2002 Sport Trac SAS finally begins

[IZwack]

Yeah AdvancedAuto is where I got mine from a long time ago -- just printed out the part number and picked them up after work.

 

[chad551]

Well more progress is finally being made. ARB locker and compressor are on the way so the axle will be completed in next few days.

So now I need to get my springs, so my question is should I go with YJ springs in lieu of the Grand Wagoneer springs? I know the YJ's are lighter than an EX but was curious if others have tried using them. And if they were to soft..

Thanks

 

[RockRanger]

I used a pair of rear (5leaf) YJ springs. I took out the shortest leaf and then cut down a ranger main spring to fit as the second spring just under the main. It was soft but flexed really good. Worked fine on the trail but was a bit soft driving on the highway.

 

[chad551]

I picked up a Gen 1 steering box over the weekend, but can someone tell me what size reamer I need, so the wagooner tie rod end will fit into the pitman arm? Or should I try and find a different tie rod end?

Also are the YJ rear springs longer than the front? I need to order these today, as my axle will be built tonight.

Thanx

 

[RockRanger]

yj springs are the same length front nd rear. Pin is in the center as well. They may have a different spring rate though. If I remember right fronts have 4 leafs and rears have 5. This is on stock springs not sure about aftermarket ones.

The wagoneer ones are the same length just the pin is off set about 2" to one end of the spring. Not sure how the spring rates compare.

I didnt use any of the factory steering. I made mine using chevy TRE's, weld in bungs and 1.5 x .250 tubing. PM coming your way as well.

 

[chad551]

What are the thoughts on these dual shock mounts?

 

[IZwack]

Go with single shocks unless you're shocks are at like 45 degrees from vertical.

 

[chad551]

My reason for thinking about dual shocks is because I have read that YJ springs tend to be a little soft, so my thought was using dual shocks might help on road manners a little more than a single shock.

 

[RockRanger]

Use a swaybar instead. And the package went out yesterday.

 

[IZwack]

You're right, you can stiffen the ride up with more shock but soft leaves will ride 'flatter' than normal and you cant really compensate for this with shocks. In other words, the leaves might be almost flat at ride height.

I know I'm late but speaking of YJ leaves, I used them on my brother's Samurai and they would probably be on the soft side when fitted onto an Explorer considering the much larger unsprung weight.

 

[chad551]

Since I am not doing a SOA on the front, I will be using 4" lifted springs. Figured once they flatten out a little my ride height should hopefully be close to where I am now. And the YJ springs are 160/pair vs. FSJ springs at 280/pair.

 

[RockRanger]

Unless you build some big drop brackets for your springs I am not sure a 4" spring will be enough. When I first tried the stock YJ springs my truck sat at about stock height. by adding a ranger leaf in the pack that was thicker an much stiffer then any of the YJ springs I was able to get to about 5" of lift. This was also sprung over. Are you going with front or rear shackles? If you go with a rear shackle you might end up with the driveshaft binding when the suspension drops. Even with a front shackle my front u joint would bind before I put the doubler in. That was with the front axle pushed forward 2" as well.

 

[Dannyboy]

What are the thoughts on these dual shock mounts?

althought it's not the sexiest "hoop" it works, it's exactly how my truck hosts the dual shocks on the axle end and if you research on here you will see I do my fair share of abuse.

the only reason I continue with this setup is 1) it works 2) if I change I would go something much more dramatic.

BUT if I were building from scratch, a good setup can run 1 shock per wheel. Host something like one single properly valved 2.5" shock and you will be very impressed.


For what it's worth, two full grown men can't push down on my rear 3.0s, we needed a engine hoist to lift the rear of the truck and disconnect at the shackle to put them in place. That's much more stiff than a $50 white rocket like I'm running in the front that I can open and close like a trombone.

 

[chad551]

I was planning on the shackle in the rear. The YJ spring have a rate of 240 and the FSJ are 310. I will likely get the F250 shock mount and use 1 shock, and then add a sway bar.

I figured since most do a SOA and use stock waggy springs, that if I used a lifted spring and kept it SUA I would essentially be at the same height/lift, by the time I built the front crossmember, and the rear mounts.

 

[chad551]

Does anyone think my assumption is wrong about the SUA application with lifted springs working the same as SOA with stock springs?

 

[james t]

I think you're going to wind up not using the YJ leaves. A sportrac is ALOT heavier than a YJ. IIRC Robb tried some YJ's on the front of his explorer and it was a no-go.

 

[IZwack]

Go with some Wagoneer / Grand Wagoneer leaves - its like the standard SAS leaves of man kind.

 

[chad551]

Thanks for the heads up, there is a guy selling some brand new rough country 4" lift YJ springs for 100.00, and I was going to get them and try it. He said they are 4 leafs and I was maybe thinking of adding another leaf in there that would stiffen them up.

 

[John_Rock]

I'm definitely no expert in this area, but it seems to me that a SOA with flat leafs would get more flex than a SUA with lift springs. Am I wrong? Lift springs already have a lot of arch to them, right? So they wouldn't have as much downward travel as a set of flat leafs? More flex is always better.

 

[chad551]

Ok so my ARB showed up today and as I was reading through the instructions it says that there needs to be adequate oil draining inside the bearing caps. It then says if the oil holes are not there I need to drill them?? Anyone ever see or do this before?