[quote=Opossum;7352671]Holy crap man, thank you for the detailed answer. So let me get this right, axle wrap is caused by the axle shacking around? Isn't there a simpler way to eliminate this shaking? What about modifying the sway bar or something? I just don't see myself exerting that much energy into a project like that, nor do I have the skills or tools to do a job of that nature. I guess I will just have to see how it goes with the blocks, and prey it isnt to bad.

ON another note, would an AAL be the worser of two evils?

 

What do you mean by "bottoming" out of the drive shaft? I was told by many off road shops that my driveshaft has plenty of play in because its so long. I dont get why so people always have things to say badly about lifting trucks but never have an solutions. It has taken me 3 years to finally lift this thing a little bit, and I spent too much money on this ORU kit that wound of putting my front 2 inches higher then my rear. So I am running out of options to get a quick fix. I got ORU telling me to replacfe my springpack and blocks with new ones that will give my desired lift, and add air bags. Like I have $1200+ to spend on that...After all, its just a 95 F350, not some Hollywood lifted truck. I am stressin big time.

 

Airght. The first thing that comes to mind would be a shackle flip - you remove the J-hangers for the shackles at the rear end of the rear springs, and in their place you install a pair of hangers like the ones at the front end of your rear springs, then you flip the shackle so it sits above the spring (and not below it like it is stock), and bolt the shackle to the new hanger. Here's what it looks like when done:



If you wanna go aftermarket, Sky Manufacturing make a real nice shackle hanger:



Either way you do it, it will give you right about 4" of lift, or maybe even more, which results in over 2" lift at the axle, so if you currently have the 4" factory blocks you won't even have to mess with them or the U-bolts. The one thing about this setup is that it puts the shackles in compression, rather than in tension like they are from the factory - you can either install aftermarket shackles, or you can beef up the ones you have by welding some extra bracing on the, or you can buy shackles for an F-superduty truck (old F450) cause they are much stronger than your factory ones. Expect to to pay about $200-250 for the two hangers and two F-Superduty shackles.

 

A set of ladder bars will take your spring rap out & make it alot better for about 300 hundred....

 

When the leafs warp the axle moves forward a bit, the longer the lift blocks the more it moves - the shaft has plenty of play to accommodate for the lift (lifts stretch the shaft), but the axle moving forward under heavy load tries to compress the shaft - that's what I was referring to, bottoming it out on compression, not on tension cause of the height of the lift - your axle don't "walk" much (you don't have tall blocks), you should be fine and dandy

 

That is true, but ladder bars limit suspension flex - guess it boils down to what you're gonna use the truck for, trails would require flexing and therefore the shackle flip, whereas mudding would call for ladder-bars...

 

The torque-arm he described was part of a 3-link suspension setup, it will work for you but you don't really need it - you can do just fine with a pair of ladder bars, or cal-tracs, or even simple trailing arms like the short side ones on this setup:

 

If you can get the height you need out of a AAL that is a way easy and effective option.

M.L.S.C. Torque arms have been used with leaf springs with great success many times. And would be a much better choice for a 4wd truck in the long run then ladder bars, cal-tracs, or radius arms. I just wish there was a kit, or if there is that I knew about it.

 

Thank you guys for sure informative opinions. I honestly do not have the time currently to do the shackle flip kit in the rear like the front. Its pretty tight fit too with the rear gas tank right on the opposite side of the frame rail. In the mean time, I will be replacing the stock 4 inch block with a 6 inch block. I ordered up some new adjustable Rancho shocks as well, and I will see how it rides. If the axle wrap is any worse then it is now, then I suppose adding a track arm wont hurt, but in the mean time, I just got to get this truck back on the road. I also ordered up some new polyurethane bushings for the spring eyes and shackles to try and help some anti axle wrap too. I will let you all know when the project is finished. Thanks!

 

Oh yah, I know, but the problem is that it will likely have to be custom made, and that can get real expensive real quick - I was just trying to give him some more affordable options that would still work pretty decent. If you're fighting the spring and shackle bushings, then you're like two steps away from doing a shackle flip - step one being grinding or chiseling the rivets off the old J-hangers, step two being bolting up the pair of new hangers in their place. I'm gonna go look under my truck tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure there are several sets of holes in the frame rails where the J-hangers attach, so it's very possible you won't even have to drill anything. And yeah, gas tank is right there, I know, but tis just something you gotta live with - you can always slide some sheetmetal pieces between the tank and the frame rails, to protect the tank from the rivets when you hammer them out. I've actually done this on my buddy's truck, only it wasn't hangers but a trailer hitch that we were removing, same pain in the posterior tho... Seriously man, think about the hanger flip, the time you gonna spend fighting U-bolts and blocks and leaf springs you can spend on grinding rivets, and in the end you know it's a better and safer setup.

 

M.L.S.C. Do you realize your sig says C3500?

 

Haha, yes, it's there to confuse the enemy - think about it, a C3500 is a 2wd 1-ton, which is exactly what I drive, the "XLT Lariat" however should be a dead give-away

 

Say if I do decide to go insane and do the new shackle flip thingy, how would I achieve my lift. I only need 2 inches of lift, the kit gives you 4.5inches. So would I replace my stock 4 inch block with a 1.5-2 inch block then? I could see this being the kiss of death if it pushes my rear up to high. I dont know, it sounds to crazy. Maybe in a few years i will attack it. F350s ride hard as it is, no need in doing a mod like this.

http://www.sky-manufacturing.com/new...1222713444.jpg

Howcome the kit has such light weight looking bolts to hold the hanger to the frame? I also dont understand how the shackle is fastened to the hanger? I would want new shackles too.

 

I took your advice this morning and decided to go with the shackle flip. I removed both springs and rear j-hangers. I then called Sky to order up the kit. I told him I needed 6 inches of overall lift, and he said he didnt know what i could do to make up the additional 1.5inches in the rear that i would need to get my rear level with the front. He also said i need to figure a way to get my pinion angle set, and i needed a block that would do that. Now I am really confused, nothing is ever a simple answer. I got a truck torn all apart and my j-hangers off. How do i get my pinion angle set?

Please anyone feel free to offer your suggestions!

 

From what I've seen with a shackle flip the pinion angle is about right, or at least less-off than it gets with just blocks. But tell ya what, a shackle flip can be achieved with all the parts you got now - you reuse the J-hangers, just flip them so they go up instead of down, they should fit under the bed (barely, haha). It should give you right about 2" lift from that, so try this first and see if it will give you the correct ride height. If you wanna go with Sky kit the 2" lift blocks you need can be factory rear blocks from a 4x4 F250.