Leaf Spring Install

[6.5 Detroit Diesel]

I am wondering if anyone has any experience in putting in bigger leaf packs. The current leafs on the truck are sprung I think, as the truck tilts slightly towards the driver side and the payload seems noticeably less. I have two leaf packs off a 1 ton that are 11 leafs compared to 7. The only thing is that the heavier leafs are shorter. Is it possible to take the top two from the old leafs and swap them with the top two of the new leaf pack?

[Robyn]

Mixing and matching is not a great idea.
The heavier GVW trucks had a shorter spring pack and the frame mounts were situated accordingly.
The light duty trucks had the longer more supple springs.
Best plan is to go to a spring shop and have your set rearched to factory height and a couple extra leaves made and installed to augment the carry capacity of your setup.

Swapping stuff, although it can be done is not the best plan as it does not place the springs back into the correct arch and the odd leaves can cause loading issues.

I would have the packs rearched and a new main leaf made thats slightly heavier along with the addition of at least one more major leaf right below the main.

Springs over time lose their arch due to normal flexing and in many cases due to someone overloading the rig and possibly on one side such as a tool box or other addition that is constantly worrying on one side and not the other.

Sagging drivers side springs is very common especially in Burbs. I dont know why.
I have had spring shops tell me that its the spare tire that does it. ?????????????? I dont really think thats the case, possibly the lard Butt in the drivers seat??????//

Dont know but it does happen.
The Burb Chassis I used for the foundation on my Hummer replica has sagging LH rear springs. ???????? I just ordered a fresh set from the spring house and was done with it.


Good luck

Robyn

[6.5 Detroit Diesel]

That's what I was looking for so thanks. I will probably go to a shop then. :)

[rustyk]

As Robyn mentioned, although this is generally not well-known, there are shops that can fabricate and repair leaf springs, fabricate and add helper springs, and the like. I used one such shop to replace the bushings and shackles on my motorhome, and in the process, they fabricated a few new parts with minimal fuss.

Most of these guys know what they're doing - but some don't, so check around...