Lift kit of wood blocks??

[Dave's1971]

The ‘66 u15 I just bought appears lifted somewhat. When looking under the truck there appear to be ehhhh… chunks of 2x4 wood installed as spacers on top of the rear axle and under the springs to raise the rear. Is that standard policy?

Thoughts?

 

[bmc69]

Kinda goes against the grain, IMO.

 

[NGABronco]

That must be one of the proto-type lift kits bax was working on???

 

[okie4570]

That was a Louisiana thing iirc lol.

 

[broncosam]

I've told about it many times but years ago a buddy I worked with bought a used 74 Bronco. I think it was around 1978 or 79. The poor thing looked decent and ran good but was already starting to get rusty. After he had it for a while it started sagging on the driver side front. Some PO before him had welded a piece of about 5 inch diameter iron sewer pipe to the bottom of the front springs to get some lift. While that did raise the front end the heat from welding played hell with the temper of the spring and it broke. I had just lifted the 77 F150 4x4 I had so he brought it down to the house and we put the front coils I took out of my truck on his Bronco. They got the job done just fine in the amount of lift but it did ride a bit stiff on the front. It amazes me some of the hob-cobbed up fab skills some idiots have.

 

[SteveL]

Beware of termites

 

[Rustytruck]

test the wood so you know where it comes from. don't trust a mechanic with sawdust on the floor. Was the wood spacers painted? Someone told him the truck needed bigger tires for more flotation so the Eisenstein went on step further with the lift kit.

 

[DirtDonk]

Hey Dave’s1971, as you can probably tell from the humorous answers, yes we’ve seen it before, but no it’s not correct!

It’s probably safe enough to get you a short term fix, but wood is too easy to compress, wear down, and even break under the wrong circumstances. So as soon as you can, remove the wood and replace it with something correctly made for that function.

These would include either a replacement cast metal block (not aluminum for 4-wheel drive trucks normally) of the correct thickness, or a replacement set of springs to give the same amount of lift, or even an add-a-leaf style of helper.

The decision may rest on the overall condition of the rest of the components. Or your budget, or just your preference.
You can measure the distance between the top of the axle tube and the bottom of the frame rail at all four corners to give you an idea of how much suspension lift your bronco already has. Measuring all four corners will also give you an idea of whether or not it’s sitting level.

 

[DirtDonk]

The measurements we use for a reference around here are 7 inches in the front and 6 inches in the rear as a baseline stock height. Anything below that is the amount of sag in the springs and anything above that is the amount of lift that’s been installed.
If it’s within a half an inch either way, we usually call that a wash. Measurements are approximate since Broncos vary among themselves.

Sometimes lift blocks are simply installed to compensate for old tired and saggy springs.

 

[Dave's1971]

Ok, so a wood lift kit is fine if I use a treated hardwood!

Great responses you all!!! Termites OMG

Thanks!!

 

[Rustytruck]

Yes but you must use steel banding around the blocks at each end so they don't split and don't forget to paint them before anyone sees them your still better off with steel tapered Blocks if you really want to run blocks. but its your truck so please play safe.

 

[ared77]

I looked up the patent for that lift kit, it was issued to a "Fred Flintstone"

 

[bmc69]

Ok, so a wood lift kit is fine if I use a treated hardwood!

Great responses you all!!! Termites OMG

Thanks!!

Be carefull though...if the wood is too brittle it could split and someone could get kiln.

 

[Broncobowsher]

I have a friend who actually did this. But it was a beater and was beat. Mercury Lynx, carburated 1.6 underpowerd POS. He got a gig delivering newspaper flyers, in rural areas. Got tired of getting the carpet wet crossing creeks. So he unbolted the struts, 2x6 cut to size, longer bolts. Ran that way for years. Safe? Not the worst thing by a long shot. A/C filled with propane, ball joints with enough play you could measure it with a yard stick, regularly rotated the brake pads to even out the wear, bias ply trailer tires, random DIY wiring that did the charging system along with the carb heater that was powered up with an aligator clip.

 

[FordBronc]

Stone beats wood any day.....as long as you use a High Test Webbing ratchet strap.

 

[gnpenning]

I looked up the patent for that lift kit, it was issued to a "Fred Flintstone"

I thought Paul Bunyan had that patent?

 

[El Kabong]

Wood? That's sticks! According to the 3 little pigs bricks are the best.

 

[Cooper]

Wood? That's sticks! According to the 3 little pigs bricks are the best.

Neither rust !!

 

[DirtDonk]

Hey Dave, I can’t see your post count or forum join date on my phone screen, but just in case you’re new and just starting to post, welcome to Classicbroncos!
And I forgot to say congratulations on your new to you Bronco as well.

Definitely check in with us if anything else seems sketchy. If you’re new to older vehicles by all means let us see pictures and get information and anything that just doesn’t seem right put it out there. Because just like with the wood blocks, you might be right!

 

[ared77]

Fred had the original patent back in pre-historic days, Paul's was an improved version.
Notice Fred's use of wood for the frame rails, lift kit was a piece of cake!