05dakotatrac
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- April 12, 2012
- Messages
- 766
- Reaction score
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- City, State
- Ellsworth AFB, SD
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 05 sport trac 4X4
my plan originally was to shackle lift but hearing the horrors of flattened or negative arch leaf packs sent me in a different direction on top of that i have minimum room to work with do to the hitch. so doing my research i came to the realization that an add-a-leaf is my goal. torsion twisting stiffens the front so why not stiffen the back. plus this will aid in payload. so im creating this as a referrence or how-to on add-a-leafs and torsion twists. i know there are thread about this but hey take three threads about it and combine them into the ultimate sticky is my logic here. so keep watching this thread and i will update it over time.
ok so i kinda got rushed through this so not enough photos to create a full how to on this. i apologize for this but hey i can link to two pre-existing how to's that i used to do this.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97676 this is the add-a-leaf link
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97676 this is the torsion twist link
these two links are what i used the link for the torsion twist also describes shackles which i honestly would lean away from if you are anyone making a choice on the two options. since the lift i have gained 1.75" in the rear on both sides, up front i ran the bolts all the way in then backed them out proportionally till i reached 2" this leveled it out nicely and since the install i went to wyoming to devils tower and back bout 250 round trip the front settled a bit only 1/4" or so. the suspension is stiffer and pay load is better i hauled my buddys 30' tandem axle camping trailer and the rear only squatted 4" so payload is definitely higher. this is definitely better than shackles in my opinion. the truck feels much more poised and more truck like than stock.
on for some info on top of what the links provide. he said to remove the leaf pack from the shackle. this is not necessary and in fact i couldn't even remove the nuts on my shackles. the only steps you need to do is the typical jackstands and axle support, then remove the bottom bolts on your shocks, remove the 4 nuts on the u-bolts and your axle support can get jacked up to get the clearance needed to remove the centering pin on your leaf pack. once that pin is removed your three full length springs will stay together and the overload will drop using the long 3/8" bolts supplied you can put the Pro Comp EXP13120 leaf against your three full lengths and then put the overload and bottom plate back on in reverse of the way it came apart. at this point everything goes back together in reverse order.
so parts needed:
Pro Comp EXP 13120 (short leafs)
tools needed:
13 MM (torsion bar bolt)
18 MM (deep well)
standard socket set (i used a cheap 120 piece from walmarx)
and to please the people of the forum... pics of my install till i got rushed and had to stop. the one photo shows a standard bolt and it was a pain compacting the leafs to use that bolt so i used the 5" long ones that come with the add a leafs.
ok so i kinda got rushed through this so not enough photos to create a full how to on this. i apologize for this but hey i can link to two pre-existing how to's that i used to do this.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97676 this is the add-a-leaf link
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97676 this is the torsion twist link
these two links are what i used the link for the torsion twist also describes shackles which i honestly would lean away from if you are anyone making a choice on the two options. since the lift i have gained 1.75" in the rear on both sides, up front i ran the bolts all the way in then backed them out proportionally till i reached 2" this leveled it out nicely and since the install i went to wyoming to devils tower and back bout 250 round trip the front settled a bit only 1/4" or so. the suspension is stiffer and pay load is better i hauled my buddys 30' tandem axle camping trailer and the rear only squatted 4" so payload is definitely higher. this is definitely better than shackles in my opinion. the truck feels much more poised and more truck like than stock.
on for some info on top of what the links provide. he said to remove the leaf pack from the shackle. this is not necessary and in fact i couldn't even remove the nuts on my shackles. the only steps you need to do is the typical jackstands and axle support, then remove the bottom bolts on your shocks, remove the 4 nuts on the u-bolts and your axle support can get jacked up to get the clearance needed to remove the centering pin on your leaf pack. once that pin is removed your three full length springs will stay together and the overload will drop using the long 3/8" bolts supplied you can put the Pro Comp EXP13120 leaf against your three full lengths and then put the overload and bottom plate back on in reverse of the way it came apart. at this point everything goes back together in reverse order.
so parts needed:
Pro Comp EXP 13120 (short leafs)
tools needed:
13 MM (torsion bar bolt)
18 MM (deep well)
standard socket set (i used a cheap 120 piece from walmarx)
and to please the people of the forum... pics of my install till i got rushed and had to stop. the one photo shows a standard bolt and it was a pain compacting the leafs to use that bolt so i used the 5" long ones that come with the add a leafs.