Project Jerry

[Trevtron]

Incredible progress! That black paint is a good touch to

 

[Thewespaul]

About to head to a graduation so no time to go into detail but here’s today’s progress

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[Thewespaul]

Bed back on...

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Front is sitting about 3.25” higher in the front than the rear, gonna keep working on it for the rest of the day then do a big update on progress, figured I’d share this for now.

 

[Thewespaul]

Well I’m stuck for the day, need to sleep on some road blocks and figure out what I’m gonna do with this front suspension. Track bar mounts behind the axle on the obs and later trucks but on this 03 axle the mount is in the front:

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I have a track bar from the f-superduty that’s shorter that I’m thinking of using, I think I’m gonna build a mount in the rear of the axle to imitate the original design and try and get it to work with the stock location for the track bar bracket.

Next issue is the sway bar which mounts towards the rear instead of towards the front, but I think I’ve got that figured out.

Suspension work isn’t my forte so I’d apreciate yalls input, I’m learning as I’m going with this.

 

[Thewespaul]

Rear spring mounts in and drilled

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Core support mounts in with front spring mounts, pressed in new bushings for the shackles

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Threw the bed on to check clearance for the rear tank, need to drop it down a half inch or so then should be perfect

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Exhaust has good clearance for the bed and good amount of ground clearance, only a half inch lower than stock placement.

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Ultimately this truck is going to sit level, wether that’s with this front springs are not well see, I think it’ll come down two inches with the whole driveline in so we may put some small blocks in the rear if it’s that close, either way I will be building a set of traction bars for the rear.

 

[nelstomlinson]

Do y

Well I’m stuck for the day, need to sleep on some road blocks and figure out what I’m gonna do with this front suspension. Track bar mounts behind the axle on the obs and later trucks but on this 03 axle the mount is in the front:

You must be registered for see images attach

...
Suspension work isn’t my forte so I’d appreciate yalls input, I’m learning as I’m going with this.

You are talking about the rod that runs diagonally from the axle up to the frame, right? Isn't the purpose of that rod to keep the front end from swaying side to side above the axle? That would be necessary for coil springs, but do you really need it with leaf springs?

 

[Thewespaul]

Yes, it’s supposed to help locate the axle on uneven ground as well as help prevent death wobble.

 

[chillman88]

You are talking about the rod that runs diagonally from the axle up to the frame, right? Isn't the purpose of that rod to keep the front end from swaying side to side above the axle? That would be necessary for coil springs, but do you really need it with leaf springs?

Technically it's not "needed" but neither are shock absorbers. There are people with axle swaps running without a track bar but it makes a significant difference in handling. Especially with a truck like Wes is building here, he's going to want it, even if he doesn't "need" it.

Think about a front sway bar. Most of the time you'd be fine running without it, but when you need it, you're glad you have it.

 

[fyrfghter]

You typically want to run a track bar unless you run a shackle reversal, mine does not have a track bar or sway bar and rides straight and level. No death wobble at all. Personally I would get a longer track bar, and run it in front of the axle. Ideally you want the track bar to be as close to the same length and parallel to the drag link so there isn’t any binding. RuffStuff has a universal kit that would be easy to use although it uses hiems. I believe that ballistic fab makes kits with bushings.


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[theSHERPA]

You typically want to run a track bar unless you run a shackle reversal, mine does not have a track bar or sway bar and rides straight and level. No death wobble at all. Personally I would get a longer track bar, and run it in front of the axle. Ideally you want the track bar to be as close to the same length and parallel to the drag link so there isn’t any binding. RuffStuff has a universal kit that would be easy to use although it uses hiems. I believe that ballistic fab makes kits with bushings.


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Parallel with drag link is more important than matching length. Different angles create bump steer. I just bought the stuff to correct my front end from the 5 inch lift to the 2.5 inch lift to get my angles back in check--correct drop bracket and adjustable track bar. I know you have parts out the *****, but you are welcome to my take off track bar.


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[fyrfghter]

Parallel with drag link is more important than matching length. Different angles create bump steer. I just bought the stuff to correct my front end from the 5 inch lift to the 2.5 inch lift to get my angles back in check--correct drop bracket and adjustable track bar. I know you have parts out the *****, but you are welcome to my take off track bar.


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Agreed the track bar length won’t give bump steer, but the longer track bar will give less of an arc through its suspension travel and bind less on the leaf springs though.


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[nelstomlinson]

Technically it's not "needed" but neither are shock absorbers. There are people with axle swaps running without a track bar but it makes a significant difference in handling. Especially with a truck like Wes is building here, he's going to want it, even if he doesn't "need" it.

Think about a front sway bar. Most of the time you'd be fine running without it, but when you need it, you're glad you have it.

When I wrote that I was thinking of a '78 F150 with coil springs. It absolutely needed that bar - couldn't be driven safely without it. I just looked, and the F350s with leaf springs have that bar. I suppose Ford wouldn't have spent the few bucks that bar cost if the trucks could get by without it.

 

[laserjock]

Rear spring mounts in and drilled

You must be registered for see images attach

Core support mounts in with front spring mounts, pressed in new bushings for the shackles

You must be registered for see images attach

Threw the bed on to check clearance for the rear tank, need to drop it down a half inch or so then should be perfect

You must be registered for see images attach

Exhaust has good clearance for the bed and good amount of ground clearance, only a half inch lower than stock placement.

You must be registered for see images attach

Ultimately this truck is going to sit level, wether that’s with this front springs are not well see, I think it’ll come down two inches with the whole driveline in so we may put some small blocks in the rear if it’s that close, either way I will be building a set of traction bars for the rear.

I have a couple large washers under the back of my bed. I needed spacers in a couple places to line up my body lines.

 

[no mufflers]

there are some very good points made above.

i would not worry about the sway bar in the front, keep one in the rear. none of my trucks have them in the front and i noticed no difference. the only time i feel they are needed is for trucks with tall soft suspension that can have lots of body movement.

the track bar also isn't really needed. i see the point in it and understand its purpose but leaf springs are pretty ridged anyway. i have several leaf sprung trucks with no track bar and they drive fine. you do need it with coil springs though.

if you do decide to keep it, as posted it needs to be as level with the front end as possible and the longer the better.

remember leaf springs dont like to move side to side but with an improper track bar it will force them to one side or the other when the suspension moves.

hope this helps.

 

[Thewespaul]

Man thanks for all the helpful imput guys, and after doing some more reading on my own I’ve decided I’m gonna run with no track bar or sway bar in the front for now. I want this truck to handle well so I’m going to use this as a test to see how much of a difference those components make, but if it handles fine without I’m just gonna keep knocking things off the list. If I do end up running a track bar I will run an adjustable piece and make a mount on the rear of the axle, shouldn’t be bad.

Going to be fitting all the steering in today and building shock mounts, updates to come.