cutting front coils

[wwjd63]

I am about to cut my front coil springs to lower the front of my truck 2'' ,and was wondering how would be the safest way to remove them.
I have removed them from trucks with ''A'' arms but not from an "I" beam front end.
I also noticed that the top of the coil is wound smaller to fit into the top of the tower,so should i cut the coil from the bottom.

Thanks guys.

[FORDification]

It's the bottom of the coil that is wound tighter, so it's the top you need to trim.

And it couldn't be easier...you don't even have to remove the coil to trim it. You simply need to jack the truck up so that the front end is at least 6"-8" off the ground, then put some jackstands under the frame, and a hydraulic jack under the I-beam. Remove the upper coil retaining strap and shock absorber at the top, and then simply lower your hydraulic jack. The spring is bolted to the I-beam, so it's not going anywhere, but everything will pivot down enough to give you access to the top of the coil. Do your trimming, and then jack the suspension back up and reinstall the strap and shock.

In case the radius arm prevents the suspension from dropping down enough to get to the top of the coil, you might need to loosen the large nut at the rear of the radius arm, to get the needed slack.

[wwjd63]

Thanks i will go try that, sounds easy enough.

[HillbillyDelux]

id like to do this to my truck also. got some q's tho. wat should i cut the coil with? stock shocks okay?

does cutting the coil affect the ride any?

[fordman]

you can propbably cut the springs with what ever you have laying around. hacksaw sawzall torch. cutting the springs will mess up the camber or is it caster for your steering so you will eat through tires unless your truck has the i beams bent to take care of the modification to the springs. you shoul dbe ok on the shocks unless you cut off way more than 2 or more rounds off. i'm guessing on that.

[Redcap]

does cutting the coil affect the ride any?

Yes.

[FORDification]

I'd suggest using an angle grinder with a cut-off wheel, to minimize heat buildup. I suppose you could get by with a hacksaw...if you've got biceps like Paul Bunyan, that is. Using a torch will transfer too much heat into the coil, which will ruin the temper.



The more you cut off the coil, the stiffer it will become....and as mentioned, the more the caster will be messed up. And the only way to correct the camber is to have a truck shop cold-bend the I-beams.

[fordman]

yea hey paul get right after that will you?

[ezernut9mm]

like keith said, an angle grinder with a cut off disc or an air powered cut off tool. that's what i used.

[HillbillyDelux]

how many rings can i cut off? how much drop can i expect from one ring? and two?

i was thinking about doin the half hanger flip in the rear will i be able to sit level or possibly a little lower in the front just by cutting coils?

[randyr]

I'd suggest using an angle grinder with a cut-off wheel, to minimize heat buildup. I suppose you could get by with a hacksaw...if you've got biceps like Paul Bunyan, that is. Using a torch will transfer too much heat into the coil, which will ruin the temper.



The more you cut off the coil, the stiffer it will become....and as mentioned, the more the caster will be messed up. And the only way to correct the camber is to have a truck shop cold-bend the I-beams.

By cutting off 2 coils, will the truck shop still be able to bend the beam back to the correct caster? How much will this lower the truck? Thanks

[fitzwell]

easy as it is..i'd start with one coil. Re-assemble & check ride height, and clerance to the frame. If it ain't low enough....try again. After the first cut do 1/4 - 1/2 coil at a time.

as always,

[lee_ford]

I'd suggest using an angle grinder with a cut-off wheel, to minimize heat buildup. I suppose you could get by with a hacksaw...if you've got biceps like Paul Bunyan, that is. Using a torch will transfer too much heat into the coil, which will ruin the temper.



The more you cut off the coil, the stiffer it will become....and as mentioned, the more the caster will be messed up. And the only way to correct the camber is to have a truck shop cold-bend the I-beams.

In the picture it would appear that 2 coils were removed. Now since the second round removes far more drop (greater spacing between coils) than the first round, it would appear that removing one coil would only result in about half as much drop as the second coil.

(I am going to guess on the actual results here, OK?) To simplify things, cut one coil and drop 1 inch, cut two coils and total drop 3 inches, cut 3 coils and total drop 5 inches.

I guess the first question should be, “Does that picture reflect a 2 coil cut?” If you begin counting coils from where the spring starts the descent from the top “Flat” coil, then it would appear to be about a 1 1/4 coil cut.

This may sound to some like I am being a little retentive, but the fewer times I have to cut/check/cut/check the better.

[BMJs 67]

I took a coil and a quarter off my springs when I rebuilt the frontend on the 67. I counted down from the very top. I dropped the front a litle over 2 inches. The truck runs a little positive camber now but not enough to worry me. A cut off wheel on a die grinder worked great for me. The only problem I had was not getting the top of the spring in the correct position to seat in the coil bucket on the first shot, which took nothing more than jacking the side up and loosening some bolts to turn it.