One of my rear leafs just broke and im headed towards the 63" chevy swap
... I need your help in picking a swap kit .. Im leaning towards #2 .. has anyone had any previous experience with either vendor? Or pick one just based on pictures/info on the website ...

#1 Sky's Off-road Swap Kit: http://www.sky-manufacturing.com/new...uct.php?id=125

#2 Low Range Off-road: http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/yotam...-swap-kit.html

Also, let me know if you picked some other vendor I missed.

 

The Low Range kit is the one i would go with, ive ordered things from Low Range off road before and never had any problems. You will like the 63'' chevy springs, i have 63'' - 5'' lift springs on my 86 4Runner and the ride is very smooth and lots of flex.

 

I used Bud's

http://www.budbuilt.com/new/spring_hangers.html

Super-stout and the shallow angle is very nice too. It also has those slots so you can get more welds onto the frame.

 

Thanks for your input guys. I think im gona go with #2. I will let you know how the swap goes.

 

Hey Everyone, I had recently received my kit from Low-Range Off-Road .. The service and shipping was great and the packaging was exceptional!

I took some snaps of the kit for others to view if they are going for the same path.

Full Kit (*Diet Pepsi isnt included .. just for height perspective)


Shackles:


Hangers:


Nuts&Bolts:


Now, im off to painting them and then to my

 

your going to paint them before you weld them on?

 

Subscribed!!

You going to keep the great photos coming?

Good luck!

 

I meant to paint the shackles n some other hard to reach places to prevent rust while keeping the welding areas clean for welding.

@Philbert: I will try to post some more pictures with the completed chevy swap. Thanks!

 

So is this going to raise the back of the truck or keep it level to stock just replacing the broken stock leaf spring?

 

I'm ponderin the 63" swap myself

 

@boxer.fan: I'm really not sure at the moment, I guess I will have to find out .. They say 3-4 inch lift is common... I already have plans to install BJ Spacers up front to level things out if needed.

I do not expect the 3-4inch lift since I have a *heavy* camper shell on my bed which causes the truck to sag at the rear and I believe is the reason why my leafs crapped on me because of my camping trip with all the gear loaded.

@jsn_stockard: I have heard good things about the chevy swap and its pretty common. Best thing is that there are ample 63" chevy springs available at the junkyard in good condition for $75-100 bucks. So replacements are easy to find. Same can be said about Toyota leafs, but chevy springs give you a lift as well :-)

I have to admit that I really liked 881stGenRunner's 63" Chevy swap and thought this would work best for my truck: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f31/...g-swap-214921/

 

ok keep us posted on what lift gains you get from the swap. I have a 4'' bracket lift that I am going to install but have been stalling cuz the kit came with lifting blocks for the rears and dont really want to go that route. I would like to use one of these kits for the 63" leafs but dont know if thats just going to get me back to stock or level me out with bracket lift in front. Perhaps someone with that has done this swap can chime in on it for us. Keep those pics coming. Thanks for the post.

 

We have 87 SAS ext cab at the shop that has the 63 chebbies in the rear and they flex like crazy but they also sag like an old woman and the body roll is terrible on the road.

I'll be interested to see how yours turns out but I'm not a fan of the 63 chebbies swap.

:wabbit2:

 

not to brag but i just priced a set of chevy springs for $30 at a local junk yard. i am waiting for my yota funds to increase before i start my swap. keep us posted!!

 

I did this swap. A massive improvement over the 17+ year old springs in my truck.
Lots of lift in the rear. You will definitely need a crank or a small lift in the front to compensate.

 

@Stuwy123: Thanks for you feedback. How much lift did you end up getting and how long are you shackles? Mine seem to be 6" shackles in the low-range offroad kit.

Yaah, my 20 year old springs are tired as hell too! Yaah, I wanted to lift the truck too and this mod is sort of like killing two birds with one stone Lift + Flexy Spring/Smooth Ride.
I just got a good deal on used Front IFS trailmaster lift from a SAS! So, I really hope I get some good lift on the rear to balance things out. Cheers.

 

it's a new year! any update on the swap?

 

i just picked up some chevy 63 leafs and a few extra leafs for 75 bones. im looking to do the swap soon but i gotta figure out a good day haha. id love to see some picks of how yours turns out.

 

Harbir, where are the photos you promised? Didn't you already finish this?

 

Im still working on installing front lift kit before I post the pictures :-) ...

The chevy swap went great and earned me an unpredictable 5" lift on the rear from my stock setup. This offset the rear big time and left it hanging up in the air. I decided to install a 4" IFS Bracket Lift + BJ spacers to level everything out. I will post pictures showing this soon!

I have run into a few issues after installing this chevy springs (I will post pictures later to show this):
1. Tow Bar does not fit anymore. Since the rear mount needs to be welded a few inches back, The tow bar needed to be removed as it mounts the bottom of the frame rail or behind stock rear spring mounts.
2. The rear bumper mounting bracket (bracket that connects to the frame - on the side) touches the shackles on the side. I need a thinner or slim version of the bracket.

Those are minor issues but I like to make my truck look as stock as possible. Im pretty happy with the swap though!