Welcome to Flagstaff4Wheelers!

hey guys, guess this is the right place to put this!

i have a 86 ford bronco 2. with stock 7.5 rear end, explorer leaf springs (same as stock just more stiff), 7in beltech 6400 shackles, and a 4in block. creating about 5.5 to 6in of lift. next step in building this bad boy is to swap the dinky 28spline 7.5 for the more beefer 31 spline 8.8. it came out of a 94 ford explorer, so it still has the drum brakes, and the explorers were a spring under setup instead of the spring over like we all love. therefore a bit more fab work will need to be done. i'm also using 64in long springs off a chevy 1500. they are quite a bit longer than stock, like 11in longer, so again, more fab work is needed. also i'm going to be running these leafs UNDER the frame instead of on the outside like stock. therefore.... more fab work yet!

i have drawings, and i know how i "think" i want to run this.
i have the leaf springs
i have new bushings
i have misc scrap steel, enough for the job i think
i have 8.8 rear end.

what i need some help with is double checking my measurements, welding up the axle tubes to the diff housing, welding up the brackets, setting pinion angle, measuring for shocks, and placing the leaf spring brackets.

i have a torch but no welder, so if your a fab guy and have a welder lets talk!

This may sound complicated but is pretty easy to do. The best thing to do is center the axle where your factory axle is mounted. Then take your center hole on your new springs and measure forward and backward to the CL on the bushings. Make tabs for the solid mount on your front bushing and you want your rear shackles to be < 15 degrees at full droop so they dont bind when going through the travel. This will enable you to find the perfect place for mounting the shackles on the frame. As far as mounting your spring hangers at the right angle again go to full droop on your suspension and set you pinion angle at > 40 degrees and weld your plates there. Make sure and cycle your suspension fully before finish welding anything. I would love to help out on the build but unfortanetely my fab shop is in showlow.

ohh good info. pretty much what i was thinking, good to have a solid number like 15 degrees tho.

guess if someone is willing to weld it up for me i could get everything ready in my garage and it should be just a days work!

we will see!