Pre-Power Stroke Diesel (7.3L IDI & 6.9L) Diesel Topics Only

leveling kit, new coils, or air spring?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
  #1  
Old 09-12-2015, 10:18 AM
DieselMechanic87's Avatar
DieselMechanic87
DieselMechanic87 is offline
New User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
leveling kit, new coils, or air spring?

My 1991 f250 diesel 2wd has the typical front droop that these older trucks seem to get over time. I have seen 3 basic options to fix this issue. ...
1) new coil springs. ( i believe my springs are weak and causing the front of the truck to be lower than the rear) around 100$ for a pair of springs

2) suspension leveling kit. Basically a big bushing that goes on top of the spring. (Or maybe on the bottom, in not sure) bushing that acts as a shim
50-100$ depending upon manufacturer

3) air spring kit. Air bag that goes inside of coil spring that can be used to adjust ride height.
Around 150$ for kit.

All 3 options seem to be affordable. Id like to get the front end up and aligned before i spend bank on new tires. Anyone have any suggestions or recommendations?
 
  #2  
Old 09-12-2015, 11:50 AM
Macrobb's Avatar
Macrobb
Macrobb is offline
Postmaster
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 3,860
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes on 6 Posts
Your F-250 has coil spring front suspension? My 88 F250 has leaf spring suspension(actually, both my 88's do).
 
  #3  
Old 09-12-2015, 01:24 PM
hturner12's Avatar
hturner12
hturner12 is offline
Postmaster
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Thomaston
Posts: 3,914
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes on 6 Posts
Originally Posted by Macrobb
Your F-250 has coil spring front suspension? My 88 F250 has leaf spring suspension(actually, both my 88's do).
His is. 2 wheel drive
 
  #4  
Old 09-12-2015, 10:21 PM
Macrobb's Avatar
Macrobb
Macrobb is offline
Postmaster
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 3,860
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes on 6 Posts
Originally Posted by hturner12
His is. 2 wheel drive
Oh, that makes sense.
 
  #5  
Old 09-12-2015, 10:33 PM
tecgod13's Avatar
tecgod13
tecgod13 is offline
Logistics Pro
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Western Mass
Posts: 3,568
Received 120 Likes on 101 Posts
How do the body bushings look? Just thinking outside the box here...

Are there any blocks under the springs on the rear axle? And if so, how thick?
I want to say both my '88 and my '93 sat pretty level when I got them, and both were 2wd and no rear axle blocks.
Generally trucks tend to have higher rears when empty, so when you load up the bed, it squats to a level stance, instead of drooping in the rear.
 
  #6  
Old 09-13-2015, 10:10 PM
DarkOverCast's Avatar
DarkOverCast
DarkOverCast is offline
Posting Guru
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 2,036
Likes: 0
Received 4 Likes on 4 Posts
My 91 also sits pretty low in the front. Maybe new coils would help?
 
  #7  
Old 09-13-2015, 11:25 PM
hturner12's Avatar
hturner12
hturner12 is offline
Postmaster
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Thomaston
Posts: 3,914
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes on 6 Posts
Originally Posted by DieselMechanic87
My 1991 f250 diesel 2wd has the typical front droop that these older trucks seem to get over time. I have seen 3 basic options to fix this issue. ...
1) new coil springs. ( i believe my springs are weak and causing the front of the truck to be lower than the rear) around 100$ for a pair of springs

2) suspension leveling kit. Basically a big bushing that goes on top of the spring. (Or maybe on the bottom, in not sure) bushing that acts as a shim
50-100$ depending upon manufacturer

3) air spring kit. Air bag that goes inside of coil spring that can be used to adjust ride height.
Around 150$ for kit.

All 3 options seem to be affordable. Id like to get the front end up and aligned before i spend bank on new tires. Anyone have any suggestions or recommendations?

I would go with option 1. To me the other two are bandaids.
 
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Irish19614x4
1987 - 1996 F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks
8
02-12-2016 06:04 AM
BKSMN
1973 - 1979 F-100 & Larger F-Series Trucks
5
12-20-2014 09:00 AM
stumpbuster
1999 to 2016 Super Duty
2
11-25-2008 02:04 AM
forced5
1999 to 2016 Super Duty
10
02-13-2006 12:16 AM



Quick Reply: leveling kit, new coils, or air spring?



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:35 AM.