1980 bronco coils

[bikeboarder]

what will i have to to to do to use stock 80' bronco coils on a first gen as a small lift. my buddy is willing to just give me a set of them.(he is getting a lift and he has a doner in his back yard) i have ridden in it and they are really soft it feels like a caddy. i know the X is lighter but i dont really mind a rough ride.(hehe) is it possable to use the leafs off the bronco to level it also. thanks in advance. i don't want to pass up a maybe free lift.

 

[bikeboarder]

ok i did a little reserch and i read the "lift your X with F-150 parts" thred. and i found that the Bronco was based off of a F-100. could i use some of the leaf springs like you would with F-150 srings to lift the back? then find some F-150 coil spacers. or does the bronco have coil spacers?

 

[bikeboarder]

come on somebody has to know something about this

 

[Mud Bug 94]

if the guy needs to get rid of it...take what you want or can get and put it on the shelf in ur basment and then you can wait for responses.

 

[exploder619]

i had a friend who did this on his ranger. He used full-size f150 coils for like a 2 inch lift or something, it was a pain to put them in but he got them in

 

[Mud Bug 94]

i looked around for ya and if you get all the hardware off the bronco, it will work...but its gunna be stiff!! even if the bronc rides nice, its a full size and the ex isnt their is a significant weight differance.

 

[bikeboarder]

ok. sounds like something i could do. i will measure the free length of the coils and the free length of the X springs. will this tell me the amount of lift? or do i have to figure in the spring rate? i am going to use the method for lifing the rear that is in the sticky for the F-150 leafs. are the leafs the same width? do they need to be? What do you mean by "all the hardwhare"? is this the spring bucket, and coil seats and anything elce that tuches the spring?
Should i find a bronco forum?

 

[Mud Bug 94]

all the hardware is bolts, nuts, washers, clips, bushings, and such.... the leafs need to be the same width, 3 inch i think.

 

[bikeboarder]

ok thanks, i have had a huge 34 page report for high school i just finished. maybe i will sleep tonight for once in the last week. i need to learn how to manage time. anyway i will do some mesureing tomorrow. i will have some time. i will fill you in and take some pictures when i start the project.

 

[bikeboarder]

i got the coils today. the free length is 18 inches (+- 1/2") and the diamiter is about 1/4" inch bigger. doesent seem like the width should be that big of an issue if i figure something out. but they are really long. the rearleafs wont work. they are 3" wide and the explorer leafs are 2.25. so unless i get longer bolts for the shackels and figure out a way to connect the front of the spring to the stock mount then i cant.

 

[exploder619]

report back and let us know how it works out for you

 

[bikeboarder]

how much lift will the 18 inch coils give me? what is the free length of the Explorer coils? i dont want to have to get drop brackets

 

[Gatorblazer]

The simple thing to do is use the coil spring seats from the bronco in replacement of yours. Use your old coils. This gives you between 1 1/2-2 inches. To level the rear, a set of shackles should do. You can get the $20 version from autozone, but make sure to put a center brace in them. Do a search on warrior shackles as well. They are more $$ but are heavier duty. All in all you should be under $150 in cost once you get the alignment done.

This is the route im taking in May when I finally get around to putting my lift in. Right now its sitting in a box.

 

[bikeboarder]

yeha that is what i am going to do if i cant get any of this to work. i think the coils would give me like 4 inches so i would need drop brackets. i was hopeing for a cheep lift.
Insted of the F150 spacers i am going to use one 1 3/8" X 3" washer on each side under the coil to bring it back to stock height. one washer is about 5/8" of lift. i think this should be just enough to fix the camber because it sags and makes the camber off. then go with the autozone shackels. or make my own after school. this will hopefully bring me back to stock height and get rid of the @$$ sag.

 

[Mud Bug 94]

for the rear, use the explorer main leaf and the other 4-5 leaves of the bronco pack.

 

[bikeboarder]

they dont need to be the same size to stack them like that? the bronco leaves are 3 inches wide so how could that work? the Explorer springs are 2.25. maybe i am over thinking it.

 

[Mud Bug 94]

only the main leaf has to be 2-1/4 or 2-1/2 whatever it is so it can fit in the front hanger and rear shackle:

 

[Mud Bug 94]

you need to slow down a bit ill bet ur over thinkin it and crunchin tooo many numbers at once...

 

[bikeboarder]

ok thanks for the help i am still learning the basics. today i mesured the front and rear finder height, the rear is 31" inches and the front is 33". so for now i am just going to do the rear leafs, and the front washer/spacer. I will use the rake angle to modivate me to lift it more. after i get some money i will order some drop brackets, shocks and find the upper shock/spring mount. i wasent the first to get to that bronco the front D44 is gone along with the whole front clip, the coils were sitting in the spot whare the drivers seat was. i will look at it some more, think some more. and work on takeing off the rear leaves.