#forge leaf spring

There's a few different ways to raise the height of the rear of a truck. One of the most cost effective and efficient ways is to add a leaf to the existing leaf springs which serves a couple of purposes. First is to increase the ride height and the other is to increase your spring capacity giving you the capability to haul and tow more weight without the rear end sagging.

Before the instructions you should know there are 2 different styles of add a leaf out there which are long and short. The long add a leaf which will typically be your new 2nd or 3rd leaf; the short add a leaf will be the 2nd one from the bottom directly above the overload spring (fat bottom spring). My next article I'll get into the differences between the two styles; however, I will tell you the long add a leaf is a much better product and you should install this in your vehicle over the short ones.

One more note is to find the long add a leaf with the tip inserts in the end because nothing is more annoying than doing this work and having an irritating squeak every time you go over a bump. So, without further ado here are instructions for a long add a leaf and remember all vehicles are set up differently so these are typical but variances are possible.

1. Raise the rear of vehicle with a floor jack on the axle to your desired height and then place jack stands under the frame. Lower jack stand until the frame is supported by the jack stands. Removing tires is optional during this process. Some people think it's easier but to me personally it just adds more time to the process.

2. With the axle still supported with a floor jack remove the U bolts and lower shock bolt.

3. Lower the floor jack so the axle separates from the leaf springs by a couple of inches which will take the load off the leaf springs and give you room to put in the new center bolt.

4. Being this is instructions for the long add a leaf you'll need to bend out your factory clips so you can insert your new leaf in. So with channel locks, pliers or pipe wrench bend out the factory clips. Note - a lot of add a leaf kits will come with replacement clips so use these if yours will not fit another leaf. If this is the case your old clips must be removed by drilling, grinder or torch.

5. Remove the center bolt from the leaf springs. You may want to put on a c clamp or vice grips so the springs won't "explode" when the center bolt is removed.

6. As you probably figured out by now the main leaf will still be hanging in the truck so remove the rest of the springs and stack them up with the new center bolt. The leaf springs will stay in a staggered formation so the longest leaf at the top and shorter as they go down so insert your add a leaf accordingly.

7. Reinsert the leaves back into the truck and tighten the center bolt.

8. Raise the axle up with floor jack until the axle is contacting the leaf springs. Very important is to "center" the truck meaning the rounded head of the center bolt will go into the hole in the spring perch welded to the axle. You will probably have to move your axle forward, back, in or out just make sure you get the truck centered so you're not dog tracking down the road.

9. Once the truck is centered either put on new u bolts or reuse your old ones depending on your situation. Reinstall your lower shock bolt and tighten all u bolts and shock bolts.

10. Bend your clips back into place or replace with clips from the add a leaf kit you purchased.

11. Raise the axle with floor jack until the frame jack stands can be removed and then lower the floor jack down and you're done.