Wheelers 8 leaf pack 2" lift WAAY too high? Wtf!

On Thursday with 0 miles on the lift my truck had a slight forward rake.
This morning (sat) i measured, and the rear is a solid inch lower than the front.
After i get my Kings set correctly at 2.5" im going to load the bed down with half a dozen or so landscaping bricks, then burn a couple tanks of gas on rough backroads and highways.

Oh I forgot to mention the mechanic who installed the parts put the L R specific leaf springs on backwards, Rs on Ls. So he will fix that on Monday also.

Wheelers Offroad 8 pack Leaf springs, compared side by side, the L spring arch is well over 1" higher than the R. Since their switched my passenger side now sits 2" higher than the driver side!!!!

I paid a mechanic to to do the work because, with 208,000 miles, i wanted to have an energy suspension bushing kit installed and i dont have the tools and time necessary to do it myself.

I knew that was a $600 job by itself, so i figured if he had to disassemble the old he could simply reassemble with the new parts for no extra charge.

Good plan, i think i just hired the wrong guy.

 

Looking at your install I would be worried. You know this guy? As far as the leaf pack is concerned I would be upset too. A leaf pack that settles 2 inches? I have 26000 miles on my Dakars and they have settled a whopping 1/2 inch. Good luck.

 

Oh trust me initially i was plenty freaked out! I am now much more optimistic after talking to technician Dan @WheelersOffroad.
The mechanic who did the install is the owner of a local auto repair shop. He has always done good work in the past, But after this i dont think ill use him for anything except oem repair work.
The way i understand it, the 8 pack uses a greater number of leaves made from thinner steel than Dakar, Ome, or Oem springs.
The thinner leaves are more flexible than the thicker ones Providing a softer smoother ride and as a result will settle over time much more than traditional springs.
I suppose time will tell

 

Looks like a nice setup. Let us know how it handles after loosening up.

 

What do your shackles look like? Might have too much torque/not enough grease on any three of the main bolts. Loosen them up a ton and drive around the block to see if it feels any different.

 

My 03 dc was just under 4 inches of lift with dakar leaf packs. I didn't notice how wasted my stock springs were. Did you old springs have negative arch?

 

Yeah some mechanics aren't familiar with that kind of stuff. Over time you could probably start doing the work on your own mods and save some $$$$ except for when it's something way above your experience level. I love videos from this guy and usually use them in combination with what I read on here.

 

No they had a good positive arch. Previously i had my original leaf spring w/ non progressive 1.5" AAL and HD Bilstein shocks. That setup was SUPER rough but it held a positive arch.

 

I would've done the work myself, but i wanted a suspension bushing master kit installed and i dont have tools, expertise, or time to do it. I paid for the bushing kit install and let him reassemble with the new parts.

 

If all the bushing points (ones that are pivot points, as most are) were torqued with the suspension in full droop, the resulting binding will force things to ride high and quickly tear up the new bushings as well.

All points need to be torqued with the vehicle in normal compression. As in sitting on all 4 wheels.

So when he swaps the springs and adjusts the front coils, just verify that was his technique.

 

That is good information but im not quite sure what you mean.
Does that mean you leave everything a little loose until its on the ground, then tighten it all down?
Sorry if thats a dumb question but I've never heard of that.

 

Yes. Because otherwise you're fastening something that is out of its normal position, so when you put weight on it, it's forced to change position under tension.

 

Yes, don't torque everything down til it is sitting on the ground under its own weight. Especially the shackle bolts.

 

X2 wheelers should jump to help you in my experience. Call them before you do anything else

 

That makes perfect sense. I have lost faith in my mechanic to follow propper procedure after this cluster f#@k.
To be certain its done correctly could i simply loosen then re-tighten the bolts myself when i get it back?

 

That's fine.

Just make sure you torque them to proper spec. There's a torque values list here somewhere if you search for it

 

Yes, (as others have already replied ) but it's not just 'tighten'. It's torque. With a calibrated torque wrench. To the OE specs for the various bolts, which will often vary from point to point.

Over torquing will create as much problem as torquing with the suspension in droop.

And no, it doesn't have to be on the ground. It can be on a drive on lift. There's a couple of other ways to recreate the 'normal' position, but the easiest is the drive on lift (not a frame lift)

And the question is not dumb at all. Unless someone has either studied suspensions, done a good bit of reading on suspensions, or been properly trained/coached on suspension work, they are very unlikely to know this technique. Remember, the majority of vehicle owners have never changed their own oil, much less a suspension.

 

I just found this while eating dicks.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-torque-spec-guide.318116/

 

Learn to do your own work and invest in quality tools. Unless it requires special tools I can't afford, no one touches my truck anymore...lol