metric ton springs lifted?

[codymanche]

Looking for some info on metric ton springs or if I should get deaver leaf springs? Oif so how much for either or.

[Blue88Comanche]

I got my Metric Ton springs from Hell creek for about $450 - $500 shipped can't remember for sure the price. the ride is as good as its going to get with shocks that are too short, but it is not rough almost stock like ride.

 

they gave me about 3 - 4 inches of lift in the rear from stock 4x4 packs

 

top spring is Stock bottom are Hell Creek's MT springs

 

Before:

 

After:

 

I leveled it out some with 2.5 inch spacers in the front to get my current setup.

 

I haven't really had anything heavy enough in the bed to lower the rear lower than the front. the heavyist thing i moved was my aunts trailer with about 1000 lbs of rocks and several bails of hay

[skidoo_j]

I got my Metric Ton springs from Hell creek for about $450 - $500 shipped can't remember for sure the price. the ride is as good as its going to get with shocks that are too short, but it is not rough almost stock like ride.

 

they gave me about 3 - 4 inches of lift in the rear from stock 4x4 packs

 

 

 

That's crazy you got 3" of lift from stock 4x4 to the MT. According to everything I've read or encountered a new set of stock should be with in 1/2" of MT springs. So most people will see an inch or two in lift with new MT springs just because of the settling and sag of the OEM leafs. 3-4" is crazy. Your old leafs must have been incredibly tired.

 

I recently had a new set of MT 4+1 made to factory specs and only received 1.5" on drivers and about .75 on passenger and I'm SOA.

 

 

 

 

Maybe hellcreek and Eagle could chime in here, but I think it's been discussed before, however the proof of what 88blue got out of his springs is in the pictures...

[Blue88Comanche]

yes my leaf packs where sagging a lot, but the coil springs where brand new V8 ZJ springs and i had to use a 2.5 inch spacer to lift the front of the truck so it wouldn't look stupid, so thats how i made my guess of about 3 inches. my stock sized 225/75R15 tires looked way too small so i upped the size to 31x10.5R15 and that made it look "right". I have had the springs for about a year and they have not lost the expected 1/2 to 1 inch yet.

 

I was going to take actual measurements yesterday but it stormed...

[codymanche]

Well I'm already lifted 6" inches with the soa kit from rocky road outfitters. So I was thinking that if I found stock metric ton spring is keep my lift. Not really looking to go bigger or smaller of a lift. The wife has to keep it on the road and don't want that stupid cali lift where it front is lifted and the rear is stock looking.

[Eagle]

I don't believe the Metric Ton suspension is supposed to sit any higher than a standard suspension. There's no mention of a higher ride height for the MT in the FSM where they show how (and where) to measure for checking ride height. It's just supposed to add load carrying capacity.

[codymanche]

Well that's what I'm looking to use them for not lift I have one. But if I can run those I will.

[jamespwsullivan]

I can't speak from direct experience, but the truck with Hell Creek replacement leaves is a SWB, correct? So how would you know if the stock ride height is affected. I thought that the Metric Tonne (Big Ton) package was only for LWB MJs. Plus, if they're after market anyway, are you sure the Hell Creek leaves are built to the same spec as stock?

 

Just askiin' Maybe I missed something.

[codymanche]

That's what I'm asking if they come on And If that's the case of they are built by hell creek then forget it. I asked I'm not looking to go back to stock. If they make them for swb I want them I don't want to go bigger of a lift or loose the lift I have.

[Blue88Comanche]

the SWB and LWB Leaf springs are the same, as far as interchangeability goes any way. if its not raining again when i get home I will measure the ride height so we know for sure how much actual lift i am getting and how much "lift" was due to badly sagging springs being replaced with new ones.

 

but because you are SOA then do expect to get at least 1/2 to 3/4 inches of lift due to the leaf pack being thicker

[Eagle]

There's a measurement in the MJ FSM fron the top of the axle tube to the frame rail that serves as the "standard" measurement, but I don't remember what it is. For a rough measurement, if you have the factory flares, from the center of the wheel/hub/cap/axle straight up to the bottom lip of the flare should be approximately 20-1/2 inches.

[skidoo_j]

There's a measurement in the MJ FSM fron the top of the axle tube to the frame rail that serves as the "standard" measurement, but I don't remember what it is. For a rough measurement, if you have the factory flares, from the center of the wheel/hub/cap/axle straight up to the bottom lip of the flare should be approximately 20-1/2 inches.

 

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=11693

[Eagle]

There's a measurement in the MJ FSM fron the top of the axle tube to the frame rail that serves as the "standard" measurement, but I don't remember what it is. For a rough measurement, if you have the factory flares, from the center of the wheel/hub/cap/axle straight up to the bottom lip of the flare should be approximately 20-1/2 inches.

 

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=11693

 

That's the one. Thanks.

[glundblad]

I have an '87. When it was new, I absolutely swear my ride height was higher than other MJ's on the road at the time. Even my wife noticed. I have no explaination for it but I have always been very curious about it.

 

Unfortunately, I swapped the rear springs and in photos prior to the swap, my springs were in pretty bad shape. I wish I measured ride height before I swapped them out.

[codymanche]

Would metric tons lift me higher then I already am?

[Blue88Comanche]

Rear:

------

Measure from the top of the axle tube to the underside of the frame rail inboard of the rubber bump stop.

For 4WD models the distance should be 9.2" +/- 1/2"

 

Using those measurements gave me a measurement of 10.5 -10.25 inches

 

 

 

sorry it took so long for the measurements, so much rain..

[skidoo_j]

Would metric tons lift me higher then I already am?

 

If you are SOA yes. There is no way around it a metric ton spring pack has extra leaf springs that go between the main spring and the axle thus you will see a lift of the physical thickness of the extra leafs/difference in thicknesses.

Secondly I would say that a set of Metric ton springs off a similiar year will be stiffer and odds are would not have sagged as bad as non-metric so you would see a slight lift due to the spring constants.

 

 

IIRC there were like 4 sets of "regular " springs each having a slightly different load capacity and spring rate. and there are 2 or 3 common types of stock metric ton springs. so if you had the lowest capacity springs currently and you happen to pick up a set of metric ton that were at the top of their load capacity the sag difference could be well over an inch right there.

 

The bad thing is you can't measure how much sag your springs currently have unless you remove them from your vehicle. You then place a straight edge from bushing eye to bushing eye and then measure perpendicular to the center of the leaf pin. This measurement is the "free arch" according to the factory specs that were produced from the fsm and the spring engineering spec pages iirc it's 9-9.5 pending the springs. several months ago someone posted all the factory part numbers for the spring packs available with their weight capacities and their free arch.

[Eagle]

The bad thing is you can't measure how much sag your springs currently have unless you remove them from your vehicle. You then place a straight edge from bushing eye to bushing eye and then measure perpendicular to the center of the leaf pin. This measurement is the "free arch" according to the factory specs that were produced from the fsm and the spring engineering spec pages iirc it's 9-9.5 pending the springs. several months ago someone posted all the factory part numbers for the spring packs available with their weight capacities and their free arch.

You can measure your current ride height, and if it DOESN'T match the factory spec you know your springs are sagged. Top of axle tube to bottom of frame rail. 9.2" +/- 1/2" for 4WD, 8.2" +/- 1/2" for 2WD.

[skidoo_j]

Rear:

------

Measure from the top of the axle tube to the underside of the frame rail inboard of the rubber bump stop.

For 4WD models the distance should be 9.2" +/- 1/2"

 

Using those measurements gave me a measurement of 10.5 -10.25 inches

 

sorry it took so long for the measurements, so much rain..

 

That sounds about right with aftermarket leafs. I say this because when they produce the leaf springs now they're using better calibrated presses, but following what could have been a loose machine original.

 

So even through you had to ad 2.5" up front (do you have a large bumper?) to level it out you truely are only about an inch in the rear higher than factory spec.

[skidoo_j]

The bad thing is you can't measure how much sag your springs currently have unless you remove them from your vehicle. You then place a straight edge from bushing eye to bushing eye and then measure perpendicular to the center of the leaf pin. This measurement is the "free arch" according to the factory specs that were produced from the fsm and the spring engineering spec pages iirc it's 9-9.5 pending the springs. several months ago someone posted all the factory part numbers for the spring packs available with their weight capacities and their free arch.

You can measure your current ride height, and if it DOESN'T match the factory spec you know your springs are sagged. Top of axle tube to bottom of frame rail. 9.2" +/- 1/2" for 4WD, 8.2" +/- 1/2" for 2WD.

 

 

Eagle you're correct, and I even posted that prior :( late night and tired i guess. it is much more notcible through when you pull them off and take the eye eye center measurement. I remember what my thought process was though last night Because he's SOA and just kept thinking it wouldn't work, now this morning after sleeping : the measurement procedure of top of tube to bottom of frame rail must be modified to be used with SOA, you must subtract the diameter of the axle tube and height of the original spring perch, the height of the new spring perch and I'm thinking even the thickness of your spring pack from your measurement. to get it back within a factory comparable number

[Eagle]

The bad thing is you can't measure how much sag your springs currently have unless you remove them from your vehicle. You then place a straight edge from bushing eye to bushing eye and then measure perpendicular to the center of the leaf pin. This measurement is the "free arch" according to the factory specs that were produced from the fsm and the spring engineering spec pages iirc it's 9-9.5 pending the springs. several months ago someone posted all the factory part numbers for the spring packs available with their weight capacities and their free arch.

You can measure your current ride height, and if it DOESN'T match the factory spec you know your springs are sagged. Top of axle tube to bottom of frame rail. 9.2" +/- 1/2" for 4WD, 8.2" +/- 1/2" for 2WD.

 

 

Eagle you're correct, and I even posted that prior :( late night and tired i guess. it is much more notcible through when you pull them off and take the eye eye center measurement. I remember what my thought process was though last night Because he's SOA and just kept thinking it wouldn't work, now this morning after sleeping : the measurement procedure of top of tube to bottom of frame rail must be modified to be used with SOA, you must subtract the diameter of the axle tube and height of the original spring perch, the height of the new spring perch and I'm thinking even the thickness of your spring pack from your measurement. to get it back within a factory comparable number

I suppose by using the arithmetic you just posted in the other thread about Metric Ton springs it would be easy enough to convert the factory's top-of-axle-tube number to a top-of-main-leaf number, which could then be used as a standard for both SUA and SOA evaluations.

 

So we would take the 9.2" to the top of the axle tube, add the tube diameter plus the offset from the bottom of the tube to the perch mounting surface ... and that's the distance from a stock spring to the frame rail. That number can be used for SUA and SOA, as long as the spring mounting points haven't been altered.

[skidoo_j]

The bad thing is you can't measure how much sag your springs currently have unless you remove them from your vehicle. You then place a straight edge from bushing eye to bushing eye and then measure perpendicular to the center of the leaf pin. This measurement is the "free arch" according to the factory specs that were produced from the fsm and the spring engineering spec pages iirc it's 9-9.5 pending the springs. several months ago someone posted all the factory part numbers for the spring packs available with their weight capacities and their free arch.

You can measure your current ride height, and if it DOESN'T match the factory spec you know your springs are sagged. Top of axle tube to bottom of frame rail. 9.2" +/- 1/2" for 4WD, 8.2" +/- 1/2" for 2WD.

 

 

Eagle you're correct, and I even posted that prior :( late night and tired i guess. it is much more notcible through when you pull them off and take the eye eye center measurement. I remember what my thought process was though last night Because he's SOA and just kept thinking it wouldn't work, now this morning after sleeping : the measurement procedure of top of tube to bottom of frame rail must be modified to be used with SOA, you must subtract the diameter of the axle tube and height of the original spring perch, the height of the new spring perch and I'm thinking even the thickness of your spring pack from your measurement. to get it back within a factory comparable number

I suppose by using the arithmetic you just posted in the other thread about Metric Ton springs it would be easy enough to convert the factory's top-of-axle-tube number to a top-of-main-leaf number, which could then be used as a standard for both SUA and SOA evaluations.

 

So we would take the 9.2" to the top of the axle tube, add the tube diameter plus the offset from the bottom of the tube to the perch mounting surface ... and that's the distance from a stock spring to the frame rail. That number can be used for SUA and SOA, as long as the spring mounting points haven't been altered.

 

Very true, but Mine are long gone and could not generate the measurement. And it would only be usefull to determine how saggy the springs were. It maybe something that could benefit over in the "how to measure ride height" sticky in DIY

[Blue88Comanche]

Rear:

------

Measure from the top of the axle tube to the underside of the frame rail inboard of the rubber bump stop.

For 4WD models the distance should be 9.2" +/- 1/2"

 

Using those measurements gave me a measurement of 10.5 -10.25 inches

 

sorry it took so long for the measurements, so much rain..

 

That sounds about right with aftermarket leafs. I say this because when they produce the leaf springs now they're using better calibrated presses, but following what could have been a loose machine original.

 

So even through you had to ad 2.5" up front (do you have a large bumper?) to level it out you truely are only about an inch in the rear higher than factory spec.

 

my first guess was way off, my springs where apparently sagging very bad. i still need to measure the front to see where it is. the current set up in the front is V8 ZJ variable rate coils, 2.5 inch spacers and i have a Warn Trans4mer Grille Guard center, with Brush Guards, and the winch carrier (no winch yet) not sure how much weight its adds.