99 EZGO TXT, What does it take to move springs to top of axles, front and back

[JPonLKN]

Hey all,
I did a search, and while there are several threads on this very issues...they all seem to be 2013 and older, at least that I can find, and the majority of the pictures have been stripped or are no longer available.

As the title says, I want to move the springs to the top of the axles, front and rear to get a few inches to clear the 23's I just installed, while I wait for hell to freeze over, or until my Jake's lift kit gets here. Since it looks like it will be a long wait, I was thinking I could do some mods to get a cheap lift in the mean time. Looking for helpful hints/direction from folks that have done this before...I know it has been done a bunch in the past.

On the front, I can cut the perches off the axle and weld them back on tip easy enough. Will I need to also cut tie rods...Without pulling it apart and mocking it up, looks like maybe they would be too long to fit. Any other obstacles?

On the rear, looks like simply turning the axle mounts and plates upside down, should work, then lengthen the rear spring shackles? Am I over-simplifying this?

Thoughts?

Also, if anyone of you have already done this and have close up photos of the final axle mounts, front and back, that would be very helpful.

Thanks
Jeff

[Cartmaster]

What you describe pretty much nails it, i no longer have the pictures of how i did it, but i am sure Stovebolt will be along soon with his. A few pieces of box section steel may be required on the rear, and i used long bolts instead of the u bolts and longer shackles work, but tend to allow the rear to sway a little. If you go with longer shackles, weld bridges between each pair to make like an H shape, it stops them twisting. I think if you get to see how Stovebolt and i did it, you will not really need long shackles as the extra height is achieved by the box section steel. You will need to drill a few holes to clear the pins on the axle and spring. Also you may need to cut slots in the rubber located in the aluminum brackets. If you can fabricate, you dont need to cut off the front axle mounting points, just fabricate two new ones and use long bolts through the upper and lower plates. All will become clear when stovebolt pops by. The other way to do the front is place blocks between the rear of the front springs and use longer bolts. Do both blocks and plates and you can achieve a higher lift. Steering starts to be an issue when going over 2" lift but can be sorted by replacing the TRE's with male heim joints and bolts and spacers, this will help raise the track rods to line up better. As you will be using the original axle their will be no need to alter the length of the track arms.

[EDIT]
you may want to also fabricate a plate similar to the one that the bottom of the rear shock mounts to but without the tab for the rear shock to stiffen up the aluminum bracket as it may snap if you do it up too tight on assembly.

Just an afterthought, Stovebolt may not have pictures of the rear as i think his started out as an ST model that already had a partial lift and different rear setup. Lets wait and see. Although i believe he may have pictures of another one he may have built from a TXT model.