Leafsprings, too short/cant reach shackle (1 Viewer)

[Baron]

So I have the Cab separated from the chassis, so essentially a bare chassis, not tanks/nothing. I changed my leaf-springs, cleaned/painted everything. Now I'm putting the leafsprings back on the chassis, I have got the pin-end in, but the shackle end is 2-3inches short of the shackle. Some research tells me that this is because the spring is curved in, and the way to fix it is to put load on the spring, thus making it flat and longer. however, with the bare chassis I have no weight.

Has anyone come across this and found a way to deal with it?

 

[gt7058a]

Use a ratchet strap around chassis and spring to flatten it out

 

[sodafeld1]

Or clamps..

 

[Baron]

Thanks Fellas, will try the strap method and see how we go.

 

[cruisermatt]

Do you have the correct leaf springs?

 

[cruiserpilot]

I've had my springs hanging for a few months with it on jack stands. I had to jack up the axle
to reinstall the shocks. And the anti-inversion shackle is pinned to the frame. It' will settle back
once it has weight on it. No worries. I freaked out when I put my last new set of OME on. I actually
called ARB USA to ask the tech about it. He said it's normal. Must be, no issues.

 

[Gretsch]

Do you have the correct leaf springs?

This would be my query as well. I didn't see where you mentioned the spring manufacturer OP. Have seen where folks have run into this kind of thing with springs from certain manufacturers (not OME). Springs ended up just being too short when they were made. Guy in the thread I saw was eventually able to reach the shackle but the shackle angle was terrible even with truck on the ground. Springs obviously are curved in without weight on them and when new, but they still should reach everything. You would never have weight on the springs until they are installed and the truck is on the ground. Just frame, frame+body is irrelevant until the springs are installed. I read the original post as the springs are too short to even install them and don't reach the shackle, which makes me think they are the wrong ones or manufactured incorrectly. My OME's lined up fine with zero weight on them as you would have when installing them, yet easily reached the shackle to be able to install the spring. Some pics OP would help.

 

[Baron]

So the I've tried a ratchet (1.5T hand pully) and I can get within an Inch, but Its a lot of tension, and I cant tighten anymore. I'm actually transferring the springs from a rolling chassis I bought to fix rust in the cab. The parts car was raised which I wanted on my truck. HOWEVER, I compared my original rear springs to the new raised rearsprings, and the ones I'm having trouble with are a good 3-4 inches shorter (hence my problem). I then compared with the the original rear springs to the raised front springs, and Its only 1/2 inch difference. I now suspect the parts car had the springs reversed (front to back). (PS I did some searching on here and found the actual measurements and the rears are longer). I'm not sure why I didn't notice this when I took them off, but something was up, as the shackle nuts were missing AND bushes, so the PO was up to something. I'll remove them all, remeasure and put the longer ones on the rears. Lots of swearing today.

 

[sodafeld1]

So the I've tried a ratchet (1.5T hand pully) and I can get within an Inch, but Its a lot of tension, and I cant tighten anymore. I'm actually transferring the springs from a rolling chassis I bought to fix rust in the cab. The parts car was raised which I wanted on my truck. HOWEVER, I compared my original rear springs to the new raised rearsprings, and the ones I'm having trouble with are a good 3-4 inches shorter (hence my problem). I then compared with the the original rear springs to the raised front springs, and Its only 1/2 inch difference. I now suspect the parts car had the springs reversed (front to back). (PS I did some searching on here and found the actual measurements and the rears are longer). I'm not sure why I didn't notice this when I took them off, but something was up, as the shackle nuts were missing AND bushes, so the PO was up to something. I'll remove them all, remeasure and put the longer ones on the rears. Lots of swearing today.

yeah, I was thinking of your problem and the length just doesn't sound right, must be the wrong size.
I put hzj75 rear springs on my hj75, they are 16mm longer or something but dobinsons assured me they would fit. They did indeed, I had to squish my drive shaft shorter as my axle housing dropped and moved a bit when removing the old springs, removing the grease nipple makes it easier to adjust drive shaft length.

 

[Baron]

Yea, thanks everyone for your input. I had the fronts and rears reversed. Swapped them around and fit like a glove.