Beefier springs on 2A tray

[Craigb]

I have a 2A traytop that among other things I slide a 800l fire unit on the back in summer. It does sit down a bit and seems a bit unstable. How much were these utes designed to carry? It doesn't travel far like this but would be nice if it felt a little more stable. Are springs from say a S3 bigger, are aftermarket sets common, Do I just go to a spring place with them and have them reset? Any advice or experience greatly appreciated.

[korg20000bc]

There's a set of heavy duty springs on eBay right now.
Should be just what you're looking for.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/260907746138

[isuzurover]

There's a set of heavy duty springs on eBay right now.
Should be just what you're looking for.
Landrover Series 2 - 3 Heavy Duty Rear Springs | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/260907746138)

They are the "station wagon" springs. They are the LIGHTEST / SOFTEST LWB springs, at only 270 lb/in - but they are great if you want articulation offroad!

Craig, you would be best off getting a set of series 3 ex military springs, which are 480 lb/in from memory.

Series LWBs are only rated to 3/4 of an imperial Ton ~ 760 kg payload (One tonne models excluded - which are rated to the full Ton). However I have carried up to 1.2 Tonnes in my IIA on rare occasions.

[korg20000bc]

Ok.
Well I frigged up then didn't I?

[Craigb]

Thank you regardless. Great info that it should be able to carry the load, even if I left 40l of water out! But if like our work landcruiser, the legal weight to a point can be acheived with bigger springs. So the army ones sound the go. Any suggestions for a source of those? I guess I should put a wanted add on here.

[isuzurover]

Thank you regardless. Great info that it should be able to carry the load, even if I left 40l of water out! But if like our work landcruiser, the legal weight to a point can be acheived with bigger springs. So the army ones sound the go. Any suggestions for a source of those? I guess I should put a wanted add on here.

You could try asking the REMLR guys nicely (scroll down in the forum list). The springs you are looking for have 9 leaves that are 7.1 mm thick.

[pfillery]

I actually have a full set of these in fantastic condition from a series 3 ex army troop carrier. Fronts and rears with only minimal surface rust, no broken/warped leaves, even good bushes still there plus the extended shackles. I was planning fitting them to my S3 109" hardtop but am worried they might be too heavy for it - I don't carry a load very often. I would consider selling these but i'm in Qld and you aren't so the freight may be an issue as they are heavy. Not sure what they are worth either - the last set of standard springs I had and sold that were in ok condition went for $250 on ebay, rears were raised and fronts were standard and rusty, I think a set of ex mil ones with shackles sold for closer to $500 on there not long before that. I need to try and get a good set of S3 standard 109" hardtop springs to replace the dead ones on mine as they keep chewing out the bushes.

[Craigb]

Thanks guys, busy time at work and hard to find time to look on here. So there are 10 leaves in those ebay ones but i am guessing they are not 7.1mm thick. And thanks for the REMLR hint, could be someone local.
And Pfillery, why is the car or bits you want always on the other side of town or the country!! I will investigate the freight, there are online ways to quote but could you have a stab and dimensions and weight. Maybe you could pick one up and stand on the bathroom scales (and hopefully you are not a really big guy that combined with the spring would put it off the scale! I am wrecking an S3 station wagon but of course the old freight thing will come in. I will check mine out for condition, regardless I wouldn't be looking for much and yours obviously worth more but maybe you could think about a changeover price too? But then thinking out loud you are probably better off looking for something local first. But if you can think about weight and size I will try and get a handle on freight.

[isuzurover]

So there are 10 leaves in those ebay ones but i am guessing they are not 7.1mm thick.

Those springs have 8 leaves ~4-5mm thick and 2 thick leaves. Overall 270 lb/in rate.

8x7.1 mm (army IIA 109" and most civvie 109") will give you ~400 lb/in.

9x 7.1 mm (army SIII 109") will give you ~480 lb/in.

The latter 2 types are single stage, not dual stage like the station wagon springs.

I have also seen heavier springs again ~10-11x7.1 mm on fire tenders.

[pfillery]

Always the way Craigb. Never where you want it to be.:mad::mad::mad:

I ran some numbers with my courier that I regularly use (Ego) who is cheaper than anyone I've come across, even aussie post, and based on a very much approximated weight of 150kg on a small pallet, they quote it at $101 BNE to ADL. That should give you an idea anyway. not cheap but not too bad in the scheme of things.

The main reason I grabbed this set is that they were there (what other reason do you need) and that I thought they might be good to go on my S3 109" but I have been told they will result in a harsher ride which isn't really an issue but I would be worried about additional strain on the chassis and other parts. I don't really do offroad but my springs are spreading and the retaining clips are all loose and rattle when you drive. The fronts are ok but I'd probably do them at the same time.

I thought about getting mine redone but someone has cut ever so slightly into the eye of the spring removing a bush at some stage - probably won't be a problem but you never know. If I could get a set hot reset to suit that would be ideal. It was suggested having a couple of leaves removed from the ex mil set but it would be a pity to modify them.


Thanks guys, busy time at work and hard to find time to look on here. So there are 10 leaves in those ebay ones but i am guessing they are not 7.1mm thick. And thanks for the REMLR hint, could be someone local.
And Pfillery, why is the car or bits you want always on the other side of town or the country!! I will investigate the freight, there are online ways to quote but could you have a stab and dimensions and weight. Maybe you could pick one up and stand on the bathroom scales (and hopefully you are not a really big guy that combined with the spring would put it off the scale! I am wrecking an S3 station wagon but of course the old freight thing will come in. I will check mine out for condition, regardless I wouldn't be looking for much and yours obviously worth more but maybe you could think about a changeover price too? But then thinking out loud you are probably better off looking for something local first. But if you can think about weight and size I will try and get a handle on freight.

[Craigb]

and of course there is that set on ebay that is at $100 and 18 hours to go could be your answer. I will get under my S3 tomorrow and do some counting and measuring. Definitely interested in yours but will have a bit more of a think. Thank you

[Craigb]

Finally on leave and able to think clearly for a change on non-work stuff! I just put a post on the REMLR bit in case someone local has a set of military springs but wont hold my breath on that. Also I rang the local spring works here and they suggested they could insert 2 heavy leaves and new u bolts for about $400. So I am still confused what to do! If the spring works put new leaves in then i guess they can measure the spring after and make sure it is up to scratch. And no doubt there would be some obligation for them to make sure the spring does what they say it will. But that is just rears - how important do people thing the fronts are?

And I wouldn't know if I saw a secondhand spring that if i bolted it up the car wouldn't sit down anyway once compressed, but pfillery you sound like you know what you are talking about and yours sound good - did you see them on the old car or drive it, or alternatively trust the guy you bought them off? You can see where I am coming from, always a risk to transport secondhand stuff, bolt it up and then still have a prob, not that i have any reason to mistrust and no offence intended, just have this memory of helping a mate fit a replacement rotary engine to his car only to find it was also stuffed years ago!!

And it all sounds like similar money out of my pocket and is it better to support another enthusiast and along the way get him closer to where he wants his car to be......... sorry for all the thinking out loud here!

Maybe next step i should look under my car to be wrecked and see what those wagon springs look like in case you can use them pfillery and if bushes etc are good, also have you had any thoughts on what price you would be comfortable with - putting myself where you are you would need to think what it will cost you too to get your car right.

[pfillery]

Hey Craig.

Unfortunately never saw them on the vehicle but it was a case of they were there and they were cheap so I grabbed them. Given the appearance and condition of them with minimal rust apart from surface, and the fact that they seem to sit similarly when laid on a flat surface, with no spreading leaves (of course this is without load) they seem good to the point where I'd be confident trying them in my series. I wrecked a series 3 which had a set of the same springs on it with the military shackles but they were a lot worse than these, still behaved very well on the vehicle, from memory the set of good rears with worse (questionable) fronts sold at about $250 when put up on ebay, the buyer was local though so no freight was needed. To be honest, the guy I got these from gave me a heap of ex mil parts for nothing (tac plates, black out lights and panels, FFR antenna mounts, dashes, tool mounts etc) and then sold me the springs. I was confident that they would be in good condition but I guess in saying that they were cheap enough. All he knew about them was that their origin was from a S3 troop carrier. He wanted to fit them to a S2 civillian ute that had sagged springs. I know that you can't easilly fit ex mil shackles to a civi chassis either. The main reason they are still on there is so I can easilly identify the left and right side springs.

As for what I want for them I hadn't really given it a lot of thought. I know to get a standard set of springs cold reset (not the best method) is about $250, no idea of hot resetting cost which is supposedly better, but I would want to have any replacement set that I wasn't sure about reset before fitting them.