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Moved my axle back an inch

sykanr0ng

Bronco Guru
Joined
Aug 11, 2014
Messages
5,363
On the other side of the coin, the uni-strut mount tanks stick down farther than the NWMP (now Sunset Metal Fab) and Aerotank, so if you have the lift you may clear them.
 

BoureeOne

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Bronco Guru
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Mar 28, 2011
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Madisonville, La
Here is the clearance on my rig. 23 gallon tank, 2 1/2 SL. I moved mine back 1.25 inches, which lengthened my drive shaft exactly 1.25 inches. Looks like to me I have plenty of clearance. Mine will be a street only build, so I am not really concerned about full compression on the springs.
 

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garberz

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Jun 24, 2007
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6,856
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Conejo Valley, Ca.
Not what I wanted to hear.

How far can you go with the NWMP???

Very little from what I can see on mine. Plus, I made a skip plate that wraps forward on the tank. That puts the tank another 1/2" closer to the rear axle. Keep in mind that when the suspension cycles, and the springs flatten out, the axle move towards the rear.

Mark
 

gnpenning

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Bronco Slave
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I have more questions than answers.
Very little from what I can see on mine. Plus, I made a skip plate that wraps forward on the tank. That puts the tank another 1/2" closer to the rear axle. Keep in mind that when the suspension cycles, and the springs flatten out, the axle move towards the rear.

Mark

And you have a 3" lift so this is good info as I have a 3.5" I'm putting in.

Thanks.
 

Shimmy

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1977 Bronco
Joined
Jun 20, 2021
Messages
621
Loc.
Maple Valley
Looks great!!! how does one know how much to move the axle back? does a 1" move on the perch result in a 1" slide back? I feel like i need to move mine 3"s to get it centered.
 

DirtDonk

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Hey Shimmy, welcome to classic!
Three inches is a lot. More than most and I think most just settled on 1" as a nice round figure that happened to be enough to get the job done that they wanted done. No magic geometry calculations or anything like that, but as you may have read in the older posts there are things that can be in the way that limit your total change to the rear.
That one inch rearward seems more visually because it's opening up clearance in the front and losing it in the rear.

How far off-center are your wheels? Maybe yours is a bit different, or someone may even have put fender flares on incorrectly originally. Are your fenders cut and flared, or are you just trying to get more clearance from that leading edge of the rear opening?
That happens a lot too. If cut and flared and you're using the old style flares with the more vertical leading edge, we have newer rear flares that overall fit the same opening as the old flares, but you need to cut a little more of that pesky leading edge and the new flares angle forward more to suit. This has fixed a lot of clearance issues in the past.

And what about the side to side comparison? Are they both the same?

Got pics of your rig to show us? Not only because it'd be good to see what you're talking about, but we like pics of Broncos anyway!

Good luck.

Paul
 

sprdv1

Contributor
REBEL
Joined
Mar 8, 2007
Messages
81,747
Looks great!!! how does one know how much to move the axle back? does a 1" move on the perch result in a 1" slide back? I feel like i need to move mine 3"s to get it centered.

Welcome aboard... try search function first, then of course start throwing the questions out there...

lots of great minds and those who have already done it
 

Shimmy

Contributor
1977 Bronco
Joined
Jun 20, 2021
Messages
621
Loc.
Maple Valley
Hey Shimmy, welcome to classic!
Three inches is a lot. More than most and I think most just settled on 1" as a nice round figure that happened to be enough to get the job done that they wanted done. No magic geometry calculations or anything like that, but as you may have read in the older posts there are things that can be in the way that limit your total change to the rear.
That one inch rearward seems more visually because it's opening up clearance in the front and losing it in the rear.

How far off-center are your wheels? Maybe yours is a bit different, or someone may even have put fender flares on incorrectly originally. Are your fenders cut and flared, or are you just trying to get more clearance from that leading edge of the rear opening?
That happens a lot too. If cut and flared and you're using the old style flares with the more vertical leading edge, we have newer rear flares that overall fit the same opening as the old flares, but you need to cut a little more of that pesky leading edge and the new flares angle forward more to suit. This has fixed a lot of clearance issues in the past.

And what about the side to side comparison? Are they both the same?

Got pics of your rig to show us? Not only because it'd be good to see what you're talking about, but we like pics of Broncos anyway!

Good luck.

Paul

Thanks for the info Paul! I believe I have the WH gorilla flares. I'll look into the newer rear flares like you said! Here's a pic of how forward the rear is with a 3.5" SL and 35s. My fenders could be cut further on the leading edge.

51274489532_98e2776d10_c.jpg


Welcome aboard... try search function first, then of course start throwing the questions out there...

lots of great minds and those who have already done it

Thanks! Done plenty of searching which is what brought me to this thread. I'll do more! Just wanted to confirm that a 1" spaced hole on the perch didn't amount to a 2" slide back. Ask a few times, measure several times, drill once.;D
 
OP
OP
bronconut73

bronconut73

Bronco Guru
Joined
Aug 7, 2012
Messages
9,916
Thanks for the info Paul! I believe I have the WH gorilla flares. I'll look into the newer rear flares like you said! Here's a pic of how forward the rear is with a 3.5" SL and 35s. My fenders could be cut further on the leading edge.

51274489532_98e2776d10_c.jpg




Thanks! Done plenty of searching which is what brought me to this thread. I'll do more! Just wanted to confirm that a 1" spaced hole on the perch didn't amount to a 2" slide back. Ask a few times, measure several times, drill once.;D


Your rear wheel is further forward than mine was back when I did this.
I moved mine as far back as I could get away with. It was a little more than an inch.
And as I stated earlier in the thread I actually noticed a slight improvement in my ride...lol...what?...1.4 inches made a difference in ride?...weird right? But it did.

The 1+" axle move combined with a little more careful trimming for the front of your rear flares should work perfect for you Bud.
 

Shimmy

Contributor
1977 Bronco
Joined
Jun 20, 2021
Messages
621
Loc.
Maple Valley
Your rear wheel is further forward than mine was back when I did this.
I moved mine as far back as I could get away with. It was a little more than an inch.
And as I stated earlier in the thread I actually noticed a slight improvement in my ride...lol...what?...1.4 inches made a difference in ride?...weird right? But it did.

The 1+" axle move combined with a little more careful trimming for the front of your rear flares should work perfect for you Bud.

I wonder if my flares should have been installed an inch or so forward. If i remove these i'll have screw holes i'll need to address.:-[
 
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