They are 11 leafs and should have a load rating around that of the "c" springs. Not as stiff as the "k" springs or explorer springs I had.

 

on Saturday a few friends and I put on a snow driving and recovery class for our local overland forum. we had a good turn out and were still able to find some snow.

the group (lots of variety)



the views were pretty good









we went to a nice open area with some snow drifts and washouts





here I demonstrated how to cross a deep ditch



the rover and toyota followed and got stuck on the first attempt. with some driving tips and a recovery strap we pulled them through.





showing how to use maxtracs , winch and ****** block to get up a loose powdery drift



me talking on the radio



Otis (name of the Porsche) had a bit of a clerence issue here but a little plastic trimming and a tug backward and he was all good



last demo of the day was loose powdery snow, showed how to use traction ramps and then how to winch up a long grade using an off angle pull and a ****** block to double the power.



airing up at the end of the day



fun time in the snow for sure!

then Sunday was Deaver install day. I unistalled my explorer springs, drop shackles and blocks. and installed Kartek 1.5in inverted shackle drop hangers, custom Deaver G50 leaf packs and new u bolts.

old expo spring compared to new deaver



old spring hangers removed from frame (darn rivets were fun to remove)



deaver mocked into place





bolted in





excited to get the rear springs out in the dirt this weekend and see how they do. now I just need to get my front end sorted out.

 

Love the views.

Did you get any lift out of those springs?

 

It's the same height as before because I removed the stock block and flipped the shackle. Only 1.5" of lift and that comes from the drop spring hangers.

Got the truck out for a quick spin with the deavers in, first thing I noticed was less axle wrap! Made a big difference flipping the shackle and removing the stock block. Ride is more firm on the street but smoother.

I will get some miles on them and see how the wear in.

Also started cleaning up my dixion kit lots wor wire wheeling to do.

 

I spy a shrunk'n head!

 

Ya lost me lol

In other news made some progress on the LT swap this weekend, a arms are preped and ready and I cleaned up the shock hoops so they are ready to weld the new plates too and the weld to the frame. Gotta swap the ball joints and reinstall the bushings and I can start getting things out on the truck, once I get the super lift off.

 

Got out for some training this weekend in great weather

 

Another

 

Stupid question: wasn't there a guy that ran the DBR kit with the SL kit? I mean yeah you would probably end up with more lift than you really want but you can adjust that out with the shock and spring lengths and rates. Seems like you could gain more up travel with the drop brackets installed.

 

BLK02 ran his like that but I believe the superlift knuckles got trashed somehow so he pulled the superlift off to just run the Dixon kit.

 

Ya it possible you just need longer coilovers. I don't want the added height. And the DBR kit should give me more ground clearance with less height Which is what I am looking for.

 

bingo!



oh and the shrunk'n head I was referring to was in your pano shot

 

Gotcha. Thought of the GC thing after my post. Still working on getting my head out of TTB mode and into IFS mode.

 

Ha didn't even notice, epic fail.

 

got started on Project DBR swap. super lift is out and everything is out of the way.













Now it will be time to cut off the old shock buckets and prep the frame for the new hoops and A arm gussets.

 

the crappy SL knuckles dont last long with long travel lol. its just not a proper setup and looked stupid

 

ya and the truck should be plenty tall without the superlift.

 

Got some work done, man was cutting off the stock shock bucket a pain, not looking forward to doing the other side.

 

I used a sawzall and they came off with almost no need for grinding.

 

my blades stopped when they hit the hardened metal from the weld. Worked great on non hardened bits. Guess I need a better sawzall! I will say I love my Miller 211 it continues to make me look like a good welder.

 

More pics,

no turning back now





Pile of scrap



needed some practice to remember how to weld so I started on the A arm gussets.





test fitting and re plating the shock hoops.

 

Boom!

 

Driver side frame bucket removed and prepped. What a pain!

 

Lookin good !!

 

Stripping the frame for my SAS was huge pain, a plasma torch helped a ton though