Welding on new leaf spring perches

[mock]

OK, I’m trying to muster up the confidence to do this myself, I just finished putting on a new 3 1/2 inch suspension lift, sway bar, body lift and Duff extended radius arms.
I’ve already drilled out the existing leaf spring perches and moved the differential back 1 inch. I also added 6° shims in an attempt to correct my driveshaft angles.
Now to the question, how hard is it to weld on new leaf spring perches and get everything centered and lined up to where I won’t have any alignment issues later?

 

[jeffncs]

Measure, measure, measure…. I always mark a spot and use that as my point of reference for all measurements.

Tack it on and confirm all measurements a final time then burn them on.

Make sure those welds are strong and no contaminants! Clean steel on the frame and hangers.

 

[doran4x]

While you are welding the perches for your leafs, buy new perches for the axle and weld in that 6°. You don’t want to spit out a shim.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DirtDonk]

Are you talking about the spring hangers on the frame? Or just the perches welded to the axles?
When you said “drilled out” it made it sound like you’re talking only about the hangers on the frame.
If you are able to remove the spring perch, you don’t need a shim because you can rotate the perch to the correct angle. You can also add an aftermarket perch that already has the holes drilled in it so you can move the axle 1 inch back without removing the spring hangers from the frame and doing all that measuring and re-welding.
Most people use the other methods, rather than moving the entire spring assembly rearward. Either works, of course, but one is a little simpler than the other.
If you have already removed them, however, I guess that’s a moot point.
If the shims you have already added, are the bolt on type that most of us vendors carry these days, then welding them for security is not necessary.

If you’re moving everything back, and have already attached the front radius arm mounts to their new locations, then, as was already said, measure, measure, measure…
If you are 100% sure that they are on correctly, then it should be relatively straightforward to measure back from there to your new spring hanger locations. As long as the front is square, then the rear will be square as well.
You can confirm by measuring hub to hub.

Did you install the radius arm mounts yourself? If so, you’ve got this. You’ve already done the hard work I think.

 

[mock]

Sorry, I wasn’t very clear. Yes, I’ve done all of the work myself. But the extended arms do have adjustment in them giving me a little wiggle room.
I am talking about welding new perches onto the rear axle only I will not be changing the mounting location on the frame.
I drilled new holes in the existing perches 1 inch forward and it drives great just not very happy or confident with the outcome long-term.
I have already purchased new spring perches from Tom’s with the pre-drilled holes to set the axle back .
I just feel like I would need a frame/alignment machine to get everything welded on square and true?

 

[jamesroney]

The perches that WildHorses 4x4 sells are excellent, and include the very handy pointy registration tabs. This allows you to install the housing in the Bronco, and snug up the u-bolts, load the suspension to correct ride height, and then rotate the pinion to the desired angle. Then just weld in place. The little tabs give you exactly the correct gap to make a nice fillet weld.

That will get you vastly closer to correct than anything the factory did.

Make sure when you remove your old perches that you do NOT grind into the housing. The 9 inch housing is tissue paper thin. You want the landing area to be unmolested when you install your new perches. As long as you grind correctly...you can backfill with your weld. But if you undercut the perch...you gotta build it back up before you hang the perch.

If you remove your old spring perches and they come off in one piece, then you did it wrong. I always split them. Faster, cleaner, less grinding.

 

[mock]

Do the wild horse perches have the holes pre-drilled to move the rear differential back?
And thank you for the direction on removal and installation exactly the kind of info I’m looking for.

 

[jamesroney]

Do the wild horse perches have the holes pre-drilled to move the rear differential back?
And thank you for the direction on removal and installation exactly the kind of info I’m looking for.

Yes, and they are the wrong size for the heavy duty Wild Horses 4x4 leaf springs. They are the correct size for the cheap factory center pin heads, and the cheap made in India leaf springs. But they don't fit the bigger pins in the heavy duty springs.

I just drill them out before I install them. @DirtDonk might know the part number. Wild H would sell fewer, and get a lot more complaints if they made the hole the right size. Far better that they make the hole the other right size.

 

[mock]

OK, I cut the old perches off, ground everything smooth and have it all put back together with the new perches and sitting at ride height, I’ve rotated the pinion 20.2° and the drive shaft is at 21.5°.
It’s very difficult for me to measure the perches side to side, but I think I have them very close to original Location.
My main concern at this point is that I can see that one perch is leaning forward more than the other (1/8”roughly). What’s the best way to measure this and to correct it?

 

[jamesroney]

OK, I cut the old perches off, ground everything smooth and have it all put back together with the new perches and sitting at ride height, I’ve rotated the pinion 20.2° and the drive shaft is at 21.5°.
It’s very difficult for me to measure the perches side to side, but I think I have them very close to original Location.
My main concern at this point is that I can see that one perch is leaning forward more than the other (1/8”roughly). What’s the best way to measure this and to correct it?

Pick a side. Tack weld the perch on that side. Mark the perch on the other side with a scribe. Ensure that your springs are EXACTLY the correct width, and the distance from backplate flage to perch is equal on both sides. (this should not be difficult to measure. But if you want to be super accurate, go ahead and cut a piece of steel the exact length and gap both sides)

Roll the housing out from under the Bronco. Place the housing roughly level (left to right) on your shop floor or workspace. Set the tack welded perch to dead level in the other axis. (fore and aft) let the pinion aim where it wants to.

Place the other perch on the housing, and place it dead level to match your tacked on one.

Weld it. clean the splatter, disassemble, media blast, prime, paint, and reassemble. (powdercoating is optional)

That should do it.

 

[mock]

Thanks for the info that was a different process that I was taking. I have a 3 1/2 inch suspension lift. How do I get the pinion angle correct with this method?

 

[jamesroney]

Thanks for the info that was a different process that I was taking. I have a 3 1/2 inch suspension lift. How do I get the pinion angle correct with this method?

You've already established the necessary pinion angle using your technique.

OK, I cut the old perches off, ground everything smooth and have it all put back together with the new perches and sitting at ride height, I’ve rotated the pinion 20.2° and the drive shaft is at 21.5°.
It’s very difficult for me to measure the perches side to side, but I think I have them very close to original Location.
My main concern at this point is that I can see that one perch is leaning forward more than the other (1/8”roughly). What’s the best way to measure this and to correct it?

Your technique (as long as you set the ride height correctly) is the best way to determine pinion angle. You've already done the work. So just tack weld one of those perches.

(For the record, if you don't click "Reply" of if you don't list me as a reference using the "@" before my username...I have no notification or indication that you asked a question. I just happened to stumble on your thread while answering another post. Normally I wouldn't have randomly seen your question.)

 

[DirtDonk]

And just to be clear here, because I’m not very good with degrees, your pinion is pointed that 1.3° below the driveshaft centerline. Correct?
Not above it. Correct?

 

[mock]

Yes, that’s correct

 

[bigmuddy]

The way I did it, was to cut off the spring perches and grind everything smooth. Then install the new perches and loosely bolt down the axle to the springs so I can rotate the axle pinion to where I want it.
Once I was satisfied with the pinion angle, tighten the u bolts down more to lock the perches in place.
Tack weld the perches on good.

Unbolt the axle so you can easily get around the new perches and weld them up.
Paint and reinstall.

Done!

 

[jamesroney]

The way I did it, was to cut off the spring perches and grind everything smooth. Then install the new perches and loosely bolt down the axle to the springs so I can rotate the axle pinion to where I want it.
Once I was satisfied with the pinion angle, tighten the u bolts down more to lock the perches in place.
Tack weld the perches on good.

Unbolt the axle so you can easily get around the new perches and weld them up.
Paint and reinstall.

Done!

Yeah, he did EXACTLY that...but when he went to tack the perches, he could see that the left perch was not 100% parallel to the right perch.

This happens with old leaf springs. The base of the landing pad is not always exactly the same from side to side. So when you look at it, it looks funny. There is nothing to force the springs to be exactly parallel at the perch. (and yeah, it doesn't matter but it's not "right.")

So I told him how to fix it and he just wants some kind of collaborative reinforcement on how to do it. I understand his plight. But I don't like it. So I'm done.

Hopefully by now it's already welded.