Lifting the rear of a pickup truck to level it out/Van Spare carrier

Just keep the input shaft to the drive shaft and the input shaft to the rear end parallel to one another. If you don't you will learn the difference between a U joint and a CV (constant velocity) joint. When the joint has to move or flex for an angled shaft the velocity increases and decreases as it rotates. If the shaft at the other end is parallel to the input shaft, the other U joint accelerates and decelerates inversely to the first one and you get constant velocity at the input to the rear end. If not.... well you can figure it out.

I knew a guy who went through three rear ends on a jacked up truck because he had the rear end shaft angled up straight into the driveshaft and slanted down coming out of the transmission.

John

Go to a good leaf spring supplier and get a new set of springs or see what they recommend. You may even have a cracked leaf or two. If you are going to tow anything you will need a heavier springs or you may get the feds after you for shining your headlights at aircraft.

John

See if you can find a spring shop in your vicinity and have the springs re-arched. That should bring it up a bit. Leaf springs, as I'm sure you know, tend to sag a bit with use and a good shop can bring them back to almost good as new. Did that with my Pinto race car and what a difference it made in handling. Also, weigh out the load you are carrying, it may be heavier than you think. Spring boosters, also known as load levellers are available at most auto parts stores. Good luck.

Jim Chandler Apple Valley, cA

Could you clarify that a bit for the less informed?

This truck has two drive lines, with a carrier baaring midway. If I raise the truck..I have to turn the axle a bit?

Gunner

Thanks Jim.

To the best of my knowlege.this truck has spent the last 100,000 miles with nothing heavier in it than a cross bed pickup bed tool box behind the cab. I originally thought the miss matched tires were the culprit..but now that Ive a matching set all the way around..it still sits ass down, even empty.

Gunner who has already put 8,000 miles on her.

On Sun, 23 Sep 2007 15:04:37 -0700, with neither quill nor qualm, Gunner Asch quickly quoth:

In that case, now that you're loaded, have the frackin' headlights adjusted. Borrow the adjusters from a friend in a body shop and do it yourself in ten minutes.

Air shocks ($61 J.C. Whitney), bolt-on overload leafs ($54 JCW), or shackles (free DIY).

Simple. Lick the labia valves to keep them moist.

If you're going back up to standard height after adding weight, the differential angle should not have changed. Besides, all that a couple degrees of out-of-alignment does is wear out u-joints a bit more quickly.

The type which uses both sides of the hinges, a full gate style, is the best I've seen. A friend (bodyman/coworker) with a 4WD van who made trips to Baja Mexico all the time used to have one and he said it was the best type for the heavy vibration of offroad use.

Swap to a standard sized van tire/rim for the spare. Drop off the bad tire at a tire place and go back to work. Replace it when you pick up the replaced/repaired tire.

He accused you of having a hod on? Imagine!

Can't help you on lifting the rear, though I expect a truck spring and brake place could fix you un in an hour or two. For the spare tire, fab a front bumper mount for it. Counter the weight in the rear with some weight in the front, and it will be easier to chase when the mount breaks TIG it good.

======== click on

Unka' George [George McDuffee] ============ Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), U.S. president. Letter, 17 March 1814.

Consider overload springs - cheap, effective, easy to install

I had a broken leaf on my box truck, and had the springs re-arched and a leaf added. Also had to have the eye bushings pressed in. It was kind of expensive, even with me taking them off the truck and bringing it to the shop. For a Ranger I would check Rockauto.com and see what it would cost to buy new.

I have used helper springs. I have used air adjustable shocks. I have used air bags trapped in a spring.

The very best ever was to take a heavy truck that swayed all over the road to the local spring specialists. Asked them to beef it up. They put on the maximum leaf springs for that axle (I think I remember 15). Sweet running and driving and seemed to be a smoother ride. That truck had a very long driveshaft, so I imagine we didn't change the axle angle too much. Just made some of your shackles for the drag racer at work, he needed a bit more clearance on the Mickey Thompsons. He was very concerned about drive shaft angle, although he said slightly high or slightly low was OK as long as it wasn't straight in when the axle was loaded up???

Why would any angles be bad if the truck was level again? Your springs are sagged...probably as much as your old but. The good news is that you can new springs, even heavier springs for the truck. Your but will continue to sag, you can't get parts.

Oh, I forgot you said "cheap". Just jack up the rear of the truck until you feel that it looks level. Now cut the bells off and weld the shock rods to the shock body. DONE!

Say.....thats Really a good idea. Front mount.

Crom knows Ive got more than enough frontage space up there and it would be easy to get to the frame for someting to mount to.

What about retricted flow to the radiator?

Gunner

That being the case, you definitely have some spring issues. Go to a spring shop. A new set shouldn't be that much. As was suggested by another poster, you may have a cracked leak or two. That's always a surprise to take a set of leafs apart and have one fall away in two pieces. Many times you can't see it from the outside of the set.

Jim

You are a machinist. Make a tapered block to fit between the axle and the spring (axle IS mounted unde the spring, right?) and another spacer to drop the hangar bearing half the distance. You are then spreading the change in angle over 3 joints instead of 2. Four inches should be no problem at all.

Rear shackles will tend to tip the nose up a bit, which will reduce the angle change a bit. NOT recommended on a truck though. I'd either have the springs rebult (beefed up) or install a set of lift blocks.

You are in "hot country" - it could be a problem. Was not a smart thing to do in Central Africa in the seventies. Guaranteed overheat. Out there many were mounted on the hood (bonnet) (Land Rovers) or lashed to the roof of the cab. (Put a swing arm on a pedestal mounted behing the cab with a winch and cable - lift the arm up from behind the tire when needed and winch it up/down. Good project for Gunner.) - Oh - he DID say it was on the VAN, didn't he? Would work better on the Pick-up.

It is BUTT, not BUT, and they are ALL cracked.