Rancho 4 in w/ Deavers or Solo C/T?

[Pony Boy]

Well I've recently finished my taxes, and this year I want to put it all into my Bronco. My rear shackle mounts are cracked and rotted from the New York salt, so I'm definitely going with Deavers and new shackles/mounts in the rear. But my dilemma is for the fronts. I've always wanted to go Cut and Turned and do things right the first time around, but if I go that route with Solo I'll have to stretch my money quite a bit, and I find it hard to justify spending around 1600+shipping for Solo's C/T kit then another $550+ $100 shipping for the Deaver's from JBG, plus some other unforeseen expenses once I get things apart. Or I could go with the Rancho kit for the front and get deavers for the rear and end up around a total of 1500 maybe even a little less.
So what do you guys think? What's your input? I realize that the decision is really based on quality and what I really want, but I'm looking for opinions from people who have actually driven both kits.
In reality my Bronco will probably never use the Solo kit to its fullest, but it's nice knowing that the ability is there. I'll generally be using it for a daily driver with occasional trips off-road in the Adirondacks on fast fire roads. It's a '95 with a 302 and E4OD tranny with 33 inch All Terrains.

[Polarcub]

While I am a big fan of C/T beams their is nothing wrong with the rancho kit and its a great starting point. More than one person has used C/T beams with the rancho. When you order the deavers get the extended shackles and spring for a set of Bilstein 5100s for the rear and 5150s for the front. GO with the rancho kit for now and add limit straps front and rear then go out and have fun. THe biggest thing you get with c/t beam is better alignment but as I said many people have used the rancho kits and done fine in fact they even raced class 3 on them so I say if thats your budget go for it and then save for some c/t beams later.

[Dezertbronco]

I agree I have the 4'' kit and Love it. JBG is outrageous on shipping so go direct with Deaver....Good luck

[Pony Boy]

Yeah, that's what I was leaning towards. Where can I find the extended shackles for the Deaver's and how does it improve the rear over stock shackles? Any other tips that you guys have for this build? I'll need larger u-bolts for the Deaver's right? Does anyone know the length of the top of their head? What about getting the driveline angle right once I get the Deaver's on. What should I be looking out for there? Thanks you guys for your input, this will be the biggest challenge I've tackled on my Bronco yet, and I'm really looking forward to it!

[johncharlesb]

Most just buy a 6" shackle (Autofab, Camburg, Solo) and bolt them up to the stock hanger, put on springs, and go woohoo!

With that being said...

The shackle can change the rate and increase the travel. Ideally, the undermounted/tension shackle should be horizontal at droop and vertical at stuff. Or if thought of in relationship to the spring, It should be inline with the spring at droop and 90* at stuff. Shackle length and mounting point affect this. I think 6 inch shackles are what most are running with Bronco or F150 springs. Arched/longer springs require longer shackles because of increased spring movement. Autofab, Camburg, Solo etc. should either have them or point you in the direction of finding them. There is a little diagram of the shackle/spring movement in my 62f100 thread. In Chase Truck's non-bronco build there is a page or two of discussion on this with smart folks like Philo and Steve wieghing in on more topics like shackle inversion.

[Polarcub]

The shackles also drop your ride height a bit I recomend that you plan on repositioning the spring perches as well so you can ditch the factory block. If you dont you will see alot of axle wrap.

[hobbyturnedobsession]

Definately rotate the perches! I tried running shims with the stock shim and the stock shim nipple broke and I broke a driveline over it. Definately worth getting it rotated.

[johncharlesb]

On a side note, if the factory shackles are rusty and cracking be sure to check the rear spring hanger. Mine were going bad on my rust belt 96F150.

[Deleted Account]

i make a 5 inch shackle that accually fits a bronco without hacking up the body. 6 inch you have to cut the rear crossmember out. bad for the body and worse for rusting. I would keep the rancho kit. it will work alot better in 4x on the highway. way less angle on the center u joint. less vibration. turn the rear pads for sure too.

[Pony Boy]

I'm definitely looking to keep things as stock and trouble free as possible, so there will be no cutting up the body for extended shackles. I was looking at buying the J40 Deaver pack from JBG, but when I talked to Paul at Solo about their C&T kit, he highly suggested going with the F53 pack, saying the J40's spring rate is much too high for C&T beams. I really would rather go with the J40's since they can offer a little more sway control, besides the fact that all the shackles and everything can stay stock. Would the spring rate really be too high for C&T or the Rancho kit?
Johncharlesb, I meant to say the spring hanger's were cracking, not the shackles( although they are in rough shape too! ). But I will definitely be replacing the hanger and shackles as soon as the weather here allows me to work outdoors. It's ridiculous here now, at about 10 degrees!

[hobbyturnedobsession]

I have the J-40s and I like them plus it really helps with the sway. You can have them reworked too.

[Polarcub]

The J40s work great I have been running them for about 3 years in my truck. I am sure the rate is slightly different than the 53s but IMO the difference is negligible in that department, if you are concerned about the different rate between the two give deaver a call and get the numbers. I suspect that their off the shelf J40s/53s are pretty close but the width in the spring is worth it to me. FWIW

[sydude]

Pony, I've got the J40's and they ride very nicely. When the weather gets better you can come drive mine and see if you like them.

And I also recommend ditching the stock wedge and turning your perches. If you don't, you're going to have a driveshaft angle problem (I did) as well as axle wrap. If you do this, get the big anti-wrap perches from ruff-stuff, they are really good. It's not that big of a job and makes a huge difference.

[Pony Boy]

Well, I have gone the C&T route, and I couldn't be more excited! I picked up the Solo beams and radius arms from Damon1272 on the parts classifieds, so now it's onto choosing the right coils. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm leaning towards Rancho's, but I've heard they're on the stiff side. Add a set of Bilsteins and extended brake lines and I'll be all set up front. I think I'll be replacing the outer tie rods, ball joints, and beam bushings while I've got everything apart too.
I've got a ton of questions now, but I'm afraid I'm goingto sound like an idiot asking them, but oh well! I was looking at the Solo radius arms and noticed that, as far as I can tell, they don't have a shock mount on them. I'm thinking that I'm supposed to take the mounts off of my old radius arms and bolt them onto Solo's. Of course, I don't have the arms yet so I'm sure it'll get clearer when I actually look at them.
As far as turning the spring perches in the rear, that sounds great except I don't weld! So I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. Granted, I won't be putting everything together until May probably, so I've got time to research, but I'm trying to keep everything as bolt on as possible. At the same time, I want everything to work together well.
Hmm... maybe it's time to start a build thread

[damon1272]

You will have to make a set up for the shocks or go with the front shock mount on a quad shock bronco with the quad shock spring buckets. Or if you wait I will send you mine for the shipping but that won't be till after July. Shock mounts are fairly easy to do. If you are going to get into Broncos and off road it is time to learn how to weld and fabricate or start saving your money. It only gets worse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pony Boy]

I already have the quad shock setup on my Bronco, so I could do that. I was also thinking about removing the shock mount from my old radius arms, drilling the Solo arms, and bolting them on. Does anyone who has run the Solo arms have any pictures of what they have done for shock mounts?
I hear ya on the welding! I was thinking about taking some classes this summer, or even just buying a welder and learning how to weld myself.

[Pony Boy]

So what's the general consensus on springs? I am leaning towards the Pro Comp 24212 coils that have a rate of 400 lbs/in. But is that going to be too soft? Would the 24612 with 450 lbs/in be better matched with the Deavers

[campbbg]

They are different lengths and rates

24212 2" lift 400 lbs/in
24412 4" lift 475 lbs/in
24612 6" lift 450 lbs/in

I have the 24412 and they work great with my solo c/t. If you are going for 4" then they are the ones you want. With those springs I aligned almost perfectly with 2 degree cams.

[Pony Boy]

Sometimes I am a complete idiot. I couldn't find the lengths, but I had seen a couple that vaguely described it as being a 2 inch lift coil. Yeah, the it'll be the 244412.