Information required asap - LWB spring mounts

[ashthelast]

Hello,

This is a question only a fellow LWB Land Rover owner could know -

Replacing the rear 1/4 chassis on my LWB and would like to check the distance between the centres of the spring mounting bolts on the chassis?

I of course forgot to measure this before cutting

[disco2hse]

Is what you are looking for on p76-1 of the V8 Supplement? Measurement Y; 1149.5mm.

[ashthelast]

Yes it is, great thank you! 45.25 inches

[disco2hse]

Might be a good opportunity to have your springs reset while they're off.

[ashthelast]

I have some fresh parabolics going on, shocks and everything else you can imagine. Looked at refurbing the old set, so took one to bits and two leaves were snapped and seriously rusty

[disco2hse]

Be interesting to see how you like the parabolics. Quite a few have preferred the standard cart springs, but they are not easy to buy NOS.

[ashthelast]

Well the thing is I have never driven this Land Rover or anything else with 4 leaf springs on the road before. Driven a series 2 in the South African bush but that is it. I'm wanting a go of a standard 109 before getting this on the road so I can feel the difference of the V8 and if mine is riding okay.

[disco2hse]

OK. The main issues people report are that the parabolics are too bouncy and offer quite a hard ride if you use synthetic bushes rather than rubber (which most do).

[map1275]

So you don't know what the original suspension is capable of but you've decided to change it anyway?

[firemanshort]

Look up at his post on Dec 4 - his old springs were broke. Para's are similar if not cheaper option to factory leaf set ups, as well. (... at least here in the USA they are - not sure about in OZ, NZ, or UK)

[map1275]

Your local spring place will make replacement leaves from generic stock metal as part of resetting - as was already suggested. This is generally cheap anywhere. Otherwise I'm just asking a general question to the logic of buying parabolics, as I haven't seen any parabolic supplier that provides any actual comparison data with factory springs. Just vague allusions to what marque of vehicle they might fit and how much better they will be.

[ashthelast]

IMG_0632.JPG (192.74 KiB) Viewed 9688 times

I'm always one for keeping original. As far as replacing the leaves that is a fair point but they were all severely pitted with rust after I separated them and wire brushed down with the angle grinder. Replacement seemed the best bet and I managed to get some NOS parabolics for £50. Otherwise I would have bought new standard springs.

[map1275]

Well you can't beat the price and at that rate they're cheap enough to replace later if the ride isn't what you want.

[Alicerover]

When I rebuilt Alice, I did quite a bit of digging around on springs, which is a much debated topic!
I decided to go down the parabolic route, using the setup from Rocky Mountain, which has given me quite a nice and suprisingly compliant ride, which improves when there is weight in the back. Yes the ride can get a bit bouncy on a rough road taken at speed, but on the whole I have been impressed with the setup. The Lightweight that I also run is on parabolic's from another company, and the ride is not so good (I know its a different vehicle, but even loaded the ride is very firm)
One issue that I am currently having is that I am having to tighten up the U bolts every few hundred miles and check the shackle bolts as they all seem to 'work' loose. The added ride height can also be a issue for some.
Just my thoughts

[disco2hse]

I haven't heard about those problems before (the bolts coming loose).

I assume you are torquing them correctly, so the next thing will be to put Loctite on the threads.