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I think it's time to replace our leaf springs and need advice as to what I.should install. Our chassis is dated August 1984 however it does have the 6-lug axle. Can someone lead me in the right direction as to what parts to order (i.e. Leaf Springs, Mounting Bushings, Shocks, etc.)? I tried searching this board but haven't had much luck.

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Well start here   http://www.sdtrucksprings.com/leaf-springs

Call them to start with, save your self a lot of trouble. Even new springs may need a booster pack to carry your weight. SO get your rig weighed before you call.

Go to the your yellow pages and see if there is a local spring shop near you. If they can re-arch and heat treat the current springs, plus a couple of add on booster springs it will do.

You have at least one broken spring, its time to fix it NOW

 

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Just like WME said. See if you can find a truck spring shop locally. I was fortunate to find an old school shop in Akron Ohio that has been around since the old rubber tire days. My rig sagged so much I couldn't get to the spare. The shop took off the worthless helper springs. They re-arched and heat treated the existing springs. Added 2 heavy duty leaves to each side (much thicker the the originals.) Replaced all the bushings and hardware. When completed Grannie's rear was raised 4 ". I was shocked! Handles much better. The ride is a little stiffer. Also replaced the old shocks with Bilstein shocks. Since one of your springs is already broken I personally would have it repaired ASAP before any traveling. Too dangerous! Good Luck!

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Thank you all for your replies! I took your advice and researched the place Linda found. It has great reviews. Called Larry and made an appointment for this weekend. They work for a half day on Saturday. He seemed very confident they would have us fixed up in just a few days. I'll keep you posted on how it goes!

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" Toyota has an odd-ball leaf size so the leafs are not common. 2 3/8” wide instead of 2 ½” wide like most other small trucks. Check and see if your leafs are 5/16” thick or 3/8” thick ..."

You might save yourself a wasted drive if you phone them and confirm that they can work with 2 3/8" wide springs.

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Hey Derek, the 2 additional springs added to each side on Grannie were much thicker than the originals. I now have 7 leaves on each side. They are not all the same thickness. Not sure if they are all the same width. Would 1/8" matter that much. BTW Rogue why does that shop need your rig for a few days? My old shop did all the work in 1 day so I could ride home in her. Seems like Linda found a winner for you! Those old school shops are becoming far and few these days. You'll be amazed @ the difference your new springs will make! Enjoy!

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Well if they are a commercial shop, I would imagine the have 2 3/8 springs. I mean how many Toyota PU, 4x4  do you think there in the NW. 

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Per Derek's suggestion I checked with the shop. They indeed have the correct.size as they do lots of Toyota 4x4 work. As to your.question Mark regarding 2-day timeframe they are quite busy and will have to squeeze me in. We have relatives in area so it gives us an excuse to visit. I want the shop to have as much time as they need to do this right.

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That's cool! My suggestion is to ask the shop to raise the rear as much as they can. I was contemplating air bags prior to the new springs. No need for air bags now. Are you going for new shocks also?

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Hi Mark! Thanks for the advice. I will be sure to ask them to maximize the lift. I do intend on adding Bilstein shocks too down the road. Have quote for (4) installed at $400.

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There ya go! Trade offs: stiffer ride (feel more bumps) better handling, no more bottoming out, less sway, no need for air bags, much more clearance, no brainer!

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You can have higher lift without going to super stiff springs. All depends on the arch of the springs. You can also have super stiff springs without a high ride height. All depends on the arch of the springs. :)

I find the C.G. of these is high enough without going above a 'normal' ride height. What's 'normal'? I don't think I've ever seen a published number, so it's just a case of eyeballing it. The nice advantage of air springs is that you can adjust them. Leaf springs only, not so much.

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I know on my rig she sagged so low in the back she dragged coming out of an incline or backing down. I couldn't access the spare either so the G.C. was not high enough. When the shop re-arched and added leaves they leveled the rig. Now Grannie has the have the same clearance in the back tires as the front tires. When fully loaded the clearance remains the same. No adjustment necessary for me or need to worry about airbags now. I agreed to the value of airbags if previously installed though.

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Air bags work great,but they add $$ to the suspension redo.

IF you mostly carry the same stuff all the time then a proper set of springs will do nicely. IF you are like me always adding or removing stuff, trailer, rear cargo carrier, extra water and such like then the airbags are a necessity. You can set the air pressure so that the rig is level for each trip.

Also don't forget Timbren's...http://timbren.com/

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I use my air bags for leveling. That sideways crooked parking lot at the museum you want to go to and you'll be in for hours. I just let air out of the up side and I'm good to go. Lots of places you don't want to be pulling out blocks. Up, down, sideways, as long as it's not extreme my air bags can take care of it. Just blow them back up before I leave

Linda S

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Don't give me air bag envy now LOL! They were never installed on my rig. So far WME I can overload Grannie and she remains level. Prior to all the suspension work when loaded she sagged even more. Now she remains the same level weather fully loaded or empty. One of the best upgrades I've done so far!

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19 hours ago, markwilliam1 said:

. So far WME I can overload Grannie and she remains level. Prior to all the suspension work when loaded she sagged even more. Now she remains the same level weather fully loaded or empty.

What that really means is that your springs are too stiff for your empty weight?  Time to remove a leaf and add airbags?

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Naw. No need for air bags and the Additional costs. Very happy with the current set-up.

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On 2017-04-08 at 0:05 PM, markwilliam1 said:

Naw. No need for air bags and the Additional costs. Very happy with the current set-up.

Too simple, need to do things the hard way and spend more money. ?

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On 4/5/2017 at 11:38 AM, Rogue Runner said:

Thank you all for your replies! I took your advice and researched the place Linda found. It has great reviews. Called Larry and made an appointment for this weekend. They work for a half day on Saturday. He seemed very confident they would have us fixed up in just a few days. I'll keep you posted on how it goes!

Any results??

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We visited the shop on Saturday. It was like stepping back in time. Larry who is one of the owners was at a huge hydraulic press shaping a leaf spring when I walked through their small office into the huge shop. Larry quickly set aside his work and inspected our springs and said we came in at just the right time. He's been working on Toyota RV's since they were new and really knows his trade. We went back into his office where he quickly calculated that it will take $900 to fully repair our suspension. I was a bit shell shocked but agreed to proceed. He was confident that we'll be very happy with the results. We agreed to settle up next Saturday when the job is completed.

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2 hours ago, Rogue Runner said:

We visited the shop on Saturday. It was like stepping back in time. Larry who is one of the owners was at a huge hydraulic press shaping a leaf spring when I walked through their small office into the huge shop. Larry quickly set aside his work and inspected our springs and said we came in at just the right time. He's been working on Toyota RV's since they were new and really knows his trade. We went back into his office where he quickly calculated that it will take $900 to fully repair our suspension. I was a bit shell shocked but agreed to proceed. He was confident that we'll be very happy with the results. We agreed to settle up next Saturday when the job is completed.

Are cold pressing? This is often a short term fix. Springs have a memory, and will try to return to their original shape.

New springs are the way to go. IMO.

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$900 dollars?? On My Rogue!! Stover Springs in Akron charged me less than $300 to re-arch using a forge to heat the springs not cold pressed, added 2 heavy duty leaves to each side and replaced all the bushings plus all new clamps. They also removed the worthless helper springs. I now have a total of 7 leaves on each side. Man I must have gotten quite a deal or your being overcharged...just sayin'! Good Luck!

 

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What is to be done?? Did you get a proposed bill of repairs.

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I guess I just got lucky! Having grown up close to the Rubber Capitol of the World this old shop remains. No more rubber here anymore! Just found my receipt. Was wrong about the price. Total costs was $380 out the door. Sorry about my poor memory! 

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We picked up our Rogue last Saturday. Drove her 60 miles home. 75% on freeway and balance on twisty country roads. I'm very pleased how she handled. Going there we traveled our standard 50-55mph but on way home I was shocked to experience consistently 65-70mph. Very little body sway even on the narrow 6-mile curvy road that borders the lake near our home. The back has been raised about 3 inches. So nice to not hear that grinding sound when pulling into parking lots or driveways!

The total price with tax ran $1,144.60. They removed rear springs, rearched springs (cold press), added two leaves to each side, replaced the two broken leaves in two stage, installed new bushings in springs and swinging shackle mounts, installed springs and installed new U Bolts. The labor was 6.8 hours at $85/hr.

Parts pricing: (4) 7mm x 60mm leaves $202.68; (2) 9mm x 60mm leaves $146.42; (12) half bushings $29.40, and (4) 9/16 x 3.5 x 9 u bolts $37.20. Shop supplies $49.69 (based 5% of invoice) and Tax $101.21. Please find below pictures of the final product. I'm interested to hear what you folks think. It was an expensive repair for us and hopefully this new setup will give us trouble free driving for years to come. Thank you Linda for your suggestion of this shop. They were fun to work with and they have committed to stand behind this installation should we ever be dissatisfied.

 

 

 

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I thought you folks would like to see some pictures of this over 100 year old spring shop in Everett, WA. Cal and Larry are co-owners. Cal is 74 years old so Larry (late 50's) does most of the.work there now. In fact Larry is in one of pictures below under our Rogue doing some last minute touches before we head back home last Saturday.

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You really paid top dollar for having old springs rearched and two new leaves added.

The labor time is about normal. They should have undercoated the leaves to prevent squeaking and rounded down the spring keepers.

It may be sitting high now, but hope its still the same in a few months.

 

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I'm not thrilled about cold re-arch, but you have what looks 4 new springs per stack, not 3 new, so maybe. Besides you know where the shop is and its not across the country if you have a problem. The big deal was to get rid of the broken stuff so the rest of the springs don't come out of the stack and your axle goes sideways

In reality if it lasts 10 years your good. And with all rebuilt, if you need more lift just add airbags down the road.

P.S. good golly what is the sales tax in that neck of the woods?

Edited by WME
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hey there, sometimes you just have to pay the cost. this shop may have been "PRICEY", but there is a reason they have been in the same business for all those years, they may not be the cheapest, but i would assume from your post that they stand 100% behind their work. your toya MH, should not have spring issues for at least another 30 years knowing that, may help take the sting out of the price a little. good luck. joe from dover.

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Wow, that old shop looks similar to the place in Akron Ohio where I had my leaves re-arched except my shop had large forges to heat the leaves. I had the same repairs done as you but Under $400 out the door! Ridiculously Cheap. Boy what a difference location makes Man. I agree with you how it improves the ride and handling plus raising the rear. Maybe consider some Bilstein shocks in the future? I replaced mine all around. Enjoy! BTW, beautiful rig! 

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