The Lumpskie Build - '96 5-speed

Ok, here's a quick walkthrough of what I did for the rear diff breather extension:

Removed and drilled a hole in the gas cap surround



Inserted the breather into the gas cap surround


Held it in place by attaching the fuel hose and band clamping. It stays pretty secure!


Removed the old breather and installed the new union fitting in the rear diff.


Reinstalled the gas cap surround and routed hose


I took the hose over the top of the gas tank and ran it through the crossmember to keep it from moving around


Finally, I mated the hose to the union fitting

 

So, I found what looks to be the main source of the unusual binding in my rear suspension. My passenger side leaf spring had rotated a bit. The back end is kicked out as you can see here:



So, I what I need to do is remove the spring entirely, straighten out the pack and replace. I didn't have time to do that, so I flipped on side of my shackle over to make a "jog" to kind of compensate. Then I flexed the truck out to see if releasing a bit of that pressure helped. It made my range of motion a lot smoother, but didn't buy me much of anything in the way of travel.
You can see the shackle jog:


Full droop... Still not where I want it to be:




There still is some longitudinal binding going on in that spring:




I'm getting some leaf separation at full droop, but not a whole lot



So, what do you guys have for suggestions... I want more droop and my springs are my limiting factor. I don't want to go 63" springs because they will interfere with my sliders, but I'd really like to get 3 or 4 more inches of extension somehow...

 

Something is not right with those springs if that shot with the shackle removed is at ride height and the spring is offset like that. If it's flexed, then some twist is normal.

Only real solutions are some uniball style shackle hangers to absorb some of the twist that happens. Take a look at the Trail Gear Creeper Joint Shackle mounts.


You might also look at your shocks. Are they limiting travel? You should pull the shocks and see if you get any more droop. If you are maxing out the shocks you can relocate the shock mounts to get better travel. I recently relocated my shocks because I did a ubolt flip, but also because they were limiting travel in the stock location. I think I'm easily getting another 4" of droop with the new setup.

 

I doubt his shocks are. They are 12" stroke. My 10" ones n stock location droops WAY more. Probably the same if not more then your new setup Adam.

So,ething is twisted tho for sure.


Also man just thought I'd say that most the trucks up here on the Slope are running Cooper discoverer STs. They look nice. Seem to do well for the most part.

 

So, I think I'm going to get a new main leaf and support leaf. Part of my approach is going to involve Orbit Eye bushings to eliminate my binding problems. I've got a question for you, though. How much do your leafs separate when you're at full droop? Do you have any pictures I could look at? I'm wondering if, even after I solve the binding problem, the springs themselves will limit my droop significantly...

Right, I've got 12" short body 7100s in there. It's good to know that you are getting more droop than me in your stock locations. That way I don't have to worry about my problem being my shock eyes binding.

So, those trucks you see up there in AK... are they running the Cooper ST all terrain, or the STT Mud Terrain? Cooper tires are pretty cheap, which makes them even more tempting!

And how much separation do you get between your main and support leafs at full droop? Do you think that my springs will limit my travel after I get this binding issue taken care of?

 

I get a lot of separation I think. Especially from the main leaf.

And the st all terrains I think. Not the STTs. Although I've seen some.

Springs shouldn't be binding that much. Idk wth is up with yours.

 

kinda hard to see but I get decent separation of the leaves. You can see (from the rust) how far the main leaf is shifted from the ones below it and there is a decent amount of twist in the main leaf too. I don't think you need to worry about the leaves separating, the spring clamps will keep things in place.

 

Based on what I see in Blackdawg and BoxRocket's packs, I think I'm going to take mine out and see if I can re-align it. If I can do that and get it to work, great. If not, I've already started to save for a new main leaf.

In other news: Blackdawg don't kill me... I found a good deal on Duratracs. I'm going to give them a try. I'm sorry, I can't help myself!

 

Noooooo!!!!!

Oh well. Good luck man!

And just FYI epithet are s/t maxxs up here. Although I have run original sts on my old truck. Did fine.

 

^Man, I wish they made S/T Maxxs for 15" wheels, but I can't find them. I'm really interested in those tires...

 

Don't know if you already moved your front spring hanger, if not, then your spring pack will be about 4" shorter than BoxRocket's as the 95-97 taco rear springs are 51" where the 98-04 are 55". This would play into your droop. If you already moved it, then nevermind and carry on

 

Good eye...
No, I haven't moved it, but I have considered it. The measurements I took on the frame, show that I could get a clean 3.5" if I decided to. What I wonder, though is this. Blackdawg's rig (also a '96) flexes out really well... maybe even a little more than BoxRocket's. He's using stock locations, but his shackle goes past straight up and down. It pivots until it's almost in line with the spring. My shackle will pivot till it vertical, but not past. It makes me think that the binding in my spring prevents me from hitting my suspensions full potential droop.

What do you think?

 

I also think your springs are binding. I'm able to flex my 35's below my my sliders, with stock spring locations. I'm very happy with the amount of flex we can achieve with our shorter springs.

 

^Hey Davetopgun:

Do you happen to have a picture of your springs at full droop? I think I'm going to call Bill at Alcan later on this week.

 

So, I got some 33x12.5s today. We'll see how these duratracs hold up. They look like they'd bite pretty well, though.









I trimmed some of my fender flares and it looks like these guys might clear ok. Here's what it looks like with the tire near full stuff.

 

Turn it to check. That's when mine ALWAYs rub. Is when turning and flexed. Even just a bit.

Just a heads up.

33x125s FTMFW!!


On..I bought 35s haha catch up haha

 

Blackdawg: You will always be the Sensei...

 

Ha..

Maybe..


Probably not..l


There is always a higher person...lol

 

Looks great! Lemme know how ya like them duratracs man! Considering some for my next tire.. Or at $115 each I might try treadwright guard dogs.

 

^I'll keep this thread updated on the Duratracs, good or bad! So far, I like their road manners. I've heard complaints that they feel "squishy" on the road. I haven't experienced that at all.

As for Guard dogs... I've got a friend that runs them. He seems to like them, for what it's worth.