Triangle® Suspension Lift
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Before with 31 x 10.50 BFG AT's After with 32 X 11.50 BFG All Terrain KO's
When I bought it, my Scout sagged badly and clunked over every bump as blown shocks and rotted 23-year-old bushings jarred my backside. I knew that new springs, shocks, and bushings were in order, and also wanted a mild lift because I wasn't happy with the low ride of the original springs and the size of the 31 X 10.50 tires.
A spring over axle lift was cheap, but tehcnically difficult to do well. Some major front axle work would have to be done to eliminate problems with pnion angles, caster in the front axle, and bumpsteer that were common with SOA lifts. Trying to fab new shock mounts, spring perches, and driveshafts didn't excite me either. Besides, a conventional spring-under lift kit doesn't have some of the top-heavy tendencies that tend to plaque SOA lifts. Load carrying capacity was relatively more important than ride comfort, but I didn't want a bone-jarring ride either. I initially considered the SuperLift 4" suspension lift after reading that Willy Worthy (technical editor at Peterson's 4Wheeler Magazine) had a major hand in its design. Howver too many folks had told me that this kit was extremely hard sprung. SkyJacker's 4" offering had uniformly good reviews about its ride smoothness, but there were significant problems with sagging of the rear springs and poor load capacity.
Many of the lift kit threads in the IHC-Digest and Binder Bulletin favorably mentioned the Triangle Spring kit. Although not as well known as the other aftermarker suspension companies, Triangle is the largest manufacturer of OEM springs and made the OEM springs for International. Full kits are not available per se, rather the springs are ordered in pairs and the remaining hardware is bought a la cart. Some reviews complained that the back rode too high, and the front too low - but these were far less common than the negative remarks about the other two companies.
I ordered my Triangle Spring kit from Mark Drake at Scout M.A.D.ness. It includes new u-bolts and polyurethane bushings for both the frame and shackle ends of the springs. I also ordered Mark's recessed u-bolt plates and sent the original brake lines for him to place longer lines on the original fittings. I choose SkyJacker Hydro shocks for their smooth ride and orderd those from the 4 Wheel Parts Performance Center in Jacksonville Florida.
I replaced all the suspension hardware with new Grade 8 bolts and nuts. This includes the 12 7/16" x 3.5" shackle bolts as well as 6 7/16" x 3" bolts for the shock mounts
Originally the steering characteristics of my Scout was best described by its former owner as "unruly". Much of this I traced to a worn steering rag joint, but the rig still tracked poorly. To counter this I planned to install a set of castor correctors from The Scout Ranch and a Strate Steer II brace from AT Scouts, as well as thoroughly inspecting the mounting holes of the steering box and installing fresh grade 8 bolts.
One last note - my Scout had severe problems with engine oil leaks that I eventually traced to worn valve cover gaskets. As a result the entire undercarriage and engine was covered with 1/4" of oily residue and grit. I thoroughly degreased the underside of the Scout before starting using spray engine cleaner, Castrol Super Degreaser, and a pressure washer. Then I thoroughly soaked all bolt connections daily with P Blaster (the stuff works great!) for two weeks before starting the install.
So on with the install..........
1) Remove the old brake lines. This may be easier said than done. First thoroughly bleed the lines to clear any rust and sediment. Use lots of P Blaster and a wire brush to remove all grease and grime from the soft brass fittings, and be sure to use a set of flare nut wrenches (3/8" and 1/2") so minimize rounding off the nuts. Carefully remove and keep the u-shaped clips that secure the hard/soft line connectors to their frame brackets. The copper washers may have to be replaced with new 7/16" pieces to avoid any leaks during reassembly.
2) Starting at the rear suspension, jack up the frame high enough to allow the suspension to droop and the tires to clear the floor. Remove the original shocks and discard the mounting hardware. My rear shocks were blown - one leaked oil down my hand and arm as I removed it! Below is a picture of the old one versus a new Skyjacker Hydro unit.
3) Jack up the rear axle and support it with two jack stands. Unbolt the u-bolts that hold the springs against the axles. If you plan on replacing the bolts with new units (strongly recommended), you can cut the bolts off instead. Save the original spring plates (in case you ever decide to later go with a spring over axle conversion <G>), and make note of the position of the original lower shock 00mounting bolts. Below are some pictures of the original spring plates compared to the stout low-profile plates from Scout MADness. They allow the ends of the u-bolts to be recessed above the level of the spring pack - protecting the bolts and improving ground clearance.
4) Remove the bolts that attach the spring to the shackle and the frame. These bolts have a habit of rusting to the inner steel sleeve of the rubber spring bushing and may need some persuasion with a 5 lb mallet to be extricated. Discard these bolts, but save the shackle plates and sand or grind the inside surfaces free of any corrosion. Let the old leaf spring drop onto the floor. You may need to pry the forward end free of the frame bracket with a large prybar. Take this opportunity to brush and clean the axle tubes before installing the new hardware. Below is a pic comparing the original spring (bottom) with the new higher arched 7 leaf Triangle unit.
5) Remove the original rubber shackle bushing from its frame bracket. This is a real pain in the a$$ because the bushing has an inner sleeve that often rusts to the bolt. There's also a thin outer sleeve than holds the bushing within the bracket tube. Use a propane torch to burn out the rubber part - evenly heating the bracket tube until the rubber begins to pop, sizzle and smoke. Don't be surprised if the bushing catches fire - have a water-soaked rag nearby to snuff the flames.Then quickly push the molten mess out of the bracket tube (bolt and all) without burning your arms with melting rubber (don't ask me how I know this!!).
6) Now comes the fun part - trying to remove the outer sleeve. The bracket has a rolled piece of steel (the bracket tube) that is welding to the two ears. Within this is the thin outer sleeve that is often rusted into place. Most folks try to use a hacksaw blade to cut the sleeve into two halves, then a cold chisel and mallet to drive out the pieces. Fortunately this was a good excuse for me to buy that air chisel that I always wanted and this made short work of what has been described as a knuckle busting process. Be sure to minimize damage to the tube itself. Below are pix of the bracket and rusted inner sleeve, and a closeup of the burnt out bushing and the chiseled out outer sleeve.
7) Install the new poly bushings using liberal amounts of the supplied grease. Lubricate the inner and outer surfaces of each bushing, the inside surfaces of each spring eye, the inside surfaces of the new sleeves, and the shafts of the bolts. Reinstall the leaf spring onto its frame and shackle mounts, but do not tighten the bolts yet. Next, position the axle over the center pin of the spring pack and secure it against the spring plate using the new u-bolts. Be sure that the center pin sits within its hole in the center of the spring plate. Jacking up the nose of the differential pinion slightly should restore the original driveline pinion angle and facilitate proper seating of the axle. Snugly tighten the ubolts - this is tedious at best. Cut the exposed ends of the U bolt threads with a air cutoff tool or hacksaw - leaving about 1/4" of thread exposed. Attach the new shocks using the new hardware. I had to shim the lower shock eye with a few washers to get the shock body to clear the edge of the spring plate.
Jack up the frame and remove the jackstands supporting the frame while keeping the axle stands in place. The entire weight of the vehicle should now be supported by the axles. Tighten the bushing bolts to 30 ft-lbs - not the 60 ft-lbs as described in the service manual (you're using poly bushings instead of the rubber OEM type). The bolt should turn freely within the bushing. Torque the u-bolts to 60-70 ft-lbs and the shocks to 30 ft-lbs.
The front spring replacement is similar, with some additional notes. The passenger side of the axle uses part of the differential housing to hold the inboard u-bolt. A longer, wider u bolt is necessary for this location. Because of the narrow quarters the spring plate for this corner doesn't quite hide the ends of the u bolt as well as I would have liked.
Don't forget to reinstall the 1" spacer block on the passenger side of the front axle - it lowers that side to compensate for the weight of the driver. It's easier to install the springs if the anti-shimmy bar (the steel plate connecting the shackles) is removed first.
When the front was done it looked like the differential pinion was pointed downwards away from the driveshaft. Closer inspection of the original front springs shows that the main leaf is at the level of the rear spring eye, whereas the front eye is above the level of the main leaf. Apparently this helps maintain the pinion angle. The Triangle spring does not have this feature, however the Scout has no problems with vibrations despite this.
RESULTS:
The Scout sits decidedly high in the rear and low in the front. I measured a lift of 4.5 inches in the rear compared to 3 inches in the front (distance from the axle to the frame). Mark at Scout MADness said that this was typical (?) and that the rear springs are meant to sit level when loaded down. I'm debating whether or not to remove one of the leafs from the rear spring packs. I was able to mount 32 X 11.50 BFG All Terrain KO's on the stock 15 x 7 chrome steel rally wheels with minimal rubbing against the front springs at full turn.
ON THE TRAIL: On the ramp the suspension is very flexy in the rear - upwards travel is limited by the sheetmetal at the rear of the fenderwell (maybe I shouldn't take out that extra leaf!). The front axle articulation is limited by the anti-shimmy bar and the too-short length of the spring pack.
ON THE ROAD: The ride is *stiff**!!!!. There's a lot of that see-saw buckboard ride that I'm told is common in leaf spring suspensions (I didn't seem to remember the stock boned out springs riding like this, and my other ride is a *smooooooth* riding coil sprung Jeep TJ). I upgraded to adjustable Rancho 9000 shocks and the ride is tolerable with the front shocks maxed out at 5 and the rears set a 3. My hope is that a front shackle reversal will help the ride and correct the sagging front end. The addition of the Strate Steer brace, a Doetch Tech steering stabilizer, and a new steering rag joint has improved the steering, but the steering box had a lot of play and will probably need to be replaced in the near future.
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Update: Steering upgrade and front reverse shackle kit (June-October 2000)
I tried to reduce the play in the steering box by tightening down the pinion preload nut....no dice. So I installed a remanufactured steering box, along with a new power steering pump with hoses and reservoir (all from Scout MADness). Now the steering play was much better, but the see-saw ride was driving me nuts. I ordered the front reverse shackle kit offered by Scout MADness along with a new longer front driveshaft.
The reverse shackle kit completely tamed the road manners of the Scout - with none of the stiff jarring that occurred with every bump in the road. Unfortunately there was a significant compromise that occurred with the elimination of the steel antisway bar that formerly connected the front spring shackles - significant body roll! None of the available aftermarket swaybar kits from Addco or Hellwig fit a lifted Scout with a shackle reverse. I guess I'll have to dial in the Rancho 9000's to reduce the roll to a livable degree. In addition, the kit also raised the front end about 2", overcorrecting the Scout's former nose-down attitude. A pair of 3" extended shackles from Back Country Binders leveled the Scout with a total of 5.5 inches of lift!
Although I had no problems with driveline vibrations, a peek at the front driveshaft angle shows just how bad the u-joint angles are. (Sigh, looks like a axletube twist is in order, in addition to a CV driveshaft....!) Fortunately, with the addition of the caster correctors the Scout tracks well down the road.
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Update: Trail tested! (December 2000)
After about a year, the springs really seem to have softened. The Scout finally got it's first taste of real offroading. This thing really flexes! With the swaybar gone, the front axle has come alive, articulating just as well as the rear. Even with open diffs, the longer wheelbase and supple suspension of the Scout caused no trouble with uneven terrain and moguls, keeping up with the fully locked Jeeps among us.
At full stuff, the front and rear tires just make contact with the rear of their fenderwells. Hopefully a mild body lift and trimming with fix this.
The extended brake lines were *just* long enough.
