shaw_j

Alrighty, so the deal is this.

I'm on a budget that is very tight thanks to college. This is why I'm going with RUF (Rears Up Front for those that may not know already).

I have done many hours of research on Pirate. I think my eyes are about to bleed, but still, I'm not sure if this setup would be very appropriate.

Here is my plan for what I am going to use:
1 79 Original first leaf
2 79 Original Second
3 79 Original Third
4 Ranch 4" front lift leaf* cut down
5 88 First leaf cut
6 88 Second leaf cut
7 Cut down overload leaf

* - I was wondering if you guys think that this should go in position 4 or 6, I'm not too sure on this right now

7 will be used only on the drivers side to make up the 3/8" difference.

This would be going on my 81. Yes I have considered drive-shaft work and High-steer, and those will come as I put this on the truck, but for the time being I'm just constructing the leaf packs and hope to get the other parts throughout the winter.

Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks.

ryantowry_81

sounds good. RUF's arent an exact science you have to just start with a pack and then add/remov3e leafs until you get it perfect, you will get pretty fast at it i know i can swap out leaf packs on my truck NASCAR quick. alot depends on the hanger height and shackle length you use and how much over all lift you need to tell how many leafs you will need.

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

I was under the impression that RUF's gives you about 3-4" of lift anyway. Rancho springs from what I have heard are kind of rough riding, wouldn't placing the Rancho leave in there kind of negate some of the advantages of what you are trying to accomplish? I take it the rancho leaf would not have spring eyes on it...Dunno just trying to figure out the Rancho spring. Never done this lift and it sounds like you have been reading the Pirate RUF FAQ so maybe it might work...

ryantowry_81

i dont think the stock rears with stock height hanger will get you much more than 2" i dropped my hanger 1.5" and made a 5.5" shackle (both 1.5" over stock and added two very still leafs from a fj-60 and got 6" of lift, that is 4" with the extra two leafs, so without them i would guess more like 2" of lift

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

Ryan,
Gotcha, thanks for the info. Is the Termination dust getting low on the Chuchach (sp?)? Have fun, I miss wheeling on Ft Rich....

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

Rear spring are softer than front springs, so you will get little if any lift unless you add some extra leaves. I get almost no lift out of my springs aside from the lowered hanger up front and longer shackles in back:
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/4R_suspe...l#Update-part3

Also, with that many leaves up front, you may not have clearance over the springs for the stock drag link and steering J arm. Might want to measure how much room you have there before starting the swap. I found on my '85 that I could only fit 4 leaves before the steering bound up on the springs.

ryantowry_81

oh yeah we had a bunch here in town a while back then it melted off and now it is just clear and cold!!! 9º when i got u[p this morning but it is now officially snow wheeling season!!!!

I'm not military but i heard they are cutting back on the base wheeling!

shaw_j

This was one of my concerns as well, but wouldn't the addition of High-steer eliminate that issue?

Yes, the rancho springs are very stiff, but I'm sort of thinking that only using the main, and cutting it down (forgot to mention that), it would have less weight capacity, therefore making it somewhat softer than it is originally.

This truck most definitely wont be seeing much highway use, and will in fact be parked for the whole of the winter unless I win the lottery and can get it finished it time to do some snow wheeling, so comfort of ride isn't such a big deal right now.

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

Yes it will. Was unclear from your post if you were going to do the springs first then some time later do the steering conversion or if it was all one project.

shaw_j

Haha, oops, my bad. I'll fix that right now.

Here are some pictures of what I have to work with:

79's and re arched 88's


Stupid bolt that I can't get out... any pointers?


It's really making me angry


It still has a bit of the 79 attached.


And these will be going on this:

ryantowry_81

so what is the reason for the RUF's instead of the springs on there? just more flex or looking for more lift? i think you might have already told me but i forgot.

I just noticed you live in nelson, that is a nice town, i used to live in spokane and went up there all the time for skiing.

As for the stuck bolt alot of PB blaster or WD-40 and let it soak in it for a long time and then if you can get it to twist and break the rust free you can usually get it out. or if you have new rubbers just burn it out?

shaw_j

Like ocdropzone said, Rancho rides like... well they're just junk. They are stiff as can be and offer almost no articulation.

Snow is our main tourist attraction, that and the illegal green that flows from our mountain sides haha.

ryantowry_81

gosh i know the border patrol is frickin paranoid about that stuff coming back!!!

I have never felt the need to try it but i know being a teenager crossing back into the US i have been searched more times than i can count and then he found a shotgun shell behind the seat of my truck once and i thought he was going to start tearing off parts becasue he took out everything else!!!lol


Any way though, so you are trying to keep the 4" of lift i assume then?

shaw_j

Ideally I would like to accomplish the same ride height that I currently have, but who knows how it will work out until I actually have it done.

shaw_j

Now that I have these things broken all apart (finally), I noticed that the fourth spring actually has more arch than the third so...

Quick question:
Is the spring rate higher in the third leaf than in the spring rate of the fourth?

Yes I did try and depress each spring, and it seemed like the fourth leaf was softer, but I just can't tell if it's a psychological thing. I'm pretty sure that I'm right on this, but just need a little nudge in the right direction.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

Easy way to test is set the spring leaf with the arch side up and then measure the height off the ground in the center. Then stand on the leaf and again measure the height. Spring rate is lbs./in., so divide your weight by the inches the spring compressed for an estimate of the rate. Note that a longer leaf will compress farther than a shorter leaf of the same rate. Other option is to check the thickness of the center of the leaf, a thicker leaf = a stiffer leaf.