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removing a few leafs from front axle on s10

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abig84

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just wondering if anyone had any experence in this.

im doing a SFA swap into a 93 s10 using 4inch superlift springs out of a k5 blazer up front. needless to say they are stiff as heck. there are 5 leafs in the pack, is there any reason why i couldnt take out the bottom three? reason being im sure the truck is to light for those stiff springs, also the front axle is about a inch lower then the rear so this should even it out.
thanks
 
A lot of people take a couple springs out of leaf packs to soften them up. I dunno about taking 3 out of a 5 leaf pack though. That might leave them way too soft. And your 4 inch lift will sorta not be 4" inches any more....
 
thats kinda what im worried about, thats why i wanted to ask to see if anyone has done this before i go ahead and mess with them. but like i said i need the front end down a inch. maybe ill take out the bottom two.

but the truck is still in the air on jackstands also. the back springs only have two leafs if that matters so maybe itll even out?:confused:
 
You can always take leaves out a spring pack, just realize that lower spring rates = more axle wrap.

How much lower do you want to go? Removing an overload leaf will only reduce the height of the rig by the thickness of the leaf (1/4"-1/2"). Removing any other leaf will probably lower the ride height by 1"-2".
 
i only need a inch... i think. like i said its on jack stands and basicly i measured the distance between the tubes and the ground and the front end is 1inch lower then the rear, not really a scientific way of doing it. that might change after the weight is on the truck.


this truck is going to be a trailer queen so itll never see the highway
 
Well, you'll probably have to experiment.

And IME K5 lift springs on a lightweight rig are terrible. I kept the 4" lift springs I had on my truck (which worked great on the full bodied K5) for a couple trail runs after I tubed it out (1000+ lbs lighter) and the suspension might as well have been solid. I had way less flex and the rig sat too high IMO. I took two leaves out of the rear, swapped to 52's in the front (also with two leaves removed) and it was way better.
 
i got 6inch superlift springs on my k5 and you can jump up and down on the front end without it moving so i know exactly what your talking about.

i dont plan on doing it anytime soon i will wait till its on the ground before i go ahead and mess with anything. im pretty much just making sure that if i take out most the leafs that the spring aint gonna crack or be too soft.
 
abig84 said:
im pretty much just making sure that if i take out most the leafs that the spring aint gonna crack or be too soft.
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The only leaf you should be worried about is the main leaf. Breaking any other leaf won't affect you much, breaking the main leaf sucks.

Its easy to have the spring pack too soft (my fronts are too soft, they're probably ~100 lbs/in). Keep spring clamps no matter what (ask me how I know :doah:) and you should be good. Mount the shocks as far from the axle tube as possible (i.e. forward or backwards of the axle tube), it will help your springs survive.


I can't wait for the day that I can ditch my leaf springs :tongue1:
 
38377k5 said:
Mount the shocks as far from the axle tube as possible (i.e. forward or backwards of the axle tube), it will help your springs survive.


I can't wait for the day that I can ditch my leaf springs :tongue1:
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im confused with the first part, dont you have to mount the shocks to axle tubes?


and im using leafs cause its what i have, i already have a k5 for offroading, this thing is kinda being build as junkyard, see what i can find laying around here for parts kinda build. BUT i do want it to hold up to some trashing
 
abig84 said:
im confused with the first part, dont you have to mount the shocks to axle tubes?
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I meant mount them as far from the axle tube centerline (front to back) as possible (i.e. make your mounts long). This will help with axle wrap.

abig84 said:
and im using leafs cause its what i have, i already have a k5 for offroading, this thing is kinda being build as junkyard, see what i can find laying around here for parts kinda build. BUT i do want it to hold up to some trashing
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I'm using leaves front and rear right now as well (because they don't cost me any money) but I'm not satisfied with the performance of any part of my suspension.
 
my plan of now is just to weld all the brackets in place and then get the wheels on the truck and on level ground and see how it sits and how the driveshaft angles are. then ill see about swaping springs out. i wish id think these builds out.
 
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