RatLabGuy

Just keep in mind w/ all the added lift you may have driveshaft/pinion issues to adjust as well...

Peterbuilt84

If you are going to use aftermarket springs I don't see any reason to use lifted 63's. The whole point of using 63's is to get lift without a lot of money. Buying lifted 63's defeats this and 63's are super long. Imo I would go with aftermarket toyota 5" or 6" lift springs.

RatLabGuy

I'm going to respectfully disagree - the advantage of the 63s is that they are super flexy, and b/c of the longer length, the total travel your axle can make goes up by a measurable margin compared to OE.

If the ONLY thing somebody wants is lift, it's just as cheap to get a set of Procomp lift springs ($200), which require no mods or add'l changes, as the 63s by the time you add cost of the front/rear frame mounts, bushings, welding time/effort and possible new shackles.

Now, all that said -3-5" lift springs for a chevy will be alot stiffer than the OE ones, negating some of that magic flex.

Peterbuilt84

I'm not going to disagree with you. I used 63's on my build, so I think they are a good idea.

My problem is people are starting to say to use aftermarket 63" lift springs, which IMO is not the best thing to do. You can get plenty of flex from aftermarket toy springs (trail gear, all pro) and just have to move the front hanger. There are other options (pro comp, etc) but I don't think they are as good of a choice.

mightymouse

iTrader: (6)

the 63's are great for the lowbuck build but they are long, hang up on rocks because of where they are mounted and there are better options out there. I agree with 4crawler on the alcans as i've owned a set and can say from first hand experience they are very nice. The down fall to them is the price but you get what you pay for. 63's are a good option and base to start from for the budget build and can net some lift up to 4"s with an add a leaf as far as i know. Maybe more with a shackle.

Duffdog

So, lets say that I get some springs manufactured, and/or get the main leaf extended on some factory springs-- what is the proper length I should be looking for?

also, I went out and looked at the SAS job more carefully on the 4runner I bought. I think maybe the PO used some 6" lift springs in the front. There is a whopping 18" of distance from the top of the tire to the bottom of the fender cutout. In the back, the guy tried everything to lift the truck to the proper height short of buying some lift springs. It has factory springs with 4" blocks and some custom made 12" long shackles in the back. Even with all that, the truck is still 5" low in the rear compared to the front. I'm guessing I am going to need around 10" of lift in the back to get this thing to look level.

So, I was thinking; most likely I will have to get some custom lift springs and longer shackles. Has anyone experimented with moving the front spring hanger downward for additional lift? Is that a good idea?

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

What are you measuring in back? Realize that the rear wheel wells are cut a few inches lower than in front, so don't go by wheel-wheel well measurements to judge levelness. One quick check is to measure ground up to the bottom of the frame near the front and rear wheels - use the flat part of the frame. Then for any difference in height, scale that to the wheel base of the truck compared to the distance apart your measuring points were. So if you get 1" difference in height at 2 points 52" apart, double the 1" to get the difference at the ~103" wheel base on the SWB trucks.

Again, call up Alcan, give them the truck weight and what sort of lift you want and they will make you a set of springs to do that.

Peterbuilt84

Like 4Crawler said, if you want some very good springs call Alcan. They'll make it to fit your specifications, but are spendy.

Some pics of the suspension would help too.

ZUK

iTrader: (1)

I agree with Peterbuilt....some pics of the front and rear lift set-up would be very helpful.

And yes, I did extend the front hangar down by migging on plates and drilling new holes about 2 inches below the old ones....that gave me an honest 2 inches of extra rear lift when combined with 2 inch longer shackles. I did this quite some time ago back in 1987 on my 84 longbed. It was a very good idea for my lift situation.

Duffdog

My goal is not to simply buy some $600 springs, but to find a cheap alternative that nobody has thought of yet. I'm thinking that I could get some relocated and lowered front hangers with some type of factory 3/4 ton truck springs and make some 10" heavy duty shackles and have a ton of lift. Has anyone used f-150/250 truck springs instead of chevy 63"s? I saw some at pick-and-yank a few days ago and they look quite a bit shorter than chevy springs and have more arch.

xxxtreme22r

Toyotas have been around how long? Lift kits and such have been around almost as long. Not to be mean but believe me if your on here asking for opinions on how to do this then your not qualified enough to come up with your own stuff that no one has thought of yet and if it's safe it's been done already, and if it's not it has been done already and scrapped long ago.

f-150 springs been done? yup: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=700418

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

Of course, no sense looking for an input on something that has not been done yet, since you'll be the first one to try it

But that said, just grab some springs and start messing with them. That is how I did my front suspension, which was likely the first "Rears Up Front" swap done in the US:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/4R_suspe...#CustomSprings

Took a few iterations to get it working that way I wanted, but that is what you need to do.