EnlistedManche Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 Recently picked up a ford 8.8 from a 97 for explorer with the 4.10 L. I'm planning to truss the axle and do the SOA conversion. I'm having no luck finding solid write up on it. I currently have 4.5 inchs of lift front and rear with SUA When the 8.8 goes in i will be swapping my front coils out for 6.5 inch coils so the end height goals is roughly there. any suggestions on what leafs and get and where for my lift to be level? i don't mind a little bit of rake. Thanks all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 When I swapped one in I used the factory 4wd MJ leafs, but I added an extra main leaf (with the eyes cut off) to each of them. It was pretty level. You could fine tune it with either zero rates (thin blocks that are part of the leaf pack, since you put the center pin through them), or with shackles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnlistedManche Posted June 5, 2016 Author Share Posted June 5, 2016 Ive been considering using the stock leafs from mine i currently have an add a leaf so i may just pull that out. And put them back in at stock. is there a reason behind adding the extra main leaf? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 The extra main leaf makes the spring pack more robust in general, and increases spring rate by maybe 20%. Increasing the spring rate gives you a little lift, and is a better match for most of the aftermarket front springs which are typically considerably higher rate than stock. It also means that you won't squat the truck as much when you put stuff in it, IMHO the factory got it wrong and should have gone with higher rate rear springs because of this reason alone. More ideal would be to find some aftermarket springs with a military wrap eye, as that gives you a much stronger setup in general, but I don't keep up on what's available as that sort of stuff is not affordable to me due to shipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnlistedManche Posted June 5, 2016 Author Share Posted June 5, 2016 Gotcha that makes sense. So how did you go about finding exactly where the new perches needed to be welded on? I'm still nervous about that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 I guessed on that one. I read a lot of other builds and came up with a number based on what they had all done. I didn't have a real welder at that point, so I cleaned the axle up, took all the old brackets off, and then took it to a welding shop with the new perches and told them to put them on at 42" center-center (IIRC) and to point the pinion up x*. I think my magic number was 6*, but that was 10? years ago. Also, it depends if you want to do a SYE w/ double cardon driveshaft or not. You want the pinion pointing about 2* below the output on the tcase if you have a SYE, you want it pointing basically level if you are not going to do one. Knowing what I know now, and having a digital angle finder, I just draw lines on the axle where the perches need to go in regards to center-center, then assemble everything with the u-bolts hand tight, then wiggle everything until the angle looks good, then I use a piece of pipe to simulate a driveshaft and check that I'm at the right angle, taking the angle of the 'driveshaft' and of the flange/yoke. At that point I can either tack the perches right there, or measure the angles and pull it out. Up to you, YMMV, my profession demands extreme degrees of precision but my hobbies do not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 Also, the easiest way (IMHO) to measure across the axle to find a point to weld something on is to throw the brake rotors on and measure from the back sides of them. Some assumptions are made with this method of measuring, but if the axle is assembled correctly and the brake rotors are not worn, it is more than accurate enough. Or I will bolt a piece of flat bar to the backing plate/wheel bearing retaining nuts. Obviously you should do what works best in your situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebvance Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 In my build thread I walk through the install of mine. I did Spring over axle and a truss. used a 96 explorer axle with 4.10s open. click on the link below . Starts on bottom of page 5. I netted about 8.5 inches of lift with lift shackles that were on the truck when I bought it and stock leaf springs. I think the shackles might be 2.5 inch lift. I'm not sure. If some one can give me measurement of the stock shackle from center of eye to center of eye I can tell you exact how much lift you will gain if your leaf springs are in good shape. http://comancheclub.com/topic/34531-1988-jeep-comanche-aka-the-penny-sniffer-pic-heavy/page-5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onlyinajeep726 Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 I went SOA with mine using the stock leaf packs, then Rubicon Express 4.5" coils + 1.5" spacers up front. I have minimal rake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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