Lower Control Arm Drags Ground after drop

[phillipm]

Oh wow. What size tire are you running front and back?

[SkinnyG]

Wait. My math is drunk. I ran the calcs three times, and got the same answers. But I see now I did 255/50R15. Big difference there. Oh well.

I was wrong.

I run 235/70R15's up front - that is 28" tall.

Your 255/60R15 is 27" tall. That's only half an inch lower in ride height. You're definitely sitting lower though.

[phillipm]

I grabbed some 1" springs from Switch Suspension instead of the 2" springs. Going to swap those out tonight and see where that puts my LCA's. I'll report back.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by lolife99

Porterbuilt makes a tubular a-arm that accepts a coil spring.
But that won't help.
This crossmember saddle is still the mounting point for all tubular a-arms as well.
Ground clearance will be the same.

The OD of the bushing barrel is slightly smaller & the tubing attaches @ the barrel center so some clearance is gained (not much but some).


Phillipm, if the portion of the a-arm below the bushing is 2.75" off the ground but hitting on moderate suspension compression, there isn't enough spring rate (prob fatigued springs). I would do new Moog BBC springs trimmed to height for some additional spring rate (or Hotchkis drop springs) & quality stock length front shocks.

Are the bump-stops still in place? Keeping them in after trimming them slightly helps prevent too much compression. Keeping them in also helps keep taller tires from buzzing the tops of the inner wells.

[Tom]

Just realized we live in the same place. My entire lowered suspension experience is here in Mesa. Either your hitting bumps wrong or the springs you used are too soft. I've used eibachs and western chassie again with no issues. I've used stock and doestch tech shocks as well. I also ran 255/60/15 tires. Something just isn't adding up.

[phillipm]

Originally Posted by Tom

Just realized we live in the same place. My entire lowered suspension experience is here in Mesa. Either your hitting bumps wrong or the springs you used are too soft. I've used eibachs and western chassie again with no issues. I've used stock and doestch tech shocks as well. I also ran 255/60/15 tires. Something just isn't adding up.

Tom, can you do me a favor? Can you measure your arm to the ground at the lowest point? I've found that most who don't have any issues are at least 3.5-4" of clearance.

I don't really feel i'm hitting the bumps wrong. Just going down the road any whoop in the road will bury the control arms into the ground. In fact pulling into my house (rolled curb) will grind the arm on the ground. If that means i'm doing it wrong then I guess I can't live like that. We drive our vehicles all over the country and I need to be able to trust that I'm not going to be on the side of the road because a wicked bridge leader jumped up and tore off an A-arm. I'm using the same springs many others have, and the shocks seem to be in good condition. I'm not surprised i'm hitting though. 2.75" of ground clearance just isn't enough. The Mcgaughys stuff was supposed to be good stuff from what I understand? Going to put the 1" higher springs in tonight and I also need to C notch the rear. I don't even have the 31 gallon tank full yet and it's just about resting on the frame! Maybe 2" of travel and it bangs into it a lot.

Thanks for the input. Maybe we can meet up some time. Our shop is in downtown Mesa.

[phillipm]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

The OD of the bushing barrel is slightly smaller & the tubing attaches @ the barrel center so some clearance is gained (not much but some).


Phillipm, if the portion of the a-arm below the bushing is 2.75" off the ground but hitting on moderate suspension compression, there isn't enough spring rate (prob fatigued springs). I would do new Moog BBC springs trimmed to height for some additional spring rate (or Hotchkis drop springs) & quality stock length front shocks.

Are the bump-stops still in place? Keeping them in after trimming them slightly helps prevent too much compression. Keeping them in also helps keep taller tires from buzzing the tops of the inner wells.

These are brand new 2" drop springs from mcgaughys. So unless they were heat treated incorrectly they should be good? I'll have to check if the bump stops are still there. They very well could be completely gone from the PO. Thanks for the tip!

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by bbbc10

you can raise it up or get some lower control arms

Lowered control arms will only make matters worse.

Originally Posted by phillipm

These are brand new 2" drop springs from mcgaughys. So unless they were heat treated incorrectly they should be good? I'll have to check if the bump stops are still there. They very well could be completely gone from the PO. Thanks for the tip!

I'm going to speculate the springs are too soft. Mcgaughys quality has seen a sharp decline over the pat few years and I will bet the springs are your problem.

My suggestion is to remove them and cut (not heat) your stock coils. As Scoti mentioned a proven method is using big block springs cut down if you dont have your stock coils.

[phillipm]

I put the new springs in tonight and it raised the front of the truck 1.25". I now have 4.25" at the LCA. Hopefully this will work now! I don't have stock springs so if these still do not work I will try out the BBC springs as you guys suggested. Now I just need to grab another set of leafs from my buddy and raise the rear accordingly. I think it will still look pretty good.
Posted via Mobile Device

[mongocanfly]

That will look good..and you might avoid a c notch by lifting the back to match the front..

[KQQL IT]

The front spring hanger on the2wd k5 is lower by quite a bit if I remember right.
Would a C10 hanger get what you need.

[phillipm]

Originally Posted by KQQL IT

The front spring hanger on the2wd k5 is lower by quite a bit if I remember right.
Would a C10 hanger get what you need.

You know I'm not sure. That could be something I could look into if I need to fine tune it? At the moment the PO pulled some leafs out of the original pack but I just am not sure which one(s). I don't have the fuel tank full and I still don't have the spare tire in the back yet. So I definitely don't have the spring rate I need. I've got my QA1 shock pretty much full stiff to keep it from banging the frame on every bump. Looking forward to backing those off some once the rear is where it needs to be.

I do want to install a helper bag kit so I can tow with this truck once it's completed but I really don't want to rely on that for my everyday ride height.

[Tom]

Originally Posted by phillipm

Tom, can you do me a favor? Can you measure your arm to the ground at the lowest point?

Sorry dude but the truck is in storage and I won't be able to get to it for some time.

[phillipm]

No worries.

[phillipm]

Just an update to this thread. With the new front springs and my extra leaf added to the rear I'm super happy with the results. I'm kind of inclined to lean towards the spring rate not being right on the first set of springs as these don't dip nearly as much it seems. However my tires also no longer rub so all in all I'm super happy with the results.

[mongocanfly]

That looks good..glad you got it "squared" away..

[Mr.Chevy4x4]

Glad you got it straightened out, and it looks great to boot!

Mike

[lolife99]

Still looks perfect!

[phillipm]

Thanks guys!