How to: Chevy 63" Leaf Spring Swap

Got the leafs cleaned up. Going with the 4+1 leafs out of a 2500hd Chevy. Removed one leaf it had in the pack. Original owner I got them from ran these on a salt truck and had a leaf added. They were rusty

 

Did my swap, came out pretty good but my final shackle angle is a little steeper than expected. I am addding more weight with a flatbed so it should come down some then.

 

Looks good. Making me wonder if I do the 3 leafs or the 4. Was planning on do the overload spring too

 

4+ overload would be pretty crazy. My rear bumper really doesn't add any weight over stock I think I am about 3" over stock rear height. It was right in the 25" hub to fender area.

 

Good to know. Truck has the flatbed and it isn’t too heavy. Coming from Dakars with the overload so thought the additional leaf. Plus have battery relocation in the rear. May have to play around with it.

 

It is worth noting my leafs are out of an 03 1500 HD. I think its post 1999 they use less but thicker leafs

 

Mine are out of a 2010 2500 so maybe the 3 leafs then

 

Either way you do it, you will have to break down the pack to cycle. Id prepare the 4th leaf as if you were using it and then you can always decide to keep it or not mid swap.

I did the same thing.

 

Yeah that’s what I was thinking/planning. Thought is to use a block of wood or metal tube to make up the missing leafs when cycling.

 

Didnt get as far as I wanted but was able to get the front mounts tacked in for the leafs. Took a bunch of time to get the axle squared side to side and front to back while ensuring the leafs were square to that.

Will figure out the rear mounts next week since the measurements to get the axle squared is done now.


I am thinking of setting up the rear shackles as the truck is at full droop and then once every thing is tacked, put some weight to see what the angle of the shackle at “ride height” is. If I don’t get as much sag out of the pack I’ll pull a leaf to see if that helps and restart? Sound like the right idea?

 

They are in. Leaf pack sits pretty flat when trucks on its own weight. Just have some finished welding and frame boxing to do. Also figuring out what to do with the shocks next.

these pics are fully on its own weight but they are in now.

 

That looks mint. Get all that experience in so you can do my front springs. Thank you ahead of time.

 

I’m no expert but your shackle angle looks really steep if that has the full weight on it.

Maybe someone else can chime in too.

 

Doesn’t have the full weight. So they are closer to 90 in the image. At full weight with 4+1 leafs it’s at 60 degrees without the gas tank.

 

Looks good then. Mine was at 45 with probably 200 lbs missing from the truck. It ended up being 40 at current weight after doing it. I think it’s shallower now, I can measure tomorrow.

 

3 leafs ended up being great. May end up adding a extra leaf once I add the bed rack for the spare tire

 

Been wrapping my head around myriad of forums and doing my own calculations and cross checking. Frenching the front hanger and inboarding a few degrees will contribute to a lower ride height and improved handling characteristics.

I have some interesting things going on in the rear that I'll post once I finish it.

 

Okay, another question. Looking into shocks. I have to measure for bump and droop still but based on what most have fit, I’m looking at 12-14” shocks. Any thoughts on these? Planning on sticking with bilstein based on price and availability in Canada where I am.

https://bilsteincanada.com/product/b8-5125-series-14-travel-col-20-75-ext-34-9-valving-255-70/

Any tips or look fors for valving?

 

That's what I have currently setup but based on my shock tower and lowers axle tab location they're still a bit short imo. 255/70 is the stiffness vying they offer which is what I opted for to compensate for the softer chevy leafs.

Pic is of stock oem leaf pack with aal. Just chopped everything off recently

 

And just to confirm you went with the 14’s?

I have the bamf hangers and some Tmr ones to mess with. Not sure if I’m going to have them on the inside or outside of the frame for clearance of tire and more wiggle room with the flatbed.