Update...Got Springs installed no problems. Truck does excellent. No more bottoming out, no more tire rub on springs. I left the 2-1\2" lift that was in the truck out and only lost about 1-1\4" in height. Had a roar while driving since i had the truck and i thought it was the tires. Apparently must have been the cv joints because the roar is gone now that the truck is somewhat lower. Still can here the carlisle tires but much quitter than before. The 275# springs i feel are right for my situation and seem like they will work well. Ride is not harsh, just firm. Very happy with the upgrade.
Hi tcencore..... Thanks for the update! Is this the spring you installed and the place you purchased them from ? http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hal-10-275 Thanks!
Anyone know the cheapest place to get some coils? Or does anyone know if there are any air bag kits you can retro-fit to the existing struts?
Air bags? Now that's a thought. Never crossed my mind. There's got to be a air bag out there somewhere. How about it Mr. Nelson, I know this will get your thinking cap running.
Well I found coils for as cheap as $140 shipped for a pair in Canada. They're Eibach coils too, not some off brand ones.
that's not bad,I've got some good deals from Speedway on their garage sale items which are usually returns.The last springs I got were $29 ea.
It's less than $20 cheaper to buy from Speedway, but once they cross the border, it'll get taxed and dutied... so it well end up costing more.
Ordered from Amazon.ca... ended up being taxed.. $160.04 CAD total... and misread the shipping time... thought it said by June 3rd.. it said July 3rd... I thought Amazon was supposed to be so awesome... why 4 weeks just to pack and ship? Says they're direct from Eibach though... Oh well, it'll probably take me that long to remember to get/borrow a spring compressor anyways. It'll be nice having sexy red coils on my truck that don't bottom out when you look at them wrong!
Raised the truck considerably in the front, and it no longer hurts to drive over bumps! 2 5/8" coils would have been much better though, these 2 1/2" ones are a little snug, but work fine.
When I did mine it raised it about 2 1/2" and messed with the camber but after about 6 mos. it settled down some and the camber looks better.
I was getting a chatter wear pattern on the inner edge of the tires on the front... should be solved now. Also I bought a small U-Joint and stole the needle bearings to repair my inner CV joint on the passenger side. It had spit out all of the needle bearings into the CV boot... it no longer shakes when driving 80+ on the highway.
Hey guys, just checking in here b4 I call the local spring shop. Anyone been able to source some cheap springs? I've got a 94(?), maybe 95 mitz. Put a 54" ATV plow on with a 2k lb winch. Front end is near dragging on the ground lol. I've had a bottomming issue long b4 I put the plow on though and now I feel like I really need the springs. I don't care about fancy red powder coat, although bling is nice. Minitruck.CA lists the 250lb for 149, is this going to be enough/too much spring. I only weigh 130lbs so there's not much issue in that regard
I believe the springs you need come from AFCO, maybe AFFCO If you dig back into some old post there are some part #'s. The flavore are 225lbs 250lbs 257lbs Stocks of springs are 175 I think.
Hello As seen from my profile picture I carry 1200 lbs load,water, dogs and me. I put on 300# coils from speedway for less than $100. Tony
I put on 250 and find them a bit ruff. i am thinking of putting coil over sleeve kit on the struts so i can reduce the preload on the springs.
Reading the forums on MiniTruck talk is how I decided the way for me to go, each application is different. I used 10" 225lb QA1's from Summit Racing $55 each. These springs gave a full 2" lift, running 6-12 R1 tractor tires, Nanco up front and Carlisle in the back. Couldn't get the 6.00-12 tractor tires to fit the wheel well up front. 6-12's are about 23" and the 6.00-12's are about 24" With the front end off the ground and spinning each tire, no noticeable noise from the CV joints, hope we are good to go, just need to get some mud flaps all the way around. These springs are on 2002 Mitsubishi dump truck, no bumper up front. We use it on a tree farm, hauling whatever won't fit / work well in a Kawasaki Mule. With the 225's on and only one person in the cab we get the passenger shock topping out and occasionally the driver side. Without the new springs, you could barely drive it around on the trails without the shocks bottoming out. Planning to see how many trees it takes in the bed to get the cab loaded up to keep the shocks from topping out before I cut any coils off the springs.
I have put about half a cord on my hijet. Doesn't slower it much and squats the back more then the front. The front end gets some weight as it doesn't top out the struts and make the front end light.
In case anyone is interested, springs from a pre 2000 Honda civic are pretty close. I used a front set from a 1998 acura el, (basically a civic si, or, for you americans, I think it's an EX)Slightly bigger than the stock springs, like maybe 3" inside, but they will sit in the cups. Started out cutting the spring to the same height as stock, basically cut the progressive windings out. Topping out badly, even with the plow mounted. Today, I cut another half coil. Just got back from a drive and it's perfect. I live on a very rough road and it didn't top out once. I don't think you could bottom out, even on the roughest terrain. Once spring comes and I take the plow off, I will determine if I should cut another 1/4 coil, but for now I'm totally happy. For anybody contemplating this, even with the springs you buy, I will say, it is a very easy job but it is very easy to misalign the bearing on the mount, even using spring compressors. There are two shallow posts on the bottom of the bearing that sit into holes in the bottom plate. Just watch very closely, as long as you R careful, it goes together easily, but if you are not compressed just perfectly, they tend to want to angle out of the holes. Edited to mention this is a 1995 Mits u42t
do you have some pictures of the ag tires on your mini? i have been looking for options to put on my hijet for in my wood lot.
You can see how these ag tires fit here. I really wish that I could have gotten the Carlisle 6-12 tires to fit up front without body work. The Carlisle really do a great job in the mud, they do leave a rut even with 25lbs and no load in the back. Need to try them out with 15 to see if they will spread out and float a little bit better. Rear tires: Front tires: Front tires showing clearance:
I ordered a pair of Afco 250# for my 1990 Hijet S83P yesterday. Thanks for all the posts about installation and impressions after installation.
I installed the springs on my truck this past Saturday. I couldn't get everything to line up when using the weight of the truck to compress the springs, so I resorted to using three straps to compress the spring. That worked great. I did not measure the ride height before I started, but the post installation lift is very noticeable. I really appreciate all the information in this post and others on the subject of springs. I had been considering a lift kit before reading this. I'm very pleased that I replaced the springs instead of going with a lift kit. The next project my Daihatsu will be replacing the street tires with All Trails on the stock rims. There is plenty of tread left on the street tires, and it does really well in the mud with four wheel drive turned on. I only use the Hijet around the property and not on the street, so I'll probably wait on the tires until after I get a couple other projects completed.
Just installed my 250# springs today. The first one took about an hour and a half with most of the time making modifications to my spring compressor. The other one took about 20 min. I already had 2 3/4" spacers with the stock springs and decided to leave them out. I lost 1" in lift when done. While I had it torn apart I went ahead and installed new rotors and pads on the front. Be for I could not ride two people in the cab. It would bottom out on every little bump. It drives and rides great now. Can't get it to bottom out. Having breaks is pretty cool too. Won't be able to keep the wife out of it now.
