falcon leaf springs, does it?

[Conan]

question about putting rear leaf springs from f/falcon into hilux.
does it matter what year falcon is? eg are they only compatible between a certain timeframe or particular model????
cheers
conan

[luxtoy]

I would be intrested in the answer to this as well. The ones Iwas able to measure were 5mm wider. Anyone used them What was involved.

[SupraLux]

They are all, so far as I can tell, 5mm wider - which makes little or no difference in the grand scheme of things. The key is the length - they are HUUUUGELY long which is what you want.

I am just finishing fitting some to a truck for someone and can take some photos / post some details of neccessary parts if you'd like. Check the gold surf on my site - http://www.4wdstuff.co.nz for existing photos

They make a huge difference to ride comfort in the hiluxes - not sure how much difference they will make that way in a Surf as they are softer sprung anyway. The articulation possibilities are huge tho - so with longer shocks they are awesome.

You also need to allow when costing it the price of getting them redrilled about 110-120mm (from memory) further back so they fit the trucks axle in the right place - then the rear mount needs to be chopped off the chassis and blocked down and moved back about 60-75mm. Block it down because you need the extra height to account for the falcon spring being so flat compared to a hilux one - this also means you can use shorter extended shackles and make Mr Cert Man happier.

regards

Steve

Oh, and Conan - money came thru - sorry for the delay I will get the pump out and posted away to you hopefully tomorrow

[luxtoy]

More details would be good with a fue photos. I can get the springs noproblem and would like to give it a go.

[pinky]

hi conan i have just completed a quality FORD PRODUCT spring replacment in my surf so if it will help i can send you the pics of this swap or come up to timaru and ill take you through the steps. and here is something that made my swap a lot easier as you to are fitting wider springs use spring bushes from a jeep wrangler STEP 1 buy the bushes STEP 2 cut the steel outer case off the bush STEP 3 press them in to your springs and hanger eyes it is that simple . the reason i used these as thay have a steel insert which makes it very easy to make and fit your new springs and hangers but as for cutting your hangers off im not to sure on that one as i reset my springs and made slightly longer shackles as for moving the center hole in the spring you will have to move this about (i think ) 60 mm back down the spring as for making the new hole go to an engineer and get them to punch the holes in each leaf well this is what i did and i am sure that every one has there own view so read all the post take some time and it will all fall in to place .

[Conan]

ahhh thats starting to make a few things make a bit more sense, as like luxtoy found a set for 9 tenths of f*%k all .. but figured nothings ever that easy in this game huh
thanks for the advice pinky and steve will do some more research and figure out the plan of attack .

no worries on the delay steve, im hoping its gonna fix my problem!!

[pinky]

hi conan u got a e-mail add.. as it will be easier to do it this way as it takes to long to upload at the monent

[SupraLux]

I will make a folder in my photos with the falcon leafspring photos in it

regards

Steve
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[Conan]

just a question about falcon conversion

once i have drilled the new holes , cut, blocked and repositioned the hangers .

do i have to make new shackles (extended????) or can i use the old ones??


conan

[tomsoffroad]

I did this conversion too, before i coiled the whole truck.
Instead of redrilling the springs, I used a piece of 8x50mm plate which i welded to the spring perch on the diff. I then drilled a hole through the plate and the perch. Worked a treat and was a whole lot easier than trying to drill through high tensile steel.

As for the shackles....... the standard one don't work because the falcon springs are wider.

[Conan]

true thats a good way round the drilling side of it

but i can use falcon shackles no worrys?

[tomsoffroad]

Shackels................... Probably easier to make some from scratch. Use 40x8mm plate drill the holes and put 8.8 bolts through. The Hilux shackel bushes use a bigger bolt than the Falcon ones

[poss682]

how many inches of lift do you get out of this and if you have solid front what springs could you use for front to match it i have heard hilux rear leaves is this right ?

[tomsoffroad]

Yes rears up front is a great mod. Not a bolt in if you want it done properly tho You'll need to build a new front x member to drop the hangers 50mm to retain correct castor. Also you will want to install x over high steer to make the most out of it.
Suzolla sells all the bits you need for x over steering. You'd need to find a Surf ifs steering box. I can make you x member if needed (Im doing one this week for another fella.)

Cheers Tom

[rokhound]

And if you really want to make it work, mix and match the leaves from the rear and front packs. I can't remember the exact combination, but a bit of time spent makes for a nice set up.

[tomsoffroad]

Yeah I agree Rok. The white 106 I did end of last year I removed all the overload leaves and put the two bottom leaves from the front packs in. Worked well.

[J_Dub]

good to know
i removed the overloads and am left with 4 leaves, I rekon itll be way soft like this so will add a few extras from the front