blackdiesel

I was just wondering if anybody puts blocks between the rear axel and the spring to distribute weight? Will this reduce wheel hop?

TxDiesel007

IMHO

blocking off the rears just has more potential to cause damage.. Its simple physics and the logic of bending so that it wont break. If you have a blocked rear end, you are forcing both, the spring, and the load on the block itself, if it is a cheap block it might cause some damage by breaking, shattering, or elseworth, wheras just the inverse could happen, and a spring could do the same thing, if I need to tow something that heavy and see that it is murder on my ride.. well i center the weight on the trailer axles if possible, and just take my time getting there rahter than rush and break something...

Tx

PourinDiesel

If you plan on blocking your axle, make sure it is easily removable.
That way if your first pull is no good, talk them in to unhooking you and then come back without the blocks.
Often times you will come off the line and hop sometimes it will clean up, many times not.
Try to run a less agressive tire when trying out new mods, to be more foregiving.

Alot of the good pulling trucks run some sort of suspension blocks.

blackdiesel

i was kinda thinkin about a block of steel. C channel maybe? dunno about solid. but it might be the way to go. tx, how could blockin the rear break the springs? I aint pulled yet, needa clutch, but its all in the plans!

fahlguy

If you are going to block your suspension....you'll definitely need some sort of traction bars. I blocked the rear suspension of my 01 and it was ugly......didn't break anything but sure thought I did.

What I did to block the frame was get a piece of 1/2" x 1' of channel iron and bolt it to my frame, then ran a big 1"x1' long threaded rod with a nut on each side through the channel (Drill hole)....that way you can adjust the amount of travel your rear suspension could move (up and down). I just made sure the threaded rod would make contat with the center of the spring.

Crimedog

I blocked mine up for a pull, it was a bad idea. First I was running late so I didn't have time to take them out after the test fit and I had to drive 10 miles with a solid rear - no fun! I had a terrible headache by the time I got there Anyway, I got a lot of hopping with the blocks, a lot of it was driver error (not smooth enough on the throttle). I don't plan on doing it again. Instead I went ahead and added another leaf out of a Super Duty. So I have two extra leaves in back, after watching video it doesn't squat nearly as bad as with the stock spring pack. I like it the way it is because there is still some spring to absorb bumps in the track, but enough to carry the weight.

TxDiesel007

OMG..

sorry guys, i was thinkin for yankin trailers around, not a sled... Im sorry, id suggest go with traction bars for that setup... Lets see, how can it break the springs...

My theory, after two semesters of university physics... You are forcing the spring against its own resistance, that is the way a spring works, yes, but they are only designed to go so far, if you block off the spring, you are greatly putting more tension than what it was intended for, thus increasing the risk for something to go wrong, its like anything, take a popsicle stick for an example, it can be used a spring of sorts, but u overload it or bend it to much its gonna break, the same can be said about your spings,

the force that will be placed on the trailer hitch which is the mass of the sled times the acceleration that you are going, will definately be a number that is high enough to break the spring by itself, Now you are blocking that spring off, which means you are putting more tension on it to reduce wheel hop, this to me is a catalyst for causing spring and or suspension damage..

Traction bars, reinforce the suspension to keep the wheels on the ground and reduce the bending of the chassis from the TQ applied to it. it reinforces more area than just the springs would, thus in my opinion, being safer...

This is just my opinion, feel free to disagree, PS i got B's in the class, im sure an engineering major or a physicist can correct me if im wrong and please do, i wanna learn...

Thanks

Tx

BigBlue

Are yall talking about putting a block underneath the rear leaf spring or what? Pulling is a mystery to me.

blackdiesel

yeah, putting a block between the axle and the spring. for sledpullin

Redleg

I don't pull, but I think youd break traction easier. I saw a kid once that had his cutlass rear end jacked up with 2x4's. Every tiny bump on a smooth road gave it bad wheel hop and just about caused him to gothrough the roff when he caught a bad one. We convinced him to get them out before they actually punched through, but all the stress cracks were there.

WhiteSport600

I've installed dropped suspension snubbers from Pro-Comp to keep the suspension from squatting so bad on mine. My truck used to squat so bad when sledpullin, that the front end would almost be off the ground, without weight of course. The frames on the 3rd gens don't give between the bed/cab like the 2nd gens do though. Usually if a solid-suspension 2nd gen pulls, the bed gap is alot bigger at the top than the bottom I like to let mine squat down about 3" then stop, this keeps the front from getting too light. Also on the ladder bars...I've got a friend w/ and 02 CTD that has won over 50 pulls with completely stock suspension and 800lbs on the front end... Traction bars/Ladder bars aren't all that they are cracked up to be (Pun intended)...

24valvepuller

I took the rubber snubbers off and put a homemade stop in there made of a piece of heave tube steel with a thin plate on top to put the bolts through. I have had them on there all season along with my airbags and have had nothing but positive things come from it. In pulling you want to keep the hitch as close to the max height as you can, mine drops one inch and if the rules stated I didn't need that inch gap, I wouldn't have it. I have had no hopping, bouncing or anyother problems. I even had them on before I got my traction bars on with no problems.

blackdiesel

awesome! could i get a pic of those?

24valvepuller

I will have to wait to get pics till the wife gets home but I should be able to get some later on. they ain't nothin fancy, hell I ain't even got them painted