i.m contemplating the idea of using coils up front. i've been looking at ford rangers and bronco 2's and it looks like it would be pretty easy. they look like they would flex well. i'm getting sick of the front leafs going reverse arched.

tell me what you think of this kind of set up. is there any one who has used this kind of set up on a toyota? i've got an 85 sr5 extra cab.

on the rangers broncos and even the explorers they have a bracket that holds the coil and shock next to the frame. and then use the radious arms and a panhard bar to keep it all under control.

so tell me what you think and if there are any links and pictures please post. thanks.

i searched and found some good stuff, but mostly on the ford and jeeps.:D flame away if you like!:D

Originally posted by ross hildebrandt
i'm getting sick of the front leafs going reverse arched.


What do you mean?

Jay

well the stock front springs went reverse arched. so i slapped my rear springs on the front. they are now going reversed arched. i've had them on the front for about 2 months. thats why i'm getting tired of them. but, they flex really good! :D :mad:

i've considerd this, mainly because the axel would move forward under compression instead of backward into the firewall:eek:

but for now i'm gonna stick with the tried and true leafs.

Originally posted by MCFLY4X4
i've considerd this, mainly because the axel would move forward under compression instead of backward into the firewall:eek:but for now i'm gonna stick with the tried and true leafs.
Move your shackles to the front like the Jeeps and under compression the axle will move forward.

I may be missing something but I do not see how the axle will move forward with coils if the links are set up netrual, Help me out here!!:cool: :usa: :cool:

Originally posted by ross hildebrandt
well the stock front springs went reverse arched. so i slapped my rear springs on the front. they are now going reversed arched. i've had them on the front for about 2 months. thats why i'm getting tired of them. but, they flex really good! :D :mad:

The stock springs are basically designed to be flat to slightly reverse arched under load. The rear springs are even softer than the front springs, so a stock rear pack will be overloaded and become reverse arched when run in the front. I'm running rear springs on the front of my 4Runner, going on 4 years and they are not reverse arched, but I'm running more than one set of leaves, 5 when I started, then 6 now and I may go to 7 leaves to get the spring rate up to where I need it:

http://4crawler.cruiserpages.com/4x4/4R_suspension-III.shtml#CustomSprings

If the springs are too flat, add a leaf or two and give them a chance.

Yes, its been done on Toys and it works well. Foothill Offroad has done a few. Check out the recent Rockstomper thread too, its based on the Ford setup.

Like the Rockstomper setup, you'll want to "wrist" one of the radius arms to get a lot of flex out of it or else the axle acts as a large sway bar.

Here's an article on how to wrist an arm:

http://www.wt4wheeling.com/tech/wristfront.htm

We found the ranger coil springs too stiff for the toyota straight axle. The twin I beam setup on rangers put more leverage on the spring, necessitating the use of a higher spring rate. We found that the front Jeep coil spings(wrangler) work well.

lemme guess your running extended shackles longer than 2" :rolleyes:

also, did you extend the front mount down?

i like ideas that are different but that sounds like a pain in the ass to me, and all to solve something that otherwise wouldn't be a problem

you could just add another leaf in the front
something soft like a wrangler
or even extend the bumpstop downward

Bumpstops? It always amazes me how many people complain about destorying springs, but don't have functioning bumpstops.

yes i have bumpstops! on the front anyway. i didn't want to kill front springs.:mad: :flipoff2:

you can use the coil buckets of a 2wd ranger to run a longer spring or lower it 2"

as for the springs themselves, might i suggest using aerostar coils out of the rear

you do want to keep it sprung lightly, right?

sweet idea..forgive me for posting over here on the "foreign" board. check out an XJ front end. try NAXJA.org there is tons of front 44 info on there. and some use a radius arms style set up with UCA's mounting to the radius arm then goin to the axle as well as the normal 5 link set up like all coil sprung front ends that jeep produced... only thing to be wary of is death wobble. or not enough lateral stability ont he axle then it starts shaking violently back and forth at certain speeds or after you hit a bump.

Hunter