So we were out doing some woods riding here in Arkansas with my buddy and his cherokee:


Couple little stream crossing to add some flavor:



Dropped a wheel into a hole pretty hard and.....:


Great, now my saggy rear end is also reallllly bouncy now! But my rear springs aren't that exciting either. They have some nice short still AAL which are contributing to some reverse arching in my springs. This is the other side:


What do you guys think my best option is? I found a local OME dealer but he said that all the Dakar leafs are backordered and the ship comming from Oz right now doesn't have any on it! Dang it! Anybody have any sitting around for an '88 Xtracab??! I started thinking about just doing the 63" Chevys but am not sure I want to go that route. Do you guys think a long style AAL would get me back up or are my springs shot? BTW, I haven't been able to find anyone selling the long Ranchos that 4Crawler likes.

Moving on... got some new tires and wheels! Here is the before picture:


And the after with slightly different wheels and some Hankook muds:


Got a little more whine on the road then my worn out Hercules TerraTracs did but loving the tread pattern, sidewall treads and stud preparation.

Alright, on to the new eyes... Got these "Autopal" conversion lights from the ebay guy:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/200mm...item4cece80412

Slid em in, nice and easy. Didn't even have to take off the grill, that was a relief. Now, some before and afters for those of you on the fence about ditching the sealed beams. I opted for the 55watt low and 100watt high. Same camera settings and location.

BEFORE (low beam):


AFTER (low beam):


BEFORE (high beam):


AFTER (high beam):


BEFORE (low beam):


AFTER (low beam):


BEFORE (high beam):


AFTER (high beam):


I'm liking the new vision! Let me know what you guys think, especially of the suspension!

 

As far as the OME Dakar springs, check with 4wheel Parts Wholesalers, they may have a line on some for you.

I ordered mine from the local retail outlet and they had them in 3 days.

Mike

 

Looks like you have a broker spring as well...better get that looked at.

Lights look good man!

 

Thanks for the tip OutlawMike. I haven't called 4Wheel yet but their website is not showing anything at this point. Sounds like everyone is waiting for the shipment.

Lumpy, as far as the broken spring, I assume you are referring to the picture with the spring looking a little off-kilter. That is the AAL which apparently got twisted in the pack. The PO put those on and looks like he overloaded it a few times then too! I'm shoot for new springs in the back and shocks all around.

 

Gotcha..

 

Dude these pics of the lights are JUST what i needed. Did you go with the WHITE or ULTRA BLUE?

Do you know if it is safe to run the 100/90W in either with our stock wiring harness?

I also recommend trying to look through different vendors online and checking to see if anyone else may have some.

 

That's pretty crazy that you broke a shock...

Those light pictures are well done. Looks like they do it justice, especially since you made sure to use the same camera settings. Makes me want to upgrade mine... but I have to put that on hold until I get some electrical demons taken care of. Thanks for sharing

 

I went with the White as I am happy enough with the stock color. Its probably actually just a bit less yellow than stock.

As far as the 100/90W question I would think it would probably work with stock but I would imagine it would be prudent to upgrade your stock wiring. This would not only eliminate the possibility of melting a wire, but you could also get rid of any restrictive points in your wiring like kinks or pinches. This would ensure you get the full 12+ volts to your lights and your output would go up!

 

wait, you didn't have to upgrade your stock wiring?
cuz that's an amazing upgrade over stock sealed lol

 

Well, I found a spring shop locally and gave them a call. Apparently they rearch springs, so instead of waiting 3 months for the OMEs to come in I go them rearched. Plus, a new full length leaf to hold it up:


And the other side:


And from behind:


Does this look about right or does it need to get arched a bit higher? I like the curve of the springs and am toying with just making some shackles to boost it about an inch.

Here is the after pic from the side:


Maybe i'm the idiot for not noticing this right away, but the wheel wells are not cut the same front and back. So, it creates the illusion of sagging when it might not be! Anyway, it appears to be pretty level now, but I'd like a bit more clearance. Need new shocks obviously, I'm going to back up a ramp and measure my full droop and compression to see what shocks I need. Leaning towards the ES3000s but sounds like they limit the flex a bit. Saw these guys while browsing at JCWhitney:


Anybody have any experience? Reviews were good on them, provide around an inch of lift in the rear and more capacity. About $90 shipped. Here is the link: http://www.jcwhitney.com/HEAVY-DUTY_...;0;2006170;0;0

Curious option!

 

Re-arching is a good temporary option. They will re-sagg with time.

The helper spring/shocks are not a good option. Your shock mounts are not meant to support the weight of your truck and are not spring mounts. If you want more lift a shackle is a much better option.

 

or you could get the coilover shocks...and brace the shock mounts? if you really wanted em lol....otherwise stick with shackles

 

Thanks for the input X8, I hadn't really considered the structural implications of using a helper spring on the shock. It was a temporarily intriguing idea. As far as the rearching... definitely temporary, especially since it didn't involve reheating them. Just the brute force method, plus an extra leaf. The current internal debate is whether to do the Zuk mod to get it higher, as well as the shackles.

Anybody running 5.5" shackles on a stock leafs? Hows the angle?

 

Would you mind posting a head on close up pic of those lights, interested in how they fit. Thanks

 

yeah ur shocks arent suppose to be your limiting factor haha i just got some springs and now my truck sits redneck raked, i think their 4" TG springs and i have my 2" blocks from my procomp lift...lmao guess ill be getting u bolt flip kits sonner than i thought..

 

Is it my imagination or is the load leaf / surfboard on the left side in backwards?

 

Lookikn good man.

 

I'll try and get a pic this evening prolite1, but I can tell you that they fit in exactly like stock. Everything lines up perfectly, no modding necessary and it looks stock. But, I'll get a pic for you.

 

Well.... help me out abecedarian, is it wrong? I guess I didn't know there was a difference, but now that I look at it, it makes sense. This may be good because I can take it back and get more arch so it will settle slower... hmmm....

 

Well, headed out to do some "flexing" in the back to get my measurements for the shocks. First one side:



Then the other:



Then just messing around:



I measured 17" eye to eye on the shock mounts when sitting on the bumpstops, then 22" when as drooped as I could get it. So, I went ahead and ordered some ES3000s that should get here on... probably Monday. When I install the shocks I'm going to put in some longer shackles as well. I was wandering around my locat Atwoods and Tractor Supply and ran across some tractor stabilizer bars and though, "Hey, those would make nice shackles when cut down!" This is what I'm talking about:



Cut into four equal pieces, they are the perfect length to make 2" longer shackles, they are 1-3/4" wide and 3/8" thick and already painted. Plus, at $10 they are a lot cheaper than the mild steel in the racks in anything close to this size. Anyway, thought someone else out there might be able to benefit from this as well. Especially those of us who don't have ready access to scrap iron. I'll do a little write up on that I imagine when I build them. (hopefully this weekend)