1978 K20 such a stiff ride my spine is getting tweaked

[78K204wd]

Hi my new to me 78 K20 has 6 leaf springs on the rear (5+1), can i simply remove two of the leafs for a softer ride?  Or are my leafs no good anymore and that's why my fillings almost come out when I go over a little bump in the road?

[ChevyJoe]

How are the shocks?

[audrima]

Personally, I would swap in nice new shocks and maybe add in some air bag type things lol ( you air bag leveler or add aload I think)  I would not mess with the springs unless there bad. well unless you don't want 3/4 ton springs anymore.


mariah

[zieg85]

I have a similar situation.  2 trucks, haven't counted the leaf springs but my 1985 C20 (8600 GVW) rides really nice for a truck, has the original shocks.  My 1985 C30 (9000 GVW) rides as you describe, has original shocks as well. 

[bake74]

     You should also investigate if your spring bushings are frozen, hard as a rock and not allowing the springs to move as intended.  The shocks could be adding to the problem, but you should look at everything and see what moves and what doesn't before just replacing a whole bunch of stuff.

[rich weyand]

If you don't need the 3/4-ton capacity, I can recommend the Tuff Country EZ-Ride setup.  The issue with the ride on all the K trucks is that the front springs are negative-arch, and they ride like a brick.  I lifted the front 2" and the rear 3" in order to get the fender cutouts the same distance off the ground and give the body a little rake.  The 2" front lift is minimum to get some positive arch in the springs, which cleans up the ride.  Total package (2" front springs, 3" rear springs, appropriate shocks all around, and new shackle bushings) will set you back over a thousand bucks, but if it's a nice truck, and the springs and shocks are shot anyway, it's worth it.

I bought it direct from Tuff Country, who put a package together for me.  I copped a package discount and some sort of "spring sale" discount as well.  The dealers pretty much sell straight packages (2" all around, or 3" all around), so going direct made sure I had the right mix of parts.

[Irish_Alley]

a little different but on my trip to VA the rear end of my car was all over the place every time i hit a bump it would bounce and i had to fight to keep it under control. thought it was a low tire but it wasnt. once i got home i crawled under it and noticed the rear struts are leaking and this is the cause of my problems

[Engineer]

I assume your truck is not lifted?

If not then I would look in the direction of the shocks.

Are the spring eye bushings still firm? Or has the weather eaten them to the point you have metal on metal contact? (A real problem on the front spring shackle bushing that presses into the frame).

And it may be that your springs are just junk and time to be replaced. The leafs need to slide against each other to work. If you have a lot of rust in between your leaves the spring pack may be acting as one giant solid leaf.