Wow....you're doing some major retrofitting lately! I won't even recognize that thing the next time I see your truck. I still remember one of your first "mods" replacing your plastic fan shroud! you've come a long long way!

 

Yeah, the white truck is what I meant, then u have no need to move the upper mounts...... BUT, remember socal85's? His come up in the bed like another 4" past the part where u lay! Hahaha....now thats crazy reservoir travel! But its huge with 37s and like a foot lift it seemed, lol. Sick, but I would stick like where u are at most. Just personal preference is all.

 

is sitting in the corner with the noob hat on while the more knowlegeable talk but had an ideer

the double shackle thing could be easily made safe by a good sized bolt to mount the upper shackle to the frame then when ya go to wheel take the bolt outwhen done put back

just had that pop into my head from a butterfly valve shock absorber system..

 

HAHAHA! U crack me up! ... I can use it.

Also why limit straps are useful..... keep from hitting the "limits", lol. Keep from overextending ur shackles/inverting ur springs too.

Heard a lot doing the f150 swap too.... but Toyo or someone was telling me why no likey, lol. I think they're 3" wide for one thing, so wider u bolts are needed I thinkumz?

Once u move em down to say 4" downtravel on the shock rod/exposed.....then u will have 8" max of droop from there, which is pretty darn good from 4" lift(16.5" or so from top of rim to top of wheel well, up to 24.5" from top of rim to top of wheel well)....ya knowskie? So that would mean u move the shock tab on bottom 2" further down from where it is amd go up 1.5" or so with proper 4" lift springs like in front. Front wherl well is cut out around 2.5" or so higher than rear, so as lomg as the front "top of wheel to top of wheel well is like 19" and the rear is 16.5"....then u know ur right on the money.

U cant put the tab level with the bottom of axle, ...cuz the housing of the shock hoop will wind up lower even more. So u put the shock at level with or just barely above the bkttom of the axle tube,.... then put rhe bolt through the shock hoop and tab and mark the tab mounting spot in the tube and wekd it on,....good to go!

Also, if u mount them like this.... /\ ..... then u increase tge travel amount capability (like maybe 15" travel), cuz then the distance of the lower to upper tabs are increased/travel is increased.... yeah?... Like measuring a tv diagonally instead of vertically

 

Like you've found already, most everyone who does the 63" springs has to use add a leaves and/or blocks to level it with that much lift in the front. Can't really give you a good review on the setup yet, but give thought to a progressive helper pack like Wheeler's or Deaver's
http://www.wheelersoffroad.com/9504tacoaal.htm

Here's an idea of how much arch they have so you can decide if it'd be enough to help you


Regardless of what spring setup you go for, you're going to need to address the shocks. You definitely should have more compression left in the rear. Been following your build quietly for awhile, looks dang good!

 

All I know is stock, so I am going to join Cyberhorn in the corner with the noobie hat and watch. Your runner is coming along ways. Great job and hopefully someone can get you going in the right direction with the shock mounts.

 

Herro? Lol

 

Omg I just realized that my post this morning that replied to all u guys didn't go through.... that was a lot of typing lol damn. Ill reply to you all when I get a chance.

 

Hahaha, fugured it was that, have a good day bubba.

PS: my airave rocks! 4-5 bars all day long!

 

Hey guys Just wanted to let ya know Ruben and i found the problem! i'll let you guys know as soon as i finish.

 

Great work. I too will sit this one out and learn from you experienced guys. I'm still kind of confused on the benefits of a dual shackle setup. And debating if I should do the 63's or not.

Glad you figured it out. Can't wait to see the result.

 

63 chevys is a given in my book.Im doin it.Major cheap mod with great advantages.

 

i think this is the way to go.

 

Wow that's 2ce in one day -_- This time my home computer crashed while i was typing up what we found. okay here it goes again guys. *crossing fingers*
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So Ruben and i both had the bright idea to look past the obvious. That being that the leaf springs obviously sag about 1" too much. So With that idea out of the way i know im gonna be upgrading the leaf springs further down the line. But The Sag isnt what bugs me the most its that the shocks are bottomed out. I can deal with the rear sagging 1-1.5" i honestly dont mind it too much. that will eventually get fixed once i get a few more paychecks in.

So after looking past that problem we looked toward the shocks. Ruben had the brilliant idea to ask what size shocks did you order? whats the travel. And *DING DING DING!* it was like someone smacked me in the back of the head and said why didnt you think of that! lol

First of all I know on my order receipt it says that i have 10" travel shocks x2 and 12" travel x2. So I grabbed my tape measure and here are the measurements we took.

Our first thought was that All-Pro probably sent gave me the wrong order on my shocks. but that wasnt the case. They were correct. but the compression chamber/reservoir or whatever it is called ( where that shaft goes into) is a hell of a lot longer; by a lot! Check it out so you see what i mean.
Front:


Rear: I honestly dont even think bilsteins are this long.


I know that isnt the part im supposed to be measuring. but something just didnt add up to why they were bottomed out. So look at this.


I dont understand why the shocks were so compressed till i put 2 & 2 together on that last picture. Thats one hell of a difference on length. That Chamber is 3" longer + an extra 2" of travel. Thats 5" longer total extended length. Now i know im still new to all this but i do know, from what i read on here, that you are supposed to get shocks 2" difference. if you have 10 in the front you get 12 in the back. That is what AllPro even recommended for me to get. but when i look at these measurments and other peoples threads i see that they too Used the stock shock mounts on the frame and just welded the axle mounts on more or less where i did; if not there then just a few cm lower. And even with doing that they have about 4-5" of exposed travel.

So what we concluded is that i need 10" travel shocks in the rear not 12". Only because regardless if/when i fix the leaf spring sag problem and get that extra 1" more of height i am still going to be near to bottoming out. That chamber is just too damn long; that is if i were to use the same 14" shocks in the rear.

So i am either going to mount the shocks more at an angle to open up some of that compression and expose some of that travel. at least 4-5". or just see if all pro can exchange these shocks for some 10" ones

For the mean time i just took my Walker Evans shocks off before i damage them and re installed the Rancho shocks i had in the rear. The Rancho ones still fit. They just sit almost fully extended. but they will do for now. And the front walker evans shocks fit perfect just so you know.

 

Oh wow.... I feel like a freekin' retard haha. I just called AllPro to tell them about the problem i had and they immediately solved the problem.

Yes the shocks should be 10 & 12" travel shocks for a 4" lift like they gave me. but where i screwed up was installing the 10" travel shocks in the front. They told me the 10"s are supposed to go in the rear and the 12"s go in the front. WELL DUH!!! that explains a lot haha I'm going to have swap out my shocks haha! That was a good laugh. I could have sworn i have always read the longer ones go in the back.
and the shorter in the front. Oh well. It was an honest mistake. Just glad I didn't damage anything.

Just in case i still have a problem with my shocks. they said they will definitely be able to help me out in getting them exchanged for smaller ones if that is what is needed. Also they said that a little less then 1/2 the shock travel should be exposed when installed. it isnt a problem having less but it should at least have 3-4" extended out already once they are installed. I look forward to today.

Definitely cant wait to get home and swap them out. First I'm gonna take it to get aligned. Hoping I get home by 3:40 today so I can make it to the alignment place on time. Their last appointment is at 4pm. After I get the alignment done I wanna do the shocks. And then we'll save the best for last. Gonna head to the 4WheelParts store in Compton CA to get my pro comp rims. They close at 6. So who knows maybe ill just drive my truck to work tomorrow and then head to the store after work.

 

Every now and then you need a good laugh at yourself. We have all done it at one time or another, so dont feel alone on that.

Sounds like Allpro is an outstanding company and willing to go the extra mile to make sure you are satified. Need more companies like that around.

 

seconding this all the way

also my best hopes for fabby's mom i hope shes on the mend soon

 

Definitely guys. It was pretty funny when the guy told me over the phone. Apparently it isn't the first time people call for that cuz he was really quick to answer with a solution lol.

Terry AllproOffroad really does go above and beyond. When I drove out there to pick up my parts they had told me my order was conplete. But in reality they still needed to cut and weld a pair of something. So when I got there they fabbed uo my parts immediately. Within 20extra min I was on my way. And while waiting on them they had apparently made a mistake on somebody's order and and the dude helping told them we're really sorry for the Inconvenience. We'll send out the correct parts to you in 1 or 2 day express shipping with the return sticker for you to return the wrong parts to us. And bam just like that. My brother and I were like dang these guys are really on top of their customer service. This won't be the last time I buy from AllPro that's for sure.

As for my Girlfriends mom, thanks I can't imagine being in her state with all the health problems she has. They sent her to UCLA hospital today and because the her bones are in such bad shape the surgens don't even wanna touch her because of how delicate she is. They are actually sending her to a trauma center so the trauma surgens can operate on her. The surgery will happen either today or tomorrow. I feel so bad for her. She has had it very rough in the past 5 years that I've known her; and within that time she has had stomach ulcers on and off every few years due toall the different medicines they had her taking. When I first started dating her daughter Faby. Her mom was still able to walk with a walker. Then she broke both her ankles in a fall. Once they healed the doctors said one healed wrong/crooked so they had to rebrake it for it to heal right. And really ever since then her mucle mass went way down. Her body takes a while to heal/longer then others because she is weak. So she was wheel chair bound because of this for a few years. And finally My girl has been helping her walk, kind of like being a physical therapist, getting her up and moving with her walker and excercising to build a little muscle mass on her fragile body. And then what happens? She broke her hip bone just by bending over to tie her shoe laces out of all the things that could possibly happen. She breaks her hip bone by just bending over to tie her shoe lace of all things. Wow..... Her bones are so fragile now that after this surgery she might not be able to walk at all.

Just goes to show you how bad Lupus and arthritus can get when it escalates. Im just trying to stay strong and assure her everything will be alright. My girlfriend is areally stong person but everybody has their breaking point. And this one is hers. She is really scared about her mom going into surgery because apparently the last time she had a surgery they had a hard time bringing her back. The anesthesia is too much for her. She is scared that her mom might not wake back up from the surgery.

 

Oh mannnnn! Dude, please let Faby know shes in my thoughts and prayers, as well as her mom! Horrible suffering is not only going to effect the person who's ill.... Sadly, "family" caregivers OFTEN die before the people they're caring for.. Not many people know that, and most people, while they might have lost someone..... even they cant always imagine how stressful and worrysome and demanding caring for a family member full time can be.

 

I've explained all that to her already. Thats why she wants to help her mom get better so much so she doesn't hace to care for her so much and let the younger brother take the burden. Faby had to do that for her older sister before she died of cancer. She was diagnosed at 14 or 15 and passed away at 19years old. So really faby has been caregiving since she was 12. Started off with her sister and moved on to her mom once she passed away. She is 22 now. Dang. Cant imagine hsving that responsibility at such a young age.