Stock Helper Spring Flipped?

Hey tw,
I was under my truck today and noticed the way my rear leaf springs were setup. All of the springs are bent in the same direction, including the helper spring. From what I have seen, the helper should bend the opposite way from the others. Is this true, and if so, should the flipped spring affect my suspension? The rear is very stiff and sits higher than the front, so I assume this is at least part of that?
Thanks, JD

 

A Truck this old unless you bought it brand new off the dealers lot.

No telling just what might have been done to the rear suspension.

Changing Springs might lower the rear of the truck doubtful it will effect the ride.

Never haul any cargo you can get a custom leaf pack built to give you a softer ride .

 

If you go through with flipping that overload leaf, you may want to have some new ubolts handy.

Ubolts shouldn't be reused, and yours seem like they've seen their fair of shit in life.

 

Yes- the overload leaf orientation is incorrect, and yes, that is likely directly contributing to the rear being stiff and higher than the front.

A few notes on correcting this:

U-Bolts are a single use item. Once they have been torqued to spec, they can't be reused. You will need new ones. They are 14mm or 9/16, 2.5" width. Almost all aftermarket u bolts will come extra long (in the 9" range) and you'll have to cut them to length (thread a nut onto to the u bolt well past your cat mark, make your cut, round/smoth the edges of the cut, thread the nut off, and work it back and forth a few times over the cut).

You'll likely also need new center pins. They are kinda similar- they all come extra long. Once you reassemble the pack in the correct orientation, and the nut is tight on the pin, cut the pin flush with the nut.

If you haven't worked on the leaf springs before- you'll need two tall jack stands (at least 3 ton), some spare 2x10s or 2x12 to put under the jack stands, and a floor jack. I usually break the u bolts, and lugs free first, then jack up the truck from the center of the diff, pop off the wheels (and place them under the frame rails) place the jack stands in front of the spring hanger just forward of the curve upward in the frame. As you lower the truck onto the jackstands, watch the shocks- right before they reach full droop, remove the lower bolts and disconnect shocks. Other things you'll want to keep an eye on- is the rear brake like. But it looks like you already have an extended line, and it doesn't look like you have ABS, so no worries there. You may also need to disconnect the parking brake cable from the bell cranks, so do this on a flat surface with the front wheels secured. Keep the jack under the diff, and use it to raise and lower the axle as necessary. Before you remove the current center pin. clamp the 3 primary leaves together.

Be really careful with the stored energy in the springs.

Torque specs on the u bolts are 123 Nm 90 ft lbs. 44 Nm 33ft lbs on the center pin. 71 Nm 53 ft lbs on the shock bolts (although I suggest that as more of a suggestion- striping those threads SUCKS).

If you have more questions please feel free to ask. There are a few things that could go wrong, so if you are un sure of anything, please ask.

 

Bet that rides like a dump truck lol. That's not right, no.

 

I wonder if the leaf springs were sagging and this was the previous owner's "solution". Might want to consider getting some new leafs if you're willing to go through the effort to flip the overload.

The rear end is supposed to sit a little bit higher than the front so that the truck rides level if the bed is loaded.

 

just curious... is 123 ft lb torque for the u bolts a 1st gen thing?

 

It's not a generalized number I made up - it's from the FSM. You'd need to consult an FSM for your model and year.

It is a very high number, and to get there, you need turn each bolt a few degrees until all four click on the same pass to ensure it's evenly distributed on the bolts. That high number is part of the reason the threads stretch, and that u bolts are single use item. I generally suggest to folks who are replacing leaf springs, to not go to full torque at first- something in the carefully driveable range, 70 ish.. and test drive the truck to make sure that shims or other corrections don't need to be made before going to full torque on the u bolts.

 

FSM, 90 ft/lb

 

@Dirty Pool Thanks. In my haste to answer, I provided the Nm. I've edited my post above.

 

Thank you for all this information, very useful. This will be my next project whenever I have time.

Boy does it lol. Hitting a speed bump at 5mph hurts, and you feel every single bump on the road lol

 

I may go ahead and grab some new leafs as well. I know it normally sits higher on all trucks, but mine is about a 2-3 inch difference. Looks pretty bad from a distance

 

New packs aren't a terrible option. There are generic Dorman packs, General Springs has an offering, as well as some on rock auto. Be careful with a '96, as somewhere in there they moved the forward hanger. They are typically spec'd per side too. So just make sure you have the correct pack per side when you start bolting things up.

All the above comments still apply to swapping out the springs- just break the forward hanger and rear shackles bolts loose before you jack anything up. Hit everything with PB Blaster now to make your life easier. The forward bolt may be stuck, and you'll have to cut it. get some new ones anyway.

 

Thanks for the clarification... i wondered how you came up with that number.

 

I think the 1996 springs are just different enough to look strange to me

 

That overload spring isn’t really designed to flex, so much as prevent the regular leaves from frowning excessively when loaded, but otherwise allows them to flex along their length. The overload needs to be frowning to achieve this.

As it’s currently installed, the overload is causing the leaves to flex at two discrete points, rather than continuously along their length. This has likely caused abnormal wear to your leaf pack and will eventually contribute to broken springs. The time to replace is now.

 

maybe my vision isn't so great anymore, but i don't see a helper spring under your leaf pack

just looks like a pretty normal worn out old leaf pack.
your rear sits up higher, so that it can squat under a bed load and not have you looked up at the sky

 

Technically not a “helper” spring, but rather the stock overload spring (the ‘thicc’ one) is upside down…it should be frowning.

 

oooooh, I see what he meant there, now.

i was looking for a helper

 

I like the Deaver leaf packs, but they're not meant for heavy loads. No overload spring on them but they ride real nice.