1" Zero Rate to move Front Axle foward

[dan2002dd]

I have a M1028 with the 37" hummer tire & rim setup that I have been running with no lift, only trimmed front fenders. The tires rub when I turn too sharply but I have just been dealing with it. After seeing the 1" Zero Rate spring that a lot of people are using with their lifts, I though it may work for me to put it in the front of my truck and move the axle forward. I found one thread that someone else was doing it but didn't follow up with all the info needed. Most use it with another lift so it is not clear what is needed when used by itself.

1. Should I move the axle 1" or 1.5" foward?
2. How does this affect the steering parts? Any adjustments needed?
3. Driveshaft lenth should be fine?
4. New shocks?

Thanks

 

[Sharecropper]

dan; I used ORD's 1" Zero Rates in my M1028 lift and moved my front axle 1" forward. Here were my observations -

1. You will have to drill a hole in each spring plate to provide clearance for the bolt that holds the springs together.

2. If you are not lifting the truck any higher, your front drive shaft will be fine.

3. You may need to have a machine shop cut off a half-inch or so from your drag link. When you move the axle forward 1", the drag link must also be shortened 1". You can measure the existing gap between the the drag link ends to see. If it is less than 1", one end will have to be shortened. My drag link had to be shortened, however when I discovered this I went ahead and installed cross-over steering.

You can see some of the photos in my rebuild thread.

Hope this helps.

 

[dan2002dd]

Thanks, I had already looked at your build and my main concern is in how the steering will need to be modified. I understand the install of the part and drilling the holes in the spring plates. I just don't want to get that part done and not know what to do about the steering. I like the cross-over steering but I don't really think it would be needed. (maybe in the future) I wanted to see what others have done with the same setup.

 

[Sharecropper]

dan - check the gap distance on your drag link. If it is greater than 1", you will not have to shorten one end. If it is not greater than 1", you will.

 

[dan2002dd]

Fender Cutting

Here are some pictures of how I cut the fenders. It doesn't look the best but it does the job. I have smaller tires on it right now because I wanted to see how the tire would look on the truck shown in pics.

I have ordered the parts to move the front axle and will show updated pictures when completed.

 

[Shrapnel]

zero rate / ez inch spaced forward

I used DIY4x's EZ-inch (same thing as zero rate) on the front of my stock M1028. I reused the stock plates with the aforementioned hole drilling (I set my axle forward 1"). My stock driveshaft is fine, even during full flex wheeling situations.

I cut my draglink with a cut-off wheel. Just cut out what you need as clean as you can. It's easy to file threads clean and reinstall. Still have full lock-to-lock steering.

The main disadvantage for me was I had to ditch the sway bar when I offset the axle forward. Using ORD's sway disconnect kit would fix this, but I found with my procomp ES9000 shocks I didn't really need the sway bar and this way I get better flex all the time.

I'm running 9.00x16 tires on stock wheels (measure 36" tall, same height as the goodyear hummer tires, just not as wide) and the only place I come close to rubbing is at the front of the fenders. I hit the bumpstop before any carnage happens.

You can trim your fenders a lot more if you're handy with a cut-off wheel. I used to run the hummer 37's on my M1010 without any lift and it never rubbed (see attached fender trim pics).

If I had to do it again I'd probably just buy some Tuff Country 2" HD lift springs and call it good. Trim if needed. I haven't had any issues with my current setup but my stock springs are so weak I wish I would have just replaced them in the first place.

 

[dan2002dd]

The ez inch is the what I ending up ordering. I am glad you mentioned what shocks you are using as I wasn't sure what I would need or if the stock ones would work untill I got more.

On the 1010, did you cut out the inner fender because that is where it makes the most contact on mine.

 

[twomorestrokes]

Dan, drilling the cast spring perch to relocate the axle is easy. I drilled a small pilot hole and then followed with a step drill and lubricant. I would stick with the 1" forward as that is plenty. I did not have to cut the drag link ends but they are fully bottomed out against each other but the steering wheel came out straight. I am using the ORD sway bar disconnect but wish I would have saved the money and just removed the sway bar. I leave it disconnected now and it is not that simple to disconnect and reconnect. My front shaft is fine even with the lift and zeros.

Good information here. I had to slightly trim the front lower corner of the front fender and was wondering if the axle relocation was a good idea or not. Reading this tells me that a light rework at the front is a lot better than contacting at the rear.

 

[Shrapnel]

When I trimmed the rear of the front fenders on my M1010 I cut the inner wheel wells and bent them back with the same line of the out fenders. It was kind of a pain, but if I ever do it again I think I can make the trim look a lot better.

Fenders are a dime a dozen so it's not really a big deal if you mess it up. Just more work...

 

[dan2002dd]

Ok so I got the EZ inch in and it is 2.5 inches and my springs are 3 inches. Kert, The guy on the tech line said that it would be ok and it fits either size springs. It seems to me that they would be hard to get straight without the ubolts being there to be against them. Anybody got any thoughts or experience with this?

 

[twomorestrokes]

um, no. Aftermarket springs are 2.5" wise and the originals are 3" wide. They make zero rates in either width depending on which spring you are using. If EZ inch only comes in 2.5 I'd send them back and buy another brand.

 

[dan2002dd]

Thanks. Thats what I was thinking about doing.