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Leaf spring assembly

3K views 6 replies 2 participants last post by  gtfasteddy 
#1 ·
Hey fellas gonna be doin a leaf spring bushing job here soon similar to 97cargocrawler using poly bushings 19-608. Thanks to the detailed description of the job by 97 I think I'll be ok but here's my issue. I have a 94 for shorty and I need the hanger and assembly for the front and rear of the leaf spring. Anybody know part number or where I could get new ones? Thanks in advance
 
#4 ·
Your springs are an entirely different animal than CargoCrawler's. You don't really have front bushings. You have a wrap around piece of rubber held in a clamshell. The rear bushings are 3" wide x 2" diam, 14mm bolt.

There's no good reason to replace the rear shackle unless it's failing. Your glass spring will fail long before the steel shackle will fail. You would very likely damage the spring in the attempt to remove the old bushing. You can't heat it like you can a steel leaf.

There's no good reason to open up the front clamshell unless you plan on replacing the springs with steel. There are no replacable rubbers for the front of glass springs. The front clamshells are no longer in production since ~1995. So if you replaced them it would be with another of about the same vintage/wear/disintegration.

REPLACING the glass leaves with steel is a much better approach. Plenty of write ups in the lifted section on how various people have approached that.

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#5 ·
Yea I figured about the clamshell cuz I've been searching. Ok with that info now known to me if anything I want to lower the van would steel springs still be a good choice? I'm a shade tree mechanic I don't carry a bunch of tools( couple jacks jack stands, tool bag) want to get into towing but nothing over 3500lbs. Also with replacing the rear bushings It would probably be easier because there not steel right? In cargo crawlers thread he didn't heat them up he just cut the outer bushing cylinder. Would I still be able to use those poly bushings tho?
 
#6 ·
Lower or raise, steel springs are the ONLY choice. You can't do anything with glass springs and they're all 20 years old plus.

You can't compare anything about your springs to CargoCrawler's. He never had glass springs. Getting bushings OUT of old springs typically means you heat them up and melt the rubber out, or you press them out with a big hydraulic press or if you have steel springs you could cut them out as Cargo did. Cutting isn't an option with glass as there's no exposed edge of the bushing.

You'll have to get the lowering guys involved to get advice on that. Raising is much simpler. You can raise and raise and raise and the clearance only gets LARGER. Lowering, on the other hand, even just an inch, means your tires are now CLOSER to everything. The clearances get SMALLER. Raising, you add longer shackles or blocks or higher arched springs. Lowering, you've got to flip, cut metal, relocate mounts, channel the frame members (build frame members) or some combination of all of the above.

New leaf end bushings will be the least of your engineering homework.. :geek:

Raising or lowering, I always suggest...read every thread you can on both forums about how others have done it. There's more than one way to do either. Read, especially, about the guys who have gone FARTHER than you are considering. ie if you want to lower it 2", read about the guys who've done 4 or 6". Any considerations you'll come up against will have come up with the other guys and they've figured out how to deal with it safely, using good mechanical and engineering practices.

Modifying the suspension and steering of a 20 year old vehicle that does not have a frame and has obsolete parts is like building a new car from the wheels up. Requires lots of tools, lots of MONEY/time/hand cleaner/calling in favors and lots of critical thinking. Cargo and I have done some pretty big lifts. Both of us will tell you we've done one or two things in the build that we later decided were less than ideal so had to re-do them another way.

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