Help with axle flip

[Tex Arcana]

Just like it says, I'm toying with the idea of doing an axle flip to lower the azz end of my truck. Thing is, I'm not sure what I'm missing, so I need a bit more info: how much drop will I get? how much a pain in my azz is it? will I need extra stuff, or is it all there on the axle?

THanks for the help

[dboat]

Just like it says, I'm toying with the idea of doing an axle flip to lower the azz end of my truck. Thing is, I'm not sure what I'm missing, so I need a bit more info: how much drop will I get? how much a pain in my azz is it? will I need extra stuff, or is it all there on the axle?

THanks for the help

Seen it done on TV on one of those high perf car shows.. only takes 30 minutes with simple hand tools... :evil

[gbgary]

is this what you mean? flip and c-notch.

http://www.fototime.com/11A99F0526D9816/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/C123C561315D35E/orig.jpg

[jcblack]

is this what you mean? flip and c-notch.

http://www.fototime.com/11A99F0526D9816/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/C123C561315D35E/orig.jpg

That is a clean ass lightning:tu:

[Moonshine]

That is a clean ass lightning:tu:

+1:tu:

Silvercreek?

[PoorSvtman]

i dont think that truck has a spec of dirt on the underside

[Tex Arcana]

Nah, I was hoping I could do a flip and get the 2"+ drop I wanted, but after looking at it further, it's gonna be a bigger pain in my azz than it's worth. THanks for the info, tho. :tu:

[SILVER2000SVT]

Tex,

Not sure what exactly you are trying to accomplish but if you want it just a little lower than a 2" shackle, they make a 3" and a 4". If you are worried about the stiffness of a longer shackle. You could invest in a set of front hangers to give you a little more drop of the front mount of the leaf spring and then use the appropraite shackle to give you the ride height you want. Another option and What a lot of guys have done is just have your leafs re-arched to the ride height you want.

A flip kit is for getting much lower, like well beyond a 4" drop. I don't see where the flip kit would be all that hard but the c-notch that goes with it makes it a lot more work than some of these other options.

[Tex Arcana]

Tex,

Not sure what exactly you are trying to accomplish but if you want it just a little lower than a 2" shackle, they make a 3" and a 4". If you are worried about the stiffness of a longer shackle. You could invest in a set of front hangers to give you a little more drop of the front mount of the leaf spring and then use the appropraite shackle to give you the ride height you want. Another option and What a lot of guys have done is just have your leafs re-arched to the ride height you want.

A flip kit is for getting much lower, like well beyond a 4" drop. I don't see where the flip kit would be all that hard but the c-notch that goes with it makes it a lot more work than some of these other options.

I just want to get a true 2" (or a bit more) drop, and was looking for a money-less way to do it.

[SILVER2000SVT]

I just want to get a true 2" (or a bit more) drop, and was looking for a money-less way to do it.

I'm not saying buy from here, it's just a reference:
http://www.sporttruckdirect.com/rear_kits.html#newF150sh

Scoll down to the F150 hangers. They have a 2-3" hanger for $100. A 2" hanger and a 2" shackle will give you a true 2". Doing this will also put your pinion angle exactly back to stock.

I would also check the cost or re-arching the springs.

[Tex Arcana]

I'm not saying buy from here, it's just a reference:
http://www.sporttruckdirect.com/rear_kits.html#newF150sh

Scoll down to the F150 hangers. They have a 2-3" hanger for $100. A 2" hanger and a 2" shackle will give you a true 2". Doing this will also put your pinion angle exactly back to stock.

I would also check the cost or re-arching the springs.

Mike's trying to talk me into removing a leaf instead. I saw on NLOC where someone said he modded his hangers, but I don't think he's posted pics yet.

Speaking of, what is the symptom of a pinion angle problem? How does it manifest in our trucks?

[dboat]

Mike's trying to talk me into removing a leaf instead. I saw on NLOC where someone said he modded his hangers, but I don't think he's posted pics yet.

Speaking of, what is the symptom of a pinion angle problem? How does it manifest in our trucks?

It'll screw up your pinion gear and the rear end will start to whine... then you'll have to replace it.. no fun and not cheap.. believe me I know.
Dana

[dboat]

Mike's trying to talk me into removing a leaf instead. I saw on NLOC where someone said he modded his hangers, but I don't think he's posted pics yet.

Speaking of, what is the symptom of a pinion angle problem? How does it manifest in our trucks?

did you see this post? they de-arched their springs..

http://www.nloc.net/forum/showthread.php?t=123902

why not just upgrade to an all air bag system?

[PoorSvtman]

tex u want to try my 4inch shakels and see what happens?

[WA 2 FST]

Hangers are a complete PITA. Hours with an air hammer and die-grinder to get the huge rivets out that hold the stock hangers in place.

That's why I went with a kit this time around. It's more costly in $$, but saved me tons of grief and blood/sweat. Sorry, but I'll never do front hangers again.

[Tex Arcana]

It'll screw up your pinion gear and the rear end will start to whine... then you'll have to replace it.. no fun and not cheap.. believe me I know.
Dana

I understand that. Did you notice a vibration from the pinion/u-joint, because it was out of alignment?

[Tex Arcana]

Hangers are a complete PITA. Hours with an air hammer and die-grinder to get the huge rivets out that hold the stock hangers in place.

That's why I went with a kit this time around. It's more costly in $$, but saved me tons of grief and blood/sweat. Sorry, but I'll never do front hangers again.

What kit did you do? How much was it? What'd it take to get the drop you wanted?

[Tex Arcana]

tex u want to try my 4inch shakels and see what happens?

I'm about halfway thru welding up a set, I'll be done before you can get yours to me. THanks for the offer, tho. What'd you do about your pinion angle?

[WA 2 FST]

What kit did you do? How much was it? What'd it take to get the drop you wanted?

I have the Roush kit which is a true 2/2 drop. I could "level" the truck by installing some 1-2" rear shackles if I didn't want the rake.

[Tex Arcana]

I have the Roush kit which is a true 2/2 drop. I could "level" the truck by installing some 1-2" rear shackles if I didn't want the rake.

Gotcha. :tu:

[Tex Arcana]

So what does de-arching cost?

[Tex Arcana]

I saw on NLOC where someone said he modded his hangers, but I don't think he's posted pics yet.

UPDATE: The guy on NLOC who did this sent me his hanger mod:


Here you go Tex thanks Really wasn't that hard to do just time consuming.
Heres how I did it.

1 Jack up and install truck on jack stands

2 Unbolt inner liners in wheel wells, fender braces, and exhaust tips and hanger.

3 Take off front hanger nut's and leave in front bolts

4 Grind off head of rivet smooth with hanger careful not to grind into the hanger. This can be done just take your time.

5 take a hammer and hit the the hanger in between the rivets you just ground down this will give you a indication that the hanger is loose from the rivets if you see the out line of the rivet. Do this to both sides of the hanger.

6 Take a 3/16 drill bit and drill center of the rivet 3/4 of the way through the rivet. Carful not to drill all the way through. Do this on all 4 rivets on one side

7 Now take a 1/2 drill bit and drill the pilot hole you just drilled, again do not drill all the way through rivet. You'll see why in a min.

8 Now that you have a bigger hole take a good size Flat tip punch and knock out the rivet. These should punch out real easy now that you have relieved the rivet because there isn't much room in there to swing a hammer or if you have a air hammer the take that and hit the rivets and they will come right out.

9 Now take the hanger and make a templet of the bolt holes ( I used 1/2 inch holes) and the out side edge of the hanger, make as exact as you can. Now scribe a line 1- 1/4" inch down and then move your hanger templet down to the line you scribed. I scribed the bottom of the hole that way when I move the templet down I can still see the line put the templet hole just touching the line, also make sure you still have it centered on the hanger from side to side. (DO NOT TRY AND MAKE ONE SIDE FLUSH WITH THE HANGER. THIS WILL NOT WORK.)There should be about 3/16" to 1/4" space between the hanger and the temp edges if you have it centered from side to side.

10 Clamp templet to hanger and center punch hole drill a pilot hole and then your 1/2" hole and debur holes.

11 Reinstall hanger with grade 8 bolts 1/2 inch bolts and tighten. Install bolt for the spring and install nut do not tighten at this time.
Your done with one side now do the other side the same way.

12 After both sides have been done before you take and reinstall everything (exhaust, inner fenders, brackets) jack up the rear end to where it has MOST of the weight of the truck is on it and tighten the front spring bolts. DO NOT TAKE OUT JACK STANDS to do this. There should be some weight still on the jack stands. ( don't forget to install the emergency brake bracket on the driver side before you tighten the nut).

13 Now reinstall the inner fenders and fender bracket and the exhaust. and YOUR DONE pull out jack stands and look at the difference. With just Bell techs shackles you should measure from the fender lip to the center of the axle should be around 17 3/4" to 18"

Hope this helps

http://i3.tinypic.com/xfdpjq.jpg
http://i1.tinypic.com/xfdsgx.jpg

Any thoughts?

[PoorSvtman]

so in other words what that guy did was basicly the same thing a drop hanger would be.. id just buy a set of drop hangers if your going to go through all the hassle of taking the stock one off... Most aftermarket hangers have 2 holes to adjust the drop..

[SILVER2000SVT]

I've done hangers before, trust me they are a real PITA. However, what's your time worth? It is a cheaper solution money wise in that drop hangers are fairly reasonable in cost, or in the example above, free, if you are willing to tackle the project yourself. The hardest part is removing the rivets, but with enough persistance you can get them out.

[Tex Arcana]

so in other words what that guy did was basicly the same thing a drop hanger would be.. id just buy a set of drop hangers if your going to go through all the hassle of taking the stock one off... Most aftermarket hangers have 2 holes to adjust the drop..

'cept buying hangers costs money... "Cheapskate Racing", anyone?? :rll:

[PoorSvtman]

time vs money... comes out even in my eyes.. i rather have a hanger that i can adjust the drop other than having to take stock of redrill it and rehang it...

[Tex Arcana]

I've done hangers before, trust me they are a real PITA. However, what's your time worth? It is a cheaper solution money wise in that drop hangers are fairly reasonable in cost, or in the example above, free, if you are willing to tackle the project yourself. The hardest part is removing the rivets, but with enough persistance you can get them out.

From the looks of it, it's the removal of the rivets that's the major pain. Like you said, what's my time worth? Hell, what's the time my truck would be down worth? :rolleyes:

[dboat]

I understand that. Did you notice a vibration from the pinion/u-joint, because it was out of alignment?

nope.. Terry was good enough to alert me of the issue.. had to get it fixed when I got back to Erie from Dallas.
Dana

[dboat]

From the looks of it, it's the removal of the rivets that's the major pain. Like you said, what's my time worth? Hell, what's the time my truck would be down worth? :rolleyes:

I see them do this stuff on TV within 30 minutes.. so it cant be that bad..:twitch: :evil

[Tex Arcana]

I see them do this stuff on TV within 30 minutes.. so it cant be that bad..:twitch: :evil
:rll:

[PoorSvtman]

From the looks of it, it's the removal of the rivets that's the major pain. Like you said, what's my time worth? Hell, what's the time my truck would be down worth? :rolleyes:


my truck has been down 7 months... its been worth it...

[Tex Arcana]

my truck has been down 7 months... its been worth it...

The needle is sunk WAY too deep into my vein for me to wait that long... besides, it's racing season, time to DRIVE! :D