I have a stock 89 pick up truck with large tires on it. At this point the rear leaf springs go under the rear axle. Is it possible to move those springs on top of the axle. That is without having to change the angle of the axle and drive shaft to much. I need about three more inchs of clearence to run the tires with a clean fit. ANY advice would be helpful!

 

I take it that you have a 2wd truck.

Well, there are a couple ways to do what you are asking.

The best way would be to cut off the perches and re weld them to the top of the axle tube. This woudl change it to a spring over setup.This obviously requires welding, but it allows you to chose the correct pinion angle before welding.

Next, you could add alarger shackle to the current setup to get an extra 2 inches.....but that will change your pinion angle a bit

OR

If you are into speed, you can get a set of Deaver, National, or Alcan 62" springs and run those under axle. But you would need custom spring mounts and shcackles. (Lots of fabrication)

 

Shackles would be the cheaper way to go.... but for 3" of lift you are gonna need som looooooooong shackles. The pinion angle would change for the better however w/ the longer shackles, it points the flange more towards the tranny output.

Another idea would be to find an 81-85 rear axle w/ the perches already on top! Flip the spring bolt around and be done w/ it~! You would also gain from the 4:10's that would most likely come w/ the 4wd rearend.

At least that's what I would do... You may also need a longe rear brake line, the rubber one from same 4wd truck could work.

 

Why an '81-'85 rear axle? I would think an '86-'95 would be the correct width. Or do 2wd '86-'95 trucks have a narrower track width than 4wd from those years?


Another option would be to buy new spring perches, shock mounts, and a u-bolt flip kit from some place like Trail-Gear or Marlin Crawler, and then mount the existing axle below the springs. Again, this would require welding.

 

That's a good question! The 2wd models had a 55" rearend all the way through 95. 1985 was the last year of the 55" rearend in 4wd rigs. So basicly I was trying to match the current width of his ride.... Theres nothing saying he couldn't go wider though if he wanted. The 86-95 4wd(ifs) rearends were 58" roughly and grew 3" wider than the previous years.

The beauty of swapping in a 4wd rear end is the gear ratio, better for bigger tires... 31" tires and 32" tires do very well w/ 4:10 gears, and brings you right to the stock gears for those tire sizes! What you would need is:

Any 81-85 axle w/ third or 86-95 to go 3" wider. Drum to Drum, w/ the brake hardline!!!
The 4wd u-bolts and spring plates
A longer rear rubber line(possibly?)
And you would need to flip your spring studs to accomidate the perches!
Ta da! You went spring over, gained 3"s and upped your gear ratio.