Wagon leafs 510

[VoidDragon]

I'm looking to lower my 72 510 wagon.

 

I want an easy static drop of the stock axle atm. I want an lsd, but since any option there means alot of machine shop work... I'll wait until I have my lsd solution decided on to think about, air susp, 4 link or anything fancy.

 

So. Static drop. Stock axle.

I like the idea of adding a leaf or two with blocks to add stiffness. But what leafs can I use? Any other donor cars that would be good? I'm east coast. Datsuns are rare. I dont know of any 510s in any junkyard within 100 miles. My family has a body shop, we know a lot of yards. I've looked.

 

What other cars should I be looking for?

[Laecaon]

You can take your overload spring (shortest one of the 4) and flip it and place it on the top of the pack. This will flatten out the springs. Too see the difference,

 

I went from this:

 

To this:

 

Its not a huge change, but it is something, and you dont need any parts to do it.

 

Here is what I mean about placement of the overload spring:

[VoidDragon]

Interesting. I may do this. And 1 inch blocks.

Thanks laecaon

[Stubby]

Laecaon, does this stiffen up the rear much if at all??? I am guessing it will stiffen it up a little.

[datzenmike]

 

I would say no. It removes the upward force of the top spring.

 

I just measured my 620 leaves and those in my 710.... the same width. I imagine the 510 goon's are the same. On my 620 I added Ford F-150 leaves to add height. There are lots of leaf spring vehicles in the wrecking yards. Find something with fairly flat ones. Be damned careful when you undo the bolt that holds the pack together!!!! Wrap a length of chain around it first. The top spring has the eyelets for mounting, you can discard them. The leaves underneath can be mixed and matched equally for both sides so it sits even and clamped together. I'm afraid it will be trial and error to get the height and the ride stiffness you want.

 

On my 710 I have a second set of leaf springs, so I used a 2" block to lower it and removed the very bottom spring. I trimmed a longer leaf and fit it into the pack in place of it.

 

The very bottom ones were broken and not doing anything anyway...

 

So I threw them out. I got the third spring up (top one above) and trimmed the ends off with the tabs so they would fit just below my third spring, like this...

 

The very bottom spring now is actually the second spring in the first picture, the one above the broken one. I don't think it added much height, if any and the 2" block more than canceled it out. Definitely stiffer, which is a must for a lowered vehicle.

.

.

[Laecaon]

Well good thing my wagon springs didnt go anywhere when I unbolted them. I mean the overload fell as anything would.

 

Ride is a bit stiffer, but probably something that is good if you are going to add blocks as well to avoid hitting things or bottoming out. Its not bad at all to ride in. Im sure some the of the sedan guys have some ridiculous spring rates on their rear coilovers. It still reacts to speed bumps in the same manner as before.

 

To get my Spring pack back together, I used a C-Clamp to compress it. The worst part of doing this is hoping that the bolt hole will line up.

 

But go do it, its pretty easy, doesnt take too long, and if you decide you dont like it by the following week undo it and just stick to blocks.

 

And just for reference, my tires are 185/60/14.

[datzenmike]

I thought about what I said. The spring rate might increase because they are bent back like that. Even though you loose one spring the others may be over all stiffer there. Interesting.

[Laecaon]

I did this to my friends 521 as well. That has the double thick leaf as an overload. That really stiffened the back. I do not recommend doing this on a truck.

[Stubby]

I thought about what I said. The spring rate might increase because they are bent back like that. Even though you loose one spring the others may be over all stiffer there. Interesting.

 

This is kina what I thought. Do you think if you added a second short leafs and flip both short leafs it would flatten it out even more. I haven't ever flipped a leaf before so I don't know the effect of flipping just one. I am throwing around the option of adding a second short leaf and not flipping any of them but adding a 2"block. This will give me added stiffness and a lower stance. Just a thought. Im bored at work.

[Stupid_fast]

I got a question about this, I was going to do the last leaf flip. I heard from troy he does it for like $150, then again I could do it myself... Though I hear its dangerous if the pack pops apart and I have no experience with it.

 

I've been researching leaf springs and I heard it is good to pack in some grease inbetween the springs, do any of you do that?

Also do you clean up and paint your springs? Does it help anything except looks?

 

 

Also what kind of blocks are you guys running? I got some belltech ones and the center pin was the wrong size! I really want to get my goon dropped and stiffened in the back. Handling is pretty bad right now slammed in the front, stock in back.

 

 

Thanks.

[Laecaon]

Having taken the leafs apart on both a wagon and a 521, I dont know where the scary stuff comes from. You start unbolting the leaf and about halfway unthreaded there is no tension anymore. I find it scarier to reassemble. Yes it stiffens the back, though I am not sure of how much. $150 sounds like theft for this...

 

Like I said earlier, A good C-clamp can compress the flipped leaf and hold it. That is all I used.

 

As for 2 short springs, dont bother, wont flatten the pack anymore. You would need to add a longer leaf to flatten it more.

[Stupid_fast]

Having taken the leafs apart on both a wagon and a 521, I dont know where the scary stuff comes from. You start unbolting the leaf and about halfway unthreaded there is no tension anymore. I find it scarier to reassemble. Yes it stiffens the back, though I am not sure of how much. $150 sounds like theft for this...

 

Like I said earlier, A good C-clamp can compress the flipped leaf and hold it. That is all I used.

 

As for 2 short springs, dont bother, wont flatten the pack anymore. You would need to add a longer leaf to flatten it more.

 

That is the advice I was looking for, thanks!

 

What about blocks? I was thinking 1" blocks and the flipped leaf would give a nice stance, but the belltech 6002 kit I got was the wrong pin size. (its like 3/8" .. does not fit over the center bolt on the leaf)

[Laecaon]

Hmm, I hear more people having problems with the U-bolts being too large than problems with blocks.

[Stupid_fast]

Hmm, I hear more people having problems with the U-bolts being too large than problems with blocks.

 

Yeah, those are for a 3" axle, so I bought u-bolts for a 2.5" axle then found out the blocks didnt work...

 

Summit racing has some 2.5" 8" long u-bolts 1/2 diameter ... they are nice probably would work with 3" blocks.

[Just Joel]

What about blocks? I was thinking 1" blocks and the flipped leaf would give a nice stance, but the belltech 6002 kit I got was the wrong pin size. (its like 3/8" .. does not fit over the center bolt on the leaf)

 

Pm'ed you ;)

 

Later

Joel

[mike]

Safety wise, ALWAYS clamp the springs when assembling or disassembling. If they are old and rusty the eyebolt can break with little to no warning. Dont use the new eyebolt to suck them together either, it will stress the hell out of the bolt and it could very easily break. Use a GOOD C clamp, the bigger the better. Im speaking from experience, I have had a new bolt break when mixing leaves to get the correct ride height and it left a healthy divot in the sheetrock on my ceiling in my old garage, I still dont know how in the hell it missed my head...

 

As far as cleaning, painting and greasing your springs, Its not a bad idea. Any friction from rust or dirt will cause your springs to wear and they will most likely squeak, even if they do ride well. Also Im not really a fan of flipping the overload spring, when flipped against the arc of the other springs it WILL wear the next leaf down at the points where leading edges of the spring meet the next. This was done on my goon before I got it and ALL the leaves are worn to literally about half the thickness they should be including the main leaf... If my camera worked, Id show you pics... I have no idea how long it was driven this way. Aside from the safety issue, it also has some very nasty axle wrap when I get on it, which is part/most of the reason its parked in the garage right now... If I fix it I want an LSD and I dont like the rubber isolators on the stock setup.