Leaf spring question

[gregg72340]

On a 1/2 ton I want some more lift in the rear so I can do some towing. Its a 2wd. am I able to use a 1/2 ton 4wd rear spring for this or does anyone know what I can use or am I just stuck with helper springs?

Thanks Guys
Happy New Year!

[old Rusty C10]

i put 3/4 ton leafs in mine 8 pack and it tows anything

[big10ratrod77]

i would think about doing a beg ten conversion. in 77 (and other years also) chevy built a big ten which had beefyer 3/4 ton rear springs and bigger brakes over the stock half ton. it was perty much the ultimate towing package for a half ton. the big ten had the 3/4 ton springs, 1.25 inch wide front rotors compared to the stock 1 inch, had 11-5/32x i think 2 1/2 inches wide shoes in the rear, and came standard with a 3.73 gear ratio in the back. my truck and trailer weigh about 6000 pounds and we put a 6000 pound john deere crawler on it and it didnt have a bit of trouble. but i do also have helper springs on my truck now and they help some to.

[gregg72340]

Originally Posted by old Rusty C10

i put 3/4 ton leafs in mine 8 pack and it tows anything

I was told I cant put 3/4 ton springs in mine without moving the mounting brackets on the frame...........is that true, because this is going to be a junkyard swap so I need to know what I will have to grab etc

[gregg72340]

Originally Posted by big10ratrod77

i would think about doing a beg ten conversion. in 77 (and other years also) chevy built a big ten which had beefyer 3/4 ton rear springs and bigger brakes over the stock half ton. it was perty much the ultimate towing package for a half ton. the big ten had the 3/4 ton springs, 1.25 inch wide front rotors compared to the stock 1 inch, had 11-5/32x i think 2 1/2 inches wide shoes in the rear, and came standard with a 3.73 gear ratio in the back. my truck and trailer weigh about 6000 pounds and we put a 6000 pound john deere crawler on it and it didnt have a bit of trouble. but i do also have helper springs on my truck now and they help some to.

Thats a good idea, but I think where I would run into the problem is I m going to try and junkyard the springs etc and the sources I have up here have no Big Tens in them, but it is a really good idea if I come across one. Saw you have a Duster. Thats actually what I am building this truck for is to tow my show Duster 340

[87 V20 Scottsdale]

Originally Posted by gregg72340

I was told I cant put 3/4 ton springs in mine without moving the mounting brackets on the frame...........is that true, because this is going to be a junkyard swap so I need to know what I will have to grab etc

Yes 3/4 ton trucks have longer main leafs than 1/2 tons. You can buy a set of 3/4 ton springs and build a set of spring packs using your original main leafs.

[1LowToy]

This may be a good time for a chevy lean poll. I just lowered the rear of mine and found a 3/4" lean to the right. If everyone is leaned to the right I'd be looking to get left side springs. It may take dismantaling a lot of spring packs to get what you really want. I was thinking of getting a pair of new springs to straighten mine out. But having a custom built pack would be nice too.

[bigblock73]

Buy the HD springs, move the rear hangers back to the cotrrect mounting holes (they are already on the frame), and call it a day!

[codydubb]

i once helped a friend put new springs on a 82 4x4, he kept cracking 1/2 ton leafs i think he said they were heavy half springs or 3/4 springs regardless they went right on fairly easy, lifted the rear end of the truck a bit but he still uses the truck fairly hard to this day

[big10ratrod77]

it would be about the best thing to just switch the rear springs but you would probly want to upgrade the brakes and engine and maby a front sway bar to help handle the weight of the duster and you trailer


BTW could you post up some pics of the duster maby?

[gregg72340]

Originally Posted by big10ratrod77

it would be about the best thing to just switch the rear springs but you would probly want to upgrade the brakes and engine and maby a front sway bar to help handle the weight of the duster and you trailer


BTW could you post up some pics of the duster maby?

The other upgrades are already planned I have a pretty good source for parts locally so I am good for most of that stuff just wanted to be sure of what I needed before I go looking for stuff because my source is 4 hours away from where I live LOL



This is the only pic I have on this computer of my Duster its a 72