James Duff Lift Questions... Installing NOW!!!

[Grunt1058]

Greetings All...

I am now in the process of installing what is supposed to be a 2" James Duff lift on my Bronco. It didn't come with rear springs, just the blocks and dual shock setup.

The rear is DONE except for the second shock setup. I'll have to order a new bracket set since this is a used lift and I don't have the bracket that welds to the 9".

My questions are regarding the front end. I have the dual shock hoop getting it ready to install. I grinded down the old weld beads and smothed out the metal. First part of the question is, How do I get the old shock tower out of the Bronco? Second part is, how do I get the new shock hoop in the Bronco? Am I supposed to lift the body off the frame or something? I bought a welder and everything just for this project. I'm ready to go. Just need to figure out how to cut out the old tower and weld in the new and ran out of garage time.

I'll be hitting it hard tomorrow morning. If I have to grind out the old tower until they are gone, so be it. I have no $$$ for extra tools so what I have is going to have to work.

Thanks for your guys help.;D ;D ;D

 

[jason77]

The front shock towers are seam welded all the way around. Take a grinder with a cutting wheel and carefully cut through the welds. Don't forget the one on the back side at the top edge of the frame, if you dont cut this one it will take some chunks out of the frame when the tower comes off. When I installed the hoops on mine I had the body on 4" blocks so it was pretty easy to get the hoops on. When I lowered the body back everything cleared except for the d/s wheel well but I have a 77 and the well is screwey. It's not to bad a process. Enjoy!;D

 

[jason77]

Hope that helps

 

[Grunt1058]

Thanks Jason, I was hoping to not have to lift the body off.

Going back to the Garage now to see what I can do. ;D ;D

 

[Case]

My shock towers on my 72 were welded on the top and bottom. i ground the top off an slowly pryed it down. I didnt tear any chunks out of the frame but dont be suprised if the metal behind the mounts is rusted pretty bad. good luck. ;D ;D

 

[admin]

Check the F250 Shock Mount tech article to your left for info on how to remove the stock towers:
http://classicbroncos.com/f250shockmounts.shtml

 

[Grunt1058]

Thanks guys... I have one of them off now. I did the grinding from the inside of the shock tower until I was able to remove it. Takes a bit longer then it should be I didn't rip my frame a bit. Still have the weld bead on the frame. I didn't want to spend too much time getting that cleaned up so I did a quick once over and painted it black for now. Later on when I do my frame off, I'll focus on cleaning up the old welds later.

Now, I'm off to do the passenger side. So far so good. ;D ;D ;D

 

[Grunt1058]

One more quick question...

Why the hell are my supposedly 2" springs soo damn long? Measured @ 21" long. I pulled this lift off my 73 I parted out a late last year. I don't remember it being too tall but... still... They are WAAYYY longer then 2" difference from the stock springs.

 

[Dennis]

FWIW, the 10 year old 3 1/2" duff springs I just took out measured 18 1/2"

 

[michael084]

Once the tires were off, my duff hoops just went right into place. I even test fit them with 31 inch tires on and the old shock towers in place just to see where exactly they would fit. Getting the old shock towers out was the worst part.

 

[Grunt1058]

Thanks Dennis.

Does anyone know if Duffs ever made a 5.5" front coil spring? I e-mailed Duffs but NO RESPONSE!!!

USELESS I TELL YOU... USELESS...%)

 

[77BroncoWag]

Thanks Dennis.

Does anyone know if Duffs ever made a 5.5" front coil spring? I e-mailed Duffs but NO RESPONSE!!!

USELESS I TELL YOU... USELESS...%)

no they did not......

 

[Grunt1058]

I didn't think so. Thanks for the answer.

Now... Where the HELL did these springs come from. They are JD Blue and progressive rate. Dude I got the Bronco from said these are the springs they shipped him for his 2" lift.

I really wish someone from JD would answer my e-mail to them. I know they are busy and I'm not spending any $$$ there, but I am installing their stuff. Also had plans on buying the rear leaf springs in the future. Maybe I'll have to search elsewhere...%)

 

[45acp]

Stick them in the truck and run them. There is a good chance they are the right springs. Most of the newer progressive JD springs are quite soft and will be really long with no weight on them. You cant tell what a coil will be once on the truck by looking at it with no weight on it.

 

[Grunt1058]

UPDATE: The springs are in.;D Compressing them was a simple job with my ratchet straps. I did break one of my ratchets though. :-[

Currently the Bronco is in the ground on it's new springs. It's NOT ready to go yet since I still have a lot to complete. But, for now... the front end is now nearly 5" taller then it was stock and the rear is 3" taller then stock. Have NO idea how that happened since the rear received 2" blocks. %) But, now my front bumper sits almost a full inch higher then the back bumper. Damn I need new rear springs... ;D ;D

 

[Unregistered]

Drive it around a bit- it will settle.