More leaf spring madness.
 

Over the weekend while I was doing a axle, and shackle flip on my C10. Along with fixing the bed so it is truly functional again.

I noticed my passenger leaf sagged 1" from my driver side leaf. My economics are as such spend $700 on replacement springs which are a bit to much for normal driving, and or $1200 on customs hurts to much. All with excessive wait times to get my leafs back. This is currently my only working vehicle.

My springs are 1850# lb, 56" long, and 6 leafs. I got 1991 4x4 Suburban leafs from my cousin. There specs are 2300#, 56", and 6 leaves. Websites I looked at all seem to confirm my beliefs.

None of the shops I stopped at yesterday will press in new bushings because the.springs are rusty. When I got home I wire wheeled a few of the springs, and to me they look good to go. Till I can afford what I really want for my leafs.

Any thoughts on which leafs I should remove from the Suburban pack to achieve a roughly #1600 pound capacity? I want reduced capacity to gain ride quality, and I have helper air bags to get capacity back.

I have seen people run just the main leaf with bags, but that is not a safe option for a truck. Or leafs never intended to be run that way especially .

But what about the first 2 leafs? Or should I add in a 3rd using the smallest leaf?

I still have my bump stops, but also my bags have them internally.

Any experience's?

Re: More leaf spring madness.
 

I'd leave them all in and try it out to see if you like it. As I have found out the Suburban spring packs are kinda soft and have a tendency to flatten out and sag.... .which is why I've always had to have them re-arched and re-tempered. Other than that, I'd start with removing the shortest one and go from there.

Re: More leaf spring madness.
 

Initially, I would do as @kwmech advised.

If you're not interested in that approach, I recall it's usually suggested to remove the 3rd longest from the main leaf & every other after it if removing multiple leafs.

Re: More leaf spring madness.
 

Is there any rule of thumb on how much each spring contributes to the pack?

I know there will have to be adjustments to my selections, but I am trying to skip some work. By getting to a general set up people run

Re: More leaf spring madness.
 

None that I've ever read about when seeking info. Longer leafs will support more vs shorter so I'd wage their removal impacts capacity faster.

Re: More leaf spring madness.
 

The load leaf is typically the 2nd to 4th down from the main. Really depends on the pack.
I would worry about increased spring wrap removing lower leafs. What I might do if I was in your situation is disassemble the C10 packs. Look for differences on the individual leafs from each pack side to side. Replace leafs with discrepancies on both packs with corresponding leafs from the donor springs.

Re: More leaf spring madness.
 

I did that a little bit by removing the tire, and pulling out my dial calipers.

The leaf spring pack I want to swap in weighs 20 pounds more atleast then the original one. A few pounds is due to these metal shims in the pack.

There is a difference in every leafs thickness.

Lengths are the same.

Different style slide straps. My C10 used straps where the K20 used pads+shims.

Then to round this off. The bushing diameter is 1.75" vs the Factory 1.5" every website says it should be.

So I am beginning to believe the leafs maybe some form of aftermarket. Which explains the bushing, but they are not heavy duty or 12 leaf for smooth ride. Which alot of aftermarket springs would be to help with sales. Much less lift springs.

So what they are I am at a loss.

I swapped one on to replace my sagged leaf for a quick visual. It raised my truck 1.5" above the other spring, and was horrifically stiff.

Yes I am aware that's what she said.