Leaf Spring install nightmare

Or, at least pick up a ratchet or hammer and help a guy out.

 

Well the damn sad part of it is I was a plant manager at a VERY large metal fabrication shop in Atlanta for about 15 years. (All we worked with was tools) And my wife was a Machine Operator and still is a Floor Supervisor there. So she knows tools! So I can be under the truck and ask her to hand me a 3/8 drive ratchet with a 1/4 inch drive adapter with a 6 inch 1/4 inch extension and a 1/4 drive 8 mm socket and she knows exactly what I'm talking about about and she still tells me to go F**k myself!

 

Hey man if you can’t get the rear of the spring down into the shackle don’t be afraid to use a ratchet strap. I have had to do that on the driver side spring on most of these I have done working without a lift. It will pull it down into the shackle.

 

Oh man. When someone is trying to talk and ask questions.

 

Just drill a new hole and move the shackles. Axle relocation method. Shortens the wheelbase and gives you more horsepower and better gas mileage.

 

It's funny you post this because I helped a friend install Icon RXT Stage 2 yesterday also and we ran into exactly the same problem. I took us about 1-2 hours of troubleshooting to figure out what we were doing wrong. It sounds like you might be having the same issue as us but I'm not sure. I'll post our solution and hopefully it applies but you'll be able to tell if it doesn't.

In short, the axle was not low enough to make space for the springs. The springs are far more rigid and curved than the originals, which makes sense, because it gives him lift both through thickness of the springs but also stiffness of the curve. What we did:

We had two jack stands holding up the frame and then two jack stands holding up the axle. We jacked up the differential and removed the bottom shock bolt to let it hang free and removed the jack stand from the side we were working on but kept the opposite side jack stand under the axle then lowered the jack. This let the side we were working on drop completely below the shock's extension point by 2-3 inches. And it also made the axle flexible and pivot on the other side jack stand and springs/shocks.

That allow us to get the new leaf pack into the front, then we did NOT mount the pin into the axle just yet because that caused the leaf spring to be crooked and couldn't line up the holes. So we pushed the axle all the way down, practically to the floor, and got the two leaf boots mounted almost instantly with the bolts and kept them loose. Then with the jack free, we were able to prop leaf pack onto the edge of the axle then lift the whole thing up so that it was straight and kicked the leaf pack into place. From there we put the jack stand back under it and finished tightening everything to spec and installing the U-bolts. Then repeated it for the other side, removing that jack stand, letting the axle drop to the floor and doing it again.

This took us a while to figure out because it was counterintuitive to leave one side free floating but it actually worked way better. When we did the second side, it took us 30 minutes.

It's a bit of a puzzle and it's NOT explained well in the instructions. So I think the problem is that your leaf spring can't go low enough to seat correctly.

 

Uh oh...am I in trouble?

 

I usually leave the tire mounted on the side I’m not working, Put the Jack stand just forward of the front leaf mount, pull the shock, And drop the axle completely to the ground. leaves plenty of room to put the new leaf pack in without scratching everything trying to man handle it into place. Slide the jack under the diff once the spring is installed and Jack the diff back up enough you can get the u bolts started then reposition the Jack to lift the diff better. And get a wood block and big ass hammer for a little persuasion and get the leaf retaining pin to drop in the hole on the diff. Depending on your lift height may consider adding some angled shims before installing. Or you’ll be dropping the axle again to put them in

 

Oh yes, there was MUCH hammering on ours as well. This is good advice.

 

Nah not at all. Just learning! I would be curious did you get more lift than expected?

 

We didn't measure his before and after. But he had installed a GFC that had significantly depressed his rear (as most things with weight do). So the Stage 2 lift has a range of like 1.75-2.5" lift so it depends what all us already bolted to your bed. He's most worried about fitting in the garage. He has like .75" clearance from hitting the door now. So he's like "oh shit if I get bigger tires now, maybe I'll need a HC bumper to push it all back down." It's pretty funny.

 

Or buy a new house! I can help I'm in Real Estate! Ha!

 

Or To Reinstall the new part its just the reverse procedure.

 

Nah, just air down. Pick yer poison of airing back up when you leave.

 

Oh. I never do disassemblies for memory. That's silly!

 

Shut up!

 

Not fair! Can we ban you or something?