Vehicle- 97 Dakota V8 auto


Hey everybody, Last weekend I started my leaf spring project and proud to say I completed it. The project itself was pretty straight forward and easy. The hard part was getting the bolts out of the springs which took me 4 hours to get them out. I tried a air chisel, sledge hammer, acetylene torch, every hammer I owned, and so I finally said screw it and cut every bolt out with the grinder. After I got the bolts cut out the rest of project went fast. Once the springs were installed I painted the rear of my frame and bumper up with rustoleum black and Duplicolor Hi Fleet build. Below are some pics if anyone cares to see.

Cost of Project

2 Leaf Springs 1,800lbs $150.00 each

4 Ubolts- $53.00

2 Shackles- $34.37 each dealership

6 Spring bolts- $8.00 each dealership

shipping $55.00

Recommended by another member here I got the Timbren Suspension kit which cost $200.

Total project cost = $690.00 or $490.00 with out Timbren kit.

Thanks everyone for help and suggestions.


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Timbren Springs
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Painted my bumper
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That's awesome. I did the same thing over the past weekend, along with replacing the shocks, as well. But damn, those bolts were a pain to remove. One side I used the grinder to get them out, but the other side I soaked with Liquid Wrench for a while and they popped right out with a drift punch and hammer.
Luckily for you, you didn't have rust to contend with like I did haha. I used por-15 to paint everything while the bed was off.
Take a look at my album pics if you wanna check out my project

 

Lol that's cool. I looked at your album and got to say nice job on the paint job. I was going to use POR-15, but my frame only had minor rust spots. Did your truck rise 1 inch in the rear with new springs because mine is a lot higher now.

 

Thanks man, I ran out of paint so there are still a few spots inside the frame rail that didn't get painted, not to mention the rest of the frame haha.
With the new springs and new heavy-duty shocks, the truck most definitely lifted up a good inch or two. I don't ever plan on lifting it, but I think it's the perfect height right now

Also, after seeing that you used Timbren suspension, I wish I knew about that earlier. They look good and from what I've read they're supposed to be great

 

Yea, I have yet to put a heavy load in my bed to really test them. The Timbren kit is a lot better than the stock bump stops and may even add more traction in the winter.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opdvry7IjmM

 

I do some occasional work in a spring shop and yes the biggest pain in the *** is getting the bolts out of the eye. Its really easy though since we have a VicRoc 100 ton press. It will arch leafs and bend u bolts like they are made of sheet metal. I really need to do mine in my truck since 400lb in the bed makes it sag pretty good. Luckily I can do it for cost of material. Btw at :13 sec in the vid I really want to see a tacoma haul a 5th wheel!!!

 

GreenDak22, what brand are your shocks? I'm looking at at least replacing my rear shocks and maybe my fronts. Would you recommend those for the front as well or what would your recommend for a good pair of shocks?

 

Well, I used Monro Sensa-Trac Shocks for all four shocks, however for the 2 rear I bought the ones with the coil spring on them...mainly because I normally have to haul decent loads a couple times during the week. They're meant to maintain the ride height up to 1200lbs. They lifted the front a little bit and the rear between 1-2 inches. Just know that the rear shocks are pretty stiff and will prove to be somewhat of a rough ride.
Monro is what I prefer, but Rancho and KYB are also great brands, too.

 

Curious what the Timbren kit will do to travel in a flex situation. If it will limit the twist...Very interesting. Any good spots to wheel up in the Poconos?