Not-so-tall Spring Over

[Tom Mandera <tsm1@domain.elided>]

Awww foo-ie (how *do* you spell that?).

Last night I thought I had achieved 4" of lift with my rear spring over.  
Tonight, exhausted as I am, I went outside to pull the exhaust manifold 
from the Travelall, but instead decided to jack up the Scout - I knew the 
shocks would be long, but I wanted to see *how* long, and how well 7/8" 
back did for the tire clearance.

Jack up the passenger side and noticed the tire wasn't really stuffing 
*into* the wheel well - just drooping the driver's tire.  Set it all back 
down and pull the shocks.. well, try to.  I had to pry 'em loose and with 
a bang the truck settled.. ANOTHER INCH LOWER.

Yep folks, I have a 3" spring-over suspension lift.

7.0" to 7.5" from the axle housing to the bump stop bracket..  (it's dark 
and I didn't have a light - I was just checking stuff on a whim, 
y'know).  Stock on this truck was 4.5".. granted, I have a few more 
"trail spares" with me, but..the softop is on, too.

It "looks" better than it did with the "four inch (2 inch)" Skyjackers and 
the shackles.  The tire is definitely more centered.

At rest the springs are now flat.  Compressing 'em pulls the tire forward 
just enough.  I was unable to fully stuff the tire - the U-bolts were 
squeezing my exhaust between themselves and the frame.  I'm not *quite* 
ready to trim those.

I still need to bore out the hole for the center pin in the U-bolt 
plates.. bought a 5/8" bit today (Another $27 on this adventure), but 
didn't do the drilling.

I think, when I pull things apart for the U-bolt plate adjustments, I'll 
lift the frame again, pull the tires, and drop the axle.  I'll then 
C-clamp the springs while they're in the truck, pull the center pin, and 
put the 4th, overload, spring back in.  The spring itself is 3/8" thick, 
and so it should provide a 3/8" lift.  Plus it's slightly arched, which 
should also help the at-rest ride height a bit.  Hopefully bringing me 
more into the 3.5 maybe 4" lift area again.

I have another set of springs with a 5/8" thick overload, but it's VERY 
flat and thick.. very much an "overload".  While I'm sure it would 
provide a good 5/8" lift, I don't believe it would let the tires compress 
very much, thanks to it's obviously beefy construction.

On the other hand, it *is* tapered, and it would let the springs go 
negative *some*, but perhaps keep the tires from making contact with the 
sheet metal.. though I'm sure the 4th '73 spring would make for a better 
ride *and* provide a little more lift.

If I had TWO such leaves, I'd be really tempted to put them both in. ;-)  

If I had used stock 5/16 center pins in the stock location, I'd use two 
spacers for a little more lift..

Hmmm.  I could get some 1/2" thick strap, drill a 9/16s hole in it to 
accept the center-pin, and then cut a piece of 9/16" rod to slip down and 
into the center pin hole on the spring perch.  I'll consider something 
like that after I get the 4th "stock" spring into place and see how 
things work.

-Tom "bummed it's only 3" or a tad more" Mandera, Helena MT
http://www.tmcom.com/~tsm1/scout
'77 Scout II - rear spring over must be REALLY soft since it's just a 
little more lift than my 4" Skyjackers netted out of the box (they 
measured 6.5" to the bump stop bracket for 2" of lift)