Well I came to a decision based upon a lot of factors mainly that the Rocky Mountain parabolics were not working for me. So due to the Brexit vote and drop in the exchange rate for the British Pound I purchased a set of 11 leaf front springs form Craddocks.
These are part number 265627G. You can see in the picture below how they differ from the (used sparingly) RM para's.
Indeed the paras had lost much of their arch as witnessed by the tape measure; wish I had measured them when I bought them for a comparison.
One hot day I set about to make the swap. Jacking up the vehicle and supporting it by the bumper with a jackstand, I could use a floor jack and bottle jack to manipulate the axle and spring into place.
Tthe first one was hard with a learning curve that made the second one go much faster. Some 4 hours for the first and only 2 for the second, once I figured out that I needed to jack the axle up all the way and then jack the spring up into it then the centering pin would fit into the hole on the underside of the axle housing.
Terriblely hot day working in the sun and getting up and down and crawling in the gravel. It really wore me out. But I got it done.
They look a much better fit than the para's. Well, they should they are brand spanking %^&*%^&* new! After putting them on I drove the 109 about 20 feet back and forth to settle the springs in the bushes and then I torqued them down. The U bolts get 58ft-lb and the shackle pins got 70ft-lbs.
The next day I took it for a short ride and the ride wasn't much different from the para's. No fooking clunking though! Time will tell how it will all work out.
This is what I discovered about the RM para's; not made for a direct replacement of stock springs as they do not seem to be able to handle the same weights. Even Jeremy at RM will try to dissuade you if you tell him you are building a workhorse or expedition rig. RM's are fine for daily drivers and light loads. Just my personal experience.
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