HELP - 93 leaf spring brackets rotted out

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N9NEO - 17 Dec 2006 01:12 GMT

I have 93 3/4 ton pickup. I think maybe it is called a D250. The rear
leaf spring brackets are all rotted out.

My local mechanic has quote me 600 bucks to replace brackets and
springs. He has the parts on hand. He was in the middle of restoring
his own truck and then a kid came along and one thing leads to another
and he abandons his truck restoration project and is left with the
parts.

So anyway he shows me the new brackets and shackles and springs andf
stainless steel bolts and so forth on his truck. It all looks very
nice.

So here are the questions. Is 600 bucks a good deal? The frame rails
look ok, but is it possible he will get into it and find that the frame
rails arr going to need to be strengthened? Is this a common thing or
is brackets usually all that is needed? He says the OEM brackets are
hard to find. Is this true?

regards,
Bob

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Tom Lawrence - 17 Dec 2006 02:41 GMT

> So here are the questions. Is 600 bucks a good deal?

By brakcets, are you referring to the shackles that bolt to the leaf springs
and themounts on the frame rails, or do you mean the tabs that are welded to
the frame that the spring/shackle bolts up to?

If it's just to replace the springs/shackles, which is just a matter of
unbolting (or sometimes torching off, if the bolts are too rusted) the old
stuff and bolting up the new, then I think it's a little much. If he's
talking about cutting off the brackets from the frame and welding new ones
on, along with all new springs/shackles/bolts, then I think it's a good
deal.

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Stormin Mormon - 17 Dec 2006 03:10 GMT

My last van was a 79 Dodge one ton, I think it was. It broke a leaf
spring, on the drivers side. A friend and I replaced it, using only
hand tools. His air tools had just been stolen, and I didn't have
along my plug in impact wrench. That took several hours, and many
asprins.

The other side, I brought my impact gun with me, and that worked a lot
better.

From your posts, it sounds like he's quoting replacing both springs,
and the brackets. I think I paid about $150 for a used set of springs.
Anyhow, six bills sounds like it could be an OK price for the job.
Figure $200 parts, and then that makes $400. Well, at 60 an hour,
that's about 6.5 hours of labor. Which is believable.

I'd suggest to call a spring specialty shop, and ask for an estimate
over the phone, or drive it in for estimate. Some spring shops do a
high enough volume of work they can get a better price. And, it may
only need the brackets.

Hard to find? I don't know. Never tried. What I do know is that air
tools or plug in impact wrench sure makes the job easier.

Signature

Christopher A. Young
You can't shout down a troll.
You have to starve them.
.

I have 93 3/4 ton pickup. I think maybe it is called a D250. The rear
leaf spring brackets are all rotted out.

My local mechanic has quote me 600 bucks to replace brackets and
springs. He has the parts on hand. He was in the middle of restoring
his own truck and then a kid came along and one thing leads to another
and he abandons his truck restoration project and is left with the
parts.

So anyway he shows me the new brackets and shackles and springs andf
stainless steel bolts and so forth on his truck. It all looks very
nice.

So here are the questions. Is 600 bucks a good deal? The frame rails
look ok, but is it possible he will get into it and find that the
frame
rails arr going to need to be strengthened? Is this a common thing or
is brackets usually all that is needed? He says the OEM brackets are
hard to find. Is this true?

regards,
Bob

Reply to this Message

N9NEO - 19 Dec 2006 01:38 GMT

> My last van was a 79 Dodge one ton, I think it was. It broke a leaf
> spring, on the drivers side. A friend and I replaced it, using only
[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]
> You can't shout down a troll.
> You have to starve them.

Thanks Tom, Thanks Stormin Morman.

I gave mechanic go ahead to do the work this morning.

The brackets are the components that are riveted to the frame rails and
to what the shackles are bolted to. There are two on each side. The
parts he is supplying are the 4 brackets, 2 brand new leaf spring
stacks, shackles and stainless steel bolts to bolt the new brackets to
the frame rails. I understand the work that needs to be done is to
grind off the old rivets holding brackets on and then bolt the new
brackets on with the stainless hardware. Take the new springs and
install them to the axle and then hang the whole assy back on the
brackets. Seems like a lot of work to me. I would rather spend that
kind of energy on my 71 vette.

Truck is otherwise very nice with 120k miles. Has (I think) a 360 V8
with a 5 speed tranny. AC and cruise control. New brakes, new rubber
and the body is in nice shape. A little bit of rust and a few minor
dents, but I weld and do bodywork and paint so no problem. Behind the
seats is a large enough area that I can install a nice bed for my
labrador to hang out on. I only paid 1200 for truck and I was told
when I bought that the spring work needed to be done. I have an 86
with slant 6 and no air and no cruise that I paid almost the same for 5
years ago that has served me well. This 93 truck is to be the
replacement for the 86 truck.

regards,
Bob

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Stormin Mormon - 27 Dec 2006 01:28 GMT

Must be cheaper to rivet things together. I've had to grind off
rivets to change upper ball joints, on my non-Dodge vehicle. I'm
glad to hear that you found a spring shop that's willing to do
that work. Mechanics I've talked to say it's a lot easier if you
have a lift, compared to jack stands in the driveway. One guy I
talked to says he's done a lot of driveway work, and he figures
three times the time.

Signature

Christopher A. Young
You can't shout down a troll.
You have to starve them.
.

> I gave mechanic go ahead to do the work this morning.
>
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> brackets. Seems like a lot of work to me. I would rather spend that
> kind of energy on my 71 vette.

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