Just wondering, but is it possible for us to flip the leaf springs in our trucks? I have a friend with a Dodge 1500 that did it to his truck, and it doesn't look bad...
Flipping Leaf Springs
Jeffv333
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flipping the leafs up side down will level out the truck but will give you a hard and beyond stiff ride, you regret within a week and will switch back. a flip kit is what Mr. outsider posted which is putting the leafs under. you will have a good smooth ride using the actual flip kit just get the correct shocks for the amount the truck is being lowered.
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Found some very useful information here.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/bad-idea-flipping-leaf-springs-on-a-rear-axle.465690/
So the best way to do this is to flip the springs and correct the order from top to bottom, flipping the springs as in the arch facing down instead of up(stock), and you can also lower it even more by putting it under the axle(requires welding in our trucks) and even a lot more of a drop by adding blocks in between the axle and the leaf spring flat bracket thing(welded). With this being said....a combination of all results in a major drop.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/bad-idea-flipping-leaf-springs-on-a-rear-axle.465690/
So the best way to do this is to flip the springs and correct the order from top to bottom, flipping the springs as in the arch facing down instead of up(stock), and you can also lower it even more by putting it under the axle(requires welding in our trucks) and even a lot more of a drop by adding blocks in between the axle and the leaf spring flat bracket thing(welded). With this being said....a combination of all results in a major drop.
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Yes true Outsider, but if you flip and reshuffle the springs it is a free drop, you had to pay for your "flip kit". Most people seem to say they don't recommend dropping your truck like this, and for most lightning owners I think would buy the kit since we have superchargers putting stress on the rear end lol
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Hotchkiss leafs offer a 3" drop and ride like hell if thats what you want
Belltech hangers offer a 3" drop and acrew the pinion angle pretty bad if thats something youre willing to address
Hangers and shackels will get you 4-5" and youll need a cnotch. I bottom out occasionally with my belltech hangers, 1" shackle
but i know the follpwing contribute to it....hard bed cover, stock bumper, and tow package installed, spare removed.
Belltech hangers offer a 3" drop and acrew the pinion angle pretty bad if thats something youre willing to address
Hangers and shackels will get you 4-5" and youll need a cnotch. I bottom out occasionally with my belltech hangers, 1" shackle
but i know the follpwing contribute to it....hard bed cover, stock bumper, and tow package installed, spare removed.
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Ok I will put a nail in this thread right now lol it is possible.:shitstormretarded
These methods used will make the rear a stiffer ride I would imagine. But the concept is the same as if force was pushing up or down on the spring.
If you take this bolt off....
Unbolt the U-Bolts from the axle to the springs. (ill come back to the highlighted green part later.
And unscrew the far off bolt at the front of the leaf spring.
If we take the whole leaf spring and flip it over, it will be a stiff ride but it IS possible to do and will lower the truck the least an inch and a half.
To get better suspension out of the springs some have suggested to shuffle the springs for better absorption of bumps. Either way shuffled or not will work but will result in a stiffer ride.
Now as far as if you would like to drop the truck more, welding would be required, if you take a look in the green arrow at the above picture #2 it shows the support for the leaf spring to sit on. You would have to weld a bottom piece to the axle to creat a support for your leaf spring if you want to transfer it under the axle like some suggested(which I never said anything about). Also you can lower it even more by adding blocks in between this way(see picture).
The result in all this is a free drop kit for yourself. Like me myself, I like to save money and would probably do this, but in the long run I don't know if it will damage my leaf springs which is why I asked if this was possible. But even then, I don't mind spending 50$ for shackles and take the safe route. Thank you everyone for your responses.
These methods used will make the rear a stiffer ride I would imagine. But the concept is the same as if force was pushing up or down on the spring.
If you take this bolt off....
Unbolt the U-Bolts from the axle to the springs. (ill come back to the highlighted green part later.
And unscrew the far off bolt at the front of the leaf spring.
If we take the whole leaf spring and flip it over, it will be a stiff ride but it IS possible to do and will lower the truck the least an inch and a half.
To get better suspension out of the springs some have suggested to shuffle the springs for better absorption of bumps. Either way shuffled or not will work but will result in a stiffer ride.
Now as far as if you would like to drop the truck more, welding would be required, if you take a look in the green arrow at the above picture #2 it shows the support for the leaf spring to sit on. You would have to weld a bottom piece to the axle to creat a support for your leaf spring if you want to transfer it under the axle like some suggested(which I never said anything about). Also you can lower it even more by adding blocks in between this way(see picture).
The result in all this is a free drop kit for yourself. Like me myself, I like to save money and would probably do this, but in the long run I don't know if it will damage my leaf springs which is why I asked if this was possible. But even then, I don't mind spending 50$ for shackles and take the safe route. Thank you everyone for your responses.
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Exactly what he said is correct.
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It is NOT possible. Yes in theory you could fip them around, but it flat out will not work on our trucks. You need to take into account the full suspension geometry, not just some 1950's ratrod forum where somebody made it work on their rat rod 39 coupe and assume it'll automatically work on our trucks.
First off, an inch and a half drop? You're dreaming. It would probably be a full foot drop, if not more. It would almost put the axle ABOVE the frame rail. Our leafs have a significant arch to them stock. WHen you put weight on that arch, it flattens the leaf out closer to flat (just slightly arched). When you FLIP the leaf upside down, that arch is now going up, not down. And when you put weight on that flipped leaf, you're no longer trying to squish that arch flat when you put weight on it, you're trying to arch it even MORE.
See the attached pic to explain. I found a pic with a stock leaf and a drop leaf, but it's a good comparison for what it would look like compressed and uncompressed with the trucks weight on it.
The left pic would be stock setup. The lower leaf with the big arch would be uncompressed, truck in the air, rear dangling free. The upper leaf with the small arch, would be the compressed, the truck on the ground, weight on the rear.
The right pic would be the flipped setup. The upper leaf with the big arch would be the truck on the ground, weight on the rear, the spring trying to arch more under the weight of the truck. The lower leaf with the small arch would be uncompressed, truck in the air, rear dangling free.
So you can see you're not only gaining the difference in uncompressed heights on a drop (probably a foot+), you're also gaining the delta of height in compressed one direction vs. bowed in the other direction on the drop (probably another 6"+).
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and another picture to explain why it will not work on our trucks. This shows a bed off photo of our truck. Now yes the axle in the photo is a flip kit with the axle on top of the leafs. That doesn't matter for the sake of the point I'm making here. Just look at the leaf spring itself and how it sits in respect to the frame rails in the stock position, and how it would look in respesct to the frame rails in the flipped position. You would need a MONSTER stepped notch like guys who lay frame on bags use, because you would essentially have your axle ABOVE the frame rails (whether it was on top or beneath the leaf pack).
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otstirring
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Thanks for showing what I meant with Post #15. :cheers
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Not a half ass mod, who doesn't have time for a free mod?(if it would work) it works in some trucks SVT, i think it was a great question. And Harley answered it perfectly. I didn't think bout the axle sitting too high...oh well drop shackles it is.
Here's a pic of the flipped spring ram. Lol
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That's not a flipped spring. It appears that he just pulled a leaf or 2 from the pack then combined that with Shackles and/or hangers, but that leaf pack is still in the standard mounting position. At the most he moved the overload spring from the bottom of the pack to the top. Beyond that there is nothing special about this rear drop.Not a half ass mod, who doesn't have time for a free mod?(if it would work) it works in some trucks SVT, i think it was a great question. And Harley answered it perfectly. I didn't think bout the axle sitting too high...oh well drop shackles it is.
Here's a pic of the flipped spring ram. Lol
I think this guy is trying to sell you snake oil, or feeding you a line to see what you'll beleive so he can then laugh at you behind your back. :shitstormretarded
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This.
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