I welded the 2" solid steel blocks that came with the Hercules diesel kit with my M37, in front. I figure they are no longer blocks but "tall spring pads".
Charlie

Sorry to post, I meant to reply to the thread on welded spring caster wedges.
Charlie

call em blocks, taller spring pads, or whatever.

I call em leverage makers!:eek:

Lordy dont use front lift blocks! even the welded ones i dont trust...i have seen the non welded kind spit out under hard breaking.....not a good site on the road trust me:eek: :eek:

Chris G.

Originally posted by Keith
call em blocks, taller spring pads, or whatever.

I call em leverage makers!:eek:

And just how much leverage does a portal axle provide? They are roughly eqivalent to a 6" block in that regard.

A D60 front axle is 3/4" taller than a D44 does that make it unsafe?

Originally posted by toy283


And just how much leverage does a portal axle provide? They are roughly eqivalent to a 6" block in that regard.

ya but when was the last time you saw a leaf sprung portal? all the ones ive seen are 4 linked. 6" blocks are just jenky...you cant deny that!

Originally posted by toy283


And just how much leverage does a portal axle provide? They are roughly eqivalent to a 6" block in that regard.


a 6 inch block verse a center section and tube that sits 6 inches higher is a completly different kind of leverage..... and yeah you dont see many with leafs.....

Originally posted by Chrisjeep7
Lordy dont use front lift blocks! even the welded ones i dont trust...i have seen the non welded kind spit out under hard breaking.....not a good site on the road trust me:eek: :eek:

Chris G.

If hard braking will spit out blocks why does Peterbuilt use 3.5- 4" blocks on their Conv trucks and why haven't I spit them out running 12,000 to 13,000 on my steering axle of my Pete? I looked today at 4 diferent Petes of various years in the yard where I park my rig and every one of them had blocks in the front.

Originally posted by 70~K5


If hard braking will spit out blocks why does Peterbuilt use 3.5- 4" blocks on their Conv trucks and why haven't I spit them out running 12,000 to 13,000 on my steering axle of my Pete? I looked today at 4 diferent Petes of various years in the yard where I park my rig and every one of them had blocks in the front. I dont know how thats possible seeming how blocks in the front are against the law in Ca. And those trucks have to go through inspection.

Originally posted by TEAM X-TREME
I dont know how thats possible seeming how blocks in the front are against the law in Ca. And those trucks have to go through inspection.

Tell ya what go look at any Peterbuilt convetional class 8 truck and look between the front axle and the springs you'll see blocks in there. They're factory not some after market stuff. When I looked at the petes in the yard I park mine there was a '73, a '85, a '88, and a '91. And they all had front blocks. I've been inspected many times by the CHP and they'd never said anything about them either.

Originally posted by TEAM X-TREME
I dont know how thats possible seeming how blocks in the front are against the law in Ca. And those trucks have to go through inspection.

I don't know specifically about the law in CA, but those laws are generally set up by GVWR, so what is legal for a big rig could very well be illegal for a little truck (GVWR under 10,000.)

Front blocks are fawkin stupid! I dont care how you wanna reason through it. There is just so many better ways to get lift than to put some damn blocks in there!

Blocks over 2-3 inches in the rear are stupid to me too, but that is another matter.

Your most likly right about the gvrw. But it does say in the vehicle code book that blocks in the front are illegal on passenger cars and pickups. That would be all of us.

I've noticed them on International School busses too. Perhaps it has something to do with the drop-beam axles they use? I can't say I've ever seen them on an medium or heavy duty 4x, but it may just be because they usually sit pretty high anyway.

Pete

I'm not saying that anyone should use front blocks on their 4x4 truck. I'm just pointing out that sometimes what some people think as unsafe isn't always so. It was just the one person that posted about spitting out blocks under braking and thats not always the case. Then there are people who say how bad the ORD zero rates are. But I remember form the factory 12 to 15 leaf packs on the front of a 4x4 and the bottom 3 or 4 leafs were between 1" to 5"s longer than the spring perch. All those real short leafs did was add height. They didn't change the spring rate by very much at all.
Also when I got a '72 Chevy K20 from my uncle who had bought it new it had 3/4" blocks in the front. I asked him about them and he said they must have come from the factory like that. He had never had anything done to the front springs and the truck was stock, rusted out around the cab but stock. The only major repairs that had been done to the truck since new was, Rebuilt the SBC350, brakes, shocks, and tires. Plus the regular stuff, tune ups and oil changes.