pjzabo

So I have figured out how my new (to me) 1992 2WD Flairside has been radically dropped front and rear. I am looking to regain suspension travel and standard geometry.

It has DJM drop beams in the front with a Belltech 2" lowering springs and shocks. In the back it has a Belltech flip kit AND lowering shackles and shocks. I think the rear leafs are stock but can't tell for sure looking at it.

It also has unequal tire sizing with 255/50 R17 in front and 275/55R17 in the rear.

So I have just purchased Moog CC820 springs to put up front and regain some ride height and travel up there with Bilstein 4600 shocks.

Now I need advice in the rear. Since I have both shackles and a flip kit, what do I reverse? The shackles only? I guess I could start there easily enough and see how it sits. Which offers a better ride? The flip only or the shackles only?

I don't mind a slightly lowered truck, but it has to be nice to drive.

Thanks for any advice on this. Pete

sdmartin65

I'd try removing the flip kit along with the front springs. See if you like how it sits then. The spring rate on the Belltech Springs is about double of stock so changing that should make the ride a lot better. Also the axle flip cuts way down on suspension travel adding to the bad ride.
Looks to have lowering shackles and hangers, I'd leave them for now check the ride with the axle corrected.

Chris_1

iTrader: (1)

Or you could try standard shackles and see where that gets you. Depends how much you want to lift it. Getting the front and back to match up might be a challenge.
Personally I'd probably say it's a real nice looking truck, it'd look even nicer at stock height and then I'd rip off all the lowering stuff, put it back to stock and have a really clean truck that'll go over a speed bump.
That's just me though. I think it's a really nice looking truck in really good shape - I just never saw the point of dropping them like that, it's just not real practical for a truck.

pjzabo

Thanks for the replies guys. I don't disagree Chris, I was really looking for a 9th gen 4WD but this truck was just too clean to pass up.

I don't have the factory beams for up front, so I am thinking lets stick with the DJM 3" drop beams and go stock replacement height variable rate Moog springs up front and I have always been a Bilstein fan for shocks. I guess in back I will start by lifting the bed and reversing the flip but keeping the drop shackles and see how it sits.

Hopefully that will be a big improvement in ride quality. Also the truck does not have a front sway bar. If the ride is tolerable then its time to look for a front bar.

pjzabo

OK, so in the front I replaced the Belltech lowering springs and 2" drop shocks with Moog CC820 springs and Bilstein 4600 series shocks. If anybody wants some reasonably new lowering springs and shocks real cheap, let me know.

So now the truck has the DJM drop beams in the front which are supposed to be 3" lower than stock (with the stock springs which I now have, well OEM replacement stock). Man swapping the springs REALLY threw the alignment way off I need to get to a shop asap, tires are banging in the wheel well.

SO now the truck is nose high. It has both the flip kit and shackles in the rear. It is not crazy nose high so still not sure if I should reverse the flip or get rid of the shackles. I guess I am looking for the best ride quality. Even if the truck were a little raked with the shackles and the flip reversed I could live with it. Any opinions as to which is better from a ride quality perspective? The rear lowered with a flip versus with shackles? Intuitively I would think the shackle drop would ride better cause more suspension travel. Also I don't know if ideally you use a different shock absorber with the flip versus the shackle drop.

Chris_1

iTrader: (1)

You'll have to gauge how much you have to go up. Reversing the flip is going to take you up the thickness of the axle plus the thickness of the springs. So a lot.
You might want to look at standard shackles and if you still need a little more, a spring shop can probably get you a couple inches more for not too much money.

pjzabo

So I reversed the flip on the rear axle but kept the lowering shackles and put OEM replacement Bilstein shocks on. Now I am afraid the back is going to be sitting to high with the 3" drop beams and standard height springs in the front. I will put the bed back on but just looking at the angle of the frame I don't think I will be happy. I could swap out the 255/55 17s in the front with 255/60 17s and that would buy an inch up front but hate to spend $300 when the tires on there are almost new (the rears are 275/50 17). Does it look like these shackles are maxed out? It looks like the shackle had the top of it sawed off (maybe needed to for clearance) so maybe there was one more hole that could have lowered it slightly more.

Chris_1

iTrader: (1)

You can see from the body line in the cab and fender that she's nosediving. You might have to put the flip back and try to work with the shackles.
Running a string across the body line (2 friends or sticks or however) will let you measure the height body line to ground at the front and back wheels. Then do some math to calculate what might work best.
Too bad you're not in Ontario - I have the stock I-beams sitting here.
Anyway the idea is if you can use a string to figure out the height you need you could save yourself the work of trying things out - flipping the lift back drops it this much, stock shackle should pick it back up that much, maybe there's a lift shackle that would help a bit to get another inch or two - kinda like that.

bucktheworld

Hey pjzabo I messaged you about buying your lowering springs and shocks

Chris_1

iTrader: (1)

Bottom line, you've got a pretty mint looking truck there. But what with all that lowering stuff done to it, it's not what you want it to be.
Were I you, I'd rip all that drop crap off it and put the stock stuff on.
I bought a lifted truck many years ago - it was mint which was why I wanted it, but I didn't want a lifted truck; not that lifted anyway. I just changed it to what I wanted it to be and not surprisingly, somebody was more than willing to buy the lift parts for more than I paid for the stock parts I needed.
And I had a mint truck I didn't need a ladder to get in to. Might be the way to go.