hey guys, while i was doing the sliders in my spring packs i noticed that one of the leafs in my rear was busted off about 2 inches back from where the axle mounts to the leaf pack. sounds like a common problem on these trucks and now i'm wondering what my options are. the spring that broke is the very bottom/shortest one (i'm not talking about the flat one that fits between the spring and axle but the one with the bracket that holds all of the leafs in line). so obviously i can go out and buy a pair of new springs and put them on and problem fixed, however i live up in the frozen north (canada) and the springs aren't going for $150 a side down at the 7-11. we do have some pretty good spring shops and i will be calling around tomorrow for prices, but i was wondering if anyone has replaced just the broken spring itself (pulled the spring pack apart). i've popped spring packs apart in the past to add an add-a-leaf and there was nothing to it and because it's not one of the main springs that broke i wouldn't think that ride hight or spring rate will be affected all that much. thoughts guys? am i out to lunch?

 

If one broke then that could mean more are tired and could break in the future. If your keeping it long term invest and replace both sides with new packs, it's not that hard of a job if you haven't done it yourself yet get a manual like Haynes or Chilton and follow the direction.
I've done it on my '99' and '05'.

 

Years ago, I did just that - replaced a single leaf in a 4 pack - but I was able to get a nice match from an actual Steel Shop where they specialized in Springs and they knew how to temper the steel, etc. They're long gone, along with so many maufacturing facilities around here (Chicago). If I remember right, (almost 40 years ago) I had to bring in both sets, and he rebuilt the broken one to match the OK one. But it worked out fine, I think mainly because the guy knew his stuff. I wouldn't trust a retailer who only has interest in selling something off his shelf, unless that is a specialty. But if you've already pulled the pack apart, you've done half of the hard work!
I've begun adding an "add-a-leaf" to my truck's rear when they are new, and since then I haven't cracked a single one. It's a lot easier when the truck is new - the bolts haven't rusted in place yet! I don't know why, but I used to crack them after a couple of years, I suspect it's because I tow a bunch of heavy trailers, maybe that puts a different stress on them than they were designed for, or something. So I get a little rougher ride, the rear doesn't sag as much, and I don't have to fight rusted bolts to do the repair later on....