Lowered my connect.

[ginsters]

theres nothing wrong with this method even volkswagon approve the same sytem on the caddy,it may be made by a big company but the principles are the same

it been done for years on all sorts,never heard of it going wrong

[L200Lee]

There's a guy on the caddy forum offering the same service, lowerin the rear of mk2 caddys (pickup) to the standard caddys and seat incas.
Im sure I can put his details forward and he can discuss any issues, as I was originally goon to get him to do the flip.

Or another idea, what If the plates where welded to the axles underside with a 10mm gap to allow the leaf to slide through and then bolted to the existing plate? Kinda hard to explain

[GKandR4CH]

L200 = What and then use the u bolts to also hold them up? Good idea Iknow what you mean though.

Sod it i'll go for this, but I need the fronts dropping as well.

[Honey monster]

If I wanted to lower the rear of mine I would happily buy and fit this kit. Just think how much stress the u bolts are under on a Mk2 escort with 2" lowering blocks fitted going sideways flatout through a forest stage. The only thing I would not do is weld the springs to the axle.

[Brit 50]

theres nothing wrong with this method even volkswagon approve the same sytem on the caddy,it may be made by a big company but the principles are the same

it been done for years on all sorts,never heard of it going wrong

The mahusif difference is they were designed that way, stress loading on the bolts have been calculated for that design, the reverse is true for the connect, yes it may be true that the bolts won't break but they are not being used for what they were designed for, if, god forbid, someone does have an accident then the whoever supplied the parts, even if it's via an Internet forum, could be in big trouble with the law. If you supply parts for a vehicle you need certain things in place or your in the firing line, and you will need to prove they were fit for purpose. Not being funny but any engineer could find fault with the parts, especially welded ones, was the welder coded? Why are the parts welded and not made new in one piece? Etc etc

Supplying parts is a minefield legally, it's all fun until something goes wrong. As for insurance, you won't get any if your van is lowered in this way and you inform them, they will want an engineers report and it won't be favourable. If you were to have a big accident, even if it was not your fault, and your insurance co does not know of the lowering or the other parties insurance finds out its lowered then your insurance is void, you are personally liable for the other parties losses and injuries and you will get hit big time in court for driving an uninsured vehicle etc etc.

Years ago you could do stuff like this and it wasn't a problem, things have changed hugely, and everyone loves litigation these days!

[Mylee]

theres nothing wrong with this method even volkswagon approve the same sytem on the caddy,it may be made by a big company but the principles are the same

it been done for years on all sorts,never heard of it going wrong

The mahusif difference is they were designed that way, stress loading on the bolts have been calculated for that design, the reverse is true for the connect, yes it may be true that the bolts won't break but they are not being used for what they were designed for, if, god forbid, someone does have an accident then the whoever supplied the parts, even if it's via an Internet forum, could be in big trouble with the law. If you supply parts for a vehicle you need certain things in place or your in the firing line, and you will need to prove they were fit for purpose. Not being funny but any engineer could find fault with the parts, especially welded ones, was the welder coded? Why are the parts welded and not made new in one piece? Etc etc

Supplying parts is a minefield legally, it's all fun until something goes wrong. As for insurance, you won't get any if your van is lowered in this way and you inform them, they will want an engineers report and it won't be favourable. If you were to have a big accident, even if it was not your fault, and your insurance co does not know of the lowering or the other parties insurance finds out its lowered then your insurance is void, you are personally liable for the other parties losses and injuries and you will get hit big time in court for driving an uninsured vehicle etc etc.

Years ago you could do stuff like this and it wasn't a problem, things have changed hugely, and everyone loves litigation these days!

Sorry, but you are wrong. The VW ginsters talks about wasn't 'designed that way' as you put it. It has the same standard set up as the connect. VW approve the method of modification. i.e the axle flip
Yes you will get insurance. I've already done so, no engineers report required. Don't scare people.
Welders are coded to specific tasks, i.e pressure ratings, material ratings or specialist environments for example, I doubt the robot that welded the 1000's of original plates on the 1000's of original axle's was coded, but hey you never know

[Brit 50]

Rear u bolts will be over engineered by FORD.If a load capacity is 1000kg they won't be designed to snap at 1100kg.More likley to be at around 2000kg or even more.These are 14mm high tensile steel u bolts not 3mm chocolate ones.The bolts at either end of the leaf spring into the body that take the spring weight are only 15mm.
Lets here from people that have actually done this mod and not armchair pundits spreading doom and gloom that don,t know oen end of a spanner form another.Makes no odds to me either way.Lower your van or keep it standard,it's up to you.I didn,t get into this to make money,just to help other connect owners out as the biggest question on this forum is" HOW DO I LOWER THE REAR OF A CONNECT"?.
As for insurance,make sure you notify them about your alloy wheesl,colour coded bumpers,mirrors,different seats because if you make it more attractive to thieves and don,t tell them,insurance VOID.

Armchair pundit lol

Ok, enlighten us with your wisdom, why are the rear spring brackets not supplied made as one piece but are sold to be welded to the original by anyone who thinks they can stick two bits of metal together with all the inherent problems that involves? How will the welded brackets perform with lateral loading as the metal has altered its strength in the middle of the bracket due to the welding process? Why would you weld two bits of metal together to support your springs when surely one completely new part would be so much safer? Would you advise holding the axle in a jig while applying copious amounts of heat to one side of the axle when welding the new brackets to it? How does this modification you are selling the parts for affect the scrub line? (yeah google it to find out what it means) know one end of a spanner, ha!

You may feel that you are 'just helping connect owners out' but if you are not an engineer and do not even have the basic understanding of how suspension works then you are a danger to others. The BIG question on this forum should be......
How do I lower my connect SAFETLY!

[Brit 50]

theres nothing wrong with this method even volkswagon approve the same sytem on the caddy,it may be made by a big company but the principles are the same

it been done for years on all sorts,never heard of it going wrong

The mahusif difference is they were designed that way, stress loading on the bolts have been calculated for that design, the reverse is true for the connect, yes it may be true that the bolts won't break but they are not being used for what they were designed for, if, god forbid, someone does have an accident then the whoever supplied the parts, even if it's via an Internet forum, could be in big trouble with the law. If you supply parts for a vehicle you need certain things in place or your in the firing line, and you will need to prove they were fit for purpose. Not being funny but any engineer could find fault with the parts, especially welded ones, was the welder coded? Why are the parts welded and not made new in one piece? Etc etc

Supplying parts is a minefield legally, it's all fun until something goes wrong. As for insurance, you won't get any if your van is lowered in this way and you inform them, they will want an engineers report and it won't be favourable. If you were to have a big accident, even if it was not your fault, and your insurance co does not know of the lowering or the other parties insurance finds out its lowered then your insurance is void, you are personally liable for the other parties losses and injuries and you will get hit big time in court for driving an uninsured vehicle etc etc.

Years ago you could do stuff like this and it wasn't a problem, things have changed hugely, and everyone loves litigation these days!

Sorry, but you are wrong. The VW ginsters talks about wasn't 'designed that way' as you put it. It has the same standard set up as the connect. VW approve the method of modification. i.e the axle flip
Yes you will get insurance. I've already done so, no engineers report required. Don't scare people.
Welders are coded to specific tasks, i.e pressure ratings, material ratings or specialist environments for example, I doubt the robot that welded the 1000's of original plates on the 1000's of original axle's was coded, but hey you never know

You have a lowered connect insured and the insurance co know?

[valetech]

The safest way to lower the rear is to have
New leaf springs made with a lower profile.that way the axle stays the same
And no welding is needs.
Over the years I lowered all my Mrk3/4 escort vans this way.

People bang on about its to much money but when you think about it
By time you buy the kit pay someone to weld the axle (if you can't weld) and to piss about making it all fit
You are in to the same money,anyone with a basic socket set can fit new spring.

[GKandR4CH]

Infact the lowering springs on my old Escort MK4 van were made by a company called Leder.

[n13los]

Hi guys in new here as i'm thinking of getting a connect early next year

stumbled across this thread and find it very interesting reading, so here a suggestion,

basically this what i did when i lowered my mk6 escort van a few years ago and i had concerns about the way everybody was doing it. I binned the original u-bolts and saddles and made up 4 of the plates that are welded to the axle out of 8mm steel plate, 2 of these were welded to the axle as usual the other 2 were placed below the leaf spring making a sort of leaf spring sandwich!! I bought some M14 shanked 12.9 tensile bolts and nyloc nuts from a local engineering supplier and used 4 of these each side to bolt through the plates. this was still not as good as the original design i know , but a bit better engineered than the standard mod and i was happy to plod around with it.

although if i were to a similar mod again i would make up some spacers/sleeves to go between the 2 plates where the bolts go through as when tighening the bolts up the 8mm plates actually started to bend!!!

not sure if this makes any sense, wish i had taken photos of how it looked

[Mylee]

I've a photo of that set up on my Mac at home. I'll post it when I return from working away.

[van mann]

Rear u bolts will be over engineered by FORD.If a load capacity is 1000kg they won't be designed to snap at 1100kg.More likley to be at around 2000kg or even more.These are 14mm high tensile steel u bolts not 3mm chocolate ones.The bolts at either end of the leaf spring into the body that take the spring weight are only 15mm.
Lets here from people that have actually done this mod and not armchair pundits spreading doom and gloom that don,t know oen end of a spanner form another.Makes no odds to me either way.Lower your van or keep it standard,it's up to you.I didn,t get into this to make money,just to help other connect owners out as the biggest question on this forum is" HOW DO I LOWER THE REAR OF A CONNECT"?.
As for insurance,make sure you notify them about your alloy wheesl,colour coded bumpers,mirrors,different seats because if you make it more attractive to thieves and don,t tell them,insurance VOID.

Armchair pundit lol

Ok, enlighten us with your wisdom, why are the rear spring brackets not supplied made as one piece but are sold to be welded to the original by anyone who thinks they can stick two bits of metal together with all the inherent problems that involves? How will the welded brackets perform with lateral loading as the metal has altered its strength in the middle of the bracket due to the welding process? Why would you weld two bits of metal together to support your springs when surely one completely new part would be so much safer? Would you advise holding the axle in a jig while applying copious amounts of heat to one side of the axle when welding the new brackets to it? How does this modification you are selling the parts for affect the scrub line? (yeah google it to find out what it means) know one end of a spanner, ha!

You may feel that you are 'just helping connect owners out' but if you are not an engineer and do not even have the basic understanding of how suspension works then you are a danger to others. The BIG question on this forum should be......
How do I lower my connect SAFETLY!

So i take it you havn't lowered or adjusted the rear axle of a connect then.
Why do i sell the brackets and expect people to weld them themselves.I would assume they will get a acompitant welder.If you purchased a kitchen from B&Q ,fitted it yourself and it looked sh*t and the cupboards didn't open .......would you blame B&Q for not checking your ability or should you have got some one compitant to do the job properly and safley??????

When lowered the SRUB line is within recommended perameters.
Only 1 inch lower than rear shock mount which is factory set.

As for welding the brackets alters it,s strengh.It,s just a duplicut of how it,s done at the factory.
Mig wlding would not alter 7mm steel plate or your doing something wrong.
Would love to know what line of work you are in.
Just want to make sure you are right so i can tell the 1000,s of car and van owners that have used this method NOT to use their motors.
And also WARN!!!!!! this company on ebay that use exactley the same method.

[van mann]

Rear u bolts will be over engineered by FORD.If a load capacity is 1000kg they won't be designed to snap at 1100kg.More likley to be at around 2000kg or even more.These are 14mm high tensile steel u bolts not 3mm chocolate ones.The bolts at either end of the leaf spring into the body that take the spring weight are only 15mm.
Lets here from people that have actually done this mod and not armchair pundits spreading doom and gloom that don,t know oen end of a spanner form another.Makes no odds to me either way.Lower your van or keep it standard,it's up to you.I didn,t get into this to make money,just to help other connect owners out as the biggest question on this forum is" HOW DO I LOWER THE REAR OF A CONNECT"?.
As for insurance,make sure you notify them about your alloy wheesl,colour coded bumpers,mirrors,different seats because if you make it more attractive to thieves and don,t tell them,insurance VOID.

Armchair pundit lol

Ok, enlighten us with your wisdom, why are the rear spring brackets not supplied made as one piece but are sold to be welded to the original by anyone who thinks they can stick two bits of metal together with all the inherent problems that involves? How will the welded brackets perform with lateral loading as the metal has altered its strength in the middle of the bracket due to the welding process? Why would you weld two bits of metal together to support your springs when surely one completely new part would be so much safer? Would you advise holding the axle in a jig while applying copious amounts of heat to one side of the axle when welding the new brackets to it? How does this modification you are selling the parts for affect the scrub line? (yeah google it to find out what it means) know one end of a spanner, ha!

You may feel that you are 'just helping connect owners out' but if you are not an engineer and do not even have the basic understanding of how suspension works then you are a danger to others. The BIG question on this forum should be......
How do I lower my connect SAFETLY!

So i take it you havn't lowered or adjusted the rear axle of a connect then.
Why do i sell the brackets and expect people to weld them themselves.I would assume they will get a acompitant welder.If you purchased a kitchen from B&Q ,fitted it yourself and it looked sh*t and the cupboards didn't open .......would you blame B&Q for not checking your ability or should you have got some one compitant to do the job properly and safley??????

When lowered the SRUB line is within recommended perameters.
Only 1 inch lower than rear shock mount which is factory set.

As for welding the brackets alters it,s strengh.It,s just a duplicut of how it,s done at the factory.
Mig wlding would not alter 7mm steel plate or your doing something wrong.
Would love to know what line of work you are in.
Just want to make sure you are right so i can tell the 1000,s of car and van owners that have used this method NOT to use their motors.
And also WARN!!!!!! the company on ebay that use exactley the same method and charge you £495

And this one
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Transit- ... 2568a8917a

Contacted him and his also is lowered the same way.We must WARN then all now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This blokes right or is he just a TROLL?

[L200Lee]

This blokes right or is he just a TROLL?[/quote]