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Cheap Leaf Spring alternative

Tech Talk for Ford, Mazda, Daihatsu & Makes that currently dont have a home.

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Posts: 24
Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2005 10:09 am
Location: wellington New Zealand

Cheap Leaf Spring alternative

Post by crazymanwithavan »

Hi guys, I thought I'd share a little of what I did this weekend.
Maybe someone in the same financial constraints may benefit from it.

My Toyota Blizzard rear right 3rd leaf had snapped, (I bought it that way), and driving on uneven road surfaces would feel really dangerous if I was doing 100km/hr. Also my kidneys bounce from my ars*e to my neck on rough terrain.

I searched the wreckers with no luck, and run up Toyota, $1200 per side! Bugger that!
So I measured up the leaves and went to a wrecker to find something similar.
Long story short, I ended up all weekend putting in leafs from a Mazda/Ford Econovan. Drives sh*tloads better and no dangerous wobble.
Cost $24.00 for the pair, and some skin off the left knuckle.
Oh well, as my old man use to say, flesh can heal, cars don't.

I haven't gone off road yet, so we'll see.
With the new leafs, it sits higher at the rear, so I'll have to look for some front leafs too.
Anyone got a tip for which may fit the front?
Posts: 6029
Joined: Tue Dec 24, 2002 9:34 pm
Location: South Australia

Post by bad_religion_au »

awesome. great that you got some lift from them

don't throw away your old packs though, you could remove the 3rd leaf (the one that isn't snapped) and take it to a spring mob, and they'd make you up a new leaf, i'm tipping for about 30 bucks or something...
Spit my last breath
Posts: 24
Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2005 10:09 am
Location: wellington New Zealand

Post by crazymanwithavan »

Just an update.
After driving around for a week, and checking out the articulation, I noticed it didn't have much.
So I've removed one of the lower leafs.
The rides doesn't seem to have changed much, but now it's even higher than before, (about another inch).
It's looking slightly strange now with the front noticeably lower than the rear.
The rear wheel arch space, you could play cricket in. (I've only got 235x15s).

I'm gonna have to raise the front, so as per previous post, anyone got a very cheap tip for the front leaf sprung rigid axle?

I thought of transplanting the rear coils off a hiace Custom van.
And keep the leafs on, i.e. no requirement for additional stabliser arms etc.
I'm not sure if articultion/ride is affect with this type of setup though.
Posts: 264
Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2004 6:14 pm
Location: The Hague, Netherlands

Post by elgordomuygrande »

Depends on how much it has to be raised. Legalities aside, easiest way is longer shackles.

You could use (part of) the original rear spring pack up front. The main leaf is about 10 cm longer, so have them reset at the same height as the rear springs. Do some measurements if this will fit with the stock shackles and fixed springhanger and if needed correct this.

Just keep us posted if you find other leafs which are 6 cm wide
smokin' is bad, especially for your curtains

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F20 Resin Top, 2.5" lift , 31" Grabber AT's
Posts: 6029
Joined: Tue Dec 24, 2002 9:34 pm
Location: South Australia

Post by bad_religion_au »

elgordomuygrande wrote:Depends on how much it has to be raised. Legalities aside, easiest way is longer shackles.

You could use (part of) the original rear spring pack up front. The main leaf is about 10 cm longer, so have them reset at the same height as the rear springs. Do some measurements if this will fit with the stock shackles and fixed springhanger and if needed correct this.

Just keep us posted if you find other leafs which are 6 cm wide
shackle lifts on the front are a BAD idea if you go more than about an inch (one inch longer shackles only give 1/2 an inch lift too)... they mess up castor and your handling

you can get your front leafs reset to match the height of the rear, a place i went to in melbourne did a hot reset (alot less likely to sag) for 70 bucks a side... that included a new main leaf made up longer to keep the shackle angle the same

the same place did a 75 series ute 3 years ago and it still hasn't sagged more than 1/4 an inch
Spit my last breath
Posts: 24
Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2005 10:09 am
Location: wellington New Zealand

Post by crazymanwithavan »

just an update on my continual search for free or almost free stuff.

My shocks are pretty much knackered and a friend offered his factory hilux ones, (also electric adjustable), as he got old man emu ones.

problem is that the hilux ones, though being larger in diameter, and has an extra couple of inches more travel, have larger bottom mounts and the tops don't fit properly.

anyway, I managed to modify the hilux rear shocks slightly and have got them working on my blizzard. just needed larger bushes on the bottom, and hack sawed a little bit away on the top to fit the electric motors.

oh most of you probably already know, when taking the electric motors on/off you will also require several words regarding intercourse. whoever designed the dam top mounting must have been senile
Posts: 184
Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2003 2:08 pm
Location: Melbourne

Post by icebreaker »

sorry to sound stupid but wtf is a blizzard?

I thought I was browsing the wrong forum section.. hehehe

I pick up my extended shackles this arvo.. Gotta love mates who can ake shit from scratch thanks to their work :)
'94 Daihatsu Feroza II SX
'00 KawasakiZX6R
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