Another way to lift

[Flash]

Apparently a previous owner had done a TT lowering to my Limited to match the sagged back springs.

And didn't do an alignment so I had negative camber and toe out. I adjusted the the toe but the tyres were already stuffed so I replaced the 235/15/15s with 265/70/16s.

So now I needed to lift it back up again.

I didn't want to do extended shackles, springs had a bit of reverse curve at the ends and I thought slightly stiffer springs would be good.

The cheapest replacement springs in these parts were $563.

So I tried something else.

I had a pair of coil springs from the rear of a Lancer (Mirage) that I clamped on to the flat area of the leaf springs behind the axle and clamped the top to the chassis rail.

Instant 2 1/2 inch lift and the spring rate feels the same.

The same? I figure that the leaves don't contribute to the springing until they are compressed to the height that they were before I installed the coils so in effect I have the spring rates of a 1994 Lancer which works surprisingly well.

But I want it firmer. I have a set of BMW M5 coils and a pair of 1 ton VW van coils with airbags inside them that I can try.

The Lancer coils are ok for now until I get some Konis for the back.

 

[RangerX]

How about a pic?

 

[colintrax]

I have a feeling it's gonna look scary

 

[Flash]

I have a feeling it's gonna look scary

It is a bit, it's quite safe but a bit kludgey.

This isn't it's final form, this was more a proof of concept.

 

[clevalley]

I had the same issue as you, except for the dropped front end. The ends of my springs do have a slight downwards bow, but I rolled the dice and went with the AAL, WAR 153, TT, new tires/rims, new Rancho extended shocks.

I could not be happier with the way it turned out.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=419615

 

[Flash]

How about a pic?

It won't be staying like this, Im going to mount the VW springs on top of the axle using these or something like it.

 

[96whitesport]

hey all,

Not that I'm promoting other brands or sites here, but I had a Toyota 4runner at one point and adding a coil in this manner was called a "Zuk Mod" in the Yota world. see here

http://www.yotatech.com/f129/zuk-mod-250033/

I did this to mine and it worked exremely well, even in off camber but the Yota seems to hold the srpings in well due to the bumpstop style.

 

[Flash]

Wow, it looks like they were made for it.

 

[96whitesport]

yep, I used the Jeep TJ rear springs and they sat in there like they had eyes! I drilled the bump stop bracket on top and used a nut and bolt and a Ford truck coil clamp for insurance, worked like a charm and are still in it as far as I know, unless the Yota rotted away around them! LOL