Frnt 6” Lift spring install and rear ORD shackle flip

[DirtyLarry]

Here are some pictures of the latest project to the truck.

Out with the old 4" springs and in with the new 6" Superlift springs and rear ORD shackle flip.

[DirtyLarry]

We also made a swanky bracket to lower the park brake cable.

Although you can’t really tell in this picture, the rear of the truck sits a little too high for my liking so next weekend we are planning to remove one spring from the rear leaf pack.

[DirtyLarry]

Before and After

[Zoomad75]

Wow that looks good! Are you sure about the rear leaf pack? I'd bet it's going to squat a little once you load it down with more gear. Well even if you do take one out and it's too low you can always go put it back in right?

How's the ride though? The rear should have smoothed out a bunch. Did you try flexing it any??? Details man we need details!!!

Good work!

[vtblazer]

Looks great but I think I'd let it settle some before removing a leaf.

Give it a couple weeks and see where it wants to live.

[DirtyLarry]

Yep, I am sure about the rear springs. You can’t see very well it in these pictures because the road goes up hill but in the garage the truck sits about 1.5” higher in the rear. Neighbor Pete and I jumped on the bumper and the rear did not squat at all. The rear winch and camping gear are not going to settle it down.

Actually, the ride is very NICE! I was pleasantly surprised about that. I had my doubts the front would be as soft as it is for 6” springs. It actually rides a hell of a lot nicer than the Silverado HD. I am still waiting for the 2” drop drag ling and sway bar disconnects so the steering wheel is way off and the sway bar is hanging by zip ties. It vibrates like a SOB at 60 MPH so something has to be done with the working angles anyway. Get the rear down a bit more then see what is left of the vibration to deal with.

VTblazer,

The rear springs are not new. They are the same ole springs I had reworked 10 years ago so I don’t see any settling going on there. If anything, the new front springs will settle down causing the rear to look that much higher.

[special-K]

So,with the shackle flip it`s grind off the rivet heads and bolt on the new?What length kit did you use?I don`t like the rear "up" on a 4wd,either.They handle best with the weight pitching to the rear.

[DirtyLarry]

Yeah, use a cut off wheel and buzz a cut down the center of the rivet head. Then use an air hammer to beat off the rivet head halves. Trying to knock off a whole rivit head in one shot takes more time....cutting the rivit head in half makes it much quicker. Once you beat the heads off, use the air hammer to push the rivits through the frame. Pretty easy job but quite LOUD!

A buddy and I had to relocated the rear exhaust hanger brackets and trim a bit off of the rear bumper brackets to allow room for the ORD kit. After that just bolt the new ones one and torque the bolts down.

The flip kit is the 4” piece. Years ago I had the rear spring pack re-arched and an add-a- leaf installed. I suspect once the add-a-leaf is a goner it will sit level. Even a tad lower in the rear is ok with me. I just cannot stand asshigh and like you said they don’t drive quite right with it’s tail poken up.

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by DirtyLarry

VTblazer,

The rear springs are not new. They are the same ole springs I had reworked 10 years ago so I don’t see any settling going on there. If anything, the new front springs will settle down causing the rear to look that much higher.

Knowing that now, I'd have to agree with ya.

Like the way it looks lifted for sure.

[Yukon Jack]

That is a great looking truck!

[DirtyLarry]

Finally had a little time this afternoon to work on the truck and deal with the rear end being too high. The first picture shows the rear too high after the shackle flip installation weeks ago, while the second is how it wound up after removing one spring from the pack. The pictures do not serve justice but it was way tooooo high in the rear before. The spring that I removed was an unessential spring anyway that I had installed years ago to add height in order to get away from a tall lift block. After removing one boinger from each side, it looks completely level now.

Also tossed in pics of the ORD sway bar disconnects and Superlift 2’ drop drag link.

[Mudder]

Looks good. I'm doing the same type thing. Did you or have you dropped your transfer case? I dropped mine years ago so not expecting any problems with angles.

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by Mudder

Looks good. I'm doing the same type thing. Did you or have you dropped your transfer case? I dropped mine years ago so not expecting any problems with angles.

Naw, I didn’t have to drop the tcase. The shackle flip points the pinion upward just about enough to get the working angles set about perfectly for the highway speeds that this thing will ever see. With 4:56 cogs and direct drive I am only good for about 70 MPH before the pistons sound like they are swapping holes. Probably any speeds above that a vibration could surface that only a tcase drop would fix. Plus, if I did a tcase drop I would have major clearance issues at the front of the Gen VI big block and L29 serpentine brackets at the radiator and fan shroud.

[bufmatmuslepants]

so the total lift from the shackle flip is 4 inches? you mentioned how it rides really nice, but is that from the new front springs or cuz of the flip? im thinking of doing a similar lift to what you have except only 4 inches instead of 6. where can i get the shackle flip kit?

[Zoomad75]

www.ord.com Others are out there from Sky mfg or DIY4X.com too.

While I haven't had a chance to ride in Larry's new and improved rig, I can say from my lift the ride came from both ends. Larry used a slightly softer spring than I did up front, but also has the wieght of a big block and a winch that has a tendency to take the edge off of tight springs. Shackle flips in the rear does let the rear ride a lot softer as your using a flatter spring than an arched one to give you the same amount of lift with the stock schackle. The flatter the spring in this case the better the ride. The other part of why Larry's rig is riding so much better in the rear is the wieght of the shell and the structure he's built into the bed for his camping/fishing gear.

Your wanting only 4" of lift which is what most shackle flip kits max out at. Larry's rear springs had already been modified before to give a couple inches more than stock so when he added the flip he got closer to 6" worth rather than the normal 4". Plus it was a little too much so he had to take one of the overload springs out to lower the rear and level it out.