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Saggy Blazer

A

aussie

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Oct 23, 2004
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Location
Downunder, 35.30S 149.13E
My latest K5 has a sagged rear spring (been in storage since early 90's) and I'm looking for input from the Colorado-K5 think tank.

Bearing mind K5 aftermarket springs are not available below the equator and would cost a horrendous amount to ship (plus a 2 month wait by sea) and I'm not looking to lift it..its a DD,and expedition style vehicle (and part time tow rig). Tyres will be no larger than 33", I'm happy to trim the pristine panels to achieve this.

Ive got a few optiions

1- Do a cut and paste job on a stock 3/4 C20 set. These are easy enough to find (found one set and its only 1600 miles away) Taking into account theyre longer, what I still cant find is the figure for the arch.
Plan A would invlove leaving the main leaf in situ and migrating the C20 secondary leafs over. (Poss shackle flip)
Plan B Move the whole lot in and shackle flip if the arch is too low.

2- Get the springs reset. Though I cant find a business that will warranty the spring pack afetr they've reset it. I would just have to hope it doesnt deform back to its present state too quickly.

3- Graft in a similiarly rated set from a F-truck.

Thoughts, comments, queries........
/forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif
 
How about some airbag overloads? I put some made by Firestone on my '78 Buick land yacht and they helped the saggy tail.

WELCOME
 
I should add that the overall sag is biased 3" to the drivers (right hand) side (front is fine), so I really need to balance the springs first. Airbags may be an option as it will see some heavy loads in the future. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

Anybody know off the top of their head what the level ride height should be, ie whats the stock height differential between the upper fender lips measured from the centerline of each wheel?
 
dont you guys have spring shops down there? gotta be one somewhere. Cant they make ya any kind of springs you want? Ive got a good spring shop here in town and they can custom make pretty much anything ya need. They always have plenty of center pins and cutom u-bolts too.

anyway, if not, cheapest/easiest thing to do would be to grab some leafs from a junkyard rig somewhere that look like they still have some arch and add them to your spring pack.

j
 
I can get them made, though its a one month turn around from a shop three hours drive away (until I get new springs I cant get the K5 to them) and will cost five to six times the price (plus shipping) of grafting in a 2WD 3/4 set...and its a one off for them, your local shop knows exactly what works for our trucks.

The guys I will deal with never have seen one let alone come up with the right spring pack solution the first time.

This truly happened when I had a 73 K5,....Ive had a parts store numpty ask me what year model Bronco I had, I said its a Blazer, he said (whilst pointing at it ' its a bronco', I said 'mate I know what f&*%king truck I own', he said 'no its a bronco', I not so politely pointed out the badge on the grill and invited him to go for a little walk with me, he declined. /forums/images/graemlins/angryfire.gif /forums/images/graemlins/angryfire.gif

Ive looked into the wreckers option, unfortunatley I need a junkyard full of chevys and there aint none here! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/doah.gif

I'm a little out of the way and dont have ready access to decent wreckers, springs shops etc sourcing this stuff over the phone is fraught with danger /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif ....looking for a solution that works the first time and is right.
 
OK, lets do this:

What are some trucks that you can find easily in the local wrecking yards that do have leaf springs?

Stock K5 rear springs are 2.5" wide, and 52" long from eye to eye along the arch. In unsagged form they have approx 1.25" of 'loaded arch'. Free arch is closer to 4 or 5 inches. I have a set here that weren't sagged, but one has a broken mainleaf. I could snap some pictures and take some better measurements for you if you like.

I think you could make the 56" rear springs work though. You will have to move the rear shackle hanger back 4" though. You may also need to remove one or two leafs to tailor the ride height some.

I'd scour the local boneyards for any leaf spring packs in the 52"-54" range and build my own leaf pack. It's not rocket science, just time consuming.

Rene
 
Hey theres a familiar handle from last time I used to come hear /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Im really constrained by the fact the k5 has few similiarly sized, rear leaf sprung passenger vehicles on the road over here...theres the F series & bonko's (3" width spring) and cruisers (45,60 and 80's..way too much arch).

I've given it some thought and I will grab the 3/4 2wd spring packs. I'll retain my main leaf and mod the 3/4 ton secondary leafs.

On the subject of ride height. As every corner on my K5 has its own altitude, whats your fender height relationship? ie front/rear identical or biased one way or another?

TIA
 
I wish I could just go and take a few measurements for you, but I've trimmed quite a bit of sheet metal and my truck doesn't sit at stock height...

1019Moab_pic.jpg


Hopefully someone on here has a stock Blazer in decent shape and sees this post.

[ QUOTE ]
Hey theres a familiar handle from last time I used to come hear

[/ QUOTE ]

Did you register a new user name? I vaguely recall someone from Australia from a few years back, probably you, but can't recall the user name.

Anyways, if your mainleafs are still good then your plan should work with a little trial and error. If one of the main leaf's is de-arched a lot more than the other it'll still sit askew.

Rene
 
[ QUOTE ]
1- Do a cut and paste job on a stock 3/4 C20 set. These are easy enough to find (found one set and its only 1600 miles away) Taking into account theyre longer, what I still cant find is the figure for the arch.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you sure that they are longer? My rear K5 springs were a direct swap when I put them on my K20.
 
Thanks for the input /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

I used to be on here around 2000/2001, I cant remember my exact handle but it was aussie_k5 or k20, something like that.

cheers

Jason
 
I searched for and dug up an old post for you.

Ride height

It's in the 73-91 forum, but you should be able to read it at the very least.

Rene
 
i think the 3/4 and one tons are all 56" rears. The half ton pick-ups seemed to get either the 52's or the 56's.

Rene
 
Yep thats me!

Thanks for the link to my old username. I'll use it from now on. /forums/images/graemlins/woot.gif

Thats a great link (I remember reading back when it was posted now youve shown it too me!), good baseline data, its got the ride attitude info I was after and confirms what I thought as correct...'fender to ground' height is slightly more at the rear.

I really appreciate the time and input from you guys over there.

/forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
Jason
 
Keep us posted...take some pic's too. /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif

Rene
 
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