Installing a front dropped axle, some questions
 

I have a '56 F100. I am installing a 3" dropped axle with new leaf springs from MF. I have a few questions about the install:

1) Do I need to run different shocks up front or do the stock ones have enough travel?

2) Do I automatically replace the King Pins or inspect the old ones upon removal and determine if they could be reused?

Thanks,

Paul

"Bump"

Watching this one.
Something I may consider doing to my truck aswell.

IF, you werent experiencing wobbles and/or excessive wandering before, you MIGHT consider reusing your old stuff. However, for peace of mind and the fairly low cost involved i would simply replace them with new.
But hey, thats just my 2c. John

cpp sells front lowering shocks for our trucks , or mid fifties sells a shock extension kit with new upper and lower brackets . i am running , or will be when it's back together , reversed eye main leaves with every other leaf removed in front . i too considered a dropped axle , but with the much shorter by 2-3 inches front tires i may be running i was gonna run into scrub line issues . in other words the safe distance between my axle and the ground if i had a flat or found a nasty bump etc , was down to nothing . way less than i think an inch or so . a flat would've had my axle in the tarmac acting like a high speed plow , tearing up the road and my baby !!!!!! also be expecting a crap load of bump steer as when you lower the truck the pitman arm needs to be shorter , but geuss what ... they ain't no such critter !!! so it's gonna be a lot more " sensitive" to every little ripple in the road and causing it to "move" around . pro's and con's to everything in this world . for a much better idea of what the scrub line is all about go to nostalgia sids dropped axles and read up . he gives a much better description of it .:)oh yeah the more travel a shock has the better it will ride , so i am still in between the shocks from cpp or the mf kit and oe shocks myself as i am ordering my parts . more food for thought !!!!!!:D

I have never done a drop axle but i would assume the shocks you have will be fine, if they are in good condition. With a drop axle it doesnt change mounting mounts for the springs and shocks just the mounting point for the spindles is moved upward in order to lower the truck. Check out sids axles and you will see.

I installed a drop axle a couple years ago and I used new king pins. New king pins & bushing will make a huge difference in the ride also. The distance from the axle plate & shock mount doesn't change unless you are using reverse or shortened leaf springs. I used the ones I had (monroe) until I got my Bilsteins which mde the ride a heck-of-a lot better. If you got one of the new drop axles you will need different brackets to hold the axle to the leaf springs & shorter "U" bolts.

another item which wasn't mentioned is if you using a drop axel you'll need to lower your tie rod. you can purchase tie rod drops from midfifty or speedway(that's what I did). however you'll need them in order to clear your new axel...I also, installed a front sway bar setup from CPP. It eliminated the bump and steer issues.

Thanks everyone. I do have the tie-rod lowering pieces. The shocks are new and had not look and the mounting to see if everything adjusted. I am currently running every other spring and it is definitely soft and am hoping when adding the dropped axle i will get the obvious lower stance but could add a few of the leafs back in to enhance the ride. This is not a daily driver so I am OK with a "truck" feel. I will buy some new tie rods since I will have it apart might as well replace the 60 year old part that definitely had some wear and tear on them.

Thanks everyone!!!

correction I will get new King Pins.

Yeah, forgot the tie-rod extendeders. Low54 do you have any pictures of your sway bar on your drop axle did you have to do any welding; I had one on before I went to the drop axle which will not fit now.

Jaye, where did you get the Bilsteins from? Do you have any specs or part numbers?

Hey jay, I don't have any pics but I did have to modify the tie rod itself. after putting on the new tie rod extentions,(lowering rods) The tie rod was to long, I had to shorten it by 3 inches, I cut it down in the middle then plug welded it. speedway sells the shortened rods with the rod drops, I didn't know that till I got the rod drops...So i just modified them myself...here's a pic of the stance after the drop axel and revers monos...
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...id=245549&.jpg

54low your truck sits nicely; Wayne I used part# 55-R145 for the bilstein shocks I got them from a shop in PA., I can;t remember the name of the shop.