drop blocks

Why do I hate them....the simplest answer is that they are a bandaid fix. But the actual reason is safety, 1 yes they are very unstable for side loads and can cause the truck to become unstable in a side load situation. 2 because apart from belltechs I have never seen a decent quality block, and most people do not buck up for the belltechs in my experience. and 3....we they cause sever axle wrap, and can cause driveline damage due to this....not to mention the fact that they place both the leaf and spring/shock perch lower to the ground.

That said, I had drop blocks on all of my trucks, but the blocks came off of all of them for these reasons and in the future, should I want to statci a truck, I would rather wait an extra couple weeks and just buy the drop springs and shocks, that are purpose built for what I want than use a universal solution.

And like I said before, I will still use blocks if the customer really wants them, I advise against is, but I will do em if thats what they want....just never over 2".

What's wrong with big blocks? Been usen them for years, cheap, and functionable. Winter has just started here and I'm rollin 8in all the way around with 5in blocks.... SWEET!!! Don't understand....

gravity5 how did the blocks come off? did they crack or what? do they break at the tit or crack in half? and can you explain axle wrap. thanks.

The truck I just bought had 3 inch blocks on it with the hydraulics. When I went to take the lower hydraulic mount off the block on the passanger side had cracked into two pieces and somehow sheared the top of the centering bolt for the axle off. I ditched them and put in 2" blocks until I get a 4 link and do my bags in the rear.

I took the blocks off, because of the issues...they did not fall off...

As for axle wrap, hmmmm okay its a little hard to explain in writing but here goes...

When you accelerate, the axle wants to twist in the opposite direction of the direction of wheelspin. good so far. Now when this force happens the axle will actually wrap around the axle( obviously not the whole way around, but to a very slight degree) when this happens the axle will load, and unload the leaf spring. this situation if fine when it happens within factory design specs. the problem lies when you change things beyond those specs.

When you add a block it is like adding a lever and effectively muliplying the force enacted on the leaf by the axle. It will cause the axle to wrap considerably more, and unload that much harder, which can lead to lossed of traction, broken driveline components, etc. etc. Not to mention the fact that as you add bigger and bigger blocks the force gets bigger with each one.


People have been doing it for years, and with some degree of success(sp) LOL but it does not make it the right way to do it. Kind of like how forward/reverse 4 links are not the best way to do a 4 link( even though I had one like that for 2 years )

very good explanation gravity5! i was gonna try to explain, but i started having trouble posting...

cool man. that makes sense. i am thinking that if i buy this truck this weekend that i am going to pull the blocks off. i have 2 leafs pulled, so i think it will ride a lot better. thanks for the knowledge bro.

I was going to use 3 or 4" blocks in my truck until I found the Belltech 3" lowering leafs at Stylin Concepts. I think I'm going to give them a try,since they claim to keep the ride decent and they give you 3" of drop,and keep everything safe. Plus,my bushings and everything on my truck are all worn out,so it won't hurt to have all my suspension components replaced.

I don't plan to bag the truck,but I want it low and driveable,so Iwant to static drop it the right way and keep it safe,so I want to use the leaf kit in the rear and drop spindles in the front and Toxic shocks all around.

see, i was planning on bagging it not long after i dropped it but things happened and never got a chance to. if you do not plan on bagging it than you are going about lowering it the right way.

I'm running 4inch blocks on the rear and am about to pull 2 leafs. The shock mounts are horrible with blocks i actually got stuck on a slab of concrete cause my tire was off in the grass and it bottomed out on the shock. What I did was remove the lower bracket of the leaf spring and replaced it with on from a 83 Mazda so that the shock would be higher. I also had to add brackets on the round cross member for the shock to mount to. I'll try and put a pic up this weekend.