M1009 Off Road Design 3" lift w/Shackle Flip

[Bighorn]

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.

 

[Ilikemtb999]

Looks good. Hopefully the front settles a bit but if it doesn’t I’d suggest a longer rear shackle to bring it up a bit. I’m unsure if ORD makes longer rears but I got mine at diy4x

 

[Bighorn]

It sits 1" lower in back.
But that is with a full load of tools, winch, jack, tire chains.
From what I read, the 6.2 is heavy enough that over time the Tuff country springs will settle down an inch.
Good to know about those rear shackles though.
Maybe I'll unload this stuff.
Don't normally drive around with all this.

 

[Ilikemtb999]

My tuff country HD springs haven’t really settled much. I’ve been thinking about pulling the extra leaf out for a while now to bring it down.

 

[Bighorn]

Ord recommended a 1" zero rate in the rear if the fronts remain high.
You probably already know what they are; it is like a short leaf spring or add a leaf.
Like a lift block.
I'll wheel the snot out of it this summer and see how i feel.
I would have gone with the easy ride standard but read that they can sag quite a bit.
Would rather end up level than have that front sag again.

The steering box brace is in.
Box doesn't move a millimeter on the frame now.
Lucky mine had no cracks.
My 76 K5 looks like puzzle pieces under the steering box.
Have a Rough country weld in repair kit for it.

Down to 60 inches of snow now and it's 44 degrees.
Melting 2 to 3 inches per day.

Waiting on my pitman arm puller.
The one i have is too small!
Co-worker bringing one up for me by snowmobile.
That will be it for the lift.
Until and unless I get a driveshaft vibration, i'll just run it and see.

 

[Ilikemtb999]

I’d rather go down in front than up in the rear on mine. I’ve got about 1/2” clearance for my garage as is.

 

[Kaiser67M715]

Good shim kits use the same center bolt that goes through the spring pack....not same, but new center bolt. This basically makes the shim a sort of leaf/zero rate block.

I would make sure the pinion gets oil, otherwise you'll be rebuilding axles. Or just add a little extra oil, and make sure the outer axle seals are good.

Sent from my SM-S920L using Tapatalk

 

[Bighorn]

Ouch!
I had a friend who lifted his 72 K5 inside his garage..
Yes, we had to flatten the tires to get it out!
His wife was happy because she knew he'd never park that beast in the garage again.

Interesting fact;
When I swapped the 10 bolt out and brought the dana 44 from my 76 K5 under the m1009, I left the steering arm attached to the knuckles of both axles.
The pitman arms on the steering boxes too.
Just noticed there is a difference in length between either the drag links or the steering arms on the knuckle.
Because when I put the dropped pitman arm on, i had to thread the drag link all the way in.
Maybe it is just the drop pitman arm.

Anyhow, the entire ORD kit i bought is now installed.
Life is good.

 

[Bighorn]

Good shim kits use the same center bolt that goes through the spring pack....not same, but new center bolt. This basically makes the shim a sort of leaf/zero rate block.

I would make sure the pinion gets oil, otherwise you'll be rebuilding axles. Or just add a little extra oil, and make sure the outer axle seals are good.

Sent from my SM-S920L using Tapatalk

I got a chance to leave the mountain today.
Fired up the 76 K5 400 and headed directly down the 10% grade.
Got some leaf spring center pin bolts for the 6 degree steel axle shims I had bought.
I will go ahead and return the 12 bolt axle to it's stock angle after the shackle flip.
Drive it around a bit before i decide if i want a cv back there.
On Tom Wood's site he brings up a good point about cv driveshafts and the np208 transfer case.
The bushing in the tail of the t-case was designed for a reverse slip yoke and a single u-joint.
Adding the weight of a cv h-yoke and 2 u-joints puts considerable loading on that bushing.
Would be better to do a fixed yoke conversion.
So for now, i will shim the axle back to get the operating angles of the u-joints within 3 degrees of each other.
If neccesary, lower the transfer case an inch.
Take it out and wheel it, and measure things at full droop and full stuff.
Then decide what to do.
Beautiful here in Lovell.
60's.
No snow.
Green grass.
Cows and stuff.
I live in the arctic up there.
Spring for us is still 4 weeks away.
Love Wyoming very much.