Put 1/2 ton springs & torsion bars under a 3/4 ton Burb?

[Kraig]

I've seen several threads about putting 3/4 ton suspension under 1/2 ton BUT if I already have a 1997 3/4 ton K2500 Suburban that I use mostly for hunting, off-road, & forestry roads, is it possible to swap out the front torsion bars and the rear springs so I end up with a 1/2 ton ride? The 3/4 ton off road is rough enough to damage my teeth!

I've not had the chance to look to see if the spring perches are the same distance apart between 1/2 & 3/4 spring packs?

I've read that the torsion bars are the exact same size between 1/2, 3/4, & 1 ton trucks. My only concern is what spring weight would I want to get because we have a 454 in this suburban. (or would I use the 1/2 ton torsion bars and they simply get cranked down a bit more for the extra engine weight)?

 

[Schurkey]

I have a goofy buddy who does the opposite. Put "1-ton" springs under his K1500. The spring length is the same, although the K1500 frame doesn't have the extra brackets for the overload leaves. Should be no problem to put K1500 springs into a K2500.

I'm told the Suburban leafs are different length than pickup-truck leafs.

Far as I know, the torsion bars interchange, but it would be worth verifying. No promises on spring stiffness/diameter. Measure the diameter before swapping. If the diameter is the same...save yourself some labor. "Good Luck" getting the old bars out of the control arms. A smart guy on this forum used a gear puller to shove 'em out. I didn't think of that.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

Pretty sure Burb leaf springs are different lengths than the pickup ones.
2500/3500 trucks are gonna ride harshly, when unloaded, because they are set up with stiffer springs and tires to handle the loads they're designed for. This was a big learning experience for me, going from two half ton Burbs with soft springs (cause they're old and half wore out) to the one ton crew cab with truck tires on it. This truck rode a little better when we first got it, but the PO had been running the tires under inflated to make it ride better. Starting in February I needed to use it to haul, and I discovered this! With a load, not even at capacity, just around 6-800# plus three people, it rides much better!

 

[someotherguy]

Pretty sure Burb leaf springs are different lengths than the pickup ones.

100% accurate. The replacement springs would have to come from another Suburban. Three different lengths of leaf spring packs in gmt400's (excluding 3500HD's which aren't even the same width) and that's pickups, Suburbans, and the shorter SUV's (fullsize Tahoe/Blazer Yukon/Jimmy.) (did they even call the 92-94 fullsize GMC short SUV's a Jimmy?)

Richard

 

[95burban]

I usually pull the over load spring out and run helper bags. I did an air ride technologies kit on a dually once and it used shockwaves in the front so and per ART remove the one ton t-bars and replace with 1/2 bars. So long story short, I don’t see why you couldn’t run 1/2 ton t bars.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

My K2500 454 'burb rides better than some 1/2t pickups I've owned and it has the heavy snow plow package. Are your t-bars cranked for extra ride height? How are the rest of your components like shocks?

 

[Spareparts]

My 3/4 burb rides great also. How much air in you tires?

 

[wrench-head]

I did exactly what your asking about in a GMT800 3/4 ton suburban and it made a noticeable difference. I'm pseudo lowered on 285s with flat CVs and I could still tell a difference just dropping off my driveway curb. Above posts are correct that suburbans are 60" eye to eye springs and unique to their platform. In my application I just pulled the overload out but I can tell the rear i still harsher than the front.

 

[Sean Buick 76]

Yes this will work, I went the other way with my 01 Yukon switching in T bars from another half ton but stiffer. On the 99-06 there is a RPO code in the glovebox that corresponds with the stiffness of the t bars, hopefully the same is the case for the 88-98? I found that there were 3 or 4 stiffness of t bars for the half ton and the same for 3/4 ton. I had the softest 1/2 ton t bars and I went to the stiffest 1/2 ton versions.

Pulling the t bars at a junkyard without a torch was a pain but it worked out well!

 

[johnny_162]

Put regular 4ply tires on it (like you'd put on a half-ton) instead of the 10 plys that are probably on it now, lol. That's way easier than changing the torsion bars. Half of a vehicles suspension, or not, is in the sidewall flex of the tires. Also lower profile tires make the ride progressively harsher with each increase in wheel size. You can get a much softer ride by switching from 16's to 15's for example (due to the larger sidewall). What size wheels are you running?