85Hilux

Hi guys, I searched alot on this topic and found nothing related to the front axle.

I have an 85 pickup with the stock suspension, and the front is sagged, I have 4" from the spring to the frame, and the rubber bump stop takes most of it leaving me 1.5" of travel in the front before spine shattering bumps kick in.

I have 10" from the spring to the frame in the back, so thats not as much of a concern but I read alot about the Zuk coil mod and I like the idea of using coil springs.

So has anyone done this to the front axle, is there anything I should be concerned about??

here are the parts I have got and I will start modding things in a few weeks, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this before I jump in there and start wrenching.

Since the upper bumpstop on the front is completely flat, these are going to get attached on the top sides.
I got them on ebay. 9" Ford coil spring cup which uses a the same 2.5" springs


and these are going to be squeezed inbetween those and the lower bumpstops until I come up with a better lower mount.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-102-5100


Hoping 10" isn't too long, and that it will be compress 2" when its resting cause they are only 100lb/in springs (going for comfort also).
That would give me a total of 8" which is double my sagged state.
If it turns out not to compress much I may have to cut them down accordingly.
I also am picking up a dropped drag link in case the lift gets that far.

someone give me some pointers please.
here is a link to my other thread where there is pictures of the front suspension sagged.
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f115...dering-265104/
I have already done the wheel bearings, now I think the last bit of wander is from the sagged suspension Im trying to get rid of.

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

I would replace the front springs...

85Hilux

yeah I thought about that but this seemed much more fun and possibly a better ride.
what front springs would you recommend?

ZUK

iTrader: (1)

There has been talk (only talk though) about if the coils will work in the front and the answer is they will work.... but the concern is where to fit them and how long should the coils be. I'm thinking the 14" coils would be a better choice....won't the 10" coils loosen up when the wheel drops all the way? What would really be cool is having a single coil (or 2 coils close together) closer to the center of the front axle....that would require some fab work with a cross brace of some sort. How about pics of the front axle housing....especially fully extended by jacking up the front bumper?

85Hilux

thanks for the response, I am determined to make it happen if it will be safe.
I was just wondering about the side to side movement maybe, but since the stock springs are still in place it should all work out I think at least in my head.

you bring up a good point, I have been wondering about how much droop I have, My brother has a lift and I need to get it on there ASAP and measure the droop in the front, because I tried to jack up the front from the trans support and my jack was struggling to get anywhere, I didn't try from the front bumper thats a great idea I will give that a shot If I can't get it on the lift soon.

I just assumed the front would have less droop than the back because the springs look so much flatter, but I could be totally wrong I have never had any of the axles completely in the air yet, but I don't mind changing out my springs for longer ones if thats the case. I will get you some pictures as soon as I get it on the lift.

here is a pic sitting on the ground, you can see the square on the frame from where the bumpstops hit.
thats where I was going to mount the perches, so I will have no problem lining them up =)
On the bottom I will just set them on the rubber stops for now, unless you want to sell me one of those bump stop replacement perch things I saw in your thread, that would be perfect.



seems like its almost too simple really wanted to run it past you guys with more experience.

cman1

iTrader: (1)

well,ive done three different REAR zuk mods and im a believer...its cheap enough to try,i would put a GOOD tack weld on the perches and start some R&D!!! im sure zuk can give some insight,along with the rest of us. id look closely at you steering arm for clearance for the coil. i stuck a bottle jack in between the frame and leaf with a wood wedge with the truck on jacks and it worked pretty slick for the back.

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

So I haven't run the stock push pull steering in a long time but looking at your pic it looks to me like spring diameter will become a factor at full left to right lock to lock.
What is the position of the j arm(think that is what it is called) when you turn all the way to the left or right. Does it move in or out or does the range of motion of the draglink remain in the same spot(not moving in towards the bumpstop one way or the other)?
Hope that make sense..

85Hilux

Thanks for the heads up guys, I think that will be the trickiest part, The J arm is close but when I turn lock to lock it does not touch the rubber part, in fact it gets further away.
In the picture it is about as close as it seems to get when the wheel is centered which I thought was odd, but then again the push pull system is a very odd system.
It seems to follow a half circle motion, and when its centered its at the top of the half circle, so when it steering box arm goes forward to the front of the truck it comes forward and in towards the drivers side, and when it goes the other way it goes back to the top of the half circle, then passes it and in towards the drivers side again.

I chose the 2.5" springs for up front, which should hug the rubber nicely, will be looking at that J arm more closely on the lift soon.

I did find a drop drag link on craigslist, Im going to get that tomorrow, hoping its one of those adjustable kinds so I can find a way to make it work.

also found some play between the stock drag link and the J arm in the bushing which is not there if you just tug on it... I can see it though when someone else turns the wheel, so hopefully I can address that bushing when I put the new lift drop drag link.

I should disconnect the sway bar right until I get longer bolts.
only other thing I can think of is brake lines to watch out for over extending and shocks I don't care if I blow the ones on there right now, will worry about new shocks after.

oh and I have the bottle jack ready =) Just need to rent some spring compressor when the day comes to put it all in.
I am going to bolt on the upper perches at first, and then take them somewhere to get welded in.

'85 Yota

Been searching for someone who has done this before. Because i have about an inch between my bumpstops and the frame. I would get new leafs but being a sophomore in high school, not much $ for me. Hope it works out!

85Hilux

Managed to get it just barely off the ground with a 4x4 and a floor jack on the front. Looks like it went from 4" to about 6.5".

snobdds

Try it, what's the worst that can happen...you have to take it out.

I doubt you could get a 14 inch spring in there, but you can always cut that 14 inch spring down until you get that perfect fit.

I have the zuk mod on my old downey leafs. It works fantastic and I consider it a long term fix. It is a balance of lift, ride and spring rate that is pretty nice. One thing I've learned on these trucks over the year is...leaf springs for these trucks suck...period. I don't care if there OEM, Downey, OME, Alcan etc...A large size spring like a Chevy is too much and a smaller flexy spring goes flat after a while. Toyota did the happy median between the two, but eventually a spring wears out...or add a coil and let the leafs do what they do. For a kid in high school...you have nothing to loose. Plus I an curious to see how they work.

85Hilux

I'm not in high school but i do agree coil springs are just better all around.
I think the 10" may be just right, I will test full droop later on but I don't think it will go down another 4" if it only moved 2" from compressed to hanging.

For the rear I have the rear to 12" coils and the front 16" which I think will end up getting shortness to 14", but I want to get the front done first.

'85 Yota

Hes talking about me being in high school

85Hilux

lol, well yeah you should go for it one way or another, better than saving up for lift springs that will ride hard and may just get flat again, that doesn't sound to good. Ill keep you guys posted on how it goes, It will probably be a week or so before I get the perches attached.
I still don't understand why leaf springs are so expensive anyways, and how no company offers a stock replacement, it just hurts my head thinking about it.

cman1

iTrader: (1)

i went with the 3" lift pro-comps and i like em! they were only around 215.00 shipped.

DirtyOregonKid

Can you tell me why this would be better than a $30 set of add-a-leafs?

85Hilux

If it doesn't end up working I will probably end up doing that, but I think I will get it to work.

Can't really say if its better but it is an alternative.

I really like how coils can be custom spring rates and still not sag too bad over time, and changing my lift height is just a matter of swapping out my coils for another pair which the pairs cost under $80, and does not take very long to do. after seeing the zuk mod work so well on the rear, all I can think about is getting some coil springs in the front now.

Its not for everyone, I searched all over the place and didn't see it done on the front, but I'm going to get it done and share the info. Once I get this done I can go back to engine stuff, have been waiting to install the rte EFI and rebuild my t3 turbo if I can get the darn exhaust housing to come apart, apparently the hammer I have is not big enough.

cman1

iTrader: (1)

I agree..its for the betterment of mankind!!

snobdds

Nor is it for the determent of mankind....

cman1

iTrader: (1)

update, they were 117.00 shipped from 4wheelparts.