Rear leaf springs (Alcan)

[jwgreen]

Ok everyone I have a set of Rear Leaf Springs made by Alcan that are too short for my Patrol. It seems that these will fit some Patrols just not mine. So if you are in need of some Rear Leafs and your Center of Eye to Center of Eye measures 46 3/4" then these are the springs for you!! Never used, only fitted. Bill at Alcan, tells me these are the ones he builds for stock Patrols and they should fit but not my Patrol for some reason. Before you buy these please make absolutely sure that the measurements are correct for your Patrol. Attached is a picture of all the measurements for the set that I have that will not fit my Patrol. These also have about a 3" lift build into them.

LeafSpring (2).PNG

[mad4hws]

Hi Justin,
I am interested, but not sure if they will fit on the Minion. I am also not sure about a 3" lift. I read somewhere (on the internet, so it must be true....) that in order to keep the geometry right, 2" is about the max. What does a 3" lift do to the drivelines and steering linkage? I'm assuming that the front sprints worked out fine? If so, I'd need to order an identical set from Alcan. Mine is also a MWB, so I don't know if it will work. I guess I can take some measurements to see. I think once i take the metal roof off and replace with the softtop from Raul that the weight differential will be pretty close to yours (is yours going to have a hard top?).

don.

[jwgreen]

Hi Justin,
I am interested, but not sure if they will fit on the Minion. I am also not sure about a 3" lift. I read somewhere (on the internet, so it must be true....) that in order to keep the geometry right, 2" is about the max. What does a 3" lift do to the drivelines and steering linkage? I'm assuming that the front sprints worked out fine? If so, I'd need to order an identical set from Alcan. Mine is also a MWB, so I don't know if it will work. I guess I can take some measurements to see. I think once i take the metal roof off and replace with the softtop from Raul that the weight differential will be pretty close to yours (is yours going to have a hard top?).

don.

Don,
Yes my patrol is a hard top. As far as geometry goes these rear ones should work out just fine. My fronts seem to fit fine only thing I haven't done yet is put the front drive shaft in. If I recall correctly the front drive shaft was the biggest concern when putting more than a 2" lift on because the drive shaft will hit the crossmember. As for the difference in SWB/MWB I cannot say as Ive never seen a MWB in real life. Do some measurements and let me know.

[RiverPatrol]

The reasoning with the height of the lift - not going more than 2" - is because the shackles will invert with lift more than 2". I was told this by the owner of Robinson's springs, and a member here, Driven I think, has confirmed this by experience.

[Driven]

Wow, you have a very impressive memory!

You are correct Leslie I did experience shackle inversion with my Alcan springs due to the height of the lift. I have since corrected the problem but it isn't a simple fix. The first thing I did was remove two leaves from the rear and one from the front. this corrected the shackle angles in front but only made a slight improvement in the rear and as a bonus it improved the ride. I ended up relocating the fixed spring perch 1 1/2" to the rear, not too hard but does require a welder and patience (the welding is easy its the patience part that I struggle with). My shackle angles are much better and no longer invert.

Like JWGREEN said the front drive shaft is also an issue it will bind with 3" of lift but some careful die grinding eliminates the bind. You will also need to notch the crossmember. I am certain that the increased angles will affect the life of the u-joints both front and rear, how much remains to be seen as I have only put about 240 miles on mine since the lift.

[Kdiv_n_tx]

I had Bill at Alcan make a set for my 1970 MWB in November '16 and once installed, the fitment was correct but the ride was terrible. Working with my local shop, I ended up removing 2 leaves from each pack and going with a longer shackle in back to restore stance. I will take and post measurements and pictures tonight for all. Now I am very happy with the ride however I do have only 3 inches of clearance on my uncut rear wheel wells. My current set up does have the tires sticking further than I would like outside -- a custom set of wheels is in my future to adjust backspacing to get the tires inside the wheel well.

FWIW, I did call Bill in January and he insisted that my springs were made to the recipe in his book and the issues I had were all on me. YMMV.

[jwgreen]

FWIW, I did call Bill in January and he insisted that my springs were made to the recipe in his book and the issues I had were all on me. YMMV.

Yeah I talked to Bill a couple times as well. He swears that my Patrol is different than all other Patrols and that his "recipe" is 100% correct. I did send him excerpts of the Patrol manuals that show his measurements seem incorrect. He did say that he had a couple people say that they were too short finally. He is remaking me a rear set but at basically my cost. He did discount them but not very much really. So my suggestion to anyone thinking of using Alcan is to make your own measurements to send to him don't just get his standard set.

[mad4hws]

Good to know Justin.

I think I'm going to hold off on springs for now. Too much else on the build pile to get through. I also want to carefully consider the amount of lift, if any... Anxious to see how the replacement set turns out. How close are you to putting yours all back together?

[jwgreen]

Good to know Justin.

I think I'm going to hold off on springs for now. Too much else on the build pile to get through. I also want to carefully consider the amount of lift, if any... Anxious to see how the replacement set turns out. How close are you to putting yours all back together?

Well I'm still waiting for him to make them and for them to arrive. Hopefully they show up while I'm at work so I can put them on when I get back home around the first of the month.

[Kdiv_n_tx]

I had Bill at Alcan make a set for my 1970 MWB in November '16 and once installed, the fitment was correct but the ride was terrible. Working with my local shop, I ended up removing 2 leaves from each pack and going with a longer shackle in back to restore stance. I will take and post measurements and pictures tonight for all. Now I am very happy with the ride however I do have only 3 inches of clearance on my uncut rear wheel wells. My current set up does have the tires sticking further than I would like outside -- a custom set of wheels is in my future to adjust backspacing to get the tires inside the wheel well.

FWIW, I did call Bill in January and he insisted that my springs were made to the recipe in his book and the issues I had were all on me. YMMV.

Finally crawled under Oso last night and measured the eye to eye distance for my new rear Alcan leaf springs and it was right at 49 inches on my MWB.