I finally got together with Jonathan to c-notch his truck and do a couple other mods to smooth thing out and make things safer in back. The original plan, c-notch and get rid of his cheap 3" aluminum blocks and u-bolts and replace them with some real 4" blocks and quality u-bolts in the name of keeping things slightly more affordable than doing Belltech leafs and something like a 2 or 3" block. He only wanted to go 1" lower in back.

He said it rode really stiff in back. Someone had some crazy long helper leafs for carrying weight. I did the c-notch but we held off on the block install for a week so he can test out the leaf mod I did. I shortened the long helper leafs by about 5" on the rear. While I was under there (and he was off getting a new tattoo) I noticed light shining through his crappy blocks and leafs, and knew they must be a bit loose. (time bomb ticking with those aluminum blocks) so until we put the real stuff in next week I cut his insanely long u-bolts down and tightened up the pep boys junk. I recommend NEVER using lock washers on u-bolts, I should have got a picture of how bad they are to use. I'll bump the thread when we make it 1" lower next week. He said the notch and leaf mod helped out quite a bit.

 

very nice man.....

 

Great work as always. Clean truck too.

 

Nice B, is that the first truck in the new shop????

 

needs more lowers up front...

And is that U bolt bent?

 

It's a sweet looking truck if I do say so myself.

agreed.

Technically the second, but the first one to get some real work done to it.

Those u-bolts and blocks were/are cheapies from a local pats store that had a mile of threads hanging down (like 12" long) and yes, that one and the same one on the right was bent. The truck is also missing the left overload leaf. Somebody has been in there for sure. I shortened and tightened the cheap u-bolts until we redo that mess next week, or very soon. It had your typical $32 pep boys block and u-bolt kit that was on it's way to a disaster.

 

do you use a plasma to cut out the notch area? and then mig or tig to weld it up?

 

Nice job man!! You really need a hoist for all the stuff you do.

 

Although top notch work, doesn't this weaken the frame? Very nice truck!! NVUS

 

Man, that truck looks good!

Beefed, do you have anything that will better the ride in the back of the 89-95 trucks and still do a 3-4" drop?

 

Very nice work. I hope some time in the next couple months i can get a notch and some tweekin done to mine.

 

Although top notch work, doesn't this weaken the frame? Very nice truck!! NVUS

C notches...I swear by them !! Now days with the pre fabbed kits that are out there.. If you plan on goin lower than 4 inches, there is no sense in not gettin one. Just mark, cut, clamp, level, weld and box it in. Back in the day we did horrible things to frames. Like nibbling out C notches...or cuttn frames and bolting in the C notch ...OHHHHHH the HORROR !!!!

 

Forgot about finishin it off by boxing it in.

 

But I can't take my bed off. I have the bedbox in it.

 

You can install a c-notch without taking the bed off...in my opinion its more of a pain, but it can be done. As for cutting the frame Ive used plasma cutters, saw saws & grinders with cut off wheels! I also mig weld mine in, but have used a stick welder before too.

 

I have a template I use to mark the frame in the right spot, then use a 4.5" Ryobi hand grinder to cut the piece out, then I make a bottom piece with bends in it and a nut welded on so you can screw a bump stop into it. Then I weld it in which makes the frame strong again. I'd love to have a portable plasma but right now just can't afford one.

All the notches I've done have been done on the ground for a reason. These trucks have bed sag when they're not supported under the rear, so I have a procedure I do by putting the front on jack stands, then 2 more on the frame under the rear of the cab, and when let down onto these rear stands, the bed sags. (the bed stays on when I do a c-notch) So as soon as the frame touches the rear stands, I keep the bed supported at either the rear bumper or last crossmember (for trucks w/o bumpers) to keep the bed from sagging while I notch. I learned this by looking at a truck that was notched at a shop on a lift by people that had no idea what they were doing. They didn't address the bed sag and they cut both sides of the frame open at the same time, and this allowed everything to sag even more, and the body line at the cab and bed never lined up again...it was a real hack job, the dude was bummed. By seeing this, I knew exactly what not to do when I notched my first truck. (mine) So my 2 rules are, never notch while the bed is sagging, and completely finish 1 side before moving onto the other.

If not done right it can. However, these frames are a lot stronger than people think, plus by welding in a new bottom rail, replaces the strength that was lost when the piece was cut out because the frame is now boxed again. You 95 and earlier guys are lucky, the frame is already boxed unlike the Tacoma (or other model trucks) , so notching is a bit easier because I don't have to make a inner wall to box the frame in at the notch area for extra strength.

Thanks. I would think a set of Belltech leafs would be the answer there, guys, correct me if I'm wrong. Your ride depends on your current setup, but I don't know what it is w/o looking. That's what I told Jonathan, let's look at it first to see what we're dealing with and go from there.

Notches are a must if you plan on going 4" or lower.

Agreed. It seems to be the thing guys try to avoid for 2 reasons...worried it'll weaken the frame, and don't really know where to go or who to trust. I've taken the guess work out of it by doing so many of them now, all with great success, making it affordable because I know how important they are, and last, by making mine as deep as I dare go (deepest on the market) and allowing these guys to roll as statically low as possible w/o hitting frame.

I have a inner wall I weld in on the channel Taco frames, however, these early Yota's come boxed so I get away with not having to make a inner wall and weld it in.

I keep the bed on when doing a c-notch (only remove them for step notches) This makes for less work for me, and helps keep the cost down for them. I likes me a little yoga under there, keeps my neck loose.

I've done so many now I just undo the shackles, the spare tire and shocks and drop the axle out to the floor which allows me to get in there with my welding helmet and git er done. I've even learned how to easily work around the exhaust and don't have to cut them out of the way anymore. (since I'm using a grinder and not a plasma)

 

so why exactly are NOT suppse to use lock washers?

 

I personally don't like them because almost every time I've messed with a truck that has them on the u-bolts, there's usually one or two (sometimes more) that are out of shape (like a oval) and on it' way to cracking and splitting in two. They're usually found in cheap drop kits. They also dig in and gouge the u-bolt/shock plate and the bur gets stuck in the open part of it and can get into the threads of the nut when removing them and then freeze up, then you have to cut the u-bolt off. I've just seen too many die prematurely, then you're u-bolts become loose.

These are what I like to recommend now, they're what this blue truck will have under it in a week, much better hardware sized to fit the axle and block. 1/2" diameter grade 5 and fat 9/16" diameter grade 8. (last pic) SD YOTA uses the fat ones because he kept stretching the cheapies he had because of his welded diff on the street. Hasn't had the problem since.

 

most the reason they use lock washers on those kits is because they are cheap and the u-bolts dont require much torque to snug down. if you over torque them they wallow out and or deform as beefed said and become useless. they will also dig into the metal and cause them to possible come loose after time.

as beefed said, i upgraded to the bigger 9/16ths u-bolts as they barely squeak by the holes on the mounting plate but they can take more torque down (around 100 ft. lbs.) and will HOLD! never come loose after i got them down.

 

So your saying if i go with 4in blocks and pull one leaf the i will need the notch? i thought it was at 6in you will need a notch.