[neRok]

i reckon no body would know you didnt have MQ leaves in your car, if you went that way. same with the spring reversal.

never heard of a driveshaft spacer, as long as its balanced i reckon it would be okay. and as long as it doesnt effect the uni angle too bad. and its not like wheel spacers at all, they effect other things like extra load on wheel bearings and steering systems that manufactures havent engineered for. driveshaft spacer will effect nothing.

 

[neRok]

1: aim for a 2000+ model i reckon, they are probably all the same anyway.
2: your going to have to buy new brackets anyway, get whatever suits. look at some sites that sell hilux gear.
4: i would think you should use the stock hilux leaves, so they are as flat as possible, for best flex. if you get lifted leaves that are in a big U, not as much flex. so because they are pretty flat, i dont think you would get any extra lift out of the hilux leaves, however if you install with a dropped cross-member, that may add some height.

ive been doing some reading, shackles at the rear (on the front) makes the ride nicer as the springs can move better when they hit bumps etc. this has a negative effect though, as the car will dive a lot more when heavily braking, although this can be somewhat corrected with an adjustable shock absorber that can be set to hard on the road.

also, you will probably need to have you driveshaft moded. i think screwy mentioned that above. with shackle at front, when drooping the diff would move toward the gearbox, compressing the driveshaft. with shackle reversed (at rear) when drooping the diff will move forward, meaning your driveshaft might not have enough spline to extend.

 

[neRok]

when the modification laws become uniform across all states

yer that might end up being good news. over here they were trying to introduce some BS emission laws that rendered even 'stock standard' aftermarket replacement mufflers illegal. it got introduced without anyone knowing, then all these big motor associations went up in arms, it was temporarily withdrawn and now its been dismissed all together because all these big associations talked with the government and got a realistic and workable outcome (no law lol). hopefully the national vehicle mod laws will pan out in a similar fashion, with decent and practical laws that we can all access and follow easily. heres hoping

 

[neRok]

found a chart to help find suitable spring sizes: Ironman 4x4 Suspension - Leaf Spring Specifications
all the sizes include 40-50mm lifts, but at least its ballpark figures for comparison.

NISS003B is MQ front and NISS005B is MK front leafs. They are the same sizes though, 560f 550r 185/170c. 6 leaves.
NISS004B is common rear, 604f 838r 250/235c. 8 leaves.
FYI, my codes mean f for front half the spring, r for rear half the spring, c is what they call camber (basically they spring height).
I have listed 2 c values because they have 2 available, one drivers and passenger side, which is interesting to note the 15mm difference.

hilux from 97 to 05 are all listed with the same suspension parts. the rear leafs are models TOY027 A or B or C (heavier load carrying with more leaves). They are the same sizes though, 560f 740r 200c. The A model has dual stage leaves, 6+2.

so those hilux leaves are nearly 200mm longer to the rear and the same on the front, which is what Screwy was saying (the diff wont move if the front eye is located same position). They do have more camber than the stock MQ leaves though, which means they arent as flat are are more of a U. But the extra length should make them flex better.

suprisingly, the MQ rear leaf is one of the longest they make. only ones longer are TOY047, which also have a little more camber and are dual stage. these are the rear springs of 79 series.

edit- here is a link of some springs on american 4wds, for reference: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showpost.php?p=10232264&postcount=2
i presume they are stock height lengths though. Interesting to note that the MQ rear leafs on ironman website measure ~57 inches long, which is comparable to one of the longest on that chart.

 

[neRok]

so these new springs are only 50mm longer than the old ones? doesnt sound right to me.
edit- just realized thats because your meant to get 97+ springs, as i discussed above, to get the really long ones. those hilux leaves are probably no better than the MQ, only flexxing better because there is less leaves.

also, i doubt 'unladen' is full droop, because with the weight of the wheel and axle pulling down on the spring, im sure it would become even more of a U.

 

[neRok]

diggin this thread up because its happening soon.. i read on outer limits that this reversal mod is bad with spring under cars?? apparently its because you just dont have the room for the wheel to fully 'tuck' and so you have to use harder sprigs which will defeat the purpose??

i think your getting front and rear confused. in the rear, you can spin the leaves around to extend the wheelbase. in the front, you can do a shackle reversal, so the 'geometry' works as you mention. the front springs should stay in the same spot though, because the leaves havent moved. so i cant see there being any problems with tuck, its a pretty big wheel arch in there. some people get scrub on the little flat that covers the indicators, with a front shackle reversal the wheel should move away from this now.

 

[neRok]

did he report any issues? im curious how much of a problem the fuel tank becomes. also, is the pinion angle affected?

 

[neRok]

i found a lot of good reading on pirate4x4, which is a USA site with a lot of leaf sprung jeeps. heaps of info on there.

you're right about the MQ rear leaves being longer than the hilux IFS, in fact they were the longest spring in the ironman catalogue from what i remember. when you rig them up, you want the longer side of the leaf connected to the fixed mount, this will allow the diff to travel on a the greatest arc. you also want a nice long shackle, so the diff can really move along that arc, no point having super flexy leaves if they are limited by a tiny shackle. some jeepers connected their shackles through the chassis rails, some even above the chassis. this allows a really long shackle whilst keeping the vehicle low. for some people, huge lift is not a priority, especially if youve already SOA.

i dont think you will find anyone who has done this, but ive done a fair bit of reading on it so keep posting your thoughts and ill keep commenting!

 

[neRok]

this is true but i dont want to lose approach angle by moving the diff back.. ie. because the fixed point will be at the front the longest arc will be at the back hence the futher the diff is backwards the greater flex you will get from the set up. BUT i dont really wanna go changing diff position just yet because that means different drive shaft and stuff. i think approach angle is more important than 3cm of wheel travel.

yer thats some good points. you could always leave the shackles at the front!

 

[neRok]

sounds pretty good to me, though i doubt the rear needs a drop crossmember and the front would probably benefit with a crossmember. i would be replacing both stock mounts, i think it would be necessary anyway if keeping the diff inthe same position. the fixed rear mounts would be welded further toward the rear of the chassis, where from memory it actually gets lower, giving your vehicle a bit more lift! might need that front dropped crossmember to keep leaf 'level'. dont want to be mucking around with pinion angles.

 

[neRok]

the ends are changing as you mention, but have you taken into consideration the diff is in a different position along the leaf, ie in a different point around the arc?

SOA modders cut the knuckles off the end and re-weld them at a new angle. this allows for everything to be optimum i guess.

 

[neRok]

are you meaning the diff will move in a different way with the shackles at the other end?

nope, thats not what i was talking about but it is a good point, your driveshaft will compress as it hits little bumps in the road, not extend as current. though this is probably all very small amounts.

maybe whilst the car is sitting normal, grab a spare rear leaf and hold it up 'in position'. then we will know.

 

[neRok]

looks good. so can the spring flatten out completely and not bind up on the shackle hanger?