spring reversal

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.

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.

went out and got me some springs today. they're out of a 89 hilux surf. its a 2 stage (3+1) i took the second stage out and trial fitted the leaf pack. they are VERY soft.

just sitting there i lost 100mm of height (hub to guard) ONE HUNDRED MILLIMETERS!! and the angle of the axle perch is way off. having said that this was with the shackle at the front and when i send the shackle to the back it will correct it (according to my calcs)

i used about a 150mm shackle and still wasnt long enough so im going to have to move the rear chassis mount back a couple cm.

to gain a bit of static height and more droop i was thinking of sticking one of the leaves out of my 2in lifted EFS packs onto the bottom of the hilux pack to siffen/lift it a bit. what do you guys reckon?

i took some measurement of how the spring flattenned out under load. measurements are pin to pin.

unlaiden (full droop) - 1105mm
static (still car) - 1114
fully laiden (full tuck) - 1190

so the spring extends 85mm between full droop and full tuck.

this is compared to a static pin to pin length of the patrol spring of 1060mm.

i will attempt to make up a bit of height with a dropped crossmember too.

let me know what you guys reckon. i will start loading up some pics of the process too once i figure out photo bucket
cheers
Luke