Lowering 4X4

[DenCon509]

Is it possible to lower the 4X4 MM without Divine Intervention - or Eternal Damnation?

[DenCon509]

Oh, it's an '86 D50 4X4.

[pennyman1]

not a lot of requests for lowering a 4x4 - especially if you want to keep the 4wd. The rear is fairly easy, replace the leaf spring hangers with the ones from a 2wd - about a 3 " drop. The front is a whole other issue - not sure what would be involved there. If you don't want to keep the 4wd, then a 2wd frame swap or a mustang II conversion would work on the original frame.

[87octane]

Pennyman, does it then stand to reason that a 4x SPOA that's too high could be lowered with the same 2x leaf hangers?

[pennyman1]

The mounts on the frame are what need to be changed - they extend down off the frame on a 4wd and sit flush in the front of the leaf, and the rear actually goes through the frame on the 2wd.

[irotagrup]

Do you need some 2x leaf hangers?

[Malaking_TT]

Couldn't you just put some blocks between the axle and the leafs in the back and crank down the torsion bars in the front? I've considered doing this too. 4wd would be instant traction for light to light races...

[rxinhed]

A buddy in high school installed rear blocks and cranked down the torsion bars on his 4x LUV. I always made fun of him for this. Others had lowered their 2wd trucks to the point of scraping on flat ground...suckers were 10 years early. My buddy would high center on the large speed bumps in his LUV, something the other low rider guys couldn't even do. He'd then get out of the cab, lock his hubs, and scrape over the speed bump until he was free.

The point of this story is why. My buddy wanted a low rider truck, but dad gave him a hand-me-down. He used what he had.

The point of this thread is why? Why do you want to lower a 4wd truck?

[Malaking_TT]

The point of this thread is why? Why do you want to lower a 4wd truck?

Because these trucks don't look like 4wd trucks so you could lower them down and nobody would really be able to tell they are 4wd. The reason for this would only be for light to light races or driving on snow. I had a lowered 2wd Toyota with quite a few engine modifications and that thing would never hook up.

[rxinhed]

Are you going turbo on this? The stock gas engines aren't much for street racing. Trucks don't like to hook due to low surface area pressure on the rear tires. Take a look at Farm Truck on Oklahoma Outlaws. He has a shell and lots of things in the bed to increase the weight on the rear tires. I'll grant you that having another driven axle will help. Are you planning on a Starion LSD or lincoln locker in front and rear?