Leaf Springs

 

A while back I took a trip to the "Hole in the Rock" in Moab, Utah. There is 50 miles of dirt road that one must travel to get to the Hole in the Rock. A very cool site, and in some places, its somewhat of a rough road. Any Stock 4wd rig can get there, but I was (as usual) in a bit of a hurry, and got there and back to a camp spot very quickly. After bouncing over 50+ miles of dirt road, I decided to check my suspension before taking off to my next spot. I was surprised to find that one of the rear springs had nearly come out from beneath its spacer. Being that I was loaded down, it would not have been fun if the spring had fallen out completely.

In the 3rd generation 4Runners, the rear springs are not captive, in that they are not held in place by any retainer straps. After this, and a few other incidents, such as broken link bolts, I decided it was time to upgrade to something more robust. I contact All Pro for their 5.5" over stock springs and mounting kits. I really like the spring perches that All Pro has for their rear springs. This really tucks everything up nice. All Pro worked with me in swapping out a few items. I didn't need their bilstein Shocks, as I already had a set of Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks. So, I got some Johnny Joint shackles instead. So far, its all working out very nice. The springs are flexing quite well, however I wish I could get more flex from the Johnny Joint shackles (something else to work on).

See below for some pics as I went through the process of installing the springs.

 

Pulling it all out.

Pile of scrap that was cut off the axle.

I also decided to remove the gas tank as well. This would make it easier to get the left rear spring
centered up and installed correctly.

Throwing some primer on the axle tube.

lining up the springs, and painting the axle tube.

Uh-oh, the All-Pro perches are not working. No problem, I'll make 'em work.

2nd picture, I used a ball joint press and a custom tool to press in the All Pro Johnny joints.

Lining up the axle.

 

Measuring for the shock placement, making sure its all level.

I put in a new cross-member for the shocks. To place the brake lines, I took a nut, turned it upside down
and tack welded it to the axle tube. Then a bolt can thread into the nut, hold the brake line in place.

Just about done.

Getting it ready to take to Midas for a new muffler.

testing it out to see how far down the bump stops need to go.

 

 

 

So far, this setup has been working very, very well. I have been able to carry large loads and the flex has been great. Indeed, they have settled a bit, but the ride is still great.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer: What you see on these pages are my own experiences and what changes I have performed on my vehicle. Should you choose to attempt these type of changes to your vehicle, I am not responsible for any consequential damages that may result from these type of modifications. I do not encourage any readers to copy these modifications to their own vehicle. Modifying your vehicle can be dangerous to you and anybody else on the roadway. Please take care in what you do with your vehicle.