leaf sprung or coil sprung?

[bronconator]

i'm going to do a solid axle swap on my 89 bronco. i already have the dana 44 front axle. open diff, with 4.56 gears. i got a buddy that says he has radius arms i can have for free. my bronco already has a 6" lift on it with the ttb setup. my question is this, which would be easier to do. i know i should go with a leaf sprung setup cuz i do lots of mudding and i believe its stronger and better for my driving. i've read that i would have to change out the upper spring buckets and even add upper shock mounts if i keep coil springs. along with move my radius arm drop brackets further back. i'm curious to know if i could use the stock upper spring bucket or not and what the effects of keeping would be.

but on the other hand....if i go leaf sprung i get added strength, the fact that it wasn't meant to be that way (which is always a plus in my mind) and if i'm right then i think i'd have to lengthen the frame for the front mount. and if i do have to....will my stock bumper still fit on? i don't want to go to a redneck tube bumper cuz i like my brush guard and lights how it is. i do think that the measurements would be easier this way and less of a pain in the butt too.

i'm just not sure which way to go. the axle already has the wedges...but i can always grind those off to go leaf.

any opinions or suggestions guys?

 

[2percent]

I cant say which is better as I havent done the conversion but I wonder how you would extend the frame and Maintain the strength of it. Me personally I would st8 axle it but not sure how. here is a link i hope will help

http://www.supermotors.net/registry/139/13234#content

 

[Justshootme84]

I did a Dana60 SAS on my 84 Bronco with front leafs, and took the advice of others that have done this type of swap. I fabbed a custom front crossmember between the frame horns and boxed those in before welding everything up. I also added tubing inserts to allow for mounting of a custom bumper, which ended up being the brush guard from the 88 F-350 donor. For the rear shackle mounts on the front springs, I mounted up the front hangers for the F-350 rear springs to the frame. I had to butcher these up a bit, since the outriggers for my rollcage bolt up right wher those hangers did.

If you are thinking about doing a front leaf setup, you first need to decide which way to put the shackles. ON the F-350, the stock shackles were to the front of the leaf springs, right behind the bumper. After some searching, I decided to reverse the shackles to the rear of the front leafs for a better approach angle and eas of setup. You can use 54" front leafs or even the 52" Chevy leafs and not need to extend the frame forward. One problem you'll need to address is the caster or front diff pinion angle. I made some steel shims that are welded up underneath the front leafs where they sit on top of the front axle. IF you want to see the pics, go to my profile and click on my homepage link to Supermotors, or look for my thhread here at BZ on the "Dana 60 SAS", JSM84

 

[bronconator]

after much thinking and checking of my wallet i have decided to go with a coil sprung setup. my question now is if i can keep my upper spring mount or if i HAVE to change it over to an older style? getting the parts is no problem i'm not concerned about having insane flex as that is not the kind of wheeling i do. i do have the dual shock setup in the front along with the 6" lift coil springs for a ttb 6" lift. will these coils still work? if it makes it higher thats no biggy i can always jack up the rear to compensate. and is it possible to reuse my radius arm drop brackets by moving them back? its the solid one piece design drop bracket.

thanks for the help and info guys. i know alot of this stuff is in previous topics but sometimes you can't find what you need without hours and hours of searching. you know how it is.

thanks