Leaf Springs Need advice?

Began work on this Toyota. Been working and I think these leafs are done. What is the opinion of all you owners.

 

Mine looked similar and one of the leafs actually broke in half, likely due to the reversing of the arch. After breaking it slid over and was clanking against the shock.

BTW, there are guys on here who have tried every maker and load of springs and shocks. Just ask with/without any ride height change, what optional weight you plan to add (bumper, bed cover, RTT, etc), tire/wheel size, how you want it to ride, any offroad plans, etc and somebody will help you out.

May need to change the name of your thread to a question about replacing springs if that is what you plan to do. Ex: "Need advice on ..."

 

Yeah those are done and need to be replaced. Flat leafs is common for these trucks and doesn't mean that they're bad, it's just a trait of SOA (spring over axle) setups. Spring under axle has more arch to it.

However those have a negative arch to them, and negative arch means they're done for

 

Good idea on the title change

 

Those springs are sad. :-(

That's to be expected for that age of truck, though.

 

I have seen the old man emu springs. Are there any other options cheaper? with around 2 inch lift?

 

Only thing cheaper is add a leaf options but you don't want to be adding leafs to a worn down leaf pack. The only other options I know of are stock replacement aftermarket options but those don't offer any lift, not that I've seen.

Dakars are probably the most affordable way to get new springs and rear lift, don't forget you'll need longer shocks to go with them. Longer/extended brake line is recommended as well.

 

I went with General Springs. They make a standard and HD spring for our trucks. Great customer service and the springs were delivered quickly. They were far more cost effective than Dakar/OME/Alcan if you're just looking for a quality replacement leaf for sad OEM versions. The HD springs give you approximately 1.75"-2" of lift. Probably closer to 2" at first but will settle 1/4" or so.

 

Don't forget the brake proportioning valve relocation bracket kit!

 

<$400 for a pair of complete leafs springs is about as cheap as you will want to go for a set of springs, IMO. That's less than an OEM replacement. (though you could get cheap generic springs for a little less).

As @eon_blue said, you can get an add-a-leaf but you don't really want to do that with such worn out springs.

The OME springs are a proper lift spring, vs. getting an HD spring set, which is basically just stiffer springs. That may give you a lift, but that's because the springs are stiffer so they don't compress as much under a normal load. That's effectively the same as getting an add-a-leaf. If you don't mind a stiffer ride, that's an acceptable route... IMO HD springs should only be considered if you plan to carry heavier loads like a roof top tent, tools, gear, etc... in the bed all the time.

 

some 1" flat bar and a couple bolts from home depot will work fine for this. Super easy to make.

 

You may consider adding air bags. I originally put on General HD springs but wasn't happy with them after a year of use so I added a custom air bag set up. Makes for a stiffer ride but no more sagging and easy to adjust. Been very happy with them so far.

 

What kind of driving do you plan on doing ?
Do you typically haul a lot of heavy loads ?
Daily driver ?
Offroad?

 

Luke, This truck is for my teenage boys. Will mostly be a mall crawler. They are going to drive it to work and school. I would like the option of being able to load up the mx bikes or a quad.

 

My vote would be old man emu.
Relatively cost-effective springs with a good reputation

 

The Dakars aren't designed to hold a lot of weight though, if you plan on loading the bed up with quads every so often then the Dakars might let you down. They're rated at not much more than stock carrying capacity, you can always get the add-a-leaf for them though and that will help.

I had Dakars before I switched to the All Pro Expos and they sagged onto the bump stops with a roof top tent and a few hundred pounds of camping gear/fuel in the bed, even with the AAL.

 

For your use also consider factory take offs. Lots of serviceable factory springs come off when people lift. I gave (free) my almost new factory TSB springs to guy who bought my pre-lift shocks.

 

I have been looking in the usual spots for some cheap take offs. Offer up, Craigs, FB Marketplace, ect. I would rather just knock this out all at once.

 

If that's the case just leave them alone. If the trucks runs fine and doesn't lean like crazy, they arnt broken don't "fix" them.

 

I run 2 dirtbikes in the back of my double cab fairly regularly, and I've never wanted heavier duty springs. Sure, it sags a little, but not that much.

HD springs will ride rough unless you have all that extra weight in there. So you need to ask yourself if the inch or 2 less sag you'll get is worth the rougher ride (when unloaded).

I look at it like this: What do you spend >50% of your time doing? If you spend 51% of the time (or mileage) hauling dirt bikes, then maybe the HD springs make sense. But even if you ride nearly every weekend, but commute to work during the week, you likely don't reach that 51% threashold.

In all honesty, you don't want takeoffs from some guy that's upgrading the suspension on his 1st gen tacoma. Those springs are going to be just as old as yours. At best, they would be only slightly less worn out than your current set.