M1028 Rear Leaf Springs

[coleman4130]

I have a broken rear leaf spring. My trusted local repair shop quoted $800 for a pair of new 1-ton springs!!! I went on-line and came across General Spring (generalspringkc.com) selling 1-ton / 56" / 10 leaf springs for $180-210 each. Does anyone know if this is a quality product (American made?) and or have another recommendation?

I do plan on lifting the truck but it isn't a priority and I need to retain the 1-ton rating for hauling the Alaskan Camper and towing (or at least I think I do?). I guess the plan is to replace the rear springs for now then pop for an ORD shackle flip which utilizes stock rear springs anyway. Seem like a solid plan?

Thank you in advance,
-John
Boulder

 

[akonitony]

I am replacing my rear springs with some 63"-long ones out of an '89 or newer 3500 and doing the shackle flip with a set of Virginia 4X kits. I just finished pulling the rear end out of her about 15 minutes ago, and I am taking a breather. If you only have one leaf that is broken, and I am not going to use that particular one out of the old pack (I will be combining a few of the old with the 5 new ones that came in each side of the 63" packs), I'd be happy to send you it if you pay for shipping. I should know in a little while which old leafs I will use. All you need for rebuilding them is a new center pin at the very most, but you may be able to use your old ones. You will also need some large C-clamps to hold the pack together while you align them and run the center pin back through. Let me know which leafs in particular are broken, and I will see if they are ones I will be using. If I don't need them, they are yours.
Incidently, I bought the pair of 5-leaf springs from the 3500 out of a salvage yard for $100 for both sides. You might be able to get something like that for your 1-ton a lot cheaper than $180. If you do the shackle flip, installing 63" springs in the rear, and uing your old 56" ones up front will give you a lift and a very flexible ride. I used 52" springs out of the back of one of my M1009 blazers for the front of mine, and it came out very nice with the V'4X perches up front.

 

[randyman]

John,

Just recently replaced both rear main leaf springs on my m1028 with springs from General Spring. Evidently Chevrolet had some problems with springs in the 1980's. The springs I got were made in Mexico but seem to be of good quality-time will tell. BTY, you might want to think about new u-bolts also. The bottom "retaining mount" is great at becoming filled with dirt/mud and rusting the bolts.

 

[Wolf.Dose]

To choose the correct springs for your truck, you have to check the brake rating in your VIN. 4th diged G is 9000 lbs gross, H is 10000 lbs gross. The rear springs are differnent. Also you ALSD (automatic load sensing device) is set for these spring rates. The valve is the same, the setting is a little differnent.
Wolf

 

[akonitony]

That's some good advice from both Randy and Wolf. I am going to change to a top mount for the U-bolts on the rear for that exact same reason. The ALSD is kind of the precursor to anti-lock brakes, if I'm not mistaken. It bleeds off hydraulic pressure to the rear brake depending on distance the springs are compressed. When you are going around with nothing in the cargo area, you don't want full braking force with those big drums on the back, or you will end up locking the rears up whenever you apply the brakes in a semi-aggressive amount.
Anyway, and this is going to sound weird, I'm ripping my ALSD out. I like to live on the wild side of things you see... Naw, actually, with bigger tires you don't really need the ALSD, but it is not something I would remove without a seond thought. I may end up putting it back in after the first time I drive her in the rain and there isn't any weight in the rear.
Now back to your springs. My preliminary investigation into the subject matter at hand shows a high probability I will be using just the bottom three springs out of each of the 1-ton packs (and you need to whistle with each "S" when you read that last sentence - try it, you'll like it). So, if the leaf(s) that are broken in your truck are any of the ones above the bottom three (Not counting the bottom helper spring), let me know if you want them, and we'll see how cheap we can ship them up to you fer.
Now if you'll excuse me, Mr. Daniels is asking me to play him a round of solitair...

 

[Sharecropper]

John;

I have a brand new ORD shackle flip kit that I am not going to use. You are welcome to it at 50% of ORD's price if you want it.

Mike Gresham

 

[akonitony]

Fifty-percent off!?!?
Why that is a bargain to me. Is that offer open to everyone if he does not want it, or just John?

 

[Sharecropper]

Well, since I first made the offer to John, it should be his right of first refusal. If he passes, then the first person to claim the deal has it.

I had planned to use the ORD rear shackle flip kit on my M1028, however after I purchased the kit I realized that the M1028 has the extra helper springs which have corresponding load bearing platforms on the frame. The shackle flip kit would render these useless, so to keep these extra springs functional, I abandoned the shackle flip and plan to achieve the rear lift with blocks and longer U-bolts.

Anybody know the best place to get the riser blocks and longer U-bolts?

 

[Cucvnut]

you can get longer u bolts from wfo concepts. how would the shackle flip render the helper spring useless ?

 

[Sharecropper]

And one other thing - the ALSD is crucial and should not be abandoned when lifting the truck. I plan to devise a new longer, adjustable connecting rod so the rear brakes will be providing 50% of the braking capacity when the truck is empty. I will photo-document this and post for all to see.

 

[Sharecropper]

The shackle flip kit repositions the rear of the entire spring assembly, including the helper spring leafs, lower from the frame. The bearing surfaces for the helper springs are attached to the frame, therefore they stay in the same position. Subsequently the shackle lift kit increases the distance between the helper springs and the corresponding bearing surfaces, rendering them useless.

 

[akonitony]

The shackle flip kit repositions the rear of the entire spring assembly, including the helper spring leafs, lower from the frame. The bearing surfaces for the helper springs are attached to the frame, therefore they stay in the same position. Subsequently the shackle lift kit increases the distance between the helper springs and the corresponding bearing surfaces, rendering them useless.

What if you put a block under each of the platforms where the helper spring contacts? Sort of like an extension for a bump-stop? I have the extra springs on my M1008 as well, and it does have the HD in the VIN, but it is still an M1008 according to the data plate. Anyway, as I mentioned earlier, I am bulding the rear spring packs using 63" springs from a 3500, and adding some leafs to them from the old 56" packs as well. I am still going to keep the helper springs on top and will add some blocks and maybe reposition the pads on the frame as well. I moved the front axle forward about 2" with the perch kit and 6" shackles, and will probably end up moving the rear axle backward about 3" to give it more stability, and not worry about moving the front perches forward since the fuel tank would be in the way. It will be interesting to see where the helper spring ends up needing the supports to be. I may also get the rear leafs re-arched at Birmingham Spring if I can't match the front amount of lift with what I have now. Has anyone out there had this done before?

 

[Cucvnut]

why would you want to lift a truck and still haul stuff with it ? if your going to lift a truck it pretty much makes hauling stuff and carrying heavy loads in the bed useless.. how many lifted trucks do you see dragging ass on the road with a big lift and stuff in the bed or towing something.

 

[akonitony]

That's a good point, and that is why I have more than one truck. If my lifted M1008 won't do it, my stock M1009 won't do it either, and my stock M1031 won't do it either, My '06 2500HD Duramax/Allison will. If it is a really big load, then I break out one of my deuces. Case in point: I need to haul a big load of chirt (Alabama for dirt) down to our Florida home to fix one of the driveways going into the property. The last load I took went fine with my M35A2 winch truck, but it bogged down pretty bad on the hills, so this load will be done with my M35A3 which has the Caterpillar 3116 under the hood. I got my buddy to fill it up today with his Komatsu excavator, and she still held 45 MPH on even the steepest hills coming back to the Alabama house. It will be interesting to compare the mileage with this rig to that of one with a multifuel on the way down to the Florida house next week.
Now if and when I do finally get done with this custom lift on the one M1008, it will have both flexability and lift as well as still be able to haul at least a ton if I want it to. So how's about that?

 

[jimmy-90]

Gotta ask...what in the world did you put in your truck or what did you put the poor thing through that caused it to break a 10 leaf spring pack with a spring helper????

 

[coleman4130]

Thanks to everyone, excellent information!

H in the VIN = 10,000 lb rating. General Springs lists a 1-ton 10 leaf spring with a 4650 spring capacity. Stupid question #1: Do I double this for the total rating? Is 9300 lbs enough? A fairly comprehensive (15 min) search finds these to be the heaviest rated springs around.

Wolf, Am I going at this correctly or is the ALSD adjusted to the new spring rate?

Jimmy-90 and Cucvfreak, I use this truck primarily to carry my Alaskan Camper up and over some rough Colorado back roads and trails. The Camper and gear is really pretty heavy thus the need for the heavy springs. I have no idea how or what caused the leaf to fail. It is just one leaf, second from the top that has broken just rear of the pin. While perhaps not necessary, i would also like some additional tire clearance, thus the lift. I plan to start with new un-lifted springs in back and see if this gets me where I need to be.

I bought a new ORD 1" body lift from Craigslist last summer but really haven't been inspired to install this, I get mixed opinions.

Sharecropper,
Thanks for the offer and thanks for waiting for a response!! Are these the 1-ton rated shackles and what lift do they provide, 2.5 or 4"?

Akonitony, Thank you for the offer but I'd like to invest in new suspension all around for this truck.

 

[Sharecropper]

Well, to answer Cucvfreak's question, I am not lifting my M1028 to look good, but instead to clear the 1100x20 NDT tires & wheels that are going on it. And I do indeed plan to haul a 500 gallon water tank in the bed here on the farm to water all my nursery trees. 500 gallons of water will weigh over 4150 pounds so you can see why the helper springs need to stay active.

Coleman, the ORD shackle flip kit I have provides 4" of lift to the truck. It is for a '84 K30.

 

[coleman4130]

Sharecropper, I'll pass on the 4" Shackles but thanks so much again for the very generous offer!!!

 

[scottodog]

My buddy has a 1028 truck with 20000 miles he took the axles out of and is parting out the rest . The springs are still there. I'm sure he would part them out for a small fee and you pay shipping. Scott

 

[coleman4130]

I decided to order up new rear and front 3" lift Alcan leaf springs. Didn't want to do it all at once but given all the pros / cons / different opinions it seem the simplest solution. With a bit of back and forth with Charles and Jason at Alcan about the brake load / GVW / ALSD requirements we decided on a lighter 1-ton pack for a better ride and to ulitize the Timbren system to handle the camper.

They really didn't have much to say about the ALSD which has me a little concerned so Sharecropper, let us know about your adjustable set up!

Scottodog, Thanks for offering up your buddies leaf springs!!