HELP - 93 leaf spring brackets rotted out

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
N9NEO
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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.

Reply to
Tom Lawrence

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.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

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

Reply to
N9NEO

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.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

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