CUCV lift kit questions

jeepcj3a

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2006
Location
winston salem
Looking to lift my M1008 CUCV truck 4" to fit 35/36" tires to help with RPMs. I have been in square bodies with lift leaf springs in the rear but never shackle flips like the ORD kits.

Suggestions on leaf packs for rear vs stock leaf pack with 4" shackle reversal?

Planning on 4" lift springs in front, cross over steering with box tapped for hydro assist (haven't decided if I will go ahead with a PSC kit at this time), new shocks, brake lines, ubolts on all four corners. Likely zero rates in the back to help out too.

May consider going from the turbo 400 to a 700r4 in future, but right now going from the stock 32" tires to 35" will drop almost 300 rpms at 65mph which will help a lot.
 
I went from stock, to a 4" spring up front and 3" block in the rear with 11.00R-16s (about 37.5") and it was alright. Then I built a 700R4 for it...good luck finding the TV cable rod...that was a bitch! It was a better driving setup, but had absolutely no power.

Later on, I did the Cummins swap, added a zero rate up front, moved the axle forward 1.5", and went to 40s. It finally does pretty good on the highway and has plenty of power. 4.56s are a lot of gear with a diesel.

If you want to make it quick and easy, just toss a block in the rear. I never felt like grinding rivets and doing a shackle flip or getting rid of the carrying capacity of the stock 10-leaf spring pack. Plus, when you do a shackle flip it moves the axle forward and I didn't want to deal with all that. For reference, the truck has always been level with the 3" block in the rear and 4" Tuff Country HD front springs. The added weight of the Cummins/NV4500/NP205 plus the extra inch from the zero rate kept it level still.
 
I did a 4" with the shackle flip in the rear of my M1028. For what it's worth, buy decent springs for the front. I'll be ditching the factory springs on mine in the rear. I want it to actually flex! After a little trimming, I'm clearing the 37" MT's on H1 wheels easily. I also don't recommend those tires, but they were cheap with the wheels.
 
maulcruiser said:
I did a 4" with the shackle flip in the rear of my M1028. For what it's worth, buy decent springs for the front. I'll be ditching the factory springs on mine in the rear. I want it to actually flex! After a little trimming, I'm clearing the 37" MT's on H1 wheels easily. I also don't recommend those tires, but they were cheap with the wheels.
Click to expand...

Which rear springs do you plan to go with?

Thanks for feedback on the tires, I had seen a good deal on those and they were tempting but I’ll keep looking. Need to decide on wheel size.
 
Croatan_Kid said:
I went from stock, to a 4" spring up front and 3" block in the rear with 11.00R-16s (about 37.5") and it was alright. Then I built a 700R4 for it...good luck finding the TV cable rod...that was a bitch! It was a better driving setup, but had absolutely no power.

Later on, I did the Cummins swap, added a zero rate up front, moved the axle forward 1.5", and went to 40s. It finally does pretty good on the highway and has plenty of power. 4.56s are a lot of gear with a diesel.

If you want to make it quick and easy, just toss a block in the rear. I never felt like grinding rivets and doing a shackle flip or getting rid of the carrying capacity of the stock 10-leaf spring pack. Plus, when you do a shackle flip it moves the axle forward and I didn't want to deal with all that. For reference, the truck has always been level with the 3" block in the rear and 4" Tuff Country HD front springs. The added weight of the Cummins/NV4500/NP205 plus the extra inch from the zero rate kept it level still.
Click to expand...

Thanks for input. The more I read about install of the shackle flip I learned you have to cut off end of your exhaust for clearance on these, passenger side shock mount has to be moved and axle moves forward about 1.5” as you said which can be countered by a zero rate.

I won’t be towing with the truck but would like to keep bed capacity. I’ll look at a small block as option as well as just a new leaf pack in back.
 
Had I needed anything more than 3" of lift, I would have done something else. However, it was really hard to beat the price and ease of install with a 3" block vs. a shackle flip or new rear leaf springs.

The stock rear springs will actually flex though...nothing crazy, but they will! Of course, so does the frame :D

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jeepcj3a said:
Which rear springs do you plan to go with?

Thanks for feedback on the tires, I had seen a good deal on those and they were tempting but I’ll keep looking. Need to decide on wheel size.
Click to expand...

I found some stock springs from a CC dually at the local pick & pull that should suffice. They're not as thick of a pack and in good shape, so they should do better than what I have as far as flexibility goes. Load capacity isn't a concern for me.
 
We ran 35s on one with stock springs. Had to cut the corners of the bumper a little, IIRC.

You can fit 37-38s if you cut the fenders more. 42s if you cut the fenders and add a few inches of spring.

Shackle flips suck. They lower the roll center of the rear axle by several inches.
 
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