Leaf Spring Replacement/Upgrade

[ransdell2]

Has anyone upgraded their leaf springs from 4/1 to 7/1? How did your truck ride? Do you have a good recommendation of either that is well-made and lasts? I'm looking for quality, longetivity, and a good value. My 4/1s are pretty shot, looking at replacing them. The 4/1s are rated for 2600lbs, the 7/1s are rated at 3300 lbs. I wouldn't mind the added hauling capacity, but don't want to make the ride rougher than it needs to be. Not interested in running air bags. Also considering finding a shop to re-arc my existing OEM leaf springs.

Mostly stock 2007 Silverado Classic 2500HD CCSB, just a leveling kit suspension-wise.

 

[Chevy1925]

Leaf springs are a wear item, most of the ones on the market will last just as long as oe. Now re-arching them they won’t last as long as a new set so keep that in mind

A higher load rated spring is going to ride rougher

 

[2004LB7]

Does this count? ?


You might be better off finding an old school spring suspension shop that can make you supply what you need. That's what I did. Yes, it's definitely stiffer and I feel the road more. But lowering the tire pressure when unloaded helps with that

 

[JoshH]

Does this count? ?
View attachment 130214

You might be better off finding an old school spring suspension shop that can make you supply what you need. That's what I did. Yes, it's definitely stiffer and I feel the road more. But lowering the tire pressure when unloaded helps with that

That's a lot of leaf spring! What are you hauling?

 

[2004LB7]

That's a lot of leaf spring! What are you hauling?

I used to haul a lot of pallets of gravel and sand. Two pallets weighting 2k - 3k lbs each in the bed, and sometimes with a trailer attached too. Now I keep it beefed up to hold my gooseneck with a 4k lb tongue weight

 

[pl_silverado]

I've been running the 7/1 pack off rockauto for 2 years now. No complaints, this is how they should have come from the factory.

 

[malibu795]

Does this count? ?
View attachment 130214

You might be better off finding an old school spring suspension shop that can make you supply what you need. That's what I did. Yes, it's definitely stiffer and I feel the road more. But lowering the tire pressure when unloaded helps with that

I put a set of those on my LMM dually scored them off a cab n chassis in the local junk yard. I usually ran about 6-7k pin weight... Which would almost flatten the springs
The problem I've come across is mount location for the 2nd stage spring in the front with a short bed. It's roughly same area as 2nd bed mount back from the front..
If you want new... Gets $$$ quick

Chevrolet / GMC 1 Ton rear leaf springs 2001 - 2010

Leaf springs Chevy / GMC 1 ton 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

www.generalspringkc.com

 

[Ron Nielson]

I was happy with the work that General Spring did on my truck. I had them add a leaf to an existing pack and re-arch the existing spring and replace the u-bolts with new HDs.

 

[ransdell2]

Leaf springs are a wear item, most of the ones on the market will last just as long as oe. Now re-arching them they won’t last as long as a new set so keep that in mind

A higher load rated spring is going to ride rougher

I agree that they are a wear item. Have you had springs re-arched before? How long did it last if so? I've read that the metal has a memory that will return them to their factory arch and will last as long as when they were new. This is from my reading about it though, not from personal experience. I found a local-ish shop that will re-arch my 4/1s for $120 each, which is a nice savings over new ones.

 

[ransdell2]

I've been running the 7/1 pack off rockauto for 2 years now. No complaints, this is how they should have come from the factory.

Which ones from Rock Auto? I noticed the Husky brand are about $235 each with a 12 month warranty, while the Dormans are $360 each with a lifetime warranty, which is nice.

 

[ransdell2]

Does this count? ?
View attachment 130214

You might be better off finding an old school spring suspension shop that can make you supply what you need. That's what I did. Yes, it's definitely stiffer and I feel the road more. But lowering the tire pressure when unloaded helps with that

I found a local shop that can re-arch my existing 4/1s. From a price standpoint it's pretty attractive ($240 for both) but I'm curious about the longevity of the re-arch.

 

[ransdell2]

I was happy with the work that General Spring did on my truck. I had them add a leaf to an existing pack and re-arch the existing spring and replace the u-bolts with new HDs.

How are they holding up after the re-arch? Are you running 5/1 I stead of 4/1? I believe that is the way the 3500 leaf springs are from the factory.

 

[2004LB7]

Your prices seem high to me. But I haven't kept up on what price these go for, for several years now. I think the last set I purchased was something like a $150 per side new. Local spring shop Sacramento CA area

From my recollection, one truck at work had a re-arch and within 6 months they where putting air bags on it because it was sagging again.

Steel doesn't have a "memory". There is no remembering past experiences. What's happening when a steel spring is made, is it is heated, quenched and tempered to a shape. This sets and aligns the crystal structure (grain) of the steel. When heated above the recrystallization point, there is no crystals or grain structure. This allows one to set the desired shape. A quench sets the shape with the crystals (with a time delay). When repeated stress and cycling happens. You get micro fractures and dislocation of the atoms to relieve the stress. Re-arching will never fix this. But may give you a temporary fix. A reheat treatment is the closest one can get to restoring the original performance. But with each treatment one looses carbon in the steel and fractures may still exist

 

[ransdell2]

That's good info about the metallurgy of leaf springs. It's been a hard topic to find a good explanation of it, so thanks for sharing.

Those are prices on Rock Auto for Dorman and Husky brands that are 7/1s. They also sell Dorman 4/1s for $262. The spring shop I spoke with (Chariot Spring Company in Bloomington, CA) quoted me $270/spring for replacement 4/1 springs or $120/spring to re-arch my existing ones. If re-arching will last then I'll pay for it, but if not I'd rather spend the money upfront for new springs. I'm curious how Ron Nielson's are holding up after a re-arch.

 

[pl_silverado]

Which ones from Rock Auto? I noticed the Husky brand are about $235 each with a 12 month warranty, while the Dormans are $360 each with a lifetime warranty, which is nice.

I bought the Husky ones.

 

[2004LB7]

That's good info about the metallurgy of leaf springs. It's been a hard topic to find a good explanation of it, so thanks for sharing.

Those are prices on Rock Auto for Dorman and Husky brands that are 7/1s. They also sell Dorman 4/1s for $262. The spring shop I spoke with (Chariot Spring Company in Bloomington, CA) quoted me $270/spring for replacement 4/1 springs or $120/spring to re-arch my existing ones. If re-arching will last then I'll pay for it, but if not I'd rather spend the money upfront for new springs. I'm curious how Ron Nielson's are holding up after a re-arch.

My recollection with my discussion with the spring shop guy was when they do a re-arch, they almost always add another leaf as the re-arch would not be as strong or hold up as long. This was from a single shops experience so, take it as an example of one.

One thing you might be able to do, if you have a pick and pull or similar yard is to get more leafs off a truck and add them to yours. You'd need a longer center bolts, U bolts and maybe the rebound clips. But much cheaper. I've done this myself too

 

[Bdsankey]

Personally I don't like the ride of the 7/1 packs. My LB7 has them and my LLY with 4/1 rides MUCH better. For my usage, I would rather have 4/1 packs with bags.

 

[ransdell2]

@2004LB7 Adding another spring sounds like a good idea if the re-arched springs are weaker. There are a couple of yards near me, I'll check on their 2500s. Hoping to get this fixed in the next couple fo weeks.

@Bdsankey I'm pretty happy with the 4/1s too. The added capability of the 7/1 sounds nice, but not if I'm going to be miserable driving unloaded.