ArdWrknTrk Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 Y'all are telling me that Sky's Front Shackle Reversal kit, which requires the Tough Country brackets, makes a big difference in the ride? Or, it is supposed to because the geometry is all messed up w/o it? At $470 before tax and shipping, that seems like quite a bit to speculate on. Yes, Big Blue rides roughly, but w/o the sway bars it isn't too bad. (It is awful with the sway bars.) And, to tell the truth I've not driven it much since I added the winch, front receiver, and auxiliary battery, which may have helped the ride some. So, are there other benefits besides the ride quality? I said I'd only do it with a D60 swap, so no drop pivots required. The positive arch 350 springs ride MUCH better than the stiff 2 leaf pack of the 250 and the solid axle does not twist the springs every time the truck encounters a crack in the road. Shackles and bushings should last much longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 22, 2017 Author Share Posted September 22, 2017 I said I'd only do it with a D60 swap, so no drop pivots required. The positive arch 350 springs ride MUCH better than the stiff 2 leaf pack of the 250 and the solid axle does not twist the springs every time the truck encounters a crack in the road. Shackles and bushings should last much longer. Would I have to replace the springs? It doesn't look like I would, and since the springs are brand new I don't want to do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 I said I'd only do it with a D60 swap, so no drop pivots required. The positive arch 350 springs ride MUCH better than the stiff 2 leaf pack of the 250 and the solid axle does not twist the springs every time the truck encounters a crack in the road. Shackles and bushings should last much longer. I'll agree with ArdWrknTrk. In fact I've heard that originally the reverse shackle manufacturers said that their kits didn't work with the TTB suspension, and later said you could combine them with no changes to either their design or the TTB. Speculation was that it was just a marketing realization that they were turning away sales and that they still didn't really play well together. There's only one guy I've ever heard who seems to think that the leaf-sprung TTB is a good suspension. I think it was '89F2urd on FTE. I'm not saying that to say he's wrong because he's the only one. But if you want to make the F-250 TTB work better it's probably best to talk to someone who actually believes that it can be made to work well. Otherwise most people suggest a solid axle swap, reverse shackles and SuperDuty springs (U code?) for the best ride in a 4WD F-250. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 Would I have to replace the springs? It doesn't look like I would, and since the springs are brand new I don't want to do that. With a solid axle swap? Absolutely! F-250 springs need to be stiffer than F-350 springs because of the added leverage the traction beams have against the springs. F-250 springs with a solid axle will ride rougher than either a stock F-350 or a stock F-250. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 Would I have to replace the springs? It doesn't look like I would, and since the springs are brand new I don't want to do that. With a solid axle swap? Absolutely! F-250 springs need to be stiffer than F-350 springs because of the added leverage the traction beams have against the springs. F-250 springs with a solid axle will ride rougher than either a stock F-350 or a stock F-250. I think Gary is asking if he would have to change springs if he were to keep the TTB. No. Sky is the first and only (afaik) to offer a kit that fits 250's The cross brace at the front helps eliminate the infamous steering box crack by tying the whole front of the frame together right behind the bumper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 22, 2017 Author Share Posted September 22, 2017 I think Gary is asking if he would have to change springs if he were to keep the TTB. No. Sky is the first and only (afaik) to offer a kit that fits 250's The cross brace at the front helps eliminate the infamous steering box crack by tying the whole front of the frame together right behind the bumper. Yes, that's what I'm asking. As for the frame, it may be too late - I already have some pops and creaks that shouldn't be there. 🙈 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted September 23, 2017 Share Posted September 23, 2017 Y'all are telling me that Sky's Front Shackle Reversal kit, which requires the Tough Country brackets, makes a big difference in the ride? Or, it is supposed to because the geometry is all messed up w/o it?.... Thinkin' on this a little more (in other words, I still don't have any personal experience to draw from but I'm still going to give you more of my opinions, or in still other words, let the 8-page micro-analysis continue...), the reason shackles at the front would give a worse ride is that with a positively arched spring as the front axle needs to move up when the tire hits a bump the leaf spring makes it move forward, jamming the tire into the bump, which means the tire needs to move up faster, which means it gets stuffed forward into the bump harder... It's a bad cycle. A reverse shackle kit in this situation would pull the tire back away from the bump as the axle moves up, which would make the bump less jarring. On the other hand, if the leaf spring was flat, or negatively arched, then as the axle moves up it will not be pushed forward (flat spring) or will even be pulled backward (negative arch), softening the hit. So a reverse shackle kit would seem to be counter-productive, causing the problem of stuffing the tire into the bump rather than solving it. So unless a TTB F-250/350 has been lifted with positive arched springs, I think a reverse shackle kit would probably hurt the ride. And that brings another thing to mind: ride height. I don't know for sure about on TTBs, but on solid axles reverse shackle kits are said to give about a 3" lift. That's great if you want a 3" lift, but for my daily driver that my 5'6" wife needs to be able to get into, I kind of want the ride height to stay lower. So just another thing to think about, whether it fits with your own goals or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted September 23, 2017 Share Posted September 23, 2017 Y'all are telling me that Sky's Front Shackle Reversal kit, which requires the Tough Country brackets, makes a big difference in the ride? Or, it is supposed to because the geometry is all messed up w/o it?.... Thinkin' on this a little more (in other words, I still don't have any personal experience to draw from but I'm still going to give you more of my opinions, or in still other words, let the 8-page micro-analysis continue...), the reason shackles at the front would give a worse ride is that with a positively arched spring as the front axle needs to move up when the tire hits a bump the leaf spring makes it move forward, jamming the tire into the bump, which means the tire needs to move up faster, which means it gets stuffed forward into the bump harder... It's a bad cycle. A reverse shackle kit in this situation would pull the tire back away from the bump as the axle moves up, which would make the bump less jarring. On the other hand, if the leaf spring was flat, or negatively arched, then as the axle moves up it will not be pushed forward (flat spring) or will even be pulled backward (negative arch), softening the hit. So a reverse shackle kit would seem to be counter-productive, causing the problem of stuffing the tire into the bump rather than solving it. So unless a TTB F-250/350 has been lifted with positive arched springs, I think a reverse shackle kit would probably hurt the ride. And that brings another thing to mind: ride height. I don't know for sure about on TTBs, but on solid axles reverse shackle kits are said to give about a 3" lift. That's great if you want a 3" lift, but for my daily driver that my 5'6" wife needs to be able to get into, I kind of want the ride height to stay lower. So just another thing to think about, whether it fits with your own goals or not. Read the link. This kit is under 2" and less if you use the template to trim down the rear spring brackets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 27, 2017 Author Share Posted September 27, 2017 Read the link. This kit is under 2" and less if you use the template to trim down the rear spring brackets. Jim - Do these look familiar? Agreed to buy them off a guy on Bill’s Big Block Facebook page for $125 shipped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 Jim - Do these look familiar? Agreed to buy them off a guy on Bill’s Big Block Facebook page for $125 shipped. Good score! They will clean up really nice. I just saw a pair of the Blue Thunder plain valve covers NIB on the local Craigslist for $250. https://cnj.craigslist.org/pts/d/fordbig-block-blue-thunder/6293690664.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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