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New Leaf Springs or not?

Chief Brody

Chief Brody

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After replacing a bad drag link end and wheel bearings, my steering has tightened up significantly...however it still has a little "drift" to it.

Will new leaf springs fix this feeling?

or do I need to go ahead and put a new damper on, new sway bar bushings?

What will tighten everything up and make it ride and drive the way it came from the factory?

By the way, it is factory with no lift.
 
try putting an xj steering shaft in it, i plan to and others have as well. just an idea. Guys selling them very reasonable on here at 40 dollars a pop ready to go.
 
KansasTwister said:
try putting an xj steering shaft in it, i plan to and others have as well. just an idea. Guys selling them very reasonable on here at 40 dollars a pop ready to go.
Click to expand...

THanks! I sent a PM to the xj steering shaft guy...
 
it could be possible the leafs are bad, but as clean as your rig was i doubt it. Not saying the shaft will fix everything, but its a worthwhile upgrade none the less.
 
Do leaf springs get "weak" or "springy" after 37 years, or are they pretty much good unless they are broke?
 
I wouldn't worry so much about the leaf springs. But there are bushings at each end of the springs that wear out as well as the bushings at the top of the shackle in the frame. If you can replace all of your spring/shackle bushings with new polyurethane instead of rubber and greasable bolts for maintenance, this will tighten up the front end significantly. Off Road Designs should be able to set you up with these items.

Also, need we mention the steering box/frame crack problem these trucks have? Full weight on the truck, have someone slowly wiggle the steering wheel back/forth (1/8th turn left-1/8th turn right) continuosly while you watch the steering box for movement. Any movement, remove the box and check the frame for cracks. A repair kit can be purchased from Off Road Designs to repair the frame along with a steering box bracket to keep it from moving again. No movement, go to ORD and at least get the bracket to prevent it from happening.
 
One more thing to keep in mind...

These K5s are trucks. They come from a time when cars were cars and trucks were trucks. They are utilitarian in nature and built with regular old truck parts and technology that is now 40 years old, at least. They will never handle or have the ride quality of anything made in the last 20 years or so, and are basically a completely different animal than the "SUV"s of today. Which, IMO, have been nothing but overgrown and modified station wagons that sit taller and ride on slightly larger tires than their car 'fathers'.

So, when you get the steering and suspension all dialed in and as perfect as it came from the factory (or better), embrace what's left of the sloppy steering and rough, bouncy leaf spring ride, interior with little to no amenities (sp?), and body panels that don't quite line up in every place. Cause what you have is a working piece of history, that they just don't make anymore.
 
since your gonna leave it stock, new urethane bushings at the leaf's and swaybar, and nice shocks will do you a world of good... and it'd be foolish not to do an XJ shaft, rag joints bring the suck......

does it sag in the back?
 
ryoken said:
since your gonna leave it stock, new urethane bushings at the leaf's and swaybar, and nice shocks will do you a world of good... and it'd be foolish not to do an XJ shaft, rag joints bring the suck......

does it sag in the back?
Click to expand...

I already contacted the guy about the XJ shaft.

What do you consider to be nice shocks?

and not sure about the "sag in the back"?
 
I'm a Bilstein fan....

take a pic from the dead side of the rig on a level surface, from a crouched position, maybe 20', 25' away, and post it..
 
ryoken said:
I'm a Bilstein fan....

take a pic from the dead side of the rig on a level surface, from a crouched position, maybe 20', 25' away, and post it..
Click to expand...

I'll do that tomorrow...I believe that it appears as if the front is higher than the rear....
 
Also measure side to side to see if the truck is sitting level. Mine sags a bit more on the rear passenger corner.
 
I wouldnt fool with replacing the leaf bushings, thats a pain in the rear as I have done it before. You can buy new stock leafs with urethane bushings from jc whitney, front and rear. I wouldnt go thru all the trouble of removing 37yr old leafs just to replace the bushings and put back the saggy springs.

Mine rode as you described and my leafs were saggy. I was gonna leave mine stock but leafs are pretty much the same cost whether lifted or stock height. I wanted to run 33's on stock wheels so I went with a small lift for the same cost.
 
Do I need special tools to remove leaf springs?

Is there a lot of force or energy stored in the spring that makes it hard to get back on or dangerous to take off?

All new territory for me....everything I have ever owned before had coil springs or struts...
 
They're heavy. Don't drop them on yourself or someone else.

That's about it providing the suspension isn't supporting any weight when you do this.
 
Chief Brody said:
After replacing a bad drag link end and wheel bearings, my steering has tightened up significantly...however it still has a little "drift" to it.

Will new leaf springs fix this feeling?

or do I need to go ahead and put a new damper on, new sway bar bushings?

What will tighten everything up and make it ride and drive the way it came from the factory?

By the way, it is factory with no lift.
Click to expand...

What brand of wheel bearing did you go with? Where did you get them? I'm looking for some currently. Long ago I got some Timken bearings that were made in the USA. Were you able to find USA made bearings?

There also is a current "build" thread for changing spings on the forums. It can be a rather involved task.
http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=278491
 
Chief Brody said:
Do I need special tools to remove leaf springs?

Is there a lot of force or energy stored in the spring that makes it hard to get back on or dangerous to take off?

All new territory for me....everything I have ever owned before had coil springs or struts...
Click to expand...

all you do is support the frame with jackstands like under the door (jackstands need to be about 24"), remove wheels and shocks, then lower diff down and that relieves pressure off the springs, then remove u-bolts on one side, lower diff some more and unbolt springs. I do one side at a time to prevent the diff from rolling. Its not hard as long as the bolts/nuts come loose. Buy new leaf bolts and u-bolts if they dont come with any. You can get online lift instructions from tuff country and the procedure is the same for stock leafs.

LMC front springs are like $99ea, but the rears are $279ea, whereas jcwhitney they are like $125ea for all and jcwhitney usually has free shipping. LMC does however sell all the new bolts you need at a fair price

No special tools in a perfect world, just standard size wrenchs/sockets, like 3/4", 11/16", 13/16", 7/8"
 
ryoken said:
I'm a Bilstein fan....

take a pic from the dead side of the rig on a level surface, from a crouched position, maybe 20', 25' away, and post it..
Click to expand...


Here are the pics

DSC_00010001.JPG

DSC_00020002.JPG

DSC_00030003.JPG
 
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