early bronco springs on a cut and turned ttb

[kristinandq]

I have been looking into my suspension for a little over a year. I have tried searching high and low for what amount of lift to expect out of the EB springs. i would like to get 4 inches of lift but would settle for 5 inches. so does anyone have real world experience with what spring i would need. would do solid axle but i like to be a little different.

Second part of the question. been kicking around gears for a while some say 4.56 some say 4.88 might go up to a 35 later but for now i have brand new 33s. the vehicle is a manual trans explorer if that even matters.

thanks and looking forward to seeing what is recommended.

 

[1992explorerMi]

The springs i don't know but the gears you only need 4.88 if you go over 35" tires i am running 4.10 ls in my 94 sport manual trans riding on 35/14/15 tires. I have no complaints it goes just fine and hqvnt found a spot that it seems under geared. I might go 4.56 when i finish my locker rear end. But that's just because why not.

 

[Albino 94LTD]

Be wary of the EB springs and carefully check their diameter. The X springs are 4" in dia then the EB's might be 5" or more. They won't sit well on top of the TTB beam

As for gearing, 'Never Fear The Gear' 4.56 with 33" tires is very near stock. I run 4.56 and about 2400rpm at 65mph on the freeway but when wheeling, the extra control you have with a really low gear is very much worth it. You can truly crawl.

35" tires and the D35 don't play well together. The spacing between the wheel bearings is very narrow and with 35's, you 'should' be checking and repacking them monthly,,,seriously!

 

[kristinandq]

What would be a good flexy spring to use if i was to stay with a ttb spring. Your engine speed is lower than mine with 31s i am at 2700 with 3.73s

 

[Maniak]

I run skyjacker springs on my Cut and Turned TTB. I'm also running the f-250 shock mounts so I can use that extra travel with my 32" shocks...

Full stuff (yes, that's power steering fluid on the tire, I over filled my resevoir)

truckhaven MLK weekend 2015 by maniak_az, on Flickr

Full droop

truckhaven MLK weekend 2015 by maniak_az, on Flickr

The above pics were taken when the truck was sitting like this.

truckhaven MLK weekend 2015 by maniak_az, on Flickr

As for gearing, I'm running 33" tires and currently run 4.10's. I either going 4.88's or 5.13's BUT I do plan on going to 35" tires IF I were going to stay with the 33's I'd go 4.56 or 4.88... The 4.10's and the 33's is like running stock 3.27-3.55:1.

~Mark

 

[Rhett]

M. -- you're running a coilover setup in front? That's what it looks like. Are all cut and turned setups running coilovers? It would be interesting to see your lower shock mount.

 

[Maniak]

That's not a coil over and I actually can't think of anyone on here running coil overs on a 1st gen without running a solid front axle..

I'm just running Skyjacker 5.5" (I think) lift springs with 32" long shocks using the factory lower shock mount and f-250 upper shock mount for my upper mount.


Here is a shot when I was putting on the extended radius arms and f-250 shock mounts. This is pre cut&turn but that doesn't matter for the shock mount.

Build-day3 005 by maniak_az, on Flickr

Pic from the other side without the spring/shock so you can see the f-250 shock mount that was welded to the stock spring bucket.

Build-day3 009 by maniak_az, on Flickr

With those shock mounts being so high I am now using Rancho 999012 shocks. 19" compressed, 32" extended.

~Mark

 

[kristinandq]

thank you that is exactly what i was looking for. where did you find the adapter for the brake line extension. i have been looking and cant seem to find one that fits a 91-92. are those the skyjacker 136 springs? I am also noticing the 91-92 with a early build date has a lot of different parts then my 93 has.

 

[Maniak]

I'm assuming you are talking about the driver side. That's a factory fitting I grabbed from the junk yard I then just cut the hard line off the bottom of it and then drilled/tapped it for 1/8" NPT.

Yes, I know you aren't supposed to use NPT on brakes but some of the other kits you find out there do the same thing. On top of that, I've had mine for probably close to 200k miles without an issue.

There is (was?) a kit from Procomp which was really just an Earls kit that used a brass piece for that adapter and they had NPT fittings too. Here is a pic I put in a post a long time ago..

Here is another shot of mine so you can see the fittings. I like my style better since it's a smaller piece.

The blue piece (1/8 NPT to whatever the brake line is) and the brake line (mine is Earls brand) were picked up from the local speed shop.

I just went in with my old line and the modified (drilled/tapped piece) and they got me the adapter and line.


As for the spring's p/n.. I don't know.. AFAIK, it's the 5.5" one for the 1st gen explorer. I got it 2nd hand...

~Mark

 

[malohnes]

Awesome thread! Lots of great info here!

 

[kristinandq]

How is the handling on road with your setup? guess my next question what drop pittman arm size would you suggest? I would rather spend a little more and do it right the first time. Also been looking at extended RAs. looked at super lift and skyjacker and a few from fab shops. Is there something i should really be looking at?

 

[Maniak]

The front end does great... I run RS9000's and I do have them set at 9 since I have to drive on a 2 lane blacktop that isn't the smoothest. Before the SOA I ran them softer...

I have practically no bump steer as the steering arms are almost exactly in line with the beams.

Once I went to SOA in the rear I did pick up more side to side motion on that same 2 lane road. I haven't had sway bars on our X in well over 200k miles so I'm used to it but someone who is used to a car ride probably won't like it. On the freeway it's fine, it's just those roads where the lane makes the truck lean left, then right, then left etc.. That's at 60 mph too...

I'm using an FA600 pitman arm and have been for many years. When I went to cut & turned beams I also went up a little in the lift which worked out well. If I had this much lift with drop axle pivots my steering arms wouldn't have the same angle as the beams and I'd end up with bump steer.

As for brand name extended Radius Arms, I can't really say what's good or bad about them as I never used a "brand name" one. Some of the break right where they hook onto the Beam (the ears). I didn't build mine, I bought them from another EF member and they are stock beams with some DOM tube welded along the bottom and out the back... The only issue with the way mine are is when you mount the joints under the frame (stock is just inside the frame) you can end up with tire rub when turned. Some of the store bought ones have an angle to help cut down on the rubbing. I only get the rubbing when turned far.

You can see how they welded the new part and matched the lines of the bottom of the old part. This gives you a bunch of caster. Enough that you need 5"+ of lift. At 4"-5" of lift I had quite a bit of caster...

Those are my beams after I modified them and had Turdle powder coat them...

Here is the thread where I modified them to use different mounts and installed them.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=246044

You should look into doing the f-250 shock mount so you can use that extra travel from the extended arms. This thread has some good info in it, and post #18 is pretty much a how to...
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=280125

hopefully my ramblings help...

~Mark

 

[kristinandq]

You have been a big help.i have the f250 shock mounts already. I cant fab to save my life. That puts me in the boat of buying aftermarket RAs. I had the beams done a while ago just had the ball joint moved. Just collecting the last couple of pieces to the puzzle. Then hopefully have it done by January. thanks again