Highway123

BTW - Jimbo,
It rides like the lowers control arms are locked in position. Hitting a bump sounds like the front is coming apart.

jimbo486

I can relay one bit of information that a very knowledgeable shop owner gave to me back when I rebuilt my suspension. He recommended tack welding the lower bushings to the lower control arms. Only in 2 spots 180* from each other. He said those particular control arms have actually tweaked some enough to offset the bushing in the control arm which would then mess up your alignment.

u2slow

Take out the spacers, leaving just the moog springs. It should be alignable then.

Highway123

Just to give everyone a heads up;

I decided not to bag the front, I just don't have the time and needed the truck back on the road.

I removed the 7226s and spacers and replaced them with regular 7226 spring. I don't have the stance now but man it rides like a Cadillac. Function over fashion I guess.

Thanks for everyone's help, if I do go with the bag set up I will document and post it here.

NE frmhnd

Wondering what the 7226s without spacers would have yielded...

Angry Johnny

Just a little tip here for you guys that might not know. When you have your front end all back together set it on the ground before tightening up any bushing pivot points. If you tighten them while the suspension is hanging it over stresses the bushings causing them to fail prematurely and may affect the ride height.

PapeCAT

Sorry I missed this post, I was called out to answer earlier in the thread.

I'm currently retrofitting a 1973 D200 Club Cab 3200 LB front end with a diesel spec 4K lb front end. All the parts are different from A arms out to the spindles. A lot of the hardware including lower control arm through-bolts are larger. I'm using 100% Moog Chassis parts including steering pieces and are all USA made. I found some Chinese moog parts that were swapped out during the parts hunting phase, however.

I indeed had used Moog 7226S springs AND Daystar coil spring spacers before on my 1989 D250 Cummins with 19.5 Rickson wheels & 245/70R19.5 tyres. It rode real rough. The uppper A arm cracked after a month of commuting! Luckily, I was only just pulling in to the parking lot for lunch at a local Mongolian BBQ place and I heard a SNAP as my wheel touched the parking space bumper. The aft part of the driver arm was completely severed.

I think it was the combination of the hard-as-rock tires, with the lack of give in the suspension via 7226S springs. Mobbing down interstate 80 commuting to work, which is in terrible condition no doubt compromised the front end.

I was looking back into this subject, and found another old post from retired Chrysler Engineer Terry "Mysterman" Elders. Spoke to him the other day, he is in good feisty spirits and health after beating cancer.

Anyway, it turns out that the rubber "cushion" that rides on top of the spring flattens out or gets dispensed after a relatively short while, causing the sag we all loath. So in this trial, I've decided to install the normal/stock 7226 springs, along with the daystar coil spring spacers. I'm also using Jim Lane's recommended Pro comp 3000 shocks. This will retain the plush ride, along with giving a more robust cushion and mild lift to the front end, hopefully still preserving some rake, so when hauling or towing it doesn't do the "bro" stance. Mysteryman recommends the aluminum spacers that ride on the bottom of the spring, and recommends against any other type of spacer, however I don't see a problem with the daystars, they are just a more robust and slightly thicker poly version of the stock rubber cushions. I think the spacers you should avoid are the screw-in type that go into the spring coils themselves.

Anyway, here is an excerpt from Terry's informational front suspension rant:

(source https://www.turbodieselregister.com/...05#post2319605)

"The issue here is why do these 2wd trucks sag in the front. . . .

1) The main reason is because the black rubber coil spring cushions crush down to nothing. THERE WERE 3 DIFFERENT THICKNESS cushions. Depending on which ones were in you truck will determine how much it will drop.

Normally you will lose 1. 5 to 3. 5 inches of ride height. Bob is correct on how to take care of the problem. Cast aluminum spacers is the best and least expensive way. They are made by Specialty Products Company . The part #'s are as follows 1903, 1905, 1906 Multiply the thickness of the spacer times 2. 5" to figure the amount of lift you will get. Speciality products as far as I know does not sell retail. I do have a commercial account with them . I always have them on my shelf . Those that can not find them else where can buy them from me if they like. . DO NOT USE ANY OF THE OTHER TYPES OF SPRING SPACERS. Most other types do not work well at all and will damage the suspension.

1A) The next way is to replace the cushions with Dodge part # 4322 629 . That is the thicker one and will put the truck up where it should be. The trouble is they will crush out again in a few years. They are cheap however.



2) Coil springs. This is vary important !!! DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT THE PARTS CATALOGS LIST . All of the aftermarket suspension manufactures catalogs have listings for "super heavy duty springs" Do NOT BUY THEM ! THEY WILL DESTROY YOUR FRONT END!!! GMC/Chevy coil springs have a near exact diameter a ours do. They will fit but the spring rate is way too high ! They will crush your upper control arm bushing out in a a few short months. They will also cause the control arms to bend ! All those heavy duty / super heavy duty springs they list are actually Chevy springs. The springs that came with our trucks rarely sag vary much. The problem is what I mentioned above. It is the problem 99% of the time. But If you feel that you just have to replace them. THE CORRECT AND ONLY PART # TO USE IS MOOG # 7226

They are slightly longer than the originals so you do not have to use the upper rubber cushions. I do recommend globbing some WATER PROOF GREASE ON THE TOP OF THE SPRING WHERE IT MEETS THE FRAME. iF YOU DO NOT IT MAY SQUEAK AND CREAK A BIT. I also highly recommend to only buy Moog suspension parts ! they are about the only quality part left out there. Our front ends need all the help they can get !!!!!!!!!!!!!!



3) The 91. 5/92/93 diesel trucks have a different durometer rubber in the upper and lower control arm bushings than did the gas trucks. This is not reflected in the factory parts manuals nor until recently was it in the aftermarket catalogs. . Moog many years ago did offer the uppers but did discontinued them about 10 years ago. Thanks to yours truly here Moog now once again offers them. . I know a few of the engineers over at Moog and convinced them make them again. I am surprised that I was able to do so. They are not exact a high sales volume part ! The respective part #'s are K7189 for the uppers and K7192 for the lowers. . . . "

oliver foster

Thanks for the info Nick. I know you have dealt with a few 2wd front end rebuilds.
I am glad Terry is doing well, as I didn't see him at last years Carlisle show and was wondering how he was.