30 or 40mm leaf springs, where from

[muskie]

want to buy a set of 30 or 40 mm lifted over standard rear leaf springs for a 89 bighorn, for offroad use not load carrying. where is the best place in nz (north isl).. dont know anywhere myself having not lived here long. dont need the best in the world just good useable, i would prefer to do spring lift rather than shackle, how much should i expect to pay, thanks guys

[geeves]

Repco do the Maxtrack springs at a good price. Ive heard mixed reviews some very good some not so. The price is fairly good. Otherwise contact www.genie4x4.com in Wanganui or 4x4bits.co.nz in Auckland
For just springs expect to pay around $300. Then you need new bushings which are quite cheap. If you have severe pitting in the shackle pins replace the shackles with greasable ones.Best price I got for these was Repco Same with the front pin otherwise the bushes wont last very long. If you buy the heavy duty springs you will also need new U bolts. Dont buy heave duty for a swb or lwb unless you carry lots

[muskie]

repco rang me with a price today $678 plus gst will be looking elsewhere

[geeves]

ouch. What did they quote on?
You dont need front springs unless you have a heavy bull bar. I added 60 - 70 kg to the front of mine without issue. Torsion bars can be adjusted by 30mm without issue although a ball joint flip and wheel alignment is a good idea.
Shocks are optional. The factory shocks last a long time so you can put these off till later.

[muskie]

geeves said:

ouch. What did they quote on?
You dont need front springs unless you have a heavy bull bar. I added 60 - 70 kg to the front of mine without issue. Torsion bars can be adjusted by 30mm without issue although a ball joint flip and wheel alignment is a good idea.
Shocks are optional. The factory shocks last a long time so you can put these off till later.

that quote was for rear springs only, i went repco as you recommended, dont suppose you have the part numbers do you, when did you get yours?? are yours maxitracks

[geeves]

I used Lovels springs as Repco hadnt entered this market yet. No idea who would sell these near you.
These are the same springs but I dont know how up to date his web site is
www.4wdstuff.co.nz/index2.html
Anouther possibility would be to contact Rainbow Springs in Rotorua. They can make to order or reset your old ones

[daisy]

Ive just ordered rear leaf springs "Lovell's HR-15" for
under $700 five week wait though i got a price from
P&H Suspension City [phone] and then a friend
of mine in the business bet that price cant wait
theyre lifted too i here the bighorn should use the
heavy duty ones asks though!

[geeves]

I have the Heavy duty in My lwb 89 bighorn. In that they are good but I wouldnt recomend them for a swb. The std ones would be ok in a lwb if you never carry big loads.

[mudlark]

Hi Geeves I was in at repco today and I ashed for some leaf springs for my MU and thay sed no we don't do them so I sed how about Holden rodao and he sed that thay do them for up to 91 holden jackaroo thay are UBS 15,16,72 witch would be the one's out of them some where arouns $260.00 a side but he will them beter for me if i talk torky on the right day.

[mudgrip4]

If you want to do a lift, new leaf springs is a costly way to go, and as my 4wd club's nights on the ramp have shown, can prove a real downer for rear axle articulation - much needed for IFS front bighorns/mus for offroading.

Cheapest and very efficient is to make or buy longer rear shackles - say 70mm extended which gives you a rear 35-40mm lift. Then wind up front torsion bars a max of 35mm (to keep cvs still at reasonable angle) and do a balljoint flip. Total cost maybe $80 for new shackles and about 2 hours work. This works well - had it on my last 88 bighorn for 100,000+ks and hundreds of 4x4 trips and zero problems. Big advantage here is you retain max rear articulation, will pass WOFs without worries, and generally do not need certification. Standard shocks ok.

A body lift of 50mm is also less expensive than respringing - local 4x4 shop in Chch does it for about $300 or so.

People often combine 40-50mm body lift with a 25-30mm shackle lift to achieve big 2.5 to 3 inch lift fairly inexpensively. However if you do body lift of 50mm plus, or body and shackle lift together, you will certainly need certification which will cost another $280 or so. And probably need new extended rear shocks as well to retain max articulation.

Alot of our clubmen wary of spring lifts as we have seen ramp index articulation decrease as much as 60% - a disaster for offroading. Need to get precise club info on which new springs you can use, which have tested well. Generally avoid heavy duty springs - you must keep your springs as flexible as possible. Others clubmates found retensioned springs did not stay retensioned for long, and wasted money over time.

Just a few thoughts to play with.

Mike.

[geeves]

Modified rear shackles and all body lifts officially require certification. Just because your WOF man passes them doesnt make them legal. If you have these and get pulled over by the local bobby who just happens to know what hes looking at he will more than likely order your vehicle off the road with all the associated drama. If you have a crash your insurance company will most likely forget who you are. Certification is just over $400.

[mudgrip4]

Have just had talk with a good local 4wd modification shop, and a certifier to clarify picture. Prices for certification have gone up a bit but cost to certify a shackle, body, high spring lift or combination of these is still $350 incl in Chch. Attitudes tightening more than in past years. I hate to think how many Canterbury club trucks are running round illegally - many of which start with a 100mm body lift..

Certifier says any lift using extended shackles requires certification - as does a front balljoint flip. He can certify shackle extension up to 50mm only, which will give a 25mm rear lift. You can then wind front torsion bars up 25mm - no balljoint flip needed for such a small lift. While cheap, this alteration is probably not worth the trouble if done alone. Maybe $560 incl certification and necessary wheel alignment.

You can do a bodylift up to a certified max of 50mm. Although requiring certification - this is a good option. Anything over 50mm he won't certify. This ennables bigger tyres for offroad - beyond standard 31"s. Assess bumper position before doing lift - may need more labour to re-position. Local quote $280 lift plus $350 certification = $630+.

Using higher lift rear springs he says "should be" certified, but is at this time still a grey area as it can be considered a repair - likely to be an area soon revisited by LTSA. If you go further than 50-60mm with the springs - or "if lift is obvious/visible" eg to a WOF man - this would also need certification. Also, with a significant rear spring lift, you will need to wind up the torsion bars in front to balance truck, and anything over 30-35mm max increase in front will need balljoint flip, which also requires certication. Costs with labour very hard to measure - depending on spring make you choose, condition of bushes, bolts etc. Could be $800-900 with labour, plus certification of $350 if needed.

For my next project I will combine a 25mm shackle lift (using 50mm extended shackles), with a 40-50mm bodylift. Total labour and parts quote around $450, plus certification $350 = about $800, plus wheel alignment = $860. This is good economics for a 2.5 to 3 inch (60-75mm) lift, which keeps cv angle nice and flat. Will run 33s easily.

Costs are approximate only, but this is what we might pay here in Canterbury. You may do some yourself, or need bushes, bolts etc which will change the picture.

So, spring lift is alright if you don't plan to lift front more than 30-35mm max, and you source very good quality springs. Otherwise body lift can be more economic with right shop, and body/shackle lift a good deal if you plan to run big tyres. It depends on what level of offroading you want to aim at, and the tyres you need to fit. Note any type of lift over 40-50mm will almost certainly need new set of longer shocks to retain articulation. Standard bighorn Tokico shocks seem to handle 30-40mm lift ok. Monroe Adventures available at club price of about $370 for set of four. Excellent big valve shocks for 4wds.

We watch spring makes on the ramp to see what retains best articulation, and a good performer is EFS - an Australian make available at $250-300 a side club price from local shop. Its not the heaviness, but the quality of the steel that counts here = strength plus flexibility, and flexibility retained over time. If you are interested in this product send me a personal message through this site and I'll put you in touch with the seller.

There are products on local market, and available through retail chains, which are not very good. They are found to wreck articulation and often sag over time. There are also big name products now made in China etc which no longer perform anywhere near as well over time as they used to. I won't post company names here but again happy to answer a pm and put you in touch with shop which does the testing.

So Muskie - hope this helps - have just been researching all the options for my own next project.

Mike

[geeves]

Very well written. One other fly to through in the ointment though for Mu owners. Ive heard of 3 or 4 Mus with body lifts that have cracked ther floor pan around the mount in the front foot well. Never heard of this happening on bighorns but theres no obvious difference in the design of the mount.

[mudlark]

The Ironman Suspension kit to suit your vehicle should be HOLD007BKG, this kit contains:

Uprated Torsion Bars
Raised 2" Leaf Springs
2 Nitro Gas Shocks
Ubolts
Polyurethane Spring Bushes.

This is what I have just got back today from a random email that I traced back about 6 months ago well i gees it got held up in siber space but I it all on hold for a few more weeks again my alt just spat the dummy again there goes another $200. odd well must go and have another cry in my older MU she is getting depressed i am shour
Have a good weekend, I am on mope up duty after recent rain over flow.