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Can someone please post some pictures showing normal flex of the front limiting straps? I would like to see that in order to find out if I need front springs as well.

Thank you

Try driving straight for 20 feet or so on flat pavement. Then walk out in front of the truck aways and look at the camber of the front wheels. Unladen, the wheels should lean outwards slightly at the top. Fully loaded they will be level or just slightly lean inwards. The rears will lean inwards further when loaded, as that is where all the weight should be.

If your font wheels lean inward when empty then you probably do need new springs.

I don't think I could tell just by looking at the limiting straps.

Both my front wheels are almost leveled. The top surfaces of the tires are slightly outward but its almost nothing. Both front schocks need to be changed, the left one is leaking.

Let me know what you guys think. Could not get more light for the pics.

In the last picture I can see that they do look like they are sagging a bit, nothing to worry about unless you bottom out when on the trails. That looks about the same as my 710, but since I don't go out every week and do the Rubicon I just don't worry about it. I still can put a full load of firewood up in it and it drives down the logging roads without any problems, so new springs are not on my list yet.

However, I did get new TD strength springs for the front of my 712W as the weight of the truck and box really made the springs sag; now the front tires lean out a little, probably about as much as I can see that your rear axle does. It did bottom out occasionally, so the springs were worth it.

The parts manual says that they had different sized pins for the axle that push on the spring cups; if you can find longer pins then that may solve your problem, at least for a few years.

When I put a heavier bumper and winch on the front the distance from undercarriage to ground decreased by 3/4''. No big deal.
I still have more ground clearance than any other vehicle except maybe my old Mog. I am sure the springs sag a bit but, not a problem.

Thank you for the replies. Do you guys think the new shock absorbers might help with that? I went ahead and measured the front springs and they are at 10' 3/8. I dont know if someone knows how much they should measure on normal conditions. If you guys think I should not worry that is all I needed to hear .

Nah, don't sweat it. Actually, when I put on the new heavy springs on my 712 I was more afraid that I was going to snap the limiting straps as instead of bottoming out, on a good bounce you could hear the straps get tight. Seemed almost like too much spring, but in the years past they have broken in and/or I just don't notice the difference now. But I am not going to do a thing to our 710, and it looks a little worse than yours.

Unless you've just rolled forward a full truck length on flat and level ground, the loaded spring length will vary + - 3/4" in any given truck, due to the swing axles.

Is there any specific amount of torque that needs to be applied to the shock bolts? I just got my doetsch shocks in today and want to make sure my mechanic applies the right amount of torque to the bolts. I'll post some pictures of the new shocks tomorrow night.

In the appendix of the repair manual. There is a specific torque for the size of bolt and where it is on the vehicle.
Under body on page 3: there is a listing for shock absorber and rebound strap of 200 Nm or 20 mkp

krick3tt wrote:In the appendix of the repair manual. There is a specific torque for the size of bolt and where it is on the vehicle.
Under body on page 3: there is a listing for shock absorber and rebound strap of 200 Nm or 20 mkp

Thank you for your help!

I installed all four doetsch shocks today. The rear shocks were easy to change. Top and bottom bolts came out pretty easy, the only thing that was a little tough was fitting the bolts through the shock spacers inside the bushings, it was a really tight fit but yet again maybe thats how they are supposed to be. The front shocks were a little harder to deal with since you have to remove the seats, engine cover, coil ( not sure what that part was called ), the metal part at the end of the air tunnel, and still was tough to get the shocks out and then putting the new shocks on. Couple of hours later and the help of a great mechanic who really hooked it up, I can say I am really pleased with the new shocks and the way the Pinz rides now. Huge difference than running with 4 bad shocks . I want to thank everyone that helped me decide on the shocks and gave me advice on how to change them and torque specs. Pictures coming up tomorrow.

Glad you like the ride with the new shocks. I've put them on 3 Pinzees and really appreciated the improved ride on all of them. I don't do any "aggressive" trail riding so I'm not sure how they'd be for that but for road and modest trails they are great.

Gotta love installing those front shocks!