Truck is 2000 4x4 XLT.
I've run aal's in the past and not all that fond of them.
Today I put one side on and stood on the bumper and that mother f%$#er would not BUDGE. (Yes, I had the jack down).
Way too stiff for this old man's back.
I have the Pro-comp shortys.

Pulled it back off.
I have the factory springs w/ two leaves in the pack and and a flat on bottom.
The aal went above flat spring and honestly I couldn't crank that nut all the way down to pull it to the spring pack even w/ the weight of the bed on it.

...OK, finally my question:
Anybody ever trim down the aal to reduce the amount of arch on the spring pack?

Thanks

 

I'm guessin' that's a "no".

I'll let y'all know how it goes.

For you guys running that AAL: What brand kidney belt do you own to keep your insides together?

I'll pop those beltech shackles on there for the lift and trim down the AAL for a tad more stiffness.

 

do you have lift blocks? you may like that route better than the AAL.

 

cutting it wont achieve anything. just make it weaker. and i would think stiffer.

 

Yeah justin, got the factory 2" blocks.

Za:

Theory to me is by reducing the arch by say 50% you're are reducing the tension by roughly 50%....
I'm talkin' cutting them shorter, not grinding them thinner. Make sense?
I do want the *** end a bit stiffer.

I have also broken them on a jumper (well it thought it was a jumper) F150 years ago just when real lifts were getting started. That truck was a kidney buster.

I honestly could not believe I couldn't get that pack retaining nut all the way down on this one...way too stiff!

 

Trade those shortys for some long AAls. They ride much better.

 

Ryan,
Just ordered the Belltech shackles.
I'll see if that does the trick for me...looking for a little lift and a bit more stiffness for haulin' stuff in the bed and pullin' a trailer.
Will trade in the shorties for the longer ones if I need more.
THX

 

your gunna have to find a longer bolt for the leaf pack...a good quality 3/8 bolt will work fine and the head is just the right size to fit in the hole on the block

 

Scott it is easier to bend something when it is longer, you can get more force on it. if you shorten it it will be harder to put force on it causing a harsher ride.

you said earlier it rides too harsh for an old man but then you mentioned you want the *** end stiffer.



sounds like if the bolt wasn't tightened all the way you were not even getting the right amount of lift out of the aal anyway. i would try and get the install right before trying to modify it.

 

...A tad stiffer...not a nut buster.
I was thinking about that this evening...I do agree that the longer spring will smooth it out. More surface for the energy to be absorbed into, longer recoil.

I noticed by only adding three inch blocks to my 'burbon that it stiffened the ride up to where it was comfy and yoou could actually "feel" the vehicle.

Anybody experience this w/ the Ranger and the Bell Shackles?

 

no ride difference with the shackles here

 

No difference here either.

Maybe some offroad shocks coupled with a shackle would suit you well. But since you're wanting added stiffness for hauling I think the long AAL would suit you best. Or possibly the fullsize chevy spring swap, of course thats gonna be a little more in depth and a tad more money, but probably worth it.

 

Long AAL's=way more lift. Kevins truck is on long aals, chev shackle, and stock block. He could get away with just a long aal and stock shackle and block or just a chev shackle and long aal with no block and be level.

And they are way more stiff than short aal. Mine are soft compared to his.

 

I dunno about that. I've had a long and a short AAL, both gave me the same lift and the long one rides much better. What brand are yours? Both my long and short ones are procomps. I would imagine different brands have different spring rates.

 

pro comps.

he got about 2 full inches more lift than I got. No difference in the trucks whatsoever...same spring pack.

 

His must have a much higher spring rate than mine does. I got 2 inches out of mine. I had the short one in before but traded it in favor of the long one because it rode much softer. Both of them yeilded 2 inches.....

 

Hmmm, good to know! I was thinking about either getting a long aal, or doing the chev swap. But the price is a LOT different!!!