I picked up a load of wood the other day in my '91 that was definitely less than 1000 lbs-its hard to estimate but I'd guess maybe 600 or 700? Possibly less. My springs looked like they had gone almost flat from eye to eye. I found the Hellwig helpers at Summit racing and they're cheap enough, but how much will they help? I'm not concerned about the ride since this truck is not going to be much of a DD. Am I better off putting some kind of new spring on? I'd like to do the ZUK mod but have no access to a welder unfortunately.

 

You can do the weldless ZUK mod. It's on his website. If you're not off-roading, it should fit the bill just fine.

 

Does the ZUK mod increase the amount of weight you can carry (like a helper spring would) or does it just cure sagging springs/give some lift? My truck sits with a slight rake so the rear springs don't really seem to be sagging, but the rear droops pretty dramatically when I load up the bed. Would the ZUK mod help with this? I also noticed that another member here has in his signature that he did both the ZUK mod and helper springs. Both are easy, so I might just do both anyway. Does anyone know the weight rating of the rear axle in the '91s?

 

Adding another spring (Zuk) will stiffen your ride and increase the amount of weight that you can carry without the rear end sagging. The Zuk does not necessarily change your ride height but it can. The ride height change depends on the length and spring rate of the coil springs that are added.

 

I second that. I have taken my Zuk modded p/u through some pretty rough stuff with no issues at all. I carry my detailing equipment (300-400 lbs.) every day and occasionally 600-700 lbs. of wood. Best mod ever. I wish I had done it before I had three yards of gravel dumped in the back and broke one of my leaf springs.

 

Sounds like maybe I should do the ZUK first and see how it goes-if I need more carrying capacity I'll go with helpers too. It sounds like the ZUK might help keep the truck level when towing too.

 

I've read through all of the threads by ZUK, Philbert, and others on the ZUK mod and I'm definitely doing it-not because my pickup is sagging really, but because I'll be using it carry heavy loads and tow a trailer with a decent tongue weight. The biggest tires I'll ever be putting on the truck will be 31s because I don't want to lose anymore of my gearing than I need to. Given that, the truck would look kind of silly if the rearend was lifted more than an inch or so. I might crank the torsion bars a little in the front once the 31s are on depending on how it looks. I want to be able to stick with stock length brake lines and shocks too. In searching I found that T_F_E used 12x125 coils and he's also running 31s. Is that the way to go in this case?

 

Hi I think you need to look at adding 1 1/2 add a leaf springs from a '06 2500 chevrolet HD. Thats what i have on my '92 extended cab. My truck weighs 5500 pounds and the rear bumper alone weighs 300 pounds. The truck is perfectly level and rides like there is no weight on the rear. i tried Hellwig helper springs and it did nothing. If you keep a lot of weight in your truck this is the route i would choose.

 

I put in an AAL that had been used in another truck. My ride is a bit firmer now, and lifted the truck an inch overall. However, i did load it down with two dirtbikes and a whole bunch of camping gear netting close to 800 lb's and didnt notice any sag