin of the waggy? or could i just move the coil spring mount on the frame out an inch or two and be ok? I'd rather not chop up the housing too much, i wanna keep mine pretty looking hahahahaha. But mostly im gonna run full-size coils up front, so putting a new coil bucket in won't be a big deal if i need to do that even tho i can adapt the ranger bucket for full-size coils. cuz i also wanna build a dual shock hoop set up for the front as well so i can get more travel, cuz so far my shocks have been limiting my travel the most.

 

[slammer67]

sorry I thought you wanted leafs

no, the coil mounts will be further out
there's plenty of SAS builds on here, just check out every one using waggy axle and coils to get ideas.

then you just have to decide if you want a radius arm type setup, 3-link or four link

 

[beaujt]

well have you heard of anyone doin coil overs with it? Cuz i an't sure how much lift those would give on a ranger? cuz if i keep the current set up i have, i'm gonna want at least 6" suspension again.

 

[slammer67]

sure, there are lots of coilover builds here
look in the extreme suspension, non-ranger axles, and rbv under construction forums for SAS projects.

you could also check out explorerforum.com - there's lots of SAS builds over there
explorers and rangers are very similar.

 

[Toreadorranger]

Im in the process of using 14" travel Fox 2.0 coilovers with a 86 NT Waggy Axle, with parrallel 3 link. Coils overs will give any amount of lift you want. It comes down to your mounts and coil rates. Im shooting for very low lift which is proving difficult as Im running into clearance problems with my upper link.

 

[wickedwindsor]

Old thread I know but here is what I'm working on.
Dodge ram axle narrow to Waggy width with waggy axle shafts using Ballistic fab brackets.

Stay coils if you can because you can "tune" your truck alot easier with coils.
Coil rates, lengths and position are all benefits.
The width is great with the waggy width.

 

[MAranger]

Those dodge knuckles with the unit bearings are strange, never seen one before. Why don't you run different knuckles? Is this the dodge unit bearing for 5 on 4.5 I've read about? Did you narrow both sides or just the long side?