Hello again,

The P/O of my truck installed an Old Man Emu lift kit a few years back. He said he used the heavy duty springs in the back and the medium duty ones in the front. Any signs of labels are long gone so I'm just going to have to trust him.

Anyway, I've got my new bumper (85 lbs) and winch (85 lbs) on the way, and am a little worried about 170 lbs hanging off the front. I am removing the factory bumper and brush guard, so it's more like an add of 110 lbs, but none the less I drive the truck every day and I really don't want it to nose down even a bit.

The truck rides great now, but I'm thinking it might be a good idea to replace those springs in the front with the heavy duty version. The medium duty (what I believe is in there), is rated at +50 to 110 lbs, while the heavy duty would be rated at +110 to 250 lbs. Looks like I can them for $75 a pop.

My questions:

(1) Is this a good idea, or am I crazy?

(2) Can a dude (me) with some floor jacks and the Rave get the springs in with any ease?

Thanks!

~Max

 

1 - no you are not crazy. but since you don't know what you have installed i would put the bumper and winch on and see how it rides. if it is sagging then its time to do the spring upgrade.

2 - yes it is fairly easy. a bottle jack to get the body off the frame is necessary.

 

Yes you can.... while not "easy" it is also not hard.. I do not know if I would wait to see if they are the heavy duty or not. Seeing as they are not new and you do not know it is best to err on the side of caution and go ahead and spend the money to replace them before you put the new bumper on, or make it a weekend and do it all at the same time. I just put new crash cans on my ARB bumper by myself and a few jack stands. took me 3 hours I was slow with intent. Good luck and enjoy the winch....send a few pictures of the first time you need to use it.

 

Ed - body off the frame? I have not taken the body off the frame. Just used the bottle jack against the frame to push the diff assy down to get the spring out. More clearence.

 

LOL that is exactly what i meant. i need to stop posting when i wake up. i made it out to be like a funny car. now im being lazy cuz im at work but someone will like the vid from youtube that justin at lucky 8 did.

 

Hey maxman..you can do it. Watch the video a couple of time and go for it. Not bad at all. Oh and Ed, I can certainly relate.

 

here to make up for it i found the vid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pkz0NTMFeYY

 

Just ordered up a new set of the heavy duty fronts. After some measuring and research it looks like the old ones might be the heavy duty ones as well. But, considering they have a lot of miles on them, a fresh set won't hurt. Now I'm torn about replacing the shocks once I'm in there. It's Bilstein's in there now. If you give a mouse a cookie...