Adding an extra leaf?
suggestions?
Ive got a 08 Mazda bt50 3ltr turbodiesel 4x4 freestyle cab chassis.
Had it for around 6months 15thou on the clock. It a great light truck, but it seemed to struggle taking on weight.
Payload is rated at 1t. id say 90% of the time id have around 450/500kgs in the back. Which obviously makes the arse sag, driving at night, head lights were in the trees. So my solution was to bag it, which worked a treat. I could raise/lower to suit.
Around a week ago the rear leafs developed a really bad squeak. took in in under warranty, and was told basically that i need to take the airbags out immediately, due to a fair risk of snapping the chassis rails, from increasing/moving the stress points on the rails (they supplied photos of snapped chassis rails from bt50/rangers fitted with airbags, from mazda australia). So i spent a few hours removing them, otherwise they wouldn't fix the squeak, because ive modified the suspension. (btw this dealership, and Mazda in general have been great and happy to help).
As i thought would be the case, the airbags had nothing to do with the squeaking. I pulled the shackles apart and greased them up, but didnt really help either.
So there solution is to take the Ute to a weigh bridge, with what my average load is, weigh it, and take some clearance measurements etc.
Then reset the leafs and also add an extra leaf on each side, plus fix the noise issues.
My question is will it ride like a pig when there isnt any weight in the rear? like when i go 4x4 i take all tools out, with no weight, isnt it going to bounce all over the shop? Usually i just let the air out of the bags.
im temped to just get the squeak fixed, throw the bags back in, void all warranty on suspension components and just use common sense when loading up.
has anyone got any other comments, or suggestions on what to do?
cheers.
My old man has an xr8 ute with extra leafs in the back and not loaded its not too bad mainly just has a bit of a thud over big speedbumps and what not. Im not sure about 4wding tho
Chuck Norris destroyed the periodic table, because he only recognizes the element of surprise
go
just keep the bags in, if it goes wrong and your chassis bends/cracks, take the bags out before taking it into mazda, simple
mmmm beer....
make something that goes to about the std leaf mounts and connect the airbags to that, you spread the load back to the designed points and it won t be a drama. Just make it bolt in and out that way your not modifying your chassis.
The Only 6sp VZ Wagon
all the rangers we get at work that we fit bodies or water tanks and spray units to etc, (including our work ute) have all had the the springs removed and sent to a spring place in Wollongong that recondition them, add 2-3 leafs and stiffen them, work a treat, i can find out the name of the place if you like,
all the rangers/bt-50 have piss weak leaf and sag after a couple of weeks with a bit of weight on them,
naf, dealerships arnt stupid, they have allready got service bulletins about bags cracking chassis, if it happens to his, and take em back in, they are just going to say nup.. witness marks and cracking as per the pic is more than enough to reject a claim
EASTERN CREEK JCNSW 2009
Originally Posted by Commydoor
the holden mechanic
a mob called "load plus" make a helper spring that bolts onto the top leaf and stiffens it up alot.
places liek repco and motor traders sell them
The Only 6sp VZ Wagon
they work allright, but they can throw shackes and crack in half(rare but ive seen it a couple of times in a few years, for what his after id 100% recommend the method that i wrote before
EASTERN CREEK JCNSW 2009
Not a Mod
the load plus are made by iron man here in melbourne. they are on westall road clayton.
i installed them on my old mans van several years ago. they worked well and never got a problem.
in my toyota insted of adding a leaf i took the springs out and got them rolled so that the helper springs are touching the other springs. carries weight really well its a bit rougher and takes me everywhere i want to go.
go
thats funny, im yet to find one that isnt stupid
looks like ill get them reset and extra leafs added like andyman suggested. i doubt mazda would foot the bill for a helper spring set up, and i dont really want to spend any more money on the suspension myself. airbags already cost $600, only a few months old, now they'll be dust collectors in the shed.
anyway goodbye kidneys.
The Only 6sp VZ Wagon
is that coming from a customer perspective i take it, wait till you get to know the internal workings of a company like that which components come from outside business which require oodles of paperwork, testing and most of all permission from holden and the supplier to claim as warrenty
on top of that if a car has a cracked chassis under warrenty it would almost deem the car unroadworth and written off so mazda would need to provide a replacement vehicle
EASTERN CREEK JCNSW 2009
Posting Permissions
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote