Need help identifying springs

[FadedSS]

Hey Guys- I bought a 72 that had the suspension done on it about 15 years ago. The prior owner said it was done by West Coast Broncos and unfortunately they appear to be closed.

I'm looking to identify my front lift (specifically the coil spring) as I want to go down about an inch.

How can I determine what size lift this spring is? It has been painted and there are no visible model #'s, etc.

The spring measures approximately 18" long installed and under the weight of the truck...
https://flic.kr/p/2psSrh7 https://flic.kr/p/2psM5Q4

 

[Oldtimer]

To quote Paul, aka DirtDonk

"Measure between the top of the axle tubes and the bottom of the frame rails at each corner.
Stock in the front is roughly 7 inches and stock in the back is roughly 6 inches."

And if both of those shocks are the same part number one of them is upside down.

 

[FadedSS]

Awesome, thanks for the quick support!

Looks like roughly 12.5” Front and 9.5” rear… so 5.5” front lift and 3.5” rear

 

[DirtDonk]

And that’s kind of what it looks like from here, based on how tall that thing looks in the photo!
I can understand why you’d want to bring it down some.
But with that much lift, you do have to make sure that you compensate properly when it comes to steering and other changes.

If you’re not sure what all was done previously, take some more shots of the full front steering linkage, rear suspension, and anything you can think of that might pertain to lowering it down.

 

[FadedSS]

https://flic.kr/p/2psUnic https://flic.kr/p/2psUTiD https://flic.kr/p/2psUnha https://flic.kr/p/2psSJXa https://flic.kr/p/2psUTit

 

[DirtDonk]

Lots of good modifications for that amount of lift. Still be good to bring it down a little though in my opinion.
You might have to measure your track bar drop bracket to see just how far down it extends, but if you go down in lift, even all the way to 2 1/2 inches, you might end up keeping it.
But I see why the Pitman Arm and Steering link/draglink angle looks so good. You also have what we refer to as a “4X4X2” steering box conversion.
It’s a bigger, beefier steering gearbox, which also hangs down a little lower. This is good for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that it improves your draglink angle.

Regarding the previous mention of whether a shock is upside down, or not, some shocks don’t care, while others do.
It’s generally considered that Bilstein Shocks do care, and it’s best to orient the decal so that it reads correctly.
Those are applied at the factory and so you know that it’s oriented properly when you can read the wording.

 

[FadedSS]

Lots of good modifications for that amount of lift. Still be good to bring it down a little though in my opinion.
You might have to measure your track bar drop bracket to see just how far down it extends, but if you go down in lift, even all the way to 2 1/2 inches, you might end up keeping it.
But I see why the Pitman Arm and Steering link/draglink angle looks so good. You also have what we refer to as a “4X4X2” steering box conversion.
It’s a bigger, beefier steering gearbox, which also hangs down a little lower. This is good for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that it improves your draglink angle.

Regarding the previous mention of whether a shock is upside down, or not, some shocks don’t care, while others do.
It’s generally considered that Bilstein Shocks do care, and it’s best to orient the decal so that it reads correctly.
Those are applied at the factory and so you know that it’s oriented properly when you can read the wording.

Thanks a lot for the info and expertise, I really appreciate it!

I want to continue to run 37s and the truck drives really well with the current setup overall. My plan is to swap the front coil springs for some 4.5" ones (to go down an inch).

 

[DirtDonk]

Hopefully others will add their comments, but initially I think just going down 1 inch should not require any other changes.
Not normally anyway.

 

[DirtDonk]

Just noticed something else. At least by one photo of the rear end, it looks like full width axles are installed.
Those are taken from an F100 or F150 series truck, or full-size bronco, and stuffed under an early bronco.

 

[FadedSS]

Good catch. Yes, I was told they are full width axles from a 78-79 bronco

Just noticed something else. At least by one photo of the rear end, it looks like full width axles are installed.
Those are taken from an F100 or F150 series truck, or full-size bronco, and stuffed under an early bronco.

 

[Oldtimer]

The front coil spring frame mounts appear to locate the coils further outboard, to accommodate the full width front axle?

@DirtDonk ,
Are there different OD measurements to coil springs that need to be considered with suspension conversions?

 

[toddz69]

The front coil spring frame mounts appear to locate the coils further outboard, to accommodate the full width front axle?

I think WCB used to sell brackets that moved the coils outboard?

Are there different OD measurements to coil springs that need to be considered with suspension conversions?

I think the ODs are fairly consistent such that coils of varying rates (and therefore different wire ODs) all fit about the same. The differences I have seen is how easy/hard it is to get things mounted correctly with that top spring retainer piece and the cup/retainer at the bottom depending on the wire diameter.

Todd Z.

 

[Oldtimer]

I am questioning the diameter of the coil going into the spring cup, not the the diameter of the spring wire.

 

[DirtDonk]

That’s what Todd was saying.
The outer diameter of the springs is consistent throughout the lineup. With extremely minor variations, based on how accurate the spring manufacturer was when using different wire diameters.
We have seen thicker, heavier springs cause trouble fitting into the top retainer, occasionally the lower retainer, and having to re-bend the retainer clip to fit around larger wire. Even when they are supposed to fit because they are the same design.
But essentially all F100, F150, and Broncos from 66 to 79 use basically the same spring. That’s why you can swap springs from the different four-wheel-drive trucks back-and-forth between each other through all those years.
Just different wire diameter, coil count, and height variations.

 

[FadedSS]

Lots of good modifications for that amount of lift. Still be good to bring it down a little though in my opinion.
You might have to measure your track bar drop bracket to see just how far down it extends, but if you go down in lift, even all the way to 2 1/2 inches, you might end up keeping it.
But I see why the Pitman Arm and Steering link/draglink angle looks so good. You also have what we refer to as a “4X4X2” steering box conversion.
It’s a bigger, beefier steering gearbox, which also hangs down a little lower. This is good for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that it improves your draglink angle.

Regarding the previous mention of whether a shock is upside down, or not, some shocks don’t care, while others do.
It’s generally considered that Bilstein Shocks do care, and it’s best to orient the decal so that it reads correctly.
Those are applied at the factory and so you know that it’s oriented properly when you can read the wording.

To confirm- both front shocks are the same part number. So I should orient both of them the same way (boots toward the ground) right?

 

[Oldtimer]

Yes, boots down, labels should be readable.

 

[FadedSS]

Yes, boots down, labels should be readable.

View attachment 917457

Thank you!