Post by DeadlyPeace on Nov 10, 2003 13:48:41 GMT -5
Possibly everything you ever wanted to know about Chevy Springs is in this thread......
NOTE: This is ONLY about doing a Chevy leaf spring conversion. So you only need the rear springs. But if you want to lift your rig higher then you’ll have two check out the Suspension Lift forum; which I’m not done with yet, nor have actually have starter writing out yet (I can only do so many at a time). If you have any ideas or would like to tell me about a way that you done the lift on your rig or have seen on someone else’s rig then please contact me and let me know about. You will be recognized for any submitting added that you send to me. Pictures, most definitely, send me pictures if you can. Not just the truck, but also some close-ups of certain areas of the suspension.
The following was modified by me by adding some of my own things and doing a few fix up (spelling and wording that seemed to make it a little easier to understand. This forum orginally came from pirate4x4.com.www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20665&highlight=Chevy+FAQ%2A
I made this FAQ because there was so many questions being asked about the 63" Chevy 1/2 ton spring swap for the rear of Toyota 4x4s and this swap is becoming so popular I wanted a place where fellow YOSTERS can come and have all their questions answered. Without me saying the same answers a million times. Below are all the questions people have been asking me.
And of course any extra contributions to add/help this FAQ along are always gladly accepted. So here they are.
What year and vehicle do you get the springs from? [/b]
The correct years are 1988-1998 1/2 ton Chevy or GMC truck. Those are the only years you can get 63 inchers. Don't listen to anyone otherwise. And don't worry about the front suspension it does not matter if you want to stay with your stock suspension height.
Where do I get these springs?[/b]
From a boneyard! All you need is the rear springs off a 1988-1998 1/2 ton Chevy or GMC truck.
Does it matter if it's from a 2WD or 4WD?[/b]
No it does not matter if they are from a 2WD or 4WD. The 2WD have 3 leaves
plus an overload leaf. The 4WD have 4 leaves plus an overload leaf. The 2WD are the
most desirable because they are softer with only 3 main leaves and are good on a pickup. You can use the 4WD but you will have to pull out one leaf. Don't get me wrong the 4 leaves will work but most guys run 3 plus overload leaf. Some (like me) just run only three leaves. Also some people run add-a-leafs too. Just depends on what you want to achieve.
How much should I pay for the springs?[/b]
Pay no more than $100 a pair.
How do I mount these long springs to my Toyota?[/b]
You must get a new front spring hanger and weld it on the flat part of the frame forward of the stock spring hanger.
For the rear shackle hanger, you can either go with a double shackle set-up (very popular and very useful) or weld on a new hanger back about 4 inches from stock.
Where do I get new front spring hangers?[/b]
You can use the Chevy front hangers, but I feel they are shaped too oddly to work. Better if you either buy j**p CJ spring hangers (some say they hang kinda low) or make your own out of 3.5"x3.5"x 1/4" or 3/16" square tube. Or just 1/4" flat bar and made your own design.
Can you explain the double shackle set-up?[/b]
Ok the double shackle set-up works like this. You connect one Toyota style shackle from the factory rear hanger (let it lay flat against the frame) to another shackle going straight down to the spring. Most people run the stock Chevy shackle as the second one that mounts to the spring. Or you can make your own shackles.
Doing the double shackle set-up is just a cheaper and easier way to do the rear of the springs. No need to weld in a new hanger in the back. It also gives you a bunch of extra suspension droop, which is a good thing!
How far forward do I mount the new front spring hanger?[/b]
NOTE: On the following your driveshaft should still work, but it may be way down on the splines so you may need to lengthen it about an 1" or 2" in order to do any flexing.
If you are replacing 48" long stock springs, Mount them 11" forward of the stock spring hanger center hole to center hole. This will position the axle in stock location. Or drop a plumb line from the frame down to the center pin of your stock springs. Leave it there. Take off stock springs and line up Chevy’s.
On 3rd generation trucks, mount the front hanger 9" To 9 1/2" in front of the stock hangers. 9" the axle will sit slightly rear of center and 9 1/2" should get the axle centered.
On 1998-2000 Tacomas mount the front spring hangers forward 7.5”. Earlier Tacomas have shorter springs, but I don't have the measurements for those. Anyone?
Here what a friend and I did on his 89 - good for 89-95 trucks: We did a double shackle set-up leaving the rear shackle hanger in the stock location. Front spring hanger was mounted 8 1/2" forward of the stock hanger, center hole to center hole. 9" would be about perfect, but the less you go forward the better the double shackle will set up (I lost the info I had written down on my computer. Sorry.) We then used 2" x 3/8" Flat bar for the shackles. The top shackle is 5 1/2" with 3/4" washers on the inside of the shackle against the bushings (to space it slightly). Then we used an 8" shackle for the second shackle, putting it inside the top shackle, with a pipe spacer and washers between the bottom shackle. We used a 3/4" bolt at 6" for this (sizes 9/16" to 3/4" will work fine). This leaves the bottom shackle slightly angled back. Looks and works well. With the mount being 8 1/2" forward of the other mount (which I think is really the best spot). I had another driveshaft out of a 79' that had new u-joints in it, and it work perfect, they are slightly longer. And we used the stock driveshaft as a spare; it should work fine as a spare.[/color]
Note: Continued below on next post (There's only a 10,000 charater limit on posts).
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