1st gen pickup suspension question

[DenCo40]

PO put overload springs my shortbed. I am pretty sure but not positive if I am correct. The truck sits with the back end a little high and rides pretty bad. I think they are the second springs up from the bottom.
Can anyone tell me if they look like an AAL or overload?

 

[cavemancaleb]

Hard to tell, a bigger picture with more of the spring would help.

Could be though.

 

[Combat Chuck]

That's a crappy add-a-leaf job underneath your anti-wrap leaf, it's pretty common on the first-gens when their springs start to fail. I have the same "mod" myself, and am hoping for some OME's in the future.

I'll bet your front springs are all sagged out and inverted, too. Mine are riding the bump-stops, with my tail up in the air like a F-n' tuner.

Basically, just upgrading your springs is the only solution.

 

[pappy]

The second spring from the bottom is not an AAL. It's probably factory. It's possible the next spring above that is an AAL, or the #2 spring from the top. A picture showing the end of the spring pack might be able to tell us.

 

[Combat Chuck]

The second spring from the bottom is not an AAL. It's probably factory. It's possible the next spring above that is an AAL, or the #2 spring from the top. A picture showing the end of the spring pack might be able to tell us.

Yeah, the second spring up looks like the anti-wrap leaf, and for all we know, that leaf underneath it could just be a chunk of plate steel with a hole in it for the pin.
I'm no longer surprised at what oddities previous owners will do these days.

 

[DenCo40]

okay I took another picture maybe you can tell me which one is the AAL.

 

[Combat Chuck]

okay I took another picture maybe you can tell me which one is the AAL.

Looking at your original pic, here are my thoughts:

________ Regular stock leaf
_______ Stock leaf
-------- AAL
_____ Stock Anti-wrap leaf
----- PO added shim or AAL segment.


I'm sure some of the more experienced folk will have a better idea.

 

[Chop Shop]

That bottom leaf thing is the added one.

The longer one on top of it with the clamp/hoop riveted to it is the stock overload leaf.

Then the three on top are the stock normal leafs.

In stock form you have
1 top leaf
2 military wrap leaf
3 bottom support leaf with a clamp on it to keep the leafs straight.
4 stock long overload with an open clamp riveted on it.
Then you have this...
5 funky overload/add a leaf on the bottom that is shorter than the stock overload. I dont see how its doing anything to the ride at all. It is pretty worthless for added capacity. Its really not helping at all by being under and the stock overload.

It is pretty much only acting as a 1/2 - 3/4 inch lift block is all its doing. I would look at the end of the ubolts and make sure there is some threads all the way thru the nuts still.

 

[Combat Chuck]

It is pretty much only acting as a 1/2 - 3/4 inch lift block is all its doing. I would look at the end of the ubolts and make sure there is some threads all the way thru the nuts still.

..X2!

 

[85 t runner]

do you have any pics of your truck

 

[H8PVMNT]

That looks just like any other stock 79 or 80 leaf pack I've ever had. I've had 2 with that setup personally and I've seen several others with the same. I think it's actually stock... I reareanged mine with 6 or 7 total thin leaves and it works well and rides a little better.

 

[Chop Shop]

That looks just like any other stock 79 or 80 leaf pack I've ever had. I've had 2 with that setup personally and I've seen several others with the same. I think it's actually stock... I reareanged mine with 6 or 7 total thin leaves and it works well and rides a little better.

That bottom overload leaf is NOT stock.

If you had two trucks with a smashed fender and seen a few more with smashed fenders, does that mean all of these trucks must have came with smashed fenders?
The two trucks you had with funky leaves other than the stock three thin ones and one thick overload had been monkeyed with at some point then too.

These trucks are 20-30 years old and have had lots of previous owners that do strange things to leaf springs in an attempt to upgrade them.

 

[Combat Chuck]

That looks just like any other stock 79 or 80 leaf pack I've ever had. I've had 2 with that setup personally and I've seen several others with the same. I think it's actually stock... I reareanged mine with 6 or 7 total thin leaves and it works well and rides a little better.

It hink it's most of a stock leaf pack, but that shim/junk leaf is definitely not stock, and that huge leaf doesn't look like the real deal to me.

 

[DenCo40]

Here is a pic of how it sits. There are 4-5 threads showing on the U bolts still.

 

[85 t runner]

nice truck

 

[Combat Chuck]

That's exactly how mine sits, front springs are tired, rear springs are over-beefy, so it's got the tuner stance going on.

Nice truck, by the way. Mine's the same color.

 

[H8PVMNT]

That bottom overload leaf is NOT stock.

If you had two trucks with a smashed fender and seen a few more with smashed fenders, does that mean all of these trucks must have came with smashed fenders?
The two trucks you had with funky leaves other than the stock three thin ones and one thick overload had been monkeyed with at some point then too.

These trucks are 20-30 years old and have had lots of previous owners that do strange things to leaf springs in an attempt to upgrade them.

Maybe so but they have all been monkeyed with exactly the same way with exactly the same extra leaf then. I have only seen it on '79-'81 longbeds. My own personally were on two 1980 longbeds and an '81 trailblazer, also a longbed chassis. Also saw it on a '79 longbed. All with exactly the same double over load setup. Maybe it was some kind of early tow package option, you never know. Maybe some aftermarket company offered it but I don't think so. I have taken them apart and rearanged leaf packs and they all look factory with the stock metric centering pin and the stock u-bolts with 4 or 5 threads showing.

This is a good debate.

We all need to go crawling under some stock 1st gens...

 

[Combat Chuck]

We all need to go crawling under some stock 1st gens...

Agreed!

 

[Chop Shop]

Never seen one on any2nd or 3rd gen springs that I have used. Ill have to look at all the 1st gens I have access to.

 

[H8PVMNT]

OK I have a legitemate question regarding the different years of springs:

It always seems like 1st gen rear springs have a bit more arch than the 2nd gen... Is there anything to that? Are they slightly different free arch off the trucks or is it just a heavier truck with the later model causing this effect?