Generic question regarding leaf springs

[69a100]

Less if they're Chinese made.

That's a given.

Cars of the 60's.....had shocks on them that were more or less.....a 2 dollar shock.

It's a expendable item, why would Mother spend anymore then they have to for a part, hence low budget, like batteries?

 

[Cranky]

Nowadays, cars have much better parts on them imo. Less than 2 years ago I changed out the front shocks on my 95 Dakota because I had to.....since the top rubber bushings left the room. Same thing happened on my 97 diesel last year but the shocks on that were still good except for the bushings. The Dakota shocks were not so good lol

 

[Kern Dog]

Today was a good day.
I changed the oil and filter, plugged a hole in the RR tire....AND solved a problem that had been quite annoying.
It is an accepted thing that a lowered vehicle will bottom out easier than a stock height vehicle. This truck was great for many years but several months ago the aftermarket rear bump stops had enough punishment and they crumbled apart. It was then that I noticed that the suspension bottomed out too easily. The bump stops had been hiding that because they had soft edges and a harder base.
I carry a few hundred lbs of tonneau cover and tools for work and once the bump stops blew out, I was hitting metal to metal. I replaced the bump stops with cut down factory ones and then swapped in the second set of leaf springs. It improved slightly but was still a bit soggy and soft in the back. I replaced the shocks and again, some improvement but it still wasn't enough.
I kept coming back to the feeling that the springs just didn't have enough rate. They were too soft.
I wrote that the original springs had an overload spring on the bottom that was almost flat. The replacement springs have an overload spring with an arch to it BUT originally, it is installed with the arch inverted. Strange, huh ? It looks as if the engineers figured that in a stock configuration, the springs would be soft for a comfy ride but once the suspension compressed 5-6 inches, the overload spring would come into play.

I did the logical thing and reversed the negative arch:

This raised the rear of the truck up an inch at the wheelwell. It rides firmer now and does NOT bottom out. The spring surely will carry more weight before sagging.
In short, I blame the leaf springs for the majority of the problem. The shocks were getting old and did need to be replaced but the springs just didn't have the stiffness/rate to support the truck and the weight I was carrying.
Thanks to all that responded.

 

[Kern Dog]

Beforehand, the bottom overload spring ends didn't even touch.

 

[Kern Dog]

 

[67 GTX]

Glad to see that you came up with a fix!