Stengel Brothers Steel Rear Springs

[Coyote X]

I put on a set of springs from Stengel Bros on my Astro a few months ago and have been meaning to put a review of them on here. I hauled a good load of stuff home today and actually got some pictures so I guess better late than never on the review.

So look at this picture and the van looks like it is sitting nice and level and about stock looking



Actually with the van empty the back end is about 1.5-2 inches higher than stock. With the seats in it it sits around an inch higher than stock. The van had a bit of weight in it for that picture though



That is 16 bags of portland at 94lbs each, 20 2x4x8 a 50lb or so box of 16 penny nails in the back and the back sofa still in it. The van has air bags also but they were empty since the load wasn't that bad on it. I could have easily put much more than that in it. I can also put 6-7000lbs on a trailer behind it and it has no trouble holding the weight. Pulling out with the 4.3 is a different matter

Installing the springs is pretty easy. I would have installed them in about an hour or so if I didn't break off 2 of the bolts on the front spring clamp thing when taking the stock springs off. Other than that it is just a a matter of taking the stockers off. bolting the stock bracket onto the new springs then putting the new springs back on. If you get the bolts out without breaking anything it would be an hour job. So when you order the springs start spraying penetrating oil on everything every day till they come in so it will be an easy job.

http://www.stengelbros.com/SteelReplacementSprings.htm

I say they are worth every penny. The ride is much better now. Nobody gets sick riding in the back and the van feels much better on the road. If I could find a stronger set of front springs it would finally get rid of all of that weird floating feeling it had when it was stock. But with the stock front springs and the new rear springs it really feels much better in curves and when loaded it feels way better.

[Kidhauler]

look at the GVW sticker on the door of your van. That is all it is designed to carry. The load inside your van is very close to the max if not slightly over your gvw rating. You can't load 1600lbs in the van and then max out the tow rating as well. you are grossly overloading the capacity of the van. These vans are only rated to tow a max of 6500lbs that is with a proper weight distributing hitch and trailer brakes. If you are towing that much you shouldn't have the van loaded as well. You are way over the braking capacity of the van. Also when you have a trailer on with a big load you are maxing out the rear spring ratings already as the load is so far behind the axle. That is why it has a 700lbs max tounge weight rating with a weight distributing hitch so it can put weight in the front axle as well.

I have airbags in the back of my van as well. They are not desinged to increase the gvw of the van only to make it ride level when loaded so your back end doesn't drag.

I am not trying to go on a rant but overloading your van puts you and everyone around you in danger.

[Cobra]

it is sitting pretty level but like kidhauler said going over the GVW is dangerous, if you intend to braking upgrades are an absolute MINIMUM requirement.

Kidhauler:that was so a rant lol

[Coyote X]

If you don't ever haul anything the springs are still worth having. The stock fiberglass make the back end feel like it isn't connected to the road and it rolls terribly in corners. With the springs it stays much flatter in the corners and has an actual road feel to it. It is almost fun to drive on curvy roads, with new front springs it probably would be capable of actually going around a curve with a decent road feel.

As far as me and my van, it already has better brakes than stock. As well as a few things stiffening up the frame. I am about to rip it all out though and probably redo the frame since it is a bit weak for my liking.

I still think it is funny when people say the sticker on the door is all anything can carry. When something is stock it is made to handle what load is written it, after it has been modified it doesn't meet the same specs as it used to. If you just modify just the springs to make it sit level with a significantly larger weight than it was originally designed for then you will probably break something. If you set it up properly then it can handle the weight, simple as that. Just look at the differences in a 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton truck.

So to get full advantage of the 2000lb rating of these springs I recommend at minimum welding the axle tubes to the center and running some reinforcement from the hitch to the front subframe making sure to catch the rear spring mount areas. Along with having decent tires and rims which I don't have either of right now. The tires on mine were well past what they were happy with and felt like they were rolling under in the curves so I went slow on the trip home. The aluminum rims on it I don't think were made for any significant weight but I doubt they will fit what I am planning for the new suspension so I don't really care what they are rated for. I guess it could be like the time I had to haul a backhoe on a triple axle trailer 5 miles with it. I think it was wide open 2.5 miles then braking hard 2.5 miles and the van was not happy at all

If everything goes well next summer I will probably be selling these springs since the 6.5L and 1 ton suspension won't need them. I just can't have a normal car it seems like...