My old front springs had sacked out so bad, they were the shape of an "s".
The bushings were shot as I found when I swapped axles with my 1976 K5.
This m1009 now rides on a 12 bolt rear and Dana 44 front axle.
I have never lifted any of my vehicles.
But in a moment of crazy, I decided to pull the trigger and give this M1009 a lift, not just any lift; an ORD 3" spring lift up front with a 4"shackle reversal out back.
I went with the Tuff country HD springs.
Denise at ORD said they will settle a bit with time.
You'll see from the pictures, that will be just right.
What I bought and installed today;
Tuff country HD 3" lift front springs.
ORD front shackles.
4" lift rear shackle reversal brackets.
All new greasable bushings front and rear.
All new U-bolts front and rear.
ORD steering box brace (to be installed tomorrow)
Extended front and rear brake lines.
4 inch drop pitman arm (to be installed tomorrow)
Sway bar correction/quick disconnect.
Tuff country EZ ride shocks all around.
It took me 3 hours yesterday drilling out the rivets on the stock rear spring hangers.
10 hours today to get everything together.
I used an air chisel on the drilled out rivets to knock them out.
It really isn't as big a deal as I thought.
Biggest time consuming activity was drilling out the old bushings to make way for the fully greasable ORD bushings.
Everything is installed except the steering box brace and drop pitman arm.
I chose not to remove the fuel tank to install the shackle reversal brackets and tapes the bolts to my 5/8" wrench instead, fishing them into the frame between the tank and zipping them tight with my impact and finishing with my torque wrench.
Tomorrow I will install the drop pitman arm and steering box brace.
The snow will be icy enough in a week to drive this baby out of here and give it some dirt time down on BLM land.
The pinion angle is pointing about 6 degrees higher than stock.
This gives me two concerns;
Driveshaft vibration.
Oil flow to the pinion bearing.
I would rather not use shims.
So; I could lower the transfer case, if i get a vibration.
Or I could have a driveshaft made with a double cardan up at the t-case end.
The way the shackle reversal pointed the pinion is ideal for a cv driveshaft.
I could overfill the differential to make sure the pinion bearings get oil.
I knew these would be potential issues with the shackle reversal.
But keeping the stock rear springs should make for an exceptionally smooth ride for a lifted truck and articulate better than lift springs would.
But I wont know anything till I get this truck out on the road again.
Right now we still have 5 feet of snow.
We'll see how patient I am.
May end up dragging it back out of here with the snow cat!
Installed a Tuffy center console as well.
Really got tired of my soda and coffee falling over.
Also a steel lockable compartment for my 1911.
One modification I made to the rear shackle flip brackets was a notch to clear my receiver hitch.
Not a big deal.
A sawzall and a grinder and I modified the shackle brackets rather than the hitch.
They are still massive compared to the stock brackets.
Another issue are the tailpipes.
I did not have to cut them because I replaced all the bushings therefore had to remove the springs entirely.
So after I installed the shackle flip brackets I tucked the spring packs back under the tailpipes.
The passenger side clears.
Drivers side rubs.
Obviously under articulation, they will most likely both rub the spring.
So I will head to Auto Plumbers in Powell Wyoming and have him trick that out for me.
There are hidden costs and issues with anything you do to modify a vehicle.
A CV driveshaft will set me back $450m if I end up needing it.
The exhaust mod will probably be $100.
The satisfaction of not having those 33" tires rub every time I am turned.. just so, priceless.
She is gonna settle a bit up front once those springs wear in.
Really excited to get out and wheel this summer.
The reason I went this route was because it was the hardest but most rewarding in regards to off road capability enhancement.
I live and work in the national forest.
I have 1 million acres to go wheeling on BLM and National Forest Land.
One day off a week and i use it to wheel my junk 5 months of the year when it is passable.
If you saw where I lived, you'd be excited too.
Enough talk.
Here are the pictures.
I included a before shot from last fall.
The bushings were shot as I found when I swapped axles with my 1976 K5.
This m1009 now rides on a 12 bolt rear and Dana 44 front axle.
I have never lifted any of my vehicles.
But in a moment of crazy, I decided to pull the trigger and give this M1009 a lift, not just any lift; an ORD 3" spring lift up front with a 4"shackle reversal out back.
I went with the Tuff country HD springs.
Denise at ORD said they will settle a bit with time.
You'll see from the pictures, that will be just right.
What I bought and installed today;
Tuff country HD 3" lift front springs.
ORD front shackles.
4" lift rear shackle reversal brackets.
All new greasable bushings front and rear.
All new U-bolts front and rear.
ORD steering box brace (to be installed tomorrow)
Extended front and rear brake lines.
4 inch drop pitman arm (to be installed tomorrow)
Sway bar correction/quick disconnect.
Tuff country EZ ride shocks all around.
It took me 3 hours yesterday drilling out the rivets on the stock rear spring hangers.
10 hours today to get everything together.
I used an air chisel on the drilled out rivets to knock them out.
It really isn't as big a deal as I thought.
Biggest time consuming activity was drilling out the old bushings to make way for the fully greasable ORD bushings.
Everything is installed except the steering box brace and drop pitman arm.
I chose not to remove the fuel tank to install the shackle reversal brackets and tapes the bolts to my 5/8" wrench instead, fishing them into the frame between the tank and zipping them tight with my impact and finishing with my torque wrench.
Tomorrow I will install the drop pitman arm and steering box brace.
The snow will be icy enough in a week to drive this baby out of here and give it some dirt time down on BLM land.
The pinion angle is pointing about 6 degrees higher than stock.
This gives me two concerns;
Driveshaft vibration.
Oil flow to the pinion bearing.
I would rather not use shims.
So; I could lower the transfer case, if i get a vibration.
Or I could have a driveshaft made with a double cardan up at the t-case end.
The way the shackle reversal pointed the pinion is ideal for a cv driveshaft.
I could overfill the differential to make sure the pinion bearings get oil.
I knew these would be potential issues with the shackle reversal.
But keeping the stock rear springs should make for an exceptionally smooth ride for a lifted truck and articulate better than lift springs would.
But I wont know anything till I get this truck out on the road again.
Right now we still have 5 feet of snow.
We'll see how patient I am.
May end up dragging it back out of here with the snow cat!
Installed a Tuffy center console as well.
Really got tired of my soda and coffee falling over.
Also a steel lockable compartment for my 1911.
One modification I made to the rear shackle flip brackets was a notch to clear my receiver hitch.
Not a big deal.
A sawzall and a grinder and I modified the shackle brackets rather than the hitch.
They are still massive compared to the stock brackets.
Another issue are the tailpipes.
I did not have to cut them because I replaced all the bushings therefore had to remove the springs entirely.
So after I installed the shackle flip brackets I tucked the spring packs back under the tailpipes.
The passenger side clears.
Drivers side rubs.
Obviously under articulation, they will most likely both rub the spring.
So I will head to Auto Plumbers in Powell Wyoming and have him trick that out for me.
There are hidden costs and issues with anything you do to modify a vehicle.
A CV driveshaft will set me back $450m if I end up needing it.
The exhaust mod will probably be $100.
The satisfaction of not having those 33" tires rub every time I am turned.. just so, priceless.
She is gonna settle a bit up front once those springs wear in.
Really excited to get out and wheel this summer.
The reason I went this route was because it was the hardest but most rewarding in regards to off road capability enhancement.
I live and work in the national forest.
I have 1 million acres to go wheeling on BLM and National Forest Land.
One day off a week and i use it to wheel my junk 5 months of the year when it is passable.
If you saw where I lived, you'd be excited too.
Enough talk.
Here are the pictures.
I included a before shot from last fall.
Last edited:
