Dodgy Leaf Spring Setup
13th September 2021 • 11:29AM
The springs on this truck are a weird combination of presumably what was to hand. I've been advised that half of them look like Mk5 springs, and the rest presumably came fitted to the Mk6. I've sourced a 2+1 Mk6 set to replace them, and I'll try it with one extra leaf, made from my spare master hanger.
This is the setup that came on the truck:
Towing eye tidy
23rd May 2022 • 11:08AM
In an effort to keep things progressing with limited spare time, I rushed a small job in a spare hour between work meetings. The towing eye was looking very rusty (like much of the truck but most is hidden away), I thought a return to it's factory Saffron Yellow might improve the look of the front end.
I whipped the front bumper off (2x10mm bolts under the arches and 4xT40 Torx bolts on the front, knot-wheeled it back with the grinder and treated with some rust converter, then quickly lashed on some red oxide and top coat.
The coats were far too thick, and ran, and then I inevitably caught it whilst trying to refit the front bumper before it had dried. The end result is pretty poor, and I'm annoyed with myself for not having taken more care with it.
Leaf Spring Pack Reassembly
25th May 2022 • 11:59AM
It's finally time to reassemble the leaf pack. I struggled to find a pair of M10 bolts with a small enough head to locate in the axle dimple hole. I wanted some method of holding it still whilst tightening, so tried these high tensile allen headed bolts from eBay. Unfortunately the head sat a bit proud, so I used the poor mans lathe to turn them down, a grinder with flap disc attached and the bolt spinning in a drill chuck.
I'm not sure on best method here, but I've opted to keep the refurbed spacer plates and use spray grease in between each of them and the leaves. This is my trial fit:
This is the final thing, 3+1 spring pack: