well I had at it this weekend and have a good majority of the work completed. Since TomS asked me to do a write up on it with pictures, here you go. I will update it as I go. Thankfully we had three different prior installs to reference.
After pouring over all the pictures I had compiled we decided to start in the back.
First I trimmed the back of the body mount brackets, and then got the radius arm mounts to where we decided they worked best. The frame at that point angles in a bit on its way forward, and also up...for added fun. We positioned them to where we thought they fit best, along with a little help from Dave Lotts pictures. I then marked the holes and drilled them all up to 1/2"
As I said the frame at that point is running up and in, so I ended up with 2 grade 8 1/2" washers between the bracket and the frame at the forward bolt hole which you can see above, and then a piece of what looks to be 1/4" flat stock (I was out buying supplies when this occured) between the bottom of the frame and the bracket
After the rear brackets were installed we then moved the axle into place and bolted the radius arms to them and made sure everything looked right up front. Once we confirmed that it was where we wanted it we then went back to the pictures and also looking at what was in front of us to help decide where to mount the spring buckets, then marked and drilled.
The bottom of both buckets sat on top of one of the engine cross member rivets, so we marked them and torched the spot so they would sit flush on the frame, then bolted them into place.
They dont sit flush against the frame, so after I tightened them all I went around and retightened and found that many of the bolts were loose, so I went through them all again, and then a third time to ensure all was well.
I forgot my camera that day so I didnt get progress pics, but this was the end result. The Springs arch forward slightly, but not enough to cause any alarm.
My axle and suspension came out of an 07 F-350, it appears that at some point they changed the trac bar mount. Dave Lott has components from an 05 in his Bronco, and was able to utilize the factory mount. I fought with mine but there is just no way that it would fit correctly in mine.
I still have a few things left to do. Ineed to fab the trac bar mount, the base is the red angle iron you see held in by the steering box bolts. Then fab the Steering stabilizer mount and ream the taper in the Pitman arm to accomidate the larger drag link end on the new suspension.
I probably should replace the bent tie rod and ball joint from when it fell off the forklift when I was moving it from where it was buried too :doh:
I'll update this as I complete it, but as of now its sitting outside in the spot I drove it into!
After pouring over all the pictures I had compiled we decided to start in the back.
First I trimmed the back of the body mount brackets, and then got the radius arm mounts to where we decided they worked best. The frame at that point angles in a bit on its way forward, and also up...for added fun. We positioned them to where we thought they fit best, along with a little help from Dave Lotts pictures. I then marked the holes and drilled them all up to 1/2"
As I said the frame at that point is running up and in, so I ended up with 2 grade 8 1/2" washers between the bracket and the frame at the forward bolt hole which you can see above, and then a piece of what looks to be 1/4" flat stock (I was out buying supplies when this occured) between the bottom of the frame and the bracket
After the rear brackets were installed we then moved the axle into place and bolted the radius arms to them and made sure everything looked right up front. Once we confirmed that it was where we wanted it we then went back to the pictures and also looking at what was in front of us to help decide where to mount the spring buckets, then marked and drilled.
The bottom of both buckets sat on top of one of the engine cross member rivets, so we marked them and torched the spot so they would sit flush on the frame, then bolted them into place.
They dont sit flush against the frame, so after I tightened them all I went around and retightened and found that many of the bolts were loose, so I went through them all again, and then a third time to ensure all was well.
I forgot my camera that day so I didnt get progress pics, but this was the end result. The Springs arch forward slightly, but not enough to cause any alarm.
My axle and suspension came out of an 07 F-350, it appears that at some point they changed the trac bar mount. Dave Lott has components from an 05 in his Bronco, and was able to utilize the factory mount. I fought with mine but there is just no way that it would fit correctly in mine.
I still have a few things left to do. Ineed to fab the trac bar mount, the base is the red angle iron you see held in by the steering box bolts. Then fab the Steering stabilizer mount and ream the taper in the Pitman arm to accomidate the larger drag link end on the new suspension.
I probably should replace the bent tie rod and ball joint from when it fell off the forklift when I was moving it from where it was buried too :doh:
I'll update this as I complete it, but as of now its sitting outside in the spot I drove it into!