So the title says it all, i want to add a leaf to the rear and give it less sag and a bit of a rake. MY question is how much does it usually cost for you guys? I talked to my local guy and he said $150 total, is that good? I would do it myself but i don't think i have all the proper tools. Took me a day to do the shackles on my old frontier so i'd say leafs are harder.

 

I put add a leafs on mine, took a couple of hours (probably longer than it should have cause I was, well, drinkin...). I think I spent $50 for mine off ebay. Gave me about 1.5" lift in the back. Enough to give it a little rake again with the 2" leveling kit in the front. It's really simple. Unbolt the axle u-bolts, separate the axle from the leaf pack, insert the add a leaf, bolt everything back up. I believe I was able to re-use the original u-bolts as well. IIRC, I had to enlarge the hole in the center of the new leafs to fit over the stud that keeps everything in line on the pad. If you replaced shackles, you can add a leaf. Jack the truck up by the pumpkin and set the FRAME on some jack stands that way you can move the axle up and down to separate it from the leafs with the hydraulic jack on the pumpkin while the truck stays put on the jack stands. I did mine myself, but I would recommend another pair of hands. Lining the axle back up on the pads of the springs was the hardest part because the axle wants to rotate when it is disconnected, you gotta kind of manhandle it back in the correct position.

 

I did mine by myself in a couple hours. Did it the same way as jkeaton. I think I got about 1" maybe a little more. Cost me $36 http://www.amazon.com/Explorer-Pro-C.../dp/B0007Y5W66

 

so i did mine myself with some help from a buddys lift.

with the 05's i found out the hard way that the u bolts were just a tad too short with mine for the 2" add a leaf. i ended up stealing my old ones from my old tahoe and they happened to fit perfectly. as for the ceentering pin(bolt in this case) its either pressed or rusted into the mount on the axle and was a bitch to remove couldnt get it to just pull out so i has to hack it off and use a punch to push it throught the mount and the head fell out the mount just in the gap between the axle and the mount itself, took bout 5 min a side to do it. i went to tractor supply and found a carrage bolt (grade 8) with the same size head and used that. added the leaf bolted everything back together and poof it was just about 2 inches higher measuring from wheelwell peak to the ground. just be careful not to bottom out your shocks, the cheap *** replacement tend to do that with the extra 2".
pics are on my photobucket page.

http://i753.photobucket.com/albums/x...953AD8E46F.jpg

couldnt find the other pics theres only two.

 

Do one side at a time and you won't have that problem.

 

If I had a dollar for every time I said that to myself after I finished whatever project I was working on....hindsight is always 20/20.

 

or next time ill use the tranny jack that was sitting 5 feet from me to support the axle since you gotta loosen up both sides to get it to drop enough to have nice working room.

 

You need to loosen it, but not enough that it can rotate. Worst case, you need to pry it an inch or two to get the pin to drop in.

 

i was actually looking at those exact ones, all i want is a more level/rake look b/c my front is like .5" or 1" higher. With this i guess i won't need a new u bolt or anything like Grego?

 

My amazon account says these don't fit. Are you guys sure these bolt up? They are so cheap, I can't pass on that!