Lowered rear suspension question?

[Todd68Chevy]

I have a 68 with coil spring rear suspension. I lowered it 22 years and 38,000 miles ago by heating the springs front and rear. The truck was 4-4 1/2" lower and worked and drove great. I finally put disc brakes on it last year. When I did I changed to lowered coils and dropped spindles. The front end up approx. 6 1/2" lower than stock and the rear is 5". I was going to install an adjustable track arm but it would not fit because of my exhaust so I figured it worked for all this time maybe I will not need it. Still seems to drive good but when hitting bumps some times it feels funny. I have put approx. 2,000 miles on it since changing everything. Couple weeks ago I took a 600 mile trip to Michigan. A buddy went with me so it was the 2 of us, luggage, coolers, tools, ect. I noticed on the way up there, that every bump felt funny (like the rear end is floating around). Then when we got onto the Interstate it was real bad. There was some of the bumps in the road that felt like the truck was jumping around. After unloading stuff up there it seemed back to normal. Then after loading up to come home it was the same way.

Now for the actual question. I am assuming this problem is because the rear track arm is in a different position and needs to be fixed. If you have a different opinion let me know. What do I need to fix this problem? I have a 5" drop with springs only, so if I modify the exhaust and install the adjustable track arm, will that fix it or does the track arm mount also need to be relocated? I have done a few searches but could not find the answer.

Thanks for your time and knowledge.

[Todd68Chevy]

I forgot to say but I am still running the shocks in the stock location. Do I need to relocate where they mount also?

[3rdGen.c10]

well shocks do lose their dampening abilities past a specific degree of angle so if you are 5'' lower i would deff. get the shock mount relocators from either cpp or maybe fabricate yourself some as i did for my upper mounts on the rear. and i do not believe you need new mounting positions for the trac bar. just an adjustable one so your rear end is centered and not trying to float around off to the side. this is just my opinion from my research. hope it helps. let us know the outcome!

[Todd68Chevy]

Thanks 3rdGen.c10, After reading your post and rechecking I found where it said the shocks need to be at less than 15% angle. So after getting my shocks straightened out, you think if I install the adjustable track bar would be good but do you see an issue if I go with a different mounting set up? I do not want to create issues but I have also found Super Track Bar Kit from ECE http://www.earlyclassic.com/catalog....per track bars I would like to be able to haul a some weight with the truck (parts in the bed, possibly a 5X10 trailer with some stuff on it), would this set up be better or just more issues? Thanks again

[3rdGen.c10]

no problem. yeah if you want pics of what i did to make my top shock mounts ill post them. and the super trac bar kits are more for trucks lowered MORE THAN 4 inches and also more for people not useing an original rearend that doesnt have the mounting stud for the trac bar on the housing. it mounts to the trailing arm instead. so in your case i would think it would be necessary or really even beneficial in a noticeable way. thats just my opinion. if i were you i would leav it as is and buy the adjustable bar for original mounts AS LONG AS it looks like the bar will be parallel to the ground if not higher on frame side. wich with 4 inches or less of drop it should be fine.

[GMC Canuck]

At 5" drop, you're close to needing a c-notch. Is it possible when you loaded all your gear in, your axle was bottomed out on the stop bumper?

[3rdGen.c10]

or maybe the shocks are having lapses in dampening so its bouncey. like how my sisters firebird feels right now because her back shocks ar completely worn slap out. it feels loose and floaty. id try fixing the shock problem first because its the cheapest. maybe even go with a stiffer shock. then the trac bar. and my last resort would be buying the springs for the drop you want but since they are new and not heated theyll be stiffer and feel tighter. new shocks alone changed the entire attitude of my 87 scottsdale when i first got it. ........ gone now lol

[Todd68Chevy]

Originally Posted by 3rdGen.c10

no problem. yeah if you want pics of what i did to make my top shock mounts ill post them. and the super trac bar kits are more for trucks lowered MORE THAN 4 inches and also more for people not useing an original rearend that doesnt have the mounting stud for the trac bar on the housing. it mounts to the trailing arm instead. so in your case i would think it would be necessary or really even beneficial in a noticeable way. thats just my opinion. if i were you i would leav it as is and buy the adjustable bar for original mounts AS LONG AS it looks like the bar will be parallel to the ground if not higher on frame side. wich with 4 inches or less of drop it should be fine.

The springs in the rear of my truck now are 5" drop. I will get a picture of mine tonight. When I looked under it with luggage loaded it was running up hill to the rear end but I am not sure with it unloaded. Pictures of the shock mounts would be great if you have some or can get them easy. Thanks

Originally Posted by GMC Canuck

At 5" drop, you're close to needing a c-notch. Is it possible when you loaded all your gear in, your axle was bottomed out on the stop bumper?

I removed the stop bumpers when I lowered it because there was not room for them. It is not giving me any indication that it is bottoming out. It rides good. The problem I was having was when the truck bounced- uneven roads, dips, pavement changes- the rear of the truck felt like it was going side to side. The up and down did not bother me, it felt normal. A couple times at 70-80 mph, it realy concerned me. My buddy that was riding with me even said something a couple times because it felt bad. Thanks

Originally Posted by 3rdGen.c10

or maybe the shocks are having lapses in dampening so its bouncey. like how my sisters firebird feels right now because her back shocks ar completely worn slap out. it feels loose and floaty. id try fixing the shock problem first because its the cheapest. maybe even go with a stiffer shock. then the trac bar. and my last resort would be buying the springs for the drop you want but since they are new and not heated theyll be stiffer and feel tighter. new shocks alone changed the entire attitude of my 87 scottsdale when i first got it. ........ gone now lol

I will get the shocks straightened out and check out the angle of the track bar. The problem I was having was when the truck bounced- uneven roads, dips, pavement changes- the rear of the truck felt like it was going side to side. The up and down did not bother me, it felt normal. A couple times at 70-80 mph, it realy concerned me. My buddy that was riding with me even said something a couple times because it felt bad. Thanks again

[Todd68Chevy]

Here are some pictures. My track bar is definatly running up hill and my shocks are at more than the correct angle. This is where I need to start at least. Thanks

[gringoloco]

Definitely need to relocate the shocks. A full length panhard bar that attaches to the passenger trailing arm would eliminate the wandering that a short bar causes
Posted via Mobile Device

[3rdGen.c10]

after seeing it yes the super trac bar would be beneficial to you big time and so would upper shock relocators wich what i made is shown here. and you just mount those in the original holes facing the axle. i drilled my old mounts out and put the 2" 3/16ths square tubing ones in with grade eights. you could actually make yours longer to stand them up even more if you wanted but you might need shorter shocks. the opening in the end is 1.5'' down drom the end for the head of the shock to go in. then round the corners. then lay them with the opening DOWN ON THE TABLE. measure on the sides from the end inward to 3/4'' and down from the top 1'' on the sides and at these two lines intersection on each side drill a hole the size of your shock bolt. i used a bit that was snug in the shock eye. once you have a long tube with the end cut and rounded and drilled you can mount your shock in this tubeing as if you were installing it but just hold it up with the bottom of the shock installed and place the tubeing wherever it needs to be (further back or forward) until you like the angle of the shock and mark where that would put your holes that will bolt it back to the crossmember through the original holes. i hope that all makes sense. if not i will post pics with me ponting with captions when mine get back from the powder coaters.

[Todd68Chevy]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

Definitely need to relocate the shocks. A full length panhard bar that attaches to the passenger trailing arm would eliminate the wandering that a short bar causes
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks, Sounds like what I need to do.

Originally Posted by 3rdGen.c10

after seeing it yes the super trac bar would be beneficial to you big time and so would upper shock relocators wich what i made is shown here. and you just mount those in the original holes facing the axle. i drilled my old mounts out and put the 2" 3/16ths square tubing ones in with grade eights. you could actually make yours longer to stand them up even more if you wanted but you might need shorter shocks. the opening in the end is 1.5'' down drom the end for the head of the shock to go in. then round the corners. then lay them with the opening DOWN ON THE TABLE. measure on the sides from the end inward to 3/4'' and down from the top 1'' on the sides and at these two lines intersection on each side drill a hole the size of your shock bolt. i used a bit that was snug in the shock eye. once you have a long tube with the end cut and rounded and drilled you can mount your shock in this tubeing as if you were installing it but just hold it up with the bottom of the shock installed and place the tubeing wherever it needs to be (further back or forward) until you like the angle of the shock and mark where that would put your holes that will bolt it back to the crossmember through the original holes. i hope that all makes sense. if not i will post pics with me ponting with captions when mine get back from the powder coaters.

Thanks again, Those are going to look very nice when you get them back. I think I understand what you are saying. I will start with shocks and track bar and see what I have then. Thanks for the help and advise.

[lolife99]

I agree,... a set of shock relocators and a Super Track Bar should fix you up.
Also cut off the ends of those u-bolts before you have a flat and find out what scrubline issues are.

[Todd68Chevy]

Originally Posted by lolife99

I agree,... a set of shock relocators and a Super Track Bar should fix you up.
Also cut off the ends of those u-bolts before you have a flat and find out what scrubline issues are.

Yes that could be a bad situation. I keep forgetting about those u-bolts. When I first put this susp. under it, there was 2 inch blocks also so the bolts were long. I found out those were not what I wanted so I bought different springs and removed the blocks. Now the bolts are to long. I will get them cut off and thanks for noticing and mentioning them. Thanks

[Todd68Chevy]

Is the Super Track Bar Kit from ECE a good one or does anybody else make one that would work better? I do not ever plan on going any lower than it is right now but I do plan on being able to haul a little weight. Stuff in the bed or a small utility trailer NOT a car trailer or enclosed trailer. I guess I should ask-- Has anyone heard or any problems with ECE Super Track Bar? Thanks again for everyones help and advise.

[lolife99]

ECE makes quality parts.
I have installed at least 4 Super track bars without any issues.

[3rdGen.c10]

no problem i hope i helped! and yes i would recommend ece any day. good stuff there and i also use cpp (classic perfeormance parts) alot amd both are great. cpps version has a little more clearence for access to your differentials. just an observation

[3rdGen.c10]

oh! and just in case you end up making the shock relocators i made, you do need to put two thick washers inside the tubing with the shock. one on each side of the shock to prevent movement.

[gringoloco]

If you wanna save some cash and have the tools, look for member Scoti's write-up on homemade shock relocation brackets (in the suspension FAQ), otherwise, ECE/CPP are basically the same. I like Early Classic for the customer service, which Classic Performance generally lacks. There are also track bars and shock relocation kits from Porterbuilt and NoLimit, supporting vendors which are both active here on the forums sharing tons of knowledge and providing great customer service.

Running blocks out back with less drop spring will get you an equal amount of drop while still being able to run a longer shock. I would think twice before cutting the u-bolts if you're planning on re-doing most of the rear suspension anyway.

[Todd68Chevy]

Everybody has been helpfull. I am always going on about this site and how everybody seems to get along and help each other out. It is great!

I think I will just go with the Early Classic set up. The spindles I have are from them and I have heard good about their company. Seems like there have been some issues with CCP from time to time. Will I have to change the frame bracket or if mine is good can I just use it instead of cutting the rivets to remove the other one?

I also need to get some good lowered shocks also. Have you used ECE shocks? Looks like they only offer 1 size for lowered trucks. I thought I could just order them together but if there are other ones that are better, then I can order from 2 places.

[Todd68Chevy]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

If you wanna save some cash and have the tools, look for member Scoti's write-up on homemade shock relocation brackets (in the suspension FAQ), otherwise, ECE/CPP are basically the same. I like Early Classic for the customer service, which Classic Performance generally lacks. There are also track bars and shock relocation kits from Porterbuilt and NoLimit, supporting vendors which are both active here on the forums sharing tons of knowledge and providing great customer service.

Running blocks out back with less drop spring will get you an equal amount of drop while still being able to run a longer shock. I would think twice before cutting the u-bolts if you're planning on re-doing most of the rear suspension anyway.

The blocks in the rear caused a bad driveshaft vibration. I added angle shims but could not get it lined out so that is why I took the blocks out and bought different springs. Other than fixing the suspension properly, I am done changing things for a while. After fixing this I hope the next time I have to work on this is when I swap everything over to the short bed chassis and turn my truck into a 67 SWB Fleet Side, Big Block, Automatic (future project)

Thanks

[tubbedII]

If I were to buy shock relators for the rear and a track bar now (I have ECE and like it), I'd go with Rob NoLimit's set up. You get the same corrections to the shock travel but also added control and handling from what he claims...how can that be a bad thing?!

[65Gregg]

Without trying to sound like a paid endorsement, I had CPP shocks and relocation kit but the ride kinda (really) sucked. I switched to the NoLimit relocation kit and the shocks Rob includes, I still can't believe how much it helped. My wife will even ride in the truck now, her boobs are hitting her in the chin over every bump.

[Todd68Chevy]

Thanks for all the advise and help. The NoLimit items look very nice but I ordered the ECE Super Trac Bar kit. My truck has always rode good and the NoLimit set up looks like a little more than what I think I need. Thanks again

[Todd68Chevy]

Ok I installed the Super track bar and shock relocators today. Looks good but a couple issues. The trac bar does hit my exhaust during suspension travel so I have to fix that. The second issue is with the shocks. The drop shocks I ordered from ECE does not come with a metal sleeve in the lower bushing so when it is tightened down it just smashed the rubber out. The second issue with the lower bracket. I had a set of the ECE reloactor brackets I had removed from another frame so maybe I am missing something. when I have them installed the shock is at an odd angle to the bracket and the lower housing hits the bracket. For now I just installed my old shocks and placed 2 washers between the shock and the bracket so they do not hit. I went back on ECE web site and I am not seeing anything about using a stud set up or what. I will try calling them tomorrow. Here are a couple pictures of before and after.