Hi there Modders,
My brother and I are looking at dropping his EB wagon and I need
a crash-course lesson in understanding "lowering blocks."

We plan on putting the front onto a set of king lows and the rear
onto 2" lowering blocks, with possibly adding a leaf as well.
I'm familiar with the front end (as my sedan is already done),
but I dont know anything about the rear. We aim to source the parts
and get an experienced guy to do the install. Although Im not very
good at fixing cars, I really like to understand and learn about how
things are done.

Any advice, explanations and pictures about lowering blocks, where they
go and how they are fixed in, would be very helpful.

Many thanks.

lowering blocks fit between the leaf spring and the diff. Meaning that the diff sits away from the spring by the thickness of the block, haveing the net effect of lowering the car by the same amount.

Having said that, a lot of people believe them to be unsafe over a period of time, and that you would be better off getting the leaf springs re-set to a lower height. I have driven cars that have had both setups, and the re-set springs definetly felt much better.

lowering blocks are simply a chunk of steel that goes in between your diff and your leaf spring. Long story short is that it pushes the diff up towards the body further and the leafs closer to the ground thus making the car look lower. I have a set in my rodeo ute, there a cheap alternative to having the springs reset and can encounter issues with gutters, eg getting stuck on them, there a cheap way to go about it though

just think of them as a spacer. come with longer u-bolts to.

there a pov a*** way to lower leaf springs. your better off getting replacement lower springs as you do for the front. much safer, much better results to. more expensive, but you get what you pay for.

Thanks for the advice and explanations...
A bit to consider there.
The proper springs do seem to be the best and safest option
as opposed to the blocks.

Will see how we go.....

my ef wagon has 2 1/2" blocks in it and has had for years ive never had a problem my eb wagon has reset leaves and actully rides rougher but it is a fair bit lower,reset leave are a better way to go for uni angles and the like,but i wouldnt call blocks unsafe like i say ive had them for years i allways check when i service it that they havnt come loose or moved and they never have,both cars are in my profile if you want to see how they sit,so it up to you,but 2" isnt a very big block so unis ect would be fine

Thanks for the comments 351...

Your wagons look great and I appreciate the options
that you noted. I guess its a personal preference and
$$ consideration.....springs or blocks.

Ill pass all of this onto my brother and he can have
a think about it...No rush and we'll keep an eye out for
some parts.

Cheers everybody.

As above reset springs are probably a bit safer but having said that I have actually never heard of anyone having an accident or the like as a result of the blocks. I had them on my xd and never experienced any probs with them. They're pretty easy to fit too if you've got a little bit of mechanical ability as they don't require any special tools.
The drawing below is pretty simple (I'm not an artist I am afraid ) but you can see that the block actually raises the diff thereby lowering the car

 

 

Attachments:

lowering block.jpg [ 34.5 KiB | Viewed 209 times ]

lowering blocks are easy to fit. and they're not really unsafe, there just not as safe as replacement springs.
as for reset springs. i've got my doubts on them to. AFAIK it's taking your old spring and turning it into different shape.
Best option I believe is replacement springs, e.g. like you do to lower your coil springs. King Spring do them. They also add an extra leaf so that they're heavier duty.
Problem with lowering blocks is they reduce your carrying capacity - i.e. less load can be put into the rear before bottoming out.
Replacing the springs you can still put the same amount of load in, the replacement springs are heavier duty/stiffer and so the same amount of weight causes the height to change less.
In the end I guess you get what you pay for.
Could do a dodgy way. In my Valiant just took leaf off the bottom and put on the top and that droped it down. Never used the ute for carrying.

what does the wagon get used for? if its just normal luggage and not a tradie type use then lowering blocks will be fine.

i had an ef xr6 wagon with 2" blocks in the rear and in the 4 or so years i had it i never had an issue with it. (pic in gallery)

they don't actually raise the diff as people are saying as that is fixed to the axles which are fixed to the rims so it remains the same hieght. you are actually just lowering the body. however the pinion angle is affected and can be an issue but like i said and fordman351 said. no issues with ours.

i did a few interstate trips in mine with the back loaded with luggage and as long as you keep the bump stop above the diff in good condition you will not bottom out.

also a stock wagon will prolly not sit as low or as stiff as my xr due to the xr's getting a 5 leaf rear end as opposed to the std 4 leaf setup. you could get a set of ute springs from a wrecker and use them in conjunction with the blocks as the utes should have a stiffer 5 leaf setup as well.

if its mainly for looks, go the blocks. if you want handling, why have a wagon, although my xr could handle pretty well.

Great information there xhute, twr, prydey, and very helpful thanks.

Just thought I'd post a pic of the wagon. This can be
the 'before' shot.....

 

 

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twag.jpg [ 195.73 KiB | Viewed 217 times ]

I have recently put 2" blocks in my wagon and as said earlier there can be issues with unis & pinion so I have discovered. I now have vibration at 100ks which is a result of the unis changing angle. I think that its because the unis have worn in 1 spot for the cars entire life the change of angle has upset the unis travel in the yolks. So now I am up for new unis.

What is it that's actually unsafe about lowering blocks?

I had heard that they are detrimental to handling?

There not actually unsafe. Generallyu they are fine. but they are a rather large space fitted beytween the diff and springs. which is just not overly cool in my eyes. I'd rather fork out the extra for replacement proper made lower springs. that's my opinion but and everyone has there own. but they do cause your spring to not be operating in the range it's designed for. and means you've got some bloody long u-bolts

So basically it changes the geometry of your rear suspension? Are the longer u bolts weaker or more prone to failure than the regular size?

I'm interested in giving a set a try, but I keep hearing everywhere that they're not as safe as proper lowered springs, and I just want to understand why.