Dan, the only thing I own that's heavy enough for those springs is my car or my Ranger, and I have no way of getting them up there.

The heaviest rocket we ever built only weighed 275 pounds.

Maybe I should have a "bounce the truck" party and invite a few friends over. After a few frosty beverages, we might get it to bounce. But then, someone would fall off...

 

Guys, actually I had no problem disassembling, cleaning and reassembling the springs on Blue, my F4. All four spring center bolts were either bent or broken. The springs where the center bolts were broken started coming apart when I loosened the mounting U bolts and it was obvious where the spring center bolts were bent. There was just not a lot of stored energy in those spring packs when unloaded.
I separated most leaves, cleaned of loose rust, wiped with a weak solution of diesel fuel and motor oil. I had no problem reassembling using a couple clamps and long spring bolts. I never considered my self in danger at any time.
These springs do not have a lot of arch, the great separation between leaves is not there.
When you consider these trucks were built with a 10,000 lb GVWR, they're not going to ride good empty, weighing at around 5,000 lbs.

 

Ray, did your leaves have the grooves for oiling?

 

No grooves for oiling, Ross. To add to what I said above, I don't think the springs separated more than three inches total when center bolts were removed.
Not a lot of flex.

 

Well then, something else to add to my todo list... someday.

 

Hey, what a coincidence...

...thats the name of my todo list,

Someday

 

That cracked me up!

 

In the old Ford world, it is the transverse springs on the 1948 and earlier cars and 1941 and earlier pickups that are the really dangerous ones. The transverse springs are still storing a lot of energy when not installed. Longitudinal springs are usually much safer (but still proceed with caution).

You could take your springs apart and remove every other leaf. This is an old method of improving the ride on stiff sprung vehicles.

 

I have given that some thought too. I've seen this done on F1s or other trucks. I didn't know if it could be done on an F4. I think that might also lower the truck, which I don't really want to do.

 

Joe, you may want to consider playing with tire pressures in the quest for a slightly better ride. On a truck that is never loaded, those tire pressures can safely be reduced somewhat. Use caution, don't run them flat.

 

Yeah Ray, I did that first, right after my first road test about a year ago. I think the max pressure is 90 PSI and mine are running 45 or 50 PSI. That's just a guess, as it's been a year since I checked it. But I know the pressure is much lower than the maximum.

Does Missy Green bounce a lot? And have you driven your F4 yet?

 

Missy Green is a rough ride, not a smooth at all. I suspect she is smoother than the F4, Blue. I've not driven Blue at any speed but on my gravel road, and I can feel each and every bump.
Actually, Joe, Missy Green did not ride too bad when grossed at 13,000 lbs.

 

Be sure to verify that the two tires have plenty of clearance if running dual wheels and adjusting air pressure. Rubbing tires against each other is a sure recipe for failure.

 

I understand that concern Jeremy, but I don't fully understand how the tires could rub.

I know if sufficiently underinflated, they could "bump" each other. But they're traveling on the same drum, so how could they rub? They could bounce into each other, but I don't get the rub part. Is that just semantics?

Anyway, mine are pretty far apart.

 

You could also remove several spring leaves and then use some small lift blocks to put the ride height back to where you want it.

My guess is that even removing springs of that thickness won't improve the harsh ride a lot, but you could get lift blocks that are the same thickness of the spring leaves that you remove,so ride height should remain the same and you could use the same length u bolts.