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Light Overland Vehicle Tech Tech issues, tips and hints, prepping for travel
Under 3500kg vehicles, e.g. Land Cruiser, Land Rover, Subaru etc.
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  #1  
Old 12 Jun 2014
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Leaf springs
I have been told that it is possible to add one more leaf to my springs to combat sagging. As I have another set it may be an option. I was told to put the longest leaf in without an eye. This was not by a spring expert so I am looking for opinions on the matter.

Graeme
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Old 12 Jun 2014
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its certainly been done before, they do it quite often in Africa and yes, no eye in the longest leaf, though Im not sure what a sharp eyed MOT inspector would say, id be more tempted to go for a set of parabolic springs that are made up for the loaded weight of the vehicle.
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Old 13 Jun 2014
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I always wonder with parabolics, if they are so good, why didn't the manufacturer fit them as standard (I know some vehicles do have them as standard)?

If springs are sagging is it because they are old and need replacing (or, you can get them retempered) or is it because the vehicle is overloaded for the spring rate, in which case uprating to a heavy duty spring might help.
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Old 13 Jun 2014
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Hi,
I added a leaf to my rears, no problem and did help the sag a little. The thing to be aware of is, make sure your center bolts are long enough to take the extra leaf. You'll need longer replacements if not.
I also had my rears re-shaped in South Africa, this made much more of a difference & I was very happy with the results......ride is like hell now the trip's over and the weight is out though
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Old 13 Jun 2014
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The trouble with parabolic springs is they improve the ride, but don't cope as well with big changes of weight as regular leaf springs - so they are not normally OE on working vehicles, for an overlander/camper which is normally constantly loaded they work better.


Quote "ride is like hell now the trip's over and the weight is out though "


That is why I prefer coils and why I will never go back to a leaf sprung vehicle for overlanding again, if I need to I can swop all 4 springs to a different rate in a couple of hours and IMO have a much better ride and articulation.
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Old 13 Jun 2014
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rather than fitting a extra leaf , and re tempering is only a temporary fix , why not fit air helper springs in place of the bump stops , that way you can vary the amount of lift, as the load changes. JMHO
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Old 14 Jun 2014
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Thanks for all the replies. In the south of England there are no spring shops that I know of any more so taking them somewhere is a bit of a journey and expensive to post! I also had springs reshaped while in India many years ago, two men a shaped anvil and a big hammer. I was sceptical but it worked a treat. I was hoping for an easy ish fix but maybe I will have to get them re-tempered. Has anyone had this done in the UK? I don't want to use air ride because of the expense and the more to go wrong element. I also am not so sure about parabolic. They are expensive too.

Regards Graeme
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Old 15 Jun 2014
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I have heard that pairofbollocks springs lack lateral stabilty compared to standard leaves (leafs?) as they are more prone to twisting. I did have this dilemma of re-tempering when I had my 101 (which I think had a pair of pairabollocks). I never really looked into it much (days before tinternet) but I do remember seeing a thing on the goggle box, either Fred Dibnah (legend) or Pete Waterman (Legend for bringing Kylie wearing little to the masses) where they got springs tempered at a train restorers, so maybe the train or traction engine guys would be the place to start.

I'm with you on the helper bags. I haven't heard terribly good reports of them for overlanding, and TBH if you need them, it comes back to the overloading / new springs argument again!

sorry not to be more helpful.
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Old 16 Oct 2014
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Since years I always add extra leafs on our pickups when we go on tour with a slide-in camper unit on the back (total extra weight aprx 1300 kg). The Mitsubishi needed 2 extra, the Ford Ranger 1 and the Nissan Navara 3. Ofcourse longer U bolts are used too. Never had any problems in spite of the bumpy south american roads
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Old 18 Oct 2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by graysworld View Post
Thanks for all the replies. In the south of England there are no spring shops that I know of any more so taking them somewhere is a bit of a journey and expensive to post! I also had springs reshaped while in India many years ago, two men a shaped anvil and a big hammer. I was sceptical but it worked a treat. I was hoping for an easy ish fix but maybe I will have to get them re-tempered. Has anyone had this done in the UK? I don't want to use air ride because of the expense and the more to go wrong element. I also am not so sure about parabolic. They are expensive too.

Regards Graeme
I had trouble believing there are no spring shops in the southern UK. A brief net search revealed only shops in the Midlands. Have you asked one of the 4x4 outfitter shops about spring shops in your area? And AFAIK the UK isn't that enormous, one could leave early in the am, get to the spring shop when it opens, have an extra leaf made and added (a quick easy job for a spring shop) and drive home. Isn't it about a 3hr drive from London area to Midlands?

Charlie
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Old 18 Oct 2014
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Originally Posted by m37charlie View Post
I had trouble believing there are no spring shops in the southern UK. A brief net search revealed only shops in the Midlands. Have you asked one of the 4x4 outfitter shops about spring shops in your area? And AFAIK the UK isn't that enormous, one could leave early in the am, get to the spring shop when it opens, have an extra leaf made and added (a quick easy job for a spring shop) and drive home. Isn't it about a 3hr drive from London area to Midlands?

Charlie
that'll be because them soft southerners don't do heavy industry!
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Old 19 Oct 2014
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If you want your springs re-tempered I suggest you go visit a local independent commercial vehicle garage i.e. not a main dealer. They will undoubtedly know where to get the job done. This is what I did when I needed both altered rate springs for my Kenworth truck and rebuilt springs for my Merc 10-tonne overland jobbo. That was in Lincolnshire btw.
Good luck

Q
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Old 11 Nov 2014
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Paddington Springs in Wembley (w.London) are the people to see. I haven't been there in a few years but they seem to still be opperating
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Old 7 Jan 2015
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Leaf springs
Just had a good quote from LSP in Nottingham they can refurb or copy and replace less than half the price of Mercedes you can contact them on 01159609316
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Old 20 Jan 2015
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Thanks for that I am going to wait until the spring ......sorry about the pun


Graeme
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