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spring over swap advice

lilgriff85

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big bear
Year, Model & Trim Level
93 explorer 4x4 limited
I have a 93 limited ex 5 in lift in the front and shackles and add a leaf in the rear, but the rear still isn't close to being high enough. So I bought new axle perches to swap the rear to a spring over axle setup should get several inches from it...well I hope. Anyway I've never done this before so some advice or things to look out for would be greatly appreciated.
 



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I have spring over and 2 inch lift shackles on my 92 you get about 4 inches out of it be sure you set your pinion angle right or you will have driveline vibrations beleive me i know because my pinion angle is off. the best way would be put them right above the old ones weld them then cut the old ones off.also my d shaft was perfect size yours should be too also you can use the old u bolts flipped but you need to put new shock mounts on the axle or else you will break shocks
 






Pinion angle is found off the output shaft on the t case you usr an angle finder then match that to your rear axle pinion.
 












griff is correct
 






Pinion angle is found off the output shaft on the t case you usr an angle finder then match that to your rear axle pinion.

That is how I did it too..

Here is the post where I did the SOA.. maybe it will help (it has pics)..

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=391276

I used the SOA swap kit from RuffStuff.

I do have some driveline vibration (which I've had for years) and I just found that the output shaft on the xfer case has play in it.. I may be installing my spare xfer case soon to see if that changes anything.

~Mark
 












I got somwhere around 5 inches after everything settled down 6 months after the swap
 






Basically, you get the thickness of the axle + perch + spring as the lift. that is assuming your new spring perches are just as close to the axle as the old ones.

That comes out to somewhere around 5.5" to 6" initially.. When we did our SOA lift I pulled the overload spring off the factory springs which did drop it 1/4" or so. I am going back to that configuration this weekend and getting rid of my very worn OME springs.. Just sitting there they are an S and I'm surprised they haven't snapped yet.

~Mark
 






Ill be doing this swap in two weeks ill snap some pictures if anyone is interested
 






You can get some decent flex just by going SOA. Here is mine with stock springs and stock length shocks (relocated mounting point). I highly recommend using extended length steel braided brake lines though, especially if you want to flex.

3DPPotq.jpg

POKrF7K.jpg
 






That's funny I have the same explorer with the same rims looks sick man. I gotta wait for the snow to melt off.
 






I would highly recommend lift springs in the rear if you plan on wheeling it, the stock leafs are too soft... I compensated for it by running 4 rear shocks. It stiffened it up and looks good too
 






I prefer softer suspension for wheeling, so to each his own.
 






Too soft? To me they feel too stiff.

I really liked the spring rate for the Old Man Emu (ARB USA) springs I used to run. I ran them as long as I could as the stock springs were too stiff..

I'm running a stock set of 2nd gen sprigs now and will give 'em a chance again.. I pulled out the overload spring and will see if they settle in any more.. If not, I'll grab another set of softer springs..

~Mark
 






I have add a leaf and shackles would you guys recommend taking the extra leaf out. I'm trying to the rear up to meet the front at 6.5 inches.
 






Do you know how high of a lift your front end is over stock? Is it really 6.5"?

Just going SOA is going to give you the difference in height from the bottom perch to the new top perch plus the thickness of the springs over what you have now..

The AAL is bringing up the rear probably 1" and I'm assuming by 'having shackles" you mean you have War-153 shackles which is another 1.5" or so of lift... So, you will be "around" 2.5" of lift over the height of a SOA using all stock parts.. I'm thinking that will be too much...

BUT, with a 2nd body, taking a leaf off isn't that bad so I would just start with doing the SOA and if it is too tall change the shackle (assuming the spring rate is what you want). If it is still too tall then you can pull the center bolt from the spring and remove a leaf without taking the spring off the truck BUT you do need a 2nd person to help with that..

~Mark
 






At one point he posted that he had 2in spacers, then he stated he had a 5in lift up front. Maybe he combined the two?
 






I think the stock springs flex fine. This is a shot of mine. Rear setup is stock springs with an add-a-leaf and Warrior shackles, overload leaf removed, and SOA:

NickExplorer4.jpg
 



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I have a bit of a Franken lift in the front lol works good so far. Thanks for the info svo42 sweet shoot man.
 






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