custom lift kit (now with pics)

[k120189]

I've asked questions and designed for a bit. so as part of my college course in manufacturing im going to machine my rear lift kit for my van. im jobless and broke right now so im going to slowly collect pieces and sooner or later do a total of 5in lift front and back to my van...or at least thats stage one. this lift will not consist of new spring packs or blocks between the axle and leafs because i find blocks to be unsafe. but instead i have designed a system to lower the leaf spring mounting points in turn lifting the van. the shackles will be extended and the front mount will have a bracket of sorts bolt in and lower the front spring mount down..to my knowledge this is the first time this has been done to lift the rear of a van...i know lockdoc used it to level out his rear lift....any one see any downfalls to this design?

just finished a rough cad design not to scale at all but u get the idea

that will bolt between the front spring hanger and the frame mount

got bored and drew up the shackle in cad too


this system will allow me to still run a lift leaf pack so in the end i can go even higher

[mdmead]

I think you are on the right track. Several years back I thought about this when I saw Bill's set-up.

A couple of thoughts for you.... When you design the front bolt-in bracket, move the actual leaf position back towards the rear a touch. Bill or Dean can chime in on how much. It seems the rear end isn't quite centered in the wheel opening stock, and when larger tires are added, there is a clearance issue at the front of the rear fender opening. (Some of this might be attributed to the fact that many lift the rear with just rear shackles, which would tend to move the axle slightly forward, but it appears there is more to it than that.)

Also, these vans have no flex with the stock suspension. (Torsion bar just don't offer the flex of coils or even leaves.) Consider adding a set of boomerang shackles to the rear. While you aren't helping the front, a set of boomerang shackles would go a long way to let the one side of the rear axle drop to put a tire back on the ground.

(By the way, the above items are planned for my rear suspension when I get to that point....)

[LiftedAWDAstro]

By extending the front spring hanger down 5", I would add an additional link on each side that will tie the hangers into the end of the subframe.

The boomerang shackles will do nothing for flex. They are only used to allow clearance for frame or body parts and they also will keep your shackles from inverting if set up right. The longer shackles will give better flex just due to added length.

[GEJ]

By extending the front spring hanger down 5", I would add an additional link on each side that will tie the hangers into the end of the subframe.

The boomerang shackles will do nothing for flex. They are only used to allow clearance for frame or body parts and they also will keep your shackles from inverting if set up right. The longer shackles will give better flex just due to added length.

Dean-the question of relocating the spring hole back.Did you or Bill firgure out how much??.

Wouldn't you still have to go to a steel spring with this set-up??.

[k120189]

i could see this working with a mono leaf. and dean i was planning to do a cross member between the brackets and a sub frame connector. Just to clear something up my van is 2wd.i know a little pointless to lift but i want to do something different. and with bill's old v8 low rider around here i thought i would go to the other extreme. I'm gonna do some measurements and design the whole rear lift system tonight. if anyone is interested in the blueprints let me know ,if u give credit where its do I'll give them to ya free.

[mdmead]

The boomerang shackles will do nothing for flex. They are only used to allow clearance for frame or body parts and they also will keep your shackles from inverting if set up right. The longer shackles will give better flex just due to added length.

Whoops, my bad. Wrong name. I meant the extendable or scissor shackles like the Revolver shackle. (http://www.rockcrawler.com/techreports/ ... /index.htm)

[LiftedAWDAstro]

GEJ...His van is a 2000 so it already has steel springs. The only time you need to move the axle back is when it's lifted with the add-a-leaf. This is when the axle moves forward. The distance to go to center in the wheel well is 1/2 - 3/4 inch.

Matt...I figured you were thinking of the revolvers.

[k120189]

so i have a concern with extending a set of shackles...would it be safe to have them so long? im getting a set made..well i'll make them someone else is gonan do the welding...but will shackles that are 5 inches over stock be a problem?

[mdmead]

Obviously the longer the shackle, the larger the leverage effect from side loading. I've seen several of those cheap extended shackles that were bent on older muscle cars. The shackle itself can be easily strengthened by tieing the two sides together with cross pieces. The issue will be with the mount on the van. I'd guess the factory attachment point isn't up to the job for really long shackles (at least for rigs used off-road). Can you extend the rear mount down similar to your plan with the front? (I haven't looked at the rear mount close enough to see if it is possible or what it would take.)

[k120189]

to my knowledge the mount is stationary but i had another idea for that..i'll have to look and draw up my idea


EDIT:the mount is built into the side of the frame...but has support on both sides
so it looks like with a little more bracing added it will work fine..i think my shackles are actually going to made of square tubing so i think that will be plenty strong

EDIT 2: any idea what other shackles fit our van like s10 ones? im hitting a junk yard for tires so i can pass inspection figure while im there i could get a set of shackles to use for just the piece that holds the bushing

EDIT3: actual work starting soon!

[BLAZER]

5" lifted 2wd...and no, not pointless to lift a RWD =D>
Front. OV 3" HD springs, 2" body blocks
Rear OV 3" shackles, custom 2" axle blocks/traction bars, extra leaf from front spring of 87 K5 blazer

[k120189]

yea i remember your van blazer it was a nice one...but remember 5in is only the firs tstep another 5 in will be added for an spb rivaling 10inches of lift lol.

so was talking to my college manufacturing teacher and hes giving me free roam on the equipment i just need to let him know what material i need and he can order it for next to nothing....so the question is..what would i make the spring hanger bracket from?

steel? if so what grade?
cast iron? will this hold up?
aluminum is a horrible idea right?
the sooner i know this the sooner the rear lift gets done
and i found a spare sub-frame (thanks skips) to do my subframe lift too so by spring expect to see stage one complete

[GEJ]

I traded emails with Dan at Overlands about parts for Ole Yellar.At that time he was leaving to go to Calli to do a 8" lift.I thought that was about the limit,not that he said it was,but I would think the C.G. would go hey wire beyond 8".

The other point I would want to make is Chops did say he had some regrets about how high he went.I tried to climb into the Z.Z. for a ride at neco 07 and that make me very sure a van that high wasn't for a old fa.t like me.Peter almost had to grab me by my collar and throw me in because I couldn't lift my legs that high.Couldn't see me doing that on a daily basis.


To sum it up,like Lockdoc said,be sure you know what kind of work your involving yourself in and just trying to be a buddy,but what the end product will be once your done with the project.

[k120189]

the spb has about 10 in of lift and it never flopped.im also going wider as i go tall...and no offense to you guys at all but im young this is the time to do the crazy mods...and as my sig says this isnt my only vehicle when i get tired of climbing up i'll crawl down for a week...or two lol

im gonna ask my teacher his opinion on materials for this piece.. its all not bad..about 25 for a foot for the most expensive material and i need a foot and a half at most

[LiftedAWDAstro]

Don't listen to Gary about how high you can or can not go...he hasn't been there, done that! You can go 10" as long as you understand that your van will not be a corner hugging hot rod! These vans are VERY stable at 10" of lift as long as you have at least a front sway bar on. They are not so stable with it removed or disconnected.