LUBR 2.5” Lift Help

I agree totally! It's been argued ever since we've been lifting these things that you don't need to correct for anything under 3 inches. Well, some people still don't (as many have said here) and find that it drives just fine. Others can feel the difference and say that the handling is greatly compromised with 2.5" of lift until you correct the steering geometry.

I'm of the latter school of thought, and always recommend to my customers that they at least be aware of the changes and AT THE VERY LEAST plan to use an adjustable trackbar and draglink. And be ready as well, to install a drop bracket and pitman arm if they still don't feel it drives as well as it should.

I guess one of these days we'll have to actually measure the sideways shift for each inch of lift so it's a known commodity. Someone has probably done that already, but I don't remember every reading about it.

Paul

You guys had me at 'hello' on this.....I'm ordering the TB. I was thinking the 2.5 lift would give me a couple of mm of shift. If we are measuring in inches, its all over. Will check out the pitman after this comes together.

Yeah, they weren't even all perfectly centered from the factory, so if yours was off to begin with, adding a lift just serves to "stack tolerances" and could make it even farther off, depending on which direction the factory had it shifted.
I doubt anyone would feel 1/4" on a Bronco. But more than 1/2" off and you start to think things are wonky.

Not just side to side locations are important with a Ford radius arm front suspension.
You have the overall angle of the draglink and trackbar. Shallower is better.
You have the parallelism of the two bars to think about too. Same length and same angle are important. As is the same "plane" so to speak.
So some modifications to improve one aspect of the suspension and/or steering might shift other aspects to the negative. Everything needs to be taken into account when modifying.

Leading up to your mention of only the pitman arm. In your type of setup where you're not making a custom steering linkage, you would always use a dropped trackbar bracket in conjunction with a dropped pitman arm. Keeps the two bars parallel.

Many people recommend a trackbar riser for the lower eye, rather than a drop for the upper eye. Great setup and much stronger, but not necessarily best for your use. For hard use and modified steering linkage it's a great setup. But for casual use, mild lifts and no major modifications, a drop bracket keeps things in better alignment and is plenty strong enough when done correctly.

Just info for later down the road if you feel like making those other corrections would be a benefit.
They're relatively inexpensive in today's pricey world, so well worth considering when the time is right.

Paul

What is the best way to measure the front axle to make sure it's centered?

Justafordguy said:

What is the best way to measure the front axle to make sure it's centered?

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Find the center of your frames cross member under the engine and mark it.
Measure from pass. ball joint to drivers ball joint to find the center of your axle and mark it.
Now line up the marks.

Some tape and a marking pen do wonders for the marks, but the key is a plumb bob (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) hanging from the crossmember's center point.
I have some great old plumb bobs around here from dad, but usually end up using a nut hanging on a string!
Whatever works.

Paul

Oh, and the back of the crossmember is best. Being closer to the axle makes it easier to compare marks with some sort of a straight-edge.

Paul

Oh (again) and since the trackbar does not carry weight, you do not have to jack the truck up or get the wheels off the ground to do all this. Just remove the one and install the new one.
The only way to get an accurate measurement is with the full weight of the truck on the suspension so it's at ride height anyway. Anything else, such as trying to do this before your engine is installed, or a lift is installed, or whatever, is nothing more than "practice" for the real thing.

One bonus of the adjustable trackbars is that you can orient the upper eye at the proper angle for your upper mount. Since lifting the front pivots the axle, you're changing the angle of the dangle between the axle and frame. Putting the old one back in sometimes takes some real muscle to get it lined up with the bolt holes.

And last, but certainly not least, the other reason for leaving the tires on the ground when working on a trackbar is so you can have a helper turn the steering wheel slightly to help align the upper mount.
Broncos often shift one way or the other when this bar is disconnected. Necessitating you moving the chassis back over the axle. Easier said than done with the usual manhandling methods. But a gentle quick turn of the steering wheel easily moves the body side-to-side over the axle.
Piece of cake...

Have fun!

Paul

6 weeks longer (and a few more $$) than expected, but I am finally done with body/paint and on the road. Paul's Bilsteins + BroncoChicken's 7 degree c-bushing for a bit more positive castor were magic.

Now struggling with tires. Had the original rims sandbasted and powder coated (they look great), but no tire shop wants to mount a 31 X 10.50 onto a 5.5 inch rim. I see lots of 31's on what seem like original rims. Any problem with buying a set of BFG KO2's from Discount Tire and bribing a local shop to mount them? Anybody have a bad experience other than possibly some tire durbility? Is there a reason to step to a new rim?

There's really no major "problem" with putting a 10.50 on a 5.5" wide wheel. You have to adjust pressures accordingly, do without full warranty coverage most likely, and perhaps other things. But it's not a huge deal. The general rule-of-thumb for us in the aftermarket has been roughly up to 4" wider of a tire than a wheel as your maximum. So an 8" wheel could handle a 12.50" wide tire no problem. And just the 1" difference wasn't going to cause huge issues if you went one more additional inch undersize (like 5.5 to 10.50 for instance).
However, most tires stores (especially the major ones) will no longer mount & balance any tire combination that is not on the manufacturers recommended list. So if BFG says that the recommended rim width is "7 to 8 inches" then anything out of that range is a non-starter for someone worried about law suits. Like just about anyone in business with brains these days!
Even the old 8" with a 12.50 is hard to do, because the recommended wheel width for a 12.50 BFG is sometimes 8.5-10, or 9-10 inches. Things change...

There would definitely be trouble for putting a tire on too wide of a wheel, where a 10" tire on a 10" wheel is not a good idea. But in the old days it was extremely common for your smaller size tire to be found on stock wheels. Even racers used to mount 12.50" wide tires on 7" wide wheels for races. But that's racing, and nobody was too concerned about the warranty. Or looks...

This issue isn't exactly new, but it's only been in the last 10 years or so (that I've noticed) that it's been a real sticking point with tire shops.
Maybe that means it's become an actual law, or maybe it's become an actual point where the tire manufacturer says things like "no warranty" and "no more selling to you guys" to make them sit up and take notice.

Anyone in the tire world that can let us in on the secret?

Paul

I'm in rural PA, so I asked my local tire dealer if he had a problem mounting a 31x10.50 on a 5.5" rim. Nope! Just gotta drop the pressure so they don't high center. Ask around at the smaller mom and pop places, they'll take your money and mount them.

Besides, the stock wheels and caps look awesome on a lubr with 31's or 33's. The stock on steroids look.

33's on stock wheels looks awesome with 2.5 lift. Check out nicks trix website.

http://nickstrix.com/builds/401k/401k.html

http://nickstrix.com/builds/brainsurge/bsurge.html

LUBR on road -- THANKS to all who have helped!!!





Still work to do, but body, suspension, wheels/tires, and most of interior done. WH 2.5" lift and 31X10.50 BFG's a perfect combination. Stance is great. Drives like a dream. Dialing up the castor angle was a nice touch.

Many contributors - especially Paul -- thanks to all!

http://classicbroncos.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/36063/cat/500/ppuser/51074
http://classicbroncos.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/36061/cat/500/ppuser/51074
http://classicbroncos.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/36062/cat/500/ppuser/51074

Wow, great looking Bronco you got there heisenbergtsv. What color is that? A factory color, or a variation?

Paul

Looks great! Did you do a 1" body lift as well?


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Color is a Jeep “Commando Green” rather than a Bronco original color, with a Ford Wimbledon White top. It is a single stage poly without clear coat to be period appropriate. I have the paint chip for 1973 “Boxwood Green Poly” and it is close, and would have really liked to have gone there….it was a matter of time and budget.

Truck was originally a 1973 “Winter Green” two-tone Ranger package. The 2nd owner did a full color change in 1987 to the Commando Green – including engine bay, dash, full interior. In a misguided moment in the 1990’s, he added a camo overlay to the exterior to make it a hunting truck. Was able to media blast the full exterior and top without having to disassemble everything, but required that I stay with the Jeep color to maintain continuity. It works well with the parchment color interior upgrade.

I was just happy to find a dry New Mexico truck with original sheet & floors. With the media blast and repair of the dings & minor rust, it is great to have a truly rust and bondo free body. I can live with a minor variation in color….everybody guesses that it was an original offering anyway. It’s intended to be enjoyed on the road, not a garage queen. Needed the money and time for other parts of the truck…

Body lift is 1”…the old mounts were shot after 45 years. As was every bushing and piece of rubber in the vehicle.

Wheel Vintiques 15x7" model 62 wheel with a 4" backspacing. Perfect fit with the 31/10.50 tire and uncut rear with 2 1/2" lift. Looks like a factory steel wheel.

These wheels can be found at Summit Racing.

heisenbergtsv said:

Still work to do, but body, suspension, wheels/tires, and most of interior done. WH 2.5" lift and 31X10.50 BFG's a perfect combination. Stance is great. Drives like a dream. Dialing up the castor angle was a nice touch.

Many contributors - especially Paul -- thanks to all!

http://classicbroncos.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/36063/cat/500/ppuser/51074
http://classicbroncos.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/36061/cat/500/ppuser/51074
http://classicbroncos.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/36062/cat/500/ppuser/51074

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heisenbergtsv,

Love your bronco, what wheel size did you go with? backspacing etc.?