Suspension Advice Needed

[v8slrtorana]

I find that after some mud bashing in my hilux the ride gets stiffer. When I get home I pressure wash the spring packs & the amount of sand, mud & you name it comes out of it is amazing. Next drive suspension returns to normal.
Maybe hit each spring pack with a 3 or 4LBS hammer a few times and go for a drive.
Some of the real early classics actually came out of the factory with a leather type wrap around the leaf pack to keep the springs clean & dry lube in.
Its alot of work, but pulling a spring pack apart, cleaning, painting & lube can restore performance. Ive done before. You can actually get picky & install rubber pads on the end of the springs inside the pack to cushion the ride.

 

[crackedup]

I finally got the time to jack one back corner up and see what is happening. As far as I can tell, everything is working fine. The shackle moved and the spring arched down. I can also say for sure that the springs are not painted or rusted together. At the bottom limit, I could see through the majority of them. Is that normal?

Went to the Alcan website and was reading about all of the information they need to make springs. It got me thinking, so I went out and counted the number of springs in each pack. I've got 8 springs in each pack. Is that normal? I'm starting to wonder if the truck was set up for towing at one time. All the wiring under the back end was hacked up and had to be replaced so it was used for towing but did they add a couple extra springs? The two smallest are maybe 12" and 18" in length. What happens if I loosen the u-bolts and pull those two out??? I might be more willing try the suggestion that v8slrtorana made about inserting some rubber in the springs but in my mind I have got to get movement of some sort before I try that. Heavy duty springs for towing might explain my problem. Ideas???

 

[v8slrtorana]

Consider flipping a leaf. But i would suggest not 1 of the thick & short ones, but actually the 1st of the longer ones. This should take a little pre load out.
The thick short ones if u look closly are or at least should not be under any load if ur wagon is unloaded.
Also the shackle needs to be at 45deg to work properly. If its at 90deg/vertical, you will get a harsh ride.
Oh FIY, my piggy has 9 springs in each & every corner !

Check with ur local spring guy. Im sure u can get little rubber squares with a dimple in them, drill through or countersink the spring ends to fit them.

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

shackle angle is a darn good point. I know when I stuck on the MAF 4" springs, they kept ALOT of their initial arch and I had to relocate the spring hangers to get a good shackle angle. I counted 8 leafs on the rear of my 73 chassis, which appears to be stock, and I think there were 8 on the old springs I swapped out from my 77.

 

[crackedup]

Thanks guys!!! Weather permitting I am going to get under there this weekend and see what I can do. With a little luck it will be something stupid and easily fixed. Thanks for all the input!

 

[crackedup]

Thought I should post an update on this. I finally got the time and had good enough weather to tear into things. BobM had sent me a PM with an opinion about what I had done wrong and he hit it right on the head. This is the first truck I have had that has shackles so when it came time to put it back together, I put it back the way it came apart. With no lubricant.:whoops: Took it apart, cleaned it, and greased every square inch I could this time. Wow, what a difference. I can stand on the front bumper now and watch the shackles move when I try to bounce on it. It rides completely different as well. Didn't have time to take it more than a couple miles but I really noticed a difference. The truck is also sitting lower now. Guess everything was so bound up that things could not sit where they needed to. Considering how dry and dusty everything was when I originally took everything apart, and considering the wear on the shackle parts, this is probably the first time in 40 years the things have been greased.

Thanks again to everyone for all the opinions. They were a big help.

 

[PabloCruise]

Cool update!
Glad things worked out well.

 

[bobm]

Crackedup, glad it worked out for you, Ride like a Caddilac now.

Thanks Bob.

 

[v8slrtorana]

Ah yes, the very reason I installed genuine toyota rubber bushes & not aftermarket poly. I don't have grease able shackles.
Great news you got it fixed