Great info! Thanks man! I have pictured myself doing just what you did...putting it off then forgetting AND weighting the frame down with stuff.

Thanks!

Tyler

 

I'm not sure what the red dot means. There are a couple of stock MII springs out there. Most small block installations use the lighter versions. If you had a 460 or a hemi, you'd use the heavier springs.im concerned that the spring doesn't compress when you put a jack under the lower A arm. The frame and engine are a big part of the weight that'll be there so it should compress a little. Since you have the lower A arm in, try putting the wheel on & bouncing the frame a little to see if it moves a little.

 

That's what I was thinking (that the engine is a large part of the weight) hence my concern. I don't even have tires yet. Guess I'll have to get them.

T

 

Tyler,

I have a Fatman Fabrications MII setup. They recommend a that for a light engine (small block like our 351w's), that we use Napa P/N 277-3039 which is the original 4 cylinder MII stock springs. For heavy engines, they recommend using the stock springs from an 84 5.0 mustang which is Napa P/N 277-3241.

Aside from that, the process for setting ride height is to cut the springs by 1/4 of a coil at a time. When I set mine up, it was too low and I found out that the springs had been cut by 1/4 of a turn and...it was 1 inch too low. Fatman tech reps are also quick to point out that the springs will probably settle in about an inch when they break in (after around 100 miles).

The critical part in ride height is to make sure that the steering arms are very close to level when the truck is sitting there static....that level steering arms are to avoid the bump steer.

I had my springs in and out a few times. I found that if I compressed the spring a little, I could pop the lower ball joint out of the spindle with a floor jack under the end of the lower control arm....the spring easily compressed a couple of inches with the jack.

Dan

 

DON'T cut the springs. Mine looked exactly the same way before getting the spring seated onto its perch. If anything, the spring now seems a bit short.

 

^^^^^^^^^I agree. Skip it for now and come back to it. I probably also lost 3" of ground clearance. I went from a perfect stance to not being able to get a jack under the cross-member. As a matter of fact, I had to change out my 2" drop spindles due to it being too low(I didn't want to have to cringe every time I came upon a dead squirrel in the middle of the highway).

 

So to wrap up this issue temporarily....

I just talked to the tech support folks at TCI and they advised that I skip the spring installation entirely until the truck is completely done. In the mean time I should just put a temporary make-shift strut in there, like a 9" 4x4, to hold the A arms more or less level. Once the truck is done, body on, radiator on, full of fluids etc, a heavy front bumper and all, then the springs will compress properly under the weight of the truck. And then after driving it for about 500 miles they will finally settle and I will have to realign it.

All that would have been nice to know 3 months ago! But like I have said before, this EXPENSIVE, potentially HAZARDOUS car stuff comes with instructions less detailed than those from my toaster. Thank the Lord for FTE!!!

God bless y'all!

Tyler

 

I agree, lousy instructions. I have a TCI MII but with coil overs. I had to call them 3 or 4 times before I finally figured out that they had sent me the wrong parts to connect the bottom of the shock to the a arm. I think they aim the "instructions" at hot rod shops. If you haven't done it before these instructions are not even worth the paper they are printed on.

 

As your little sign off icon () indicates, they drive you to drink. I think their angle is that they are in cahoots with the beer companies!

t

 

The world class computer software and electronics manufacturers with a large staff of technical writers can't write a decipherable instruction manual, you are expecting a lot from a little hot rodder who likely barely knows how to turn on a computer and/or his greasy hands keep sliding off the keyboard!

 

Looks like you have been having fun since the last time I checked in on you Tyler. Glad to see you got your IFS installed.

 

"Installed" may be overstating it a bit.

 

Resurrecting this thread to wrap it up after nearly two years. The guys at KnK Kustoms here in Tucson (they are doing our body work and paint) got the springs in for me once we had the cab mounted and that extra weight on the frame. It was quite a wrestling match, even for professionals. Glad I got them to do it. Here's a pic...

T

 

Now that is persistence!!! 2 years...lol. Looks good Tyler. I know you are glad to see a normal looking front suspension finally.