Forman oem rear leaf springs 929-401

*mods please change title from Forman to Dorman! Damn AUTOTEXT on my iPhone...*

So I found a brand new pair of

$224 Dorman 929-401 Leaf Spring Compatible with Select Toyota Models

Dorman 929-401 leaf springs on Craigslist for 150$. My truck needs leafs so bad they are literally frowny faces, so I picked them up. They're brand new, the guy just bought them for the wrong truck. Any experience with these? I have a feeling everyone is gonna hammer them but I just need something to improve my experience for a year or so until I can get some deavers. I'm going to be doing some light towing this summer, approx 1800lb load so I figured it was a must before I do that. I did some research and there's at least two members who had a great experience with them.

I was also thinking of maybe doing some polyurethane bushings before I throw them in? Any advice or experience is appreciated.

Here's a pic of the Dormans:

 

That's about what they run Per-side, so you got a good deal for new springs. I would advise against replacing the bushings. Not worth the hassle/cost and you've said you might up-grade later. There's nothing wrong with the standard bushings for your application.
I would strongly recommend you look at your existing U-bolts and related hardware. A lot of folks get away with re-using the factory U-bolts but it's a huge PITA if you break something and don't have the replacement parts on hand. Unless your current spring hardware is absolutely pristine, plan on breaking a bolt or two. It is FAR easier to just have new hardware on hand when you start that job.

IMO the steel used in the factory leaf springs sucks! I believe just about any aftermarket spring will be a huge improvement in quality over the often-broken factory stuff. I doubt Dorman manufactures their own springs but I don't know their source. It's very possible you got a top of the line brand with Dorman's name on it. I think you'll be happy with those.
Good luck !

 

^^^
what he said,good advice. Hey, can you eat off those? lol (George Forman).

 

cool! I'm so excited to get them on my truck. I put some bilstein/ome881's up front and new shocks in the back but the leafs are mushy. It should ride awesome when done, and I wouldn't be surprised if they lifted the back at least an inch. Stay tuned, I'll post some before and after pics this week!

haha, you talking about my sweet-ass bedliner?

 

No,your george forman leafs. Great find by the way. Could use a pair myself.

 

so I put the leafs on this morning. It took slightly over an hour to do both sides, I was pretty impressed with myself. I used liquid wrench on the u-bolts and factory bolts, but I have toytec 2" shackles and I had to cut the lower bolts on those. Its really weird, the only way I can explain it is the bolts bound inside the leaf spring bushing. it was like they were welded in there, and I only put them on about 2.5 months ago. In case anyone is wondering about the lower bolt on the toytec shackles, they are a 9/16"4.5" coarse thread bolt. grade 5 I believe.

Anyways,

BEFORE:







*****AFTER*****




Still leanin' pretty hard:






you can see the left side is almost flat so I will probably be doing an AAL. I've seen some guys make some pretty cool custom ones from leaf blanks. So I could probably do a slightly stronger one on the driver side. Overall, I think the leafs are stiffer, but time will tell.

 

Oh yeah, the taco lean! Were the pics with full tank of gas? Hard to understand how those bolts seem to grow and adhere. My leafs look a lot worse than flat. Good work!

 

Haha that makes me feel better. Yeah full tank of gas!

Update: definetely a little firmer which is what I wanted!

 

Looks like you're good to go.
Those are some beefy shackles!
As for the lean, it wouldn't concern me in the least. Gas tank, steering column, battery, driver and more, all contribute to that. That off center weight takes its toll on the body bushings and the body itself. The left springs are slightly stiffer to compensate.
For day in / day out use; I think you'll find the current setup to be perfect. There is a HUGE difference between vehicles designed for EXCLUSIVE off-road use vs. a vehicle that must spend most of the time on the road and only a little off-road.
You got a good deal and made a practical improvement. For those of us that live in the real world - a pragmatic approach to life makes life good !

 

Damn Petrol I like the way you think!! Could not have said it any better.

 

Thanks guys! Yeah there's something to be said about keeping the truck safe on and off road. It's my DD only because it drives so nice on the street(I also have a Honda).

I'm liking the springs, the only problems I have now are;
1. it threw the alignment off slightly (it was absolutely perfect before..there's definetely room for error in bolting the axle backn on!)

2.these springs are some squeaky bastards. I'm going to have to hit them with some grease because it's annoying when driving at slow speeds with the windows down. Any suggestions?

 

I have tried everything under the sun to make my springs stop squeaking.. it's a lost cause. If you find a solution, I'll give you $1000.

 

Squeaking spring solution - turn the radio up

 

Disconnect the exhaust. That should do it. haha

 

Haha. Are you running stock leafs? AAL? The squeaking seems to be getting less intense. I'll keep you posted.

Does anyone know if it's possible to bolt your axle on in a way that can throw your alignment off?

 

No as long as you bolt the springs when they are sitting on the perch on the axle, you won't have problems. I am running an Alcan 8 leaf pack with greaseable shackles. Squeaks just as much as my OEM ones did, if not worse. I've had the springs for almost 5 years.

 

I don't know man- when I was bolting The springs on there was a decent amount of slop between the pin and the hole on the spring perches. Coming from an engineering standpoint I would guess there could be one or two degrees of error in straightness. I had the alignment completely dialed when I installed them and now it pulls to the right. It's only slight and I'm sure it isn't hurting anything, but still.

As for the squeaking- completely gone! They just decided to give up the fight I guess...