Removing leafs to lower

[jackedup]

So I'm wanting to lower my 71 C10 equipped with rear leaf springs. I was planning on taking out the bottom overload spring which is probably never utilized as this truck is just for cruising in. Upon inspection I found that the second leaf from the bottom (of five leafs total) is broken in half at the u bolt and half is gone/missing for who know how long now. So now I'm thinking about taking out the overload/bottom leaf and what's left of the second leaf from the bottom which leaves me with 3 leafs total on each side. Not sure what to expect on lowering or driveability.

[Mike C]

So, let's think about this. With 5 leaves and an overload one broke. So going to three and no overload would be a good idea?! Uh, No, not from where I'm sitting.

Removing the overload itself won't cause problems, but removing any of the main leafs is a bad idea. I know others do it, but it's not a good idea as the spring pack is designed to work with all the leaves. A mono-leaf spring is a different animal from a multi.

Since your spring is broken, going to lowering leafs makes the most sense IMO. I did an axle flip on my '69 and that lowered it 7" in the rear. If that's how low you want to go, you can pull it off with stock springs. I did remove the overload on mine but that has no effect on height when you move the housing to the top of the springs, but it was hitting the Cal-Trac bars so had to come off.


Replacement leafs and removing the overload along with 1 1/2" shackle is cheapest way to get it down 2 1/2" or so. The DJM flip cheapest way to get it down more than that. But the drop springs gvie you more latitude on how much drop.

[jackedup]

Basically been on 3 1/2 leafs for a while it looks like.

[Mike C]

Since you want to lower it, and you have a broken spring, I still think best thing to do is bust out the MasterCard and order the appropriate drop spring for your target. Again, I like doing business with Early Classic Enterprises. Look forward to pictures of your lowered truck.

[WarMonger]

Just get a trailing arm set-up and go to coils.

[Mick Je]

I have 2in DJM drop hangers and I removed the overload and the next leaf, I got roughly a 4in drop and I put air shocks in back. And its fine but I'm now considering putting them back and do a 6in drop flip kit and c-notch because I want to lower it more.

[jackedup]

I DO want to do it all correctly but sometimes my budget won't allow that. So yours rides okay. Good to know. I have lowering shackles I'm going to add when I remove the two lower leafs. 4 inches is the drop Im hoping for. How did you drop your front end. I like the stance of yours.

[cdowns]

I would not trust those old springs to keep it up

[Mick Je]

I cut 1 whole coil and half of one. which gave me a 3in, drop. Someone on the forum had a formula like: cutting one coil gave you 2in. And half was 1in.

I wish they made drop spindles for drums but looks like I'm going to convert to disc.

[jackedup]

I'll be saving up for mono leaf springs but for the time being I think this is going to happen.

[jackedup]

So I took the bottom 2 leafs out today and achieved a 1.65 in. drop. Pretty pleased so far. Going to add drop shackles tomorrow to get another 1-2 in. drop hopefully.

[jackedup]

I'm lowering the rear first so I'll know how low I can go with the front. Will post before after pics.

[PaPaStewySnipes]

I have same set up as you and a '71 gmc and thinking about a flip after reading this. If I remove leafs I would not remove anything other than the overload because it is recommended to not remove more than that, and I would add lowering shackle for about 2.5" total rear drop. I would like 4-5. However it looks as if I may hit the frame or be only about an inch away from it if I do a flip. I will be having to remove the bump stops for sure. What leaf set up is this, and is a flip even possible without a c notch. Pic below of what I'm working with. Any recommendations or advise would be helpful.

[Mike C]

Those appear to be the stock 3 leaf spring. My truck had the 4 leaf (not counting overload on either one) HD spring option. The DJM flip netted 7 1/4" measured drop.

If you want 3-5" drop new springs are the answer. If you are happy with 2" you can do longer shackles if you trim the bed crossmember above the shackle.

I have not C-notched mine. I relocated the shocks more vertically as you can find on this board. I used the button urethane bumpstops that came with the DJM kit. It does hit the stops some but drives great.

[cleszkie]

No one has yet to mention the other big downside of removing leaves from the packs - axle wrap. The softer your packs are, the more axle wrap you will experience under acceleration. This translates into rear end hop, stress on driveshaft u-joints at the pinion, and so forth. Your truck will also have less stability against side to side sway. So unless you never plan on getting on the go pedal, I would think twice about removing leaves, and consider getting a new set of packs designed for the truck. Just my opinion.

[NorCalC20LWB]

I was also considering removing the overload spring and adding 2" drop shackles to even out the rear end height of my HD Custom Camper springs. Will removing the overload spring only cause a problem with axle wrap?

[PaPaStewySnipes]

I have a long bed so I do not think I will have to cut into the bed support for a new shackle. I will get a 4" drop pack and 2" shackle that has adjusting holes and set it on the 1" for a total of 5" drop in the rear, I should be needing a c notch then should I? Or I can simply remove overload and install a new shackle for a 2.5-3" drop. I agree moving leafs is not a good idea, however from what I have read removing overload may be ok. Who has a good deal on a 4" drop pack and any labor day discount coupons coming up?

[Mike C]

I removed the overload on my short bed because it was hitting the Cal-Trac bars. It that scenario no wheel hop. Cal-Tracs make sure of that. I wouldn't think it would exacerbate it by removing the overload, but you never know until you try.

[PaPaStewySnipes]

I do not think there is issues removing the overload, only when you go past that and remove more off the springs will it be an issue and possibly give you hop and warp.

[TBohne]

I have a 68 GMC short bed step side that I have removed the overload and one leaf and added a 2" lower shackle, it still has 3 leafs, been like this for about a year and have had absolutely no problems with it. It lowered the rear around 3".