Rsk lift amount

[u2slow]

My dodge trucks have the front leafs parallel. I believe my chevs were too. No trac bar in them.

 

[ttman4]

After driving my truck without a track bar. I disagree with you. it is very needed. the track bar keeps the axle located in a very specific place under the vehicle and yes due to the nature of a track bar keeps the axle slightly bound when cycling thru the suspension arc, but it is worth it for the steering manners, as well as the prevention of death wobble.

Driving down the road with all new steering/suspension components and a fresh alignment without a track bar the the truck was wondery/darty to wherever it felt like going.
I'm aware caster and toe can affect these. I have more caster than is spec for a 89 f350 and toe is dead on.
After installing the track bar, it drove exactly how I expected it to. Very easy driving down the road, and with much less driver input.
Also after driving so many of these trucks with worn out track bar bushings I can immediately tell when they are worn out because of the body movement in relation to the axles.

It's your truck, you are welcome to run it without a track bar, I would not for safety (mainly) and drive comfortable (secondary)

You got pics of your track bar set-up?
BTW, @03wr250f you say you in Albany for a while? I'm over here in Redmond.

6-7 yr ago I put that D60 under front of my '90 F350 CCLB Dually & built my own track bar using BIG hiem joints & a shock thingie (don't remember what shock thingie called) across front of axle. Without the hiem joint I kept getting a death wobble at bout 45mph when I hit bump!!!! If I could make it past 45-50 mph I was Ok, but scared about when a death wobble kick in at 60-70mph!
Couple yr back a hiem joint broke off end of my track bar. I came up with a $50 Amazon (used) Rough Country double shock set-up & modified it for my dually frame & so far no more death wobbles.

That's all I'm running right now but since I put this D60 under there this thing pulls to right, have to hang onto steering wheel, had alignment cked at 3 different shops etc etc. Alignment checks out perfect everytime, bit more caster but OK.

 

[03wr250f]

best I got.
yes I'm in Albany

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[ttman4]

Thanks @03wr250f for the pics.
Looks like I need to do some different stuff on mine. Maybe come see you some day.

 

[Black dawg]

My dodge trucks have the front leafs parallel. I believe my chevs were too. No trac bar in them.

Track bar is needed in these fords because of drag link orientation.

 

[u2slow]

Track bar is needed in these fords because of drag link orientation.

I agree that's a factor. However, not everyone that does crossover steering ends up with a trac bar. Depends on spring height and stiffness.

 

[Ruffnek7tree]

I think what effects the need of a track bar more than anything is how the pitman arm geometry is.. on the chevy and dodges, they go front to back, not side to side like fords

 

[Black dawg]

I agree that's a factor. However, not everyone that does crossover steering ends up with a trac bar. Depends on spring height and stiffness.

There for sure is something to do with what each individual is willing to put up with, and I have found that with new springs/bushings, even with relatively soft springs in a heavy rig, driveability is pretty good. As time goes on and springs and bushings loosen up, things can change.

 

[rbnzrcn]

How to set up a Reverse Shackle Kit



Tools Needed

Corded Drill, as it will put up with the abuse of lots of drilling and a reamer

7/8’’ reamer. Trust me it’s worth it to spend the money on it versus buying a harbor freight step bit.

Air hammer and chisel bit

Plumb bob, in a pinch a piece of string and a nut will work

Drill bits 3/16’’-1/2’’

Possibly a welder





Measure from the axle center to top of wheel well, or from ground to top of wheel well, while centering over axle center on all 4 corners and record.



Bull and bricknose will require welding a backing plate in the frame horns to brace the hanger with.



This is based off a sky's off-road reverse shackle kit for super duty leaf springs. I installed this exact kit dozens of times for Obs Solutions of Albany Oregon for 2 years; 2020-2022. This is the way they install these kits, and how my own personal truck is installed.

Remove the front axle. ttb or d60 doesn't matter. For ttb you will also need to remove the pivot brackets also remove the front shackles and springs. Then remove front bumper.

Next use an air hammer and air chisel bit to remove the rivets, this is the fastest way I have found to remove rivets. You will need to air chisel off the rivets for the rear spring hangers if using super duty leaf springs. At this point you should have a bare frame with shock mounts on it; at this point you will need a corded drill and a 7/8" reamer. Ream all the holes for the rear hangers (6per side).

Install the rear spring hangers starting with the inner frame rail bolts, pointing down towards the ground, then install the other 4 bolts pointing into the frame. If the bolts don't want to fit perfectly, that is where your reamer comes in. Torque the bolts to spec. Install the bushings into the shackle, making sure to use some kind of lubricant to grease the bushings with. Install the bolts hand tight. When you do end up tightening them, make sure to leave the bolt that goes through the spring just loose enough you can turn it with a wrench. Leaving the spring bolt just loose enough to turn with the wrench, but still tight prevents the spring bushings from binding and tearing. The bolt has a lock nut for this reason.

Next mount the front hanger on the frame horns. If it does not fit, either use a bumper jack to spread the frame horns wider, or a ratchet strap/come-a-long to squeeze them together. The frame horns are surprisingly moveable. Mount the front spring hanger via the bolt hole the original spring shackle utilized ONLY! DO NOT TIGHTEN THE BOLT AT THIS TIME. At this point install the springs and shackles, but let all spring mounting bolts be loose. Install the axle at this time, lightly run up the u bolts at this time.

CRUTIAL POINT!

Lower the truck down, it is much easier when the truck is on a lift, but jack stands and jacks work as well. Lower the truck slowly, because the front spring hanger is meant to be rotated to adjust the REAR shackle angle. I used metal shims in between the top wrap of the spring and the frame rail horn to set the truck on. These shims are so you can set the full weight of the truck on the springs. (Because of this I have no suggestions on how to set up a rsk properly without an engine in the vehicle.) I generally found between ½’’ to 7/8’’ is where I needed for shims, but every truck is different. Don’t be afraid to play with it until you are happy. The way you determine if you are happy is based off 3 different metrics in descending order of importance.

1st Most important is shackle angle. Anything kicked rearward of 90* (straight up and down) is acceptable but best ride will be had around 65-75* kicked rearward. This allows the shackle to absorb the light bumps in the road rather than actuating the spring.

2nd Most important is shock angle. Make sure you shock is straight up and down in between the frame mounted shock mount and the leaf spring mounted shock bracket. Use the plum bob for this

3rd Most important is make sure the tire is centered in the wheel well, but if the shackle angle is good, the shock angle typically falls into place, and if the shock angle is good, I have always found the wheel centered in the wheel well.

Adjusting the hangar in a rotation forwards/upwards will bring the rear shackle angle further forward (closer to 90*) and make the truck sit taller (more lift) and slightly stiffer although negligible ride.

Past 90* shackle angle (shackle pushed toward the front bumper) will make for a stiff and harsh ride, as this is the same as the oe design, where the spring is fighting the shackle over every bump.

The farther back/downward you rotate the front hanger the more it will kick the axle rearward (slightly) and the shackle rearward for a slightly better ride.

On my own personal brick I had to rotate the hanger down/rearward enough that I had to redrill and add metal to remake the top mount hole that is also used for bumper alignment/bolt holes.

NOTE: lift springs will make this incredibly more difficult to adjust shackle angle as most lift springs eyelet to eyelet are narrower/shorter than stock springs. This draws the shackle closer to the front bumper and makes getting a proper angle much more difficult as you may max out the rear/down adjustment of the front mount and still not reach optimal shackle angle. You can also use this time to measure the front to see how much lift you have gained from the rsk to adjust for leveling the truck. REMINDER the front springs will settle some. I suggest bouncing the suspension some before drilling holes in the front hanger to help settle the springs SOME. They will settle over time some regardless.

Once you have finalized the angle when looking at the passenger side of the frame rail it should look about like / that. I will include pictures for reference as well. It is now time to tighten down the bolt currently in the front hanger, and using a ½’ drill bit drill slightly to center the hole on the frame rail. Then use 3/16’’ bit to drill both those holes, then step up to 3/8’’, then ½’’ and possibly ream if needed. Tighten these bolts to spec as well. Now you can remove the shims and drill all other 8 holes in the front hanger without worrying about the front hanger moving on you. Install and torque all bolts.

Next install and tighten spring and shackle bolts, install shocks and torque. Finalize torque on axle u bolts. Install steering if need be, install track bar. If using an adjustable track bar, it should not be bound up, and should slide into the bolt holes easily at ride height. If using a skys heim track bar it should turn by hand at ride height. YOU DO NOT WANT YOU TRACK BAR BOUND AT RIDE HEIGHT. Yes a track bar is necessary for proper road manners.

Install front bumper and anything else removed during the process. Take it for a drive, enjoy the smoother ride, and then retorque everything.

I highly recommend a front sway bar, as on my truck without it when hitting bumps especially on roads with cement blocks or lots of breaks in the road it caused the front end to bounce/feel marshmallow-ey. I had brand new bilstein 5100s on it as well. Also hauling with a trailer caused this. I added a front sway bar and brackets to the frame rail and it made the front end far more stable, planted and way less bounce. It forced the springs and shocks to work together and man is it enjoyable now.

I made my own sway bar frame brackets from some 1.5x 1.5 angle iron and used rear 4x4 sway bar end links with my skys 2.25’’ rsk and v code springs



Feel free to ask me to elaborate on anything that is fuzzy, or anything you have questions.

@03wr250f can you clarify what type of shims you use on top wrap of spring and frame rail to put full weight on? Also, after you tighten the first bolt in the front hanger I got a little lost on the next holes you were drilling to center on frame (3/16, 3/8, then 1/2). Please help me understand.

 

[KansasIDI]

From my understanding, the RSK will result in a lift, right? No way around that?

 

[franklin2]

@03wr250f can you clarify what type of shims you use on top wrap of spring and frame rail to put full weight on? Also, after you tighten the first bolt in the front hanger I got a little lost on the next holes you were drilling to center on frame (3/16, 3/8, then 1/2). Please help me understand.

You can see in the picture below the top right hole is not lining up exactly. And you can use anything for a shim. A stack of washers, scrap metal, pieces of wood, etc.

 

[u2slow]

From my understanding, the RSK will result in a lift, right? No way around that?

All the ford RSKs I know of keep the factory rear hanger. Once a shackle is added, there's lift.

If you remove that hanger and put a bushing in the frame (chevy/dodge style) you should be able to keep it lower.

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[03wr250f]

You can see in the picture below the top right hole is not lining up exactly. And you can use anything for a shim. A stack of washers, scrap metal, pieces of wood, etc.

@franklin2 is correct
use anything you have to set between the frame rail and the spring to help adjust where you want rear shackle angle to sit.
this is far more necessary/easily done on obs frames rather than bull/brick because they are longer in the frame horn area


@ttman4 and @Overloaded-dadbod I am in town Albany Oregon for the next 6 months and then I'm moving so if you want to meet up,(which I would love) hurry up.

message me here or on Facebook at a a ron ioder


@u2slow if you like how your truck drives without a track bar, great
I did not appreciate how much movement the truck had in the opposite direction as I was steering. I will run one, but if you don't that's fine.

@KansasIDI yes it will gain some lift
the closest you can come would be a 2.25 rsk from sky's and u code leaf springs from a super duty
I'm running v codes which gives slightly more lift, but regardless a rsk is worth it for the better Ride quality imo

 

[Overloaded-dadbod]

@franklin2 is correct
use anything you have to set between the frame rail and the spring to help adjust where you want rear shackle angle to sit.
this is far more necessary/easily done on obs frames rather than bull/brick because they are longer in the frame horn area


@ttman4 and @Overloaded-dadbod I am in town Albany Oregon for the next 6 months and then I'm moving so if you want to meet up,(which I would love) hurry up.

message me here or on Facebook at a a ron ioder


@u2slow if you like how your truck drives without a track bar, great
I did not appreciate how much movement the truck had in the opposite direction as I was steering. I will run one, but if you don't that's fine.

@KansasIDI yes it will gain some lift
the closest you can come would be a 2.25 rsk from sky's and u code leaf springs from a super duty
I'm running v codes which gives slightly more lift, but regardless a rsk is worth it for the better Ride quality imo

Where ya moving to?

 

[03wr250f]

back to Montana