hi all, im new to the mini truck scene and need to know how to lower the rear of my '99 van. everyone seems to lift mini trucks but does anyone know how or know someone who has done it? i cant'flip' the axel because of clearance to the body rails any ideas????? please help!!!!!!!!!!!
flip the axle then step notch the frame to compensate for the difference, i don't know what you would use a cutting torch for on leaf spring? that's more for coil spring. or you can have a set of springs made for the rear at any good tuck spring shop, they can probably even just re-arch yours to give you the drop you want, but you will probably end up step notching or c-notching the frame for clearance.
thanx for the reply if i c-notch the frame will this make the frame weaker at that point? have you seen it done on a hijet? will i have to move anything else out the way? i just want to know what to do so i can do it within a day so im not without the van just an idea.... what i reverse the leaf spring? or take the front of the spring up on its bracket by drilling the holes higher? ive never dealt with springs before only springs and trumpets on cars that lowererd parts are readily available
an old hot rod trick would be to heat the eye of the spring and bend it . then put as short a shackle as you can. remove the over load spring. should lower the back. on the front heat the second coil where it is about 1 inch from the seat. this will let 1/2 of the second coil bend up and rest against the top coil. should lower the front about 3 inches. have a mister to spray the spring as soon as it drops . i've done this on a few cars . never said it was safe / sane . but it works.
normally when i c-notch a frame i'll reinforce it. you can use a piece of schedule 40 pipe that has a more than large enough inner diameter to fit over the axle then cut some plates that will fit the sides of the frame and the bottom side as well. weld them together around the frame but don't weld it to it, that way you have the right shape. once you have them welded to gether like a "U" channel you cut out enough room for the piece of pipe to fit in there. trace half of the pipe onto the frame where you want the c-notch. cut that out of the frame. then weld the half pipe into the u channel you welded up. then fit the whole thing over the frame and weld it in place. i really hope this makes sense... i could almost build one faster than trying to explain it. you can also get online and look up some of the drop kits for a chevy silverado they sell pre-fabbed c-notches and show pictures of them. that should get you headed in the right direction.
thanx lawngascaulk yea it makes sense. larryn2o, which one is the over load spring? is it the smaller of the 3? (at the bottom)
does anyone think if i relocate the hole on the front bracket for the rear spring up 2" that it would lower the rear by 2" or more? or would it not affect anything? i does seem plausable!!!
what about reversing the camber of the spring by splitting the leaf and flipping each leaf section and put it back together? just an idea........ i know it would work but would it be ok?
it will lower it but i can't say what kind of ride quality you would have... i still think the hardest part of lowering the truck will be getting axle/frame clearance to maintain the wheel travel. normally when a vehicle is lowered the spring rates are changed to stiffen the ride and limit the wheel travel. when i dropped my silverado it handled more like a car because i changed the springs up front. in the back i raised the front spring perch and put a longer rear spring shackle because the springs are beside the frame not below it and the spring shackle goes upward not downward. once i lowered it i installed helper air bags, they are about the size of a beer can. i put a digital controller in the cab, that way i could stiffen the suspension up as necessary to maintain my axle to frame clearance when i had a heavy load in the bed or a trailer behind me.
when fitting airbags on the rear where there are leaf springs, what needs to be done? i dont have air bags im just toying with another idea to drop the rear
you can pull all but one of your leaf springs and use the airbags to support the weight of the vehicle. or you can do a 3 link or 4 link set up. this is the brand i prefer and their website, read up on it, it's not that hard to do. http://www.airliftcompany.com/index.html
