add a leaf advice on sammy JX (with picture)

[theboy]

Hi Guys, my sammy is a JX model ( i believe this was the commercial model with no back seats originally?). Anyway I want to do add a leaf but i have a few questions -

1. the anus seems to sit a little higher than i would expect, are these different from the standard leaf spring you would expect to see on a 1991 sammy? the lower leaf looks different to me?

2. When doing add a leaf to this model do i need to extend the brake lines?

3.what is the max tyre size i can go up to with add a leaf and do I need to add a prop spacer or any thing else to make the set up work correctly?

thanks

Tom


image upload

[dazerede]

To find out about the brake lines flex it slowly and u should find out if u will need longer brake lines

[dan_2k_uk]

Looks like that rear spring has been hyper-extended and bent that overload leaf at some point.

When you fit AAL you can never be sure how much lift they will give as it depends on the condition of the spring pack theu are added to so its a bit hard to judge whether you will need brake lines or how much lift it will give.

Dan

[theboy]

Looks like that rear spring has been hyper-extended and bent that overload leaf at some point.

When you fit AAL you can never be sure how much lift they will give as it depends on the condition of the spring pack theu are added to so its a bit hard to judge whether you will need brake lines or how much lift it will give.

Dan

thanks Dan, so there should be a 4th leaf as standard but it shouldnt look flat like mine?! is that correct?

If I do AAL would I need to ditch that 4th leaf and replace it before putting in the AAL leaf? Both sides are the same on the rear

cheers

Tom

[ScottieJ]

Personally I would say don't bother with add-a-leaf just save up and wait until you can afford some decent springs, I've never been impressed with them and most of the people I know have eventually got rid of them and fitted proper lift springs etc. Twiss just snapped one of his as well and it's only a few years old.

or buy some 1.5" lift springs for the rear and fit your rears up front, there are a few ways to do this.

Scottie "on the quest to rid the world of those horrible add-a-leafs" J

[theboy]

Thanks Scottie,

Im trying to keep it a cheap lift at the moment, but agree with you just doing it properly from the beginning if the finances allow!

In your opinion are my springs knackered or are they meant to look like the picture above? As i say its a JX model so wondered if this is normal on the 'commercial' sammys?

cheers

Tom

[ScottieJ]

The overload spring does look a bit dead but the rest of the pack looks ok. The best way to tell if the springs are on their last legs is to get someone else to pull away and watch the rear diff, if it points up a lot as the vehicle pulls away then they are probably getting a bit tired, it will lift a bit anyway but if it lifts a lot I'd think about new springs sooner rather than later.

[Jordi]

Boggo standard springs on there bud. As Dan says, it looks like the spring pack has been over flexed at some point (curved the wrong way) and bent the bottom "helper" spring. That extra leaf should be flat.

Overall they don't look too bad, looks like they still have a bit of curve to them. AAL will give an unknown amount of lift. Prop spacers shouldn't be necessary and are a bad idea in my mind anyway. My props are steep enough with out spacers.

I have never ran AAL but have read a few reasons not to fit them on here.
1. Unknown amount of lift
2. Very very hard
3. Because the AAL is a thicker stiffer spring the original spring pack can droop over it at the ends
4. They break apparently

I saved up and called Dave at Llama. Always get great service. Prices aren't too bad. Quite a lot of importers for American stuff like calmini now. My advice is to be very wary about buying imported gear. I had an appalling experience. Ferris' was a pleasant transaction.

Plenty of DIY ways too, rascal & RUF etc....

Cheers
Jordi

[theboy]

thanks for the advice guys, so what is the need for prop spacers? I lifted my old sj410 with just 2" shackles (school boy error!) and it killed the UJ on the prop in no time,

So if i did decide to do AAL (for the cheap option) as long as the springs are in ok condition I could technically use mine and the bent overload spring? I know there are better methods though as described.

My front springs are pretty flat too, not sure how much curve should be on these as standard?

cheers guys, great info/ replies as usual!

[Edweird]

thanks for the advice guys, so what is the need for prop spacers? I lifted my old sj410 with just 2" shackles (school boy error!) and it killed the UJ on the prop in no time,

So if i did decide to do AAL (for the cheap option) as long as the springs are in ok condition I could technically use mine and the bent overload spring? I know there are better methods though as described.

My front springs are pretty flat too, not sure how much curve should be on these as standard?

cheers guys, great info/ replies as usual!

Generally front springs are okay until they start to bend the wrong way.