removing a couple leafs on rear

[55metalmonkey]

I got my frame back from media blast and I'm about to start preping it to paint with POR-15. I took the rear leafs apart to blast them as well. I was thinking that since I have them apart Now would be a good time to consider leaving a few out to soften the ride in the rear. the original setup is brutaly stiff

I know a few guys have done it but am curious as to which ones they left out? and if they had an issue with axle wrap after. I'm not worried too much about carrying capacity btw........ The heavyist thing the truck will ever carry is the sister inlaw and I really don't see me offering her a ride anyway!

I was thinking of leaving out #2 and #5. and possibly #7

any sugestions ?

[Dan in Pasadena]

Every other leaf is what I've heard guys do. I guess it depends how low you want to go. In my case, I want my truck lower and smoother, but I don't want to risk breaking leaves or a harsh ride. Are you considering using the Teflon strips between the remaining leaves? I am. On the front, I am considering Posie's Super Slide front springs with the Teflon buttons built in; either with or without their dropped axle...depends on how it looks.

[Russell Ashley]

I've read that you should not skip leaves. If you want to leave out a couple it should be the two shortest ones. I think I read this in Hot Rod mag, but not sure about that. It does make sense to me that you would never leave out the second from the top in the stack as that would leave too long a distance with only the top leaf supporting the truck.

[55metalmonkey]

Overall I just want to soften the ride in the rear a bit, not looking for lower so much. I have a Camaro front clip and axle flip so the stance is pretty much bang on to what I want. The biggest thing is the spine jaring stiffness in the rear.

I was thinking a while ago about removing the first 2 since their not really doing much on the outside bottom anymore since the flip, but heard that taking out others might be the way to go. I did a search and found just as much conflicting info too but mostly on other types/ years of cars & trucks.

I find the info much better on this site anyway

The teflon strips are a good idea, it should keep the rear from any minor squeeks but more importantly ( to me anyway) save some of the new POR from getting rubbed away and start rusting again

Still looking for some input though

[BlueJeep]

Definitely start at the bottom with the shorter ones and work your way up. That's where you'll see your real gains in ride.