When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
...
Here are the rear springs, not sure how saggy they are. Re-arching is too expensive so my options appear to be to add another leaf from other springs. Will adding the main leaf from another Blazer pack give me an inch? Or should I try Chevy 63's? Or is it just trial and error at this point?
Are those your original springs or from a donor ZR2?
To me it looks like your main leafs are slightly bowed beyond the last leaf in the pack. The arch definitely flattens out past the last supporting leaf in the pack. Not as bad as many I've seen, but still there.
What are your goals with the suspension? Are you looking for more height? A stiffer ride?
If it were me and I had a set of spare leafs sitting around that could be sacrificed, I'd cut the eyes off and make a full-length 2nd leaf for pack to give it support over the whole length, and I'd probably take out the short add-a-leaf at the same time. Or if you prefer, experiment with one, the other, and then both to see which suits you the best. I suspect having both a long add-a-leaf as well as a short will make the ride very stiff.
On my 4 door Blazer, adding a long add-a-leaf gave me about 1.75" inches in height after settling, and made the ride much more truck-like. My Blazer was equipped with the premium smooth ride (great for driving grandma to church, but too soft for my tastes). Kind of a Cadillac vs Camaro ride difference. The add-a-leaf stiffened the ride and made it much more stable and pleasant to drive. It did not make it bouncy or rough over bumps. Just less roll in corners, and more predictable on rough roads and terrain.
To me it looks like your main leafs are slightly bowed beyond the last leaf in the pack. The arch definitely flattens out past the last supporting leaf in the pack. Not as bad as many I've seen, but still there.
What are your goals with the suspension? Are you looking for more height? A stiffer ride?
If it were me and I had a set of spare leafs sitting around that could be sacrificed, I'd cut the eyes off and make a full-length 2nd leaf for pack to give it support over the whole length, and I'd probably take out the short add-a-leaf at the same time. Or if you prefer, experiment with one, the other, and then both to see which suits you the best. I suspect having both a long add-a-leaf as well as a short will make the ride very stiff.
On my 4 door Blazer, adding a long add-a-leaf gave me about 1.75" inches in height after settling, and made the ride much more truck-like. My Blazer was equipped with the premium smooth ride (great for driving grandma to church, but too soft for my tastes). Kind of a Cadillac vs Camaro ride difference. The add-a-leaf stiffened the ride and made it much more stable and pleasant to drive. It did not make it bouncy or rough over bumps. Just less roll in corners, and more predictable on rough roads and terrain.
Thank you, good answer. I was leaning towards adding a new main leaf and removing the add-a-leaf as it's cheap and easy so this is good confirmation. Need another inch to even out the ride height front and back. The ride currently with the add-a-leaf is not bad but I wouldn't complain if it was a bit stiffer.
Latest minor update... added steering wheel radio controls. Have an Alpine IL-W650 newly installed so removed that for the factory unit. Installed the switches and plugged into the factory wiring under the steering column. Already even had fuses in the right spots. Nice to have something plug and play. Next step is to install an ASCW-1 interface to see if the buttons will control the Alpine.
Cut out a cargo mat. Don't really like the material but it was cheap enough to do now and keep watch for something better.
Also found some rear springs from a ZR2 that were mix and matched in the past. One of the eyes is broken so that one will go under my main leaf and I'll figure out the rest until the height is right.
