I'm wondering how a set of 52" chevy springs would do on a toyota tacoma? I've got a d60 to swap & the typical springs used for the tacoma swap are fronts off the Jeep Wagoneer(Grand?) or Rancho 44044's. I believe they are in the 45-47" range & I've read that the 44044's don't flex well. I know it's popular to swap the rear chevy 52's to the front on your fullsize rigs to improve flex, but how do you guys think they'd flex/ride on the lighter, smaller toy? Also, about how much lift over stock height do they usually provide? Finally, what years/models of chevy were they commonly found? Thanks for your time.

They are found on 70's and 80's 1/2 and some 3/4 ton models all the way to IFS.

For you main questions... it all depends. For an ultra light toy they might be too stiff. But I don't know what you are doing with it or exactly how stiff you want it. If you are running a SBC they might be soft enough for you. Again with the lift... it will depend on how heavy you are and how you build your suspension mounts. On the typical chevy swap you get an honest 4" of lift and sometimes a little more from the stock 52's.

rcurrier44, thanks for your response. I'll still be running the 2.7L toyota motor, and i'd be making my own leaf spring mounts, but knowing that I can expect a 4" lift from stock is what I needed to know. Does the donor vehicle need to be two- or four-wheel drive? How many leaves in the pack...four? Did they switch to the 63" rears after the 52's? The truck will be daily driven and used for rocks.

4 or 2 is generaly the same. I have seen 4-7 leafs. For the most part the newer or 3/4 ton rigs will have more leafs. Yep they switched to 63's that you see used in the rear toyota leaf spring swaps. Not sure exactly when they switched...

thanks again.

strip them down to 2-3 leafs and you should be golden. there is no spicific vehicle to find them in but you will find different layer thicknesses and counts depending on what you got them from. i got mine from a blazer and not only had to add layers but a zero rate to get my lift back. and they had 4" more arch than the springs i replaced them with.


another good leaf is the 57" ford rears, very flexy in stock form.

My Waggy's seem to flex quite well....:eek: S10 with a 4.3/sm465/203/lomax205
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j200/redder22/frontyard012.jpg

thanks trkklr77. I don't know if I can go as long as 57's, but I am hoping to do something a little different than using the waggy springs or Rancho 44044's. Once I have a steering box and some time to tear the truck apart I'll measure things and see if it's feasible to go w/the 52's over the more common springs. I'll start looking around for some 52's and if I can't use them for the Taco SAS, I can always give them to my father-in-law to use on his '72 Blazer. Appreciate all the feedback.