[Sneakyzook]

How hard is it to remove and if need be refit leaves???

[royce]

easy

[Sneakyzook]

[royce]

g clamps on spring, undo bolt in middle, remove leaves, do bolt up and refit

[GRPABT1]

Yeah piss heasy dudedon't even have to take the spring out some times. If your spring retaining clamps are already open just jack the car up till the tyres are pretty much just off the ground then unbolt the u bolts and you can unbolt the spring pack and take some leaves out then bolt it back together. the zook diffs are light enough to manouvere about.

[Sneakyzook]

Did you get all that Andrew, lets do it!

[steve]

We'll chop the back off the car while we're at it Andrew

[andrewa]

yep, got all that. sounds easy enough. don't know about chopping back off steve. would look pretty sweet though.

andrewa.

[3cyl]

Yeah,just do it,ASAP that sierra's beggin for it,I'da done it the day I bought it! If the swaybars also fall off at the same time it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing either(even if only for a trial).While you are there pull the springs off and apart (undo centre bolt and clamps) and wire brush between leaves where they slide.Check the centre bolt and replace if needed at reassembly (minus 2 leaves).

[andrewa]

yeh i know. it's like sitting on cement. sway bar has been off for ages & i'll be changing back to std shackles aswell.

[CairnsZook]

What brand of springs are they Andrew? I've been thinking of removing a leaf or two from mine for a while. They are Dobbinson springs are really stiff.
I'll be interested to see how you go.

[andrewa]

dobinson springs aswell. 6 in front & 5 in rear. & yes they are quite stiff. i'll let you know how things go once done.

[GRPABT1]

6 in front! Holy crap I run 3 in front but they only came with 4 front and 4 rear

[3cyl]

No wonder it's so stiff try losing 3 front and 2 rear,don't cut cut back the U-bolts or centre bolts till you find out what works it'll be worth the time an effort to experiment,and at least it won't cost anything.

[royce]

OME have that many leafs, theres more to it than qty, thickness and spring camber play a big part

most I have found start with 1 small leaf and if its still too stiff put it back and remove the next biggest and so on till you get it

dont go too soft either or they will sag pretty quick

[andrewa]

thanks for all the input guys. will take on board & see what i come up with.

andrewa.

[3cyl]

Royce has a point especially concerning sag which may take time.

[CairnsZook]

How did you guys go?
I pulled a leaf out of my rear springs today, 2nd from the bottom. I only went for a quick drive to the bottle-o, but it didn't seem to make much difference.
I will pull one out of the front tomorrow and see how it goes.

Here's a pic of the rear pack with 2nd from bottom removed. I'm thinking maybe I should have just pulled off the bottom one only?

[Damo]

Hey CairnsZook, we did this to a mates zook over the weekend too. He's got a set of HD Dobinson's, and they are pretty hard. Pulled the 2nd from the bottom too and the pack sits down on the overload now. He said it rides better but I think that overload will kill the flex. We'll see...

I would try as you say to put the 2nd one back and pull the bottom one. Only thing about that is you might start wrapping those springs up if you give it a bootful.

[CairnsZook]

Yeah will do Damo.
I don't reckon I'll have any worries wrapping springs with stock engine, 29's and 4.16 gears.

[Damo]

CairnsZook wrote:

Yeah will do Damo.
I don't reckon I'll have any worries wrapping springs with stock engine, 29's and 4.16 gears.

You might be suprised, especially with 4.16's. Watch someone's leaf springs when they hammer it off the line. I do suspect you'll be OK though, just something to be aware of.

Damo.

[CairnsZook]

What do you reckon for the front pack? Which leaf did your mate remove? I currently have 5 leaves and an aluminium bullbar.

[Damo]

CairnsZook wrote:

What do you reckon for the front pack? Which leaf did your mate remove? I currently have 5 leaves and an aluminium bullbar.

We didn't remove any from the front yet. I think he has a 5 leaf pack too, but has a steel ARB front bar. I'm not sure if we're going to pull a leaf from the fronts or just go RUF.

[CairnsZook]

I've pulled out the 2nd from the bottom on the front, and she rides heaps better now. The front hasn't lost any height either.
In the rear end I swapped the bottom 2 leaves, but it still doesn't flex as well as the front. I think I'll pull another one out of the rear and see how that goes.

[Damo]

CairnsZook wrote:

I've pulled out the 2nd from the bottom on the front, and she rides heaps better now. The front hasn't lost any height either.
In the rear end I swapped the bottom 2 leaves, but it still doesn't flex as well as the front. I think I'll pull another one out of the rear and see how that goes.

The trade of in the back is load carrying, but I guess it's a matter of finding that happy medium huh. I might hit Ben up to do the same in the front as you.

[royce]

be careful going too soft in the rear, tends to make them lean back and wheelstand up hillclimbs

[Pubic]

sorry about the highjack but when you say rear up front do you mean as in rear springs up front or rear diff up front. i am a little confused on the matter yeah i know.... bloody idiot!

thanks

[Damo]

Pubic wrote:

sorry about the highjack but when you say rear up front do you mean as in rear springs up front or rear diff up front. i am a little confused on the matter yeah i know.... bloody idiot!

thanks

We're just talking stock springs at the moment. Well, at least I am!

[CairnsZook]

Actually, mine are 2in lifted heavy duty Dobbinson springs. That's why they were so stiff.

Pubic - RUF is putting rear leaf springs under the front end. Can be done by re-drilling the rear spring perch a little further back and fitting a longer shackle. This will result in the front diff being in about the same position.
It can also be done with a chassis extension, which will move the front diff forward around 40-50mm, allowing clearance for larger tyres.
This is the way I will go - eventuallly

[Pubic]

thanks muchly... all makes a little more sense now.