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Are these 2" lift springs an improvement over stock ?

diesel4me

diesel4me

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Saw these on craigslist and am interested --my 82 K2500 has original 2 leaf front springs that are beat,the rubber bump stops are touching them with no weight on them,and the truck rides like it has no springs on bad roads...

When I put the plow on it it rides much better,but I know the springs must be whipped,and the weight of the blade just makes the impacts of bumps feel less severe..
With no plow ,every bump feels like a crash,and the nose looks like it comes off the mounts if the road is really rough,(the inner fenders are swiss cheese)-and many of the roads here are all potholes and patchwork from construction..

These springs look pretty beefy,but the ad doesn't state what brand they are,and I've read here that some ride very stiff (Rough Country ? )-and since my frame is 34 years old and has some rust,I'd hate to put some too stiff on it and possibly crack it,and still have a crappy ride, after spending money and the effort to put them in it..

I dont think I could buy any like these any cheaper though,unless I lucked out at a swap meet..

What do you guys think ?..worth it--or not...they are almost 100 miles away too,that is another discouragement--I don't like trusting the old rotbox that far..

73 87 Chevy GMC 4x4 2" Front Leaf Spring Lift Kit
 
Those are almost certainly procomp springs and will probably work much better for you with the plow.

Have the guy flip em over to the top side. If they are as new as he says they are they will have a part number. 11211 or something like that. 11411 is the 4" but it's hard to tell between the two even side by side.
 
might ride real stiff. by the looks of them with the thickness of the leafs and 5 per pack .

my plow truck had a ??? brand pair of 4" in the front and with my 8ft fisher or 9ft fisher on the front it would only drop maybe 1/2 inch .

I swapped out to a set of tuff country 3"hd and WOW what a difrrence in ride.

but for you it might be just what you want .
 
They might be bds or even Rancho, I don't remember to many companies using a half leaf for the second spring very often, plus they are very tapered.
 
So you think they are 4" lift ?...
If they were 4" I'd not be interested in them..
I hear Rancho springs aren't the best riding things either too,but do hold up well under heavy loads (like a plow,winch,etc)..

I'd not want to go with more than two inches of "lift" --that much lift will level the front end with the rear, 4" will probably cause more troubles than good,with steering,need longer shocks,etc..and I'm leery of super stiff springs finishing off the rusty frame...(driving it on the bump stops isn't doing it any good either though !.:doah:..)

My '85 K10 Suburban with the 6.2 has two leaf stock springs and has at least 1-1/2" clearance between the rubber bump stops--I put a set of those rinky-dink overload springs over the shocks to give it a bit more weight capacity to hold the heavy Diamond plow up,and prevent the plow push frame that's been cut and lowered 4" more,from digging up the roads (plow frame came off a truck with 4" of lift)..but they didn't add much clearance,maybe 1/2"..

I do have a pair of brand new 1500 lb. leaf "helper springs" that look like a bow,but they are intended for the rear,they wont work up front,they would hit the tie rods..I was going to put them on the pickup,but they just wont work up front..

I'm basically looking for a cheap way to improve the ride some,the truck is not really worth a lot as it stands and I'm not looking forward to replacing leaf springs,I know its a sucky job,but if it would make it more comfortable to ride in,I'd go through with it..but since the truck is getting ripe all over ,I'm reluctant to invest much money and labor in it..even "load leveler" shocks are almost 100 bucks and hard to find now,not worth the effort to install really..those put loads on the frame and shock mounts they were not intended for too..


I saw a
300 dollar '84 K10 "parts truck" on craigslist with a running small block,TH-400,and a clean title,it needs a front axle shaft and a rear drive shaft..its probably in equal or better overall condition as my K2500 is...truck isn't that far away either..

I suspect it was thrashed at a local mud bog over the summer,and now they just want it gone..it also looks to be lifted some
,and maybe its nose is in better condition..been thinking it might be a good buy,if its better than mine,or the parts would be useful to fix my truck up..buy a set of used springs for 150,plus 30 bucks of fuel,or get a whole truck for 300...hmm..:thinking:..
I know a guy with a ramp truck who'd haul it home for 50 bucks..
 
Personally your goal is an easy one to make work, just takes some creativity.. Leave the stock springs in it, grab a rear pack and add 2-3 of the longest springs that will fit without extending past the stock pack, that way you add some height and not too much rate. Basically a flat spring pack is what your shooting for. Many thin leafs will net you the better ride. Quite the opposite of the lift springs.
 
sreidmx said:
Personally your goal is an easy one to make work, just takes some creativity.. Leave the stock springs in it, grab a rear pack and add 2-3 of the longest springs that will fit without extending past the stock pack, that way you add some height and not too much rate. Basically a flat spring pack is what your shooting for. Many thin leafs will net you the better ride. Quite the opposite of the lift springs.
Click to expand...
NOT correct with oem tapered leafs . the fronts are tapered leaf and rears are reg leaf . mix-n-match not the best on these styles .

kind of like mixing bias ply tires and radial tires .
 
sweetk30 said:
NOT correct with oem tapered leafs . the fronts are tapered leaf and rears are reg leaf . mix-n-match not the best on these styles .

kind of like mixing bias ply tires and radial tires .
Click to expand...

For what he's doing and trying to accomplish it'll work fine. They're leaf springs and they're not gonna blow up. Using a shock with a helper coil in an application or designed to take that load like a stock Chevy shock mount is more dangerous..
 
I thought of that too,but the stock front leafs are those stupid tapered things,I'm not so sure adding "straight" leafs under them would pan out well...if I got another pair of stock front springs and stacked them,that might work,or it might just make them TOO stiff and it'll still ride like crap..
This is why I'm asking here for opinions,I would like to hear from others who may have tried various methods to improve the ride quality..before I waste my money and effort..
 
You would be better off takin a lift spring and removing from the pack yes, but I think your over analyzing this. Just add spring to the pack to reduce the sagging.. If we're going to get into this tapered vs non we might as well start talking about the fact stock springs are parabolic And no matter what you do you will fight that negative arch. The thing is, you are only trying to get the arch to be flat.. The argument is moot.
 
A friend dropped off a truck at my house the other day and he did just that, I'll take pics of it if you want. No nuns have died .... Yet
 
sreidmx said:
A friend dropped off a truck at my house the other day and he did just that, I'll take pics of it if you want. No nuns have died .... Yet
Click to expand...
I don't care for pics . . . . not going to get in to a pissing match .

just stating fact . not what has worked for x-amount of time for someone.

take the ifo and do with it what you want is all.

we here at ck5 prefer facts over rummer/hear say/scarry stuff is all.
 
Don't want to torch off the spring bolts and U-bolts to swap the leafs out? Use front helper springs:

IMG_20160514_142015927.jpg


Just cut the coils down until you get the lift you want. :doah:
 
Even I am not that brave,though I admit I did give some thought to that idea,I even got a small coil spring from a friends shop's junk pile,and cut it up,but decided if it ever moved, and punctured the tire,etc,I wouldn't have to worry about a rough ride any more..just if I'd live to talk about what a stupid idea it was..:doah:..
 
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