MG Metalworks Radius Arm/Coil Spring Axle Conversion for E-series Vans

[Jsweezy]

Shenrie - I am so glad you chimed in on how the kit felt. I was starting to feel like no-one believed me anymore being the only one talking it up. Also, you may not have experienced the braking you thought you were going to because he didn't have a 2013+ front axle so he didn't have the big ones.

 

[shenrie]

Thanks Shenrie! Glad you liked it!

np, and thank YOU for providing more quality products for us van owners. hope to be a customer one day

I imagine that the bushings in your link arms aren't as forgiving so you're getting a feel for the road whether you want to or not. :sombrero:

bushings? what bushings? there aint no stanking bushings in those arms, lol....

honestly, ive been meaning to box those in. i feel like not being boxed in allows them to flex which is adding to my high speed swim on the highway, especially since my van weighs just shy of 9k...and thats before i put a couple of 150lb motorbikes and a 100lb rack on back. i could be off, but not being boxed in seems like its opening the door to massive flexing, hence them being prone to cracking.

Shenrie - I am so glad you chimed in on how the kit felt. I was starting to feel like no-one believed me anymore being the only one talking it up. Also, you may not have experienced the braking you thought you were going to because he didn't have a 2013+ front axle so he didn't have the big ones.

my pleasure for chiming in. nobody believes just one review, lol. we will have an mg converted van here in boise soon enough and he can post his reviews then.

maybe someday us local idaho folks can get together and compare vans. that will give us a couple ujor vans, an mg van, and a quigley that we can all drive side by side on the same terrain and provide individual pros and cons to each setup. not sure if any of the locals have any different manfs like quadvan or advanced locally??

oh, and makes complete sense on the brakes. ty for pointing that out.

 

[Jsweezy]

my pleasure for chiming in. nobody believes just one review, lol. we will have an mg converted van here in boise soon enough and he can post his reviews then.

maybe someday us local idaho folks can get together and compare vans. that will give us a couple ujor vans, an mg van, and a quigley that we can all drive side by side on the same terrain and provide individual pros and cons to each setup. not sure if any of the locals have any different manfs like quadvan or advanced locally??

oh, and makes complete sense on the brakes. ty for pointing that out.

Ya, being the only guy talking it up I can understand the skeptics, I guess I would be too. I currently have a quigley van up the road from me at a dealership and I would love for a 3rd party to go drive that and then come drive my van to be able to relay the differences.

 

[mgmetalworks]

bushings? what bushings? there aint no stanking bushings in those arms, lol....

Well there ya go... That could be a lot of what you're feeling in ride quality right there.

honestly, ive been meaning to box those in. i feel like not being boxed in allows them to flex which is adding to my high speed swim on the highway, especially since my van weighs just shy of 9k...and thats before i put a couple of 150lb motorbikes and a 100lb rack on back. i could be off, but not being boxed in seems like its opening the door to massive flexing, hence them being prone to cracking.

I'll never understand Quigley's design philosophy. At first I just thought they were being cheap and they designed like they do for cost savings. Then you look at other components, perfectly good components that you can get directly from Ford (especially with their relationship with the automaker) and they put a bunch of non-value-add work into it to make it fit their custom brackets. For what reason? Why change the off-the-shelf Ford part to match a custom part? Why not the other way around? Makes my inner manufacturing engineer's blood boil.

Anyhow... your arms are flexing and that's why they have a history of cracking. That design was a bad choice on Quigley's part, they should have recalled those parts IMO.

 

[Betarocker]

Did the newer vans change rear leaf length to what the Super Duty pickups went to in 2008?

I must say that the new OEM leafs in my 2016 F350 ride better than the Icon leafs I had in my 2004 (which were light years better than the 2004 OEM).

 

[Backcountry Pursuit]

If everything goes according to plan, I should be doing the conversion with Shenries help the week of October 24th. Then the first MG DIY kit will be done and another cheerleader for this kit will have something to say. I can't wait! Now if that Sterling rear axle would just get here....

 

[Ranchero]

Excellent Tyson! Did your leaf springs show up? I should have mine up and running by Thanksgiving if the springs would show up.

 

[Jsweezy]

So since I have had this kit for some time now I wanted to see how it would feel to not run a sway bar up front.

Andrews van didn't have one when he left here so unless he put one on recently he isn't running one and Shenrie liked how it felt. He probably would be running one because his van is a little heavier with the diesel engine and a build out in the back but Quadvan cut the stock mounts off. They had incorporated the stock e350 sway bar links into their spring perches so they didn't need the ones on the axle. It probably would have been easier to just leave the ones on the axle but you know, "Proprietary".

Anyway, I removed it last night and took the van for a breakfast burrito run this morning on a route I've driven hundreds of times before. The only difference I noticed was that the van body didn't lean as much through some of the longer turns on the road and I am assuming that is because the axle was able to flex under the van without pulling on the frame. I would say this is a good attribute and I was pleasantly surprised that nothing else seemed affected.

Needless to say I won't be putting it back on and if I do start to load my van down with a build in the back I will just look to get some specially valved Fox shocks for some more dampening.

I just wanted to let you guys know that are about to DIY your installs so its one less thing to mess with since it doesn't seem to make much of a difference.

 

[Jsweezy]

Excellent Tyson! Did your leaf springs show up? I should have mine up and running by Thanksgiving if the springs would show up.

10 week minimum wait. Its part of the initiation process.

 

[Jsweezy]

If everything goes according to plan, I should be doing the conversion with Shenries help the week of October 24th. Then the first MG DIY kit will be done and another cheerleader for this kit will have something to say. I can't wait! Now if that Sterling rear axle would just get here....

I wish I could convince my wife we need to go visit her family so I could come help!

 

[mk216v]

Having driven MG's own van with his 4x4 setup right after the alignment got checked(it was spot on right to where he designed it to be), I was seriously impressed. It doesn't feel like a big EB on 35s at all, but instead feels like a modern SUV; comfy, great turn-in, tracks dead straight down the freeway, effortless!!(not saying at all that VANdiana's UJOR setup isn't impressive and pretty dang effortless to drive, maybe it's just that MG's van has less mileage than VANdiana's 89k so everything feels even tighter?) SOOO impressed with MG's 4x4 setup. Hopefully Chris at UJOR will start offering the setup to any of his customers who are asking for a lower cost 4x4 alternative and/or one which will be doing 4x4 duty which doesn't require a leaf spring front end(ie no serious off-road flexing).

Side by side with Vandiana I believe they were within a fraction of an inch of each other (my van being slightly lower). The bump travel has been improved with the extra lift but also the axle is in a better position relative to the cross member so I can get more travel out of my trac bar because of its placement than Quadvan, Quigley and CCV can. However, I'm being a little conservative with my bump stop height for the time being because I don't want to push to the edge of the design boundary all in one shot. I'm creeping up on the limits as we get more miles on these vans. It's a process....

Looks like MG's van was slightly lower than VANdiana (UJOR 6" on 35s);
http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...ine-front-bumper-option?p=2075949#post2075949

Pop tops are absolutely my highest priority after the Cummins is running and my van is roadworthy. I'm beyond excited about how the design is coming along but I have to finish the Cummins install first.

YESSSSS!!!!!!!!! :wings:

Had no idea ARB made an E-series front bumper. First one I've ever seen. I like it.
If you were starting with a 2wd van, would you use the same T case as all the other converters out there?

Info here; http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...5-Ford-E-Series-Econoline-front-bumper-option

My spring guy has finally kicked it up a notch, he's shipping at 6 weeks or under as of today.
I've also made some changes to avoid long lead times on springs for "regular" vans. I sent a PO for 12 sets, half to be shipped here and half to be staged on the west coast so they can ship immediately. Those springs should be ready to go in 3-4 weeks.

Boom, great job of pushing him Chris. E350 4x4 guys will be elated!

Well there ya go... That could be a lot of what you're feeling in ride quality right there.
I'll never understand Quigley's design philosophy. At first I just thought they were being cheap and they designed like they do for cost savings. Then you look at other components, perfectly good components that you can get directly from Ford (especially with their relationship with the automaker) and they put a bunch of non-value-add work into it to make it fit their custom brackets. For what reason? Why change the off-the-shelf Ford part to match a custom part? Why not the other way around? Makes my inner manufacturing engineer's blood boil.
Anyhow... your arms are flexing and that's why they have a history of cracking. That design was a bad choice on Quigley's part, they should have recalled those parts IMO.

:squint: Sounds to me like possibly a desire to sell more of their custom parts for a longer period of time?

 

[ujoint]

So..... Here's a little announcement?

We have 2 MG kits here, just back from powder yesterday. One is going on V8 (our newest UJ van) as a demo and the other is undetermined. V8s axle is done and ready to go in, rear springs are here, as soon as we get an open rack it will go under the knife!

I'll be adding the new 05/up axles to the website soon as well as offering a complete 4x4 conversion kit using the MG parts. Will post updates in our build thread of course.

 

[Jsweezy]

So..... Here's a little announcement?

We have 2 MG kits here, just back from powder yesterday. One is going on V8 (our newest UJ van) as a demo and the other is undetermined. V8s axle is done and ready to go in, rear springs are here, as soon as we get an open rack it will go under the knife!

I'll be adding the new 05/up axles to the website soon as well as offering a complete 4x4 conversion kit using the MG parts. Will post updates in our build thread of course.

Nice! I know whoever has you install this kit for them won't be disappointed.

 

[DocWhiskey]

So..... Here's a little announcement?

We have 2 MG kits here, just back from powder yesterday. One is going on V8 (our newest UJ van) as a demo and the other is undetermined. V8s axle is done and ready to go in, rear springs are here, as soon as we get an open rack it will go under the knife!

I'll be adding the new 05/up axles to the website soon as well as offering a complete 4x4 conversion kit using the MG parts. Will post updates in our build thread of course.

"Little announcement" huh?!

 

[philos]

So..... Here's a little announcement?

We have 2 MG kits here, just back from powder yesterday. One is going on V8 (our newest UJ van) as a demo and the other is undetermined. V8s axle is done and ready to go in, rear springs are here, as soon as we get an open rack it will go under the knife!

I'll be adding the new 05/up axles to the website soon as well as offering a complete 4x4 conversion kit using the MG parts. Will post updates in our build thread of course.

Vendors cooperating for the good of their community.
So nice to see!