Tacoma Spring refurbishing

This is 2 Chevy springs on stock 2nd gen. 2-leaf/non TSB/no overload...






Chevy donor springs after surfacing/wire wheeled/painted...

 

cool thanks.

and i agree, getting some good coil springs will go a long way

 

Oooh, those are so pretty...

 

Haha.. Thanks Judy, yeah I do a little more than just slap on some diff. steel, after I decide on a donor leaf pack I break them down,inspect, break out the angle grinder with cut off wheels & grind disc & go to town on them....

 

I got a quick question about removing the 2nd leaf on the 2nd gen packs. I am reading that the extra length on the front that wraps partially around bushing is to reduce axel wrap. Is this true and is it going to be bad to remove that to put a chevy leaf in?

 

When you replace that leaf with the stronger Chevy steel axle wrap is a distant memory.

 

That's reassuring Also they're out of a 1976 Chevy 3/4 ton.

 

Keep the second leaf, the one with the bushing wrap. Start adding under it, and keep your donor pretty long, around 33-34"s. Being out of a 3/4 ton, the longer length will give you a much better ride. Center off of the existing hole when you cut.

 

I've got a 3 leaf AAL that I plan to keep in so I won't be adding, I want to replace a toyota leaf.

 

And get ready for some pretty good lift! When putting your packs back in, do the end closest to the cab first and go ahead and put the pin through and nut it on the back, and then wrestle the rear into place. I used an Irwin Extra Power quick clamp to help pull it back into the shackle.

 

You are going to have ALOT of lift if you're keeping the 3 AAL as well as the chevy donor. I'm in no way telling you what to do, but just one of those donors gave me 2.25" over stock.

 

Yeah I guess thats the claim for their bushing wrap, but it's laughable, by the time it DID ramp up & hit the front bushing any & all axle wrap has already taken place with the familiar "thud ker-thunk" you get while stopping or taking off

Axle what ????....

 

Can you post how yours are setup? I'm looking at doing this:

Before:

\___Toyo main____/
\___Toyo 2nd__/
\___Three____/
\___Leaf____/
\___AAL___/
/--Oload----\

After:

\___Toyo main____/
\___Chevy____/
\___Three____/
\___Leaf____/
\___AAL___/
/--Oload----\

 

If you're going to a Chevy under the main , make sure it's the same (or close to ) ARC, don't remember what AAL you have now, but if they're a "progressive" type then all bets are off as far as ride quality, meaning it's kinda hard to predict how the end result will be...

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Oh, & cut the Chevy about 8" back from eyelett on Toyota main...Both ends...

 

Here's mine:

1 -Toyota Main w/ bushing ends
2 -Toyota second w/ bushing protectors
3 -Chevy donor cut to 33"s
4 -Toyota overload w/ brake line bracket

That one Chevy leaf donor was all mine needed to get a nice arc and great ride, not to mention being able use my bed to carry stuff without riding on the stops. I don't do alot of heavy offroading with mine, so I can't give that perspective on them, but I believe they would do fine. Try it both ways and see what you like better. You might need new brake lines and extended shocks however.

 

I'm wondering how much lifting that secondary toyota leaf is doing. Got any idea Doug?

 

If the damned thing was stiffer it'd be great. It's not really adding lift but if proper it'd help maintain ARC, you've noticed on the secondary spring how low the "bushing wrap" sits underneath the main, imagine how far it'd have to go to do anything for axle wrap, the springs would be doubling back on themselves..haha

 

Last question about the secondary leaf, is there any way to get those "guards" off the leaf and them be reusable? Or is there a way to get that leaf off the main without cutting them? Looks like I'll be doing this Saturday. It's my DD so I wanna get it done right as quickly as I can.

 

Doug,

Even after receiving the REAR SPRING TSB for my regular cab, my truck still felt funny. It still felt like an overloaded Camry, not a truck. I was able to blend some of your ideas with my realities. I had a local spring shop build leaves to your specs, 33 inches, 6-1/4" arch, 2-3/8 wide(60mm). I installed the one spring into the 3+1, making 5 leaves total. The ride is awesome, not harsh at all. I installed Bilstein 5100s all around. For the first time, I do not feel like the truck is going tip over in a curve.

I keep a fiberglass cap / shell on at all times, plus I have about 100 # of bagged gravel in the bed for winter traction right now. There is a slight ass high attitude, typical of older pickup stance.

This truck now rides and handles like it should of from its first day. It took me awhile (finances) but it was worth the wait. Thanks for all of your ideas and advice.