Help with measuring rear lift please

[71BroncoSport]

When I got my 71 Bronco, the rear was sagging lower than the front. Fenders are cut.

I measured the front from the top of the axle to the bottom of the frame, and it's exactly 10 inches.

So I figure I have a 2.5" lift in the front and the rears are just old and sagging. I currently have 31" tires, but will go to 33x12.5 soon.

So I ordered the 11 piece leaf 2.5" from Tom's. It says 2.5 Tom's lift right on the top of the spring, but now it's 10.5 inches between the rear top axle shaft and the bottom of the frame.

Something has to be wrong. I believe I installed it correctly:

At this point, I'm not even sure my driveshafts will fit now.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

[broncnaz]

You are measuring with all the weight on the springs right? Just making sure. New springs tend to sit a little high you need to drive it a little so they settle in. then see what it measures.
Pretty rare that driveshafts wont work with a 2.5in lift but it can happen.

 

[strokers]

When I had originally put my lift on it was level after the first couple thousand miles they really settled in.

Wonder how much spare tire carrier and top would make it sag.

 

[71BroncoSport]

Yes all the weight (No top, no doors, no gas tank, no transmission/transfer case...) is on them.

It seems a solid 2 inches too high. Do they usually sit 2 inches high at first?

I just can't believe the difference in height between the front and the rear.

 

[broncnaz]

Many times not running a top/ doors will make the rear sit higher. Sometimes you have to remove a couple of leafs to get the height you want. Of course if you plan on installing a top, doors and transmission/tcase the added weight will bring the height down some without having to remove leafs.
Ive had the opposite issue with 2.5in rear springs as it sits lower than I would like.

 

[Broncobowsher]

I'm betting that you are simply too light for the rated lift.
Give Tom's a call, let them know what's up. when you get the weight on it and it still sits too high then worry about fixing it. Until then just ask Tom's if they would be willing to leave it open to return the springs at a later date. It is also possible the wrong springs got marked and shipped. Hard to know until they are loaded.

Just eyeballing it, the rear does look too tall. But that's a reality when dealing with soft spring rates. Little weight makes for large changes in ride height.

 

[DirtDonk]

Yes, typical to sit high when brand new.
But a couple of other things to think about.

1. Your shackles are on backwards. This in itself won't necessarily make it sit high, but they can bind up at other ends of their travel.

2. Did you tighten the bolts up to a specific torque while the weight was still off the suspension? If so, loosen all the bolts and jump up and down on the back to try to settle it out a bit more.

3. You're too light for their specified load. All of our later model 9, 10 and 11-leaf packs are a compromise between comfort, handling AND load capacity. All while maintaining a lifted height for many years of hard use. Basically "safety" in a nutshell.
But your EB is lighter than a normal one, and right now with all the missing bits is lighter even than an old Roadster model would have been.
Depending on what you're going to end up with in the end, you may need to do what was mentioned and remove a leaf or three. Very common in cases of lighter than normal, or lighter use than normal Broncos.

4. Watch your torque. If the inner steel sleeves are short enough (and they often are) that the bushing shoulders compress more than necessary for a good fit, then you can't use the factory torque specs. You'll just crush the bushings and make the ride harsher than necessary and, perhaps, sit at a falsely high ride height.
If your locking nuts are new then, or still in good shape if older, then get it loaded up in the back, jump up and down on it a few times, and simply tighten the bolts/nuts "snug" enough to lightly bottom the spring hanger ears over the bushing shoulders and call it a day. You want them mildly tight, but you don't want them so tight they're compressed and deformed into submission.

Good luck.
Oh, the good news about needing to remove a leaf or two is that it will not only bring your truck down to where you want it, but you'll get a better street ride out of it too!
You won't be able to carry two weeks worth of off-road and camping gear and spare parts for the trail quite as competently as you would have with the springs as they are now, but if that's not your goal with this truck then that point should not matter much.

Paul

 

[71BroncoSport]

Thanks all for the replies.

DirtDonk,

I will call Tom's and let them know the situation. It was a Christmas gift, but I'm sure they'll help.

Another thing I forgot to mention is that I have your Wild Horses 1" body lift on order, so it's going to sit even higher!

I did torque all big bolts to 105 lbs based on info on the netmwhile up on jack stands. . U bolts to 95 pounds.

I put the shackles on thinking the back plate in that position wouldn't cause water to possibly sit in that pocket, thinking it really wouldn't matter what position they're in. How would that ever cause binding??

Thanks again for the time.

 

[DirtDonk]

Yeah, you wouldn't think it would matter really. And in some cases it hasn't caused an issue for some members here running them that way. But if you look at where all the bends and curves and welds and things come together, you can see how the shackle can get hung up on the frame hanger.
You could be one of the lucky ones though. The way to tell is to hoist it up so the suspension droops to see if the shackle hangs up when moving forward. If not, you're most of the way there. Doesn't hurt to see if it can bind up going backwards too, but that entails either removing the spring bolt, or being able to compress your suspension enough to see how much travel you have.
Neither of which is easy. Or fun!

The aftermarket shackles, like our Extremes are meant to be installed open-face forward, like yours are. But the design and manufacture of them is slightly different from the OE unit. so hanger bind is not the same issue.

Check it out to see what you think. It's not an emergency, or even a deal-breaker to keep you from driving it. It's just something that will either limit your wheel travel in one direction, or create a little stiffer ride if yours is one of the ones that binds up sooner.
On mine, you'd have to flex the suspension out pretty far to bind it, but I've heard others complain about the ride quality being effected.
With this kind of thing it's hard to tell whether it's all about the variations in individual parts, or the differences in how different people perceive their rides.

While it's always nice to touch bases with the vendor and let them know what's going on, I don't think there's anything Tom's can do for you at the moment, even to the point of giving advice on the future. Not until you've got your springs properly torqued and settled, the vehicle fully loaded to it's normal weight with all components installed, and have a few miles on it.
Only then are you going to know if your springs sit too high for your tastes and they have a starting point from which to advise, or if the springs are just right.

Paul

 

[71BroncoSport]

Paul, I couldn't get the sleeves out of my stock shackle:

So I bought and installed these:

These aftermarket shackles truly look the same no matter which way I installed it. Are these the ones you're talking about?

 

[DirtDonk]

Ok, you should be ok then. I wasn't looking closely enough at your first picture and it appeared to be a stock shackle at first glance.

I wouldn't worry about it then. Sorry for bringing it up! ;D
Hate to think you'd have pulled them back out only to find they'd been right all along. Bummer...

Paul

 

[71BroncoSport]

Phew!

Appreciate your advise. I'm going to, with load, loosen, bounce it, and re-torque everything.

On to the next step - Wild Horses 1" body lift.

 

[DirtDonk]

Sounds good. Thanks for the support.

I assume you've read all the reports, suggestions, successes and horror stories revolving around the stock body mounts? If so, you're in good shape. But to recap...
The first thing is to start with the penetrating oil, like right now! ;D So that at least some of them will have a head-start.
If installed, make sure to unbolt the fan shroud and let it sit on the fan.
Any trans and transfer case linkage may be fine, but it doesn't hurt to at least loosen them beforehand to let them flex.
You can do both sides at the same time if you have the right tools, but if limited to certain methods, doing one side at a time is super easy with just a floor jack and some wood. Judging by the pics of your garage though, I'm guessing lack of tools is not an issue at your corral?

Anyway, have fun. If you haven't read up on some of the trials and tribulations of Bronco body mounts, let us know and we can run through them with you.

Paul

 

[71BroncoSport]

Thanks again Paul for the tips. I've read up on this a lot (But I'm sure not enough) which brought me to buying the Wild Horses brand BL. Seems like everyone on here like your product.

I have the added pleasure of going through a steel floor that was riveted in by the PO, so I'll be measuring and killing some hole saws.

 

[DirtDonk]

Was it done poorly? Reason I ask is that, if done correctly, riveting (or "gluing and screwing" as I prefer to say) is a legitimate way to attach panels.
That's how I did mine many years ago. Of course, you have to cut away any rusty bits or you're just covering up.
If the bad was cut out though, and some good sealant/adhesive was used in addition to the rivets, you might be good to go.
Or at least good enough to put it off until more impending things get their share of your attention.

Good luck. Seen plenty of crappy floor patches on Broncos. Hopefully yours isn't one of "those" ;D

Paul

 

[71BroncoSport]

I don't think it's bad, which will let me seal up the frame, get it on the road and enjoy it for a few years. It appears that the only holes are in the foot wells where the floor bends up, but they still did the whole floor. Not sure how I'm going to attach the roll bar. Bolt through both or cut the top layer.