Articulation/Leafsprings

Browndog · Post by **Browndog** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 11:46 pm

Need more from my mazda ute recently purchased 50 mm lift springs from steve 4wd stuff ( Great price good product )they gave a little more travel
but need more what do you recomend as to removing leaves and how about the big stiff helper springs being a dble cab i seldom carry alot of weight. Some of the picks on this site show leaf packs bending back over them selves mine stop when straight & i need more droop all & any advise would be welcome............... :?:

Have new shocks and have checked them and eliminated them as a possible cause for limiting travel

DaveM · Post by **DaveM** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 6:13 pm

How about drop shackles? Not sure if they would help, but are you finding the the springs not "compressing" far enough?

Dave

mumad · Post by **mumad** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 6:50 pm

Folding shackles will probably help a little, they let your springs compress a little more, plus extend alot if you have the shock travel. they also let the axle flex a whole lot better in general, i would just try to find a simple set like mine (i will try to put up a photo soon) as they are not too bulky.

Browndog · Post by **Browndog** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 1:13 pm

Thanks mumad, did you buy or make your shackles ? a pick and any info on making them would be great. what are you running then on ?

mumad · Post by **mumad** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 5:02 pm

I made them, heres some photos i hope:

http://photobucket.com/albums/b327/mulover/Folding%20shackles/?action=view&current=folding3.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/b327/mulover/Folding%20shackles/?action=view&current=folding4.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/b327/mulover/Folding%20shackles/?action=view&current=folding5.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/b327/mulover/Folding%20shackles/?action=view&current=folding2.jpg

It would be a bit hard for me to describethem to you, but let me know and i can try if you want.
They are on a mu, missus is getting grumpy so i had better go!!

Browndog · Post by **Browndog** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 8:35 pm

Thanks Mumad they look great just what i need now how much for a pair ?
Not sure if me or me or my work shop are up to the job can you buy anything like them off the shelf.
Thanks for the picks BROWNDOG

mumad · Post by **mumad** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 7:25 pm

$250 for the ones on my truck in the photo, you will have to buy bushes for the middle pivot as the ones in there are shagged. I will supply brand new pins at an extra $60 dollars, greasable or non greaseable. I will tell you now that they are NOT CERTIFIED, AND YOU BUY THEM AT YOUR OWN RISK, AND I'M NOT 100% SURE IF THEY WILL WORK FOR YOU. They where welded by a certified welder and i have a copy of his welding ticket

If you want more photos, dimentions or anything else then please let me know.
As far as i know there are ones you can buy from australia, but am unsure of price or that, i think they are up around the $300-$400 dollar mark or more.

Thanks
John.

SupraLux · Post by **SupraLux** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 4:38 am

Sorry, I thought I had replied to this one earlier on in the week, but I can't see my post there so not sure what happened.

First of all, check the dimensions of your shackles - the MU ones fit a Hilux and vice-versa, but they may not fit the Bounty. You may need to make them from scratch.

Secondly, if you're not carrying heavy loads you could experiment with removing certain leaves from the pack - but just be aware I won't be able to return them for any warranty claims once the packs have been tampered with - I've already discussed this with Maxitrac since I'm running modified Hilux rears in the front of the MU. Having said that, I'm happy enough with the quality of these springs to run them modified.

I'd pull the third leaf out first of all, see how that goes. Also possibly the base overload leaf (the shortest one) to try and get it to flex a little better. Just be aware you may get axle-wrap and/or poor load carrying ability by doing this.

Experiment with leaf removal - its the only way to find out what works. Its time consuming and a PITA but short of doing a falcon spring conversion on it I can't think of a better way

If you want some drop shackles made up you would have to take photos and accurate measurements of the plates, pins, etc first - Mumads ones may be able to be modified to suit, or you just may have to start from scratch...

Hope that helps

Steve
Steve