My recently acquired truck is an '88 F-250 with the HD suspension. Actually I believe it has the springs of an F-350, but not sure. Anyway, it rides rougher than a Sheridan Tank jumping logs. It's not too bad on smooth pavement, but on rough pavement, pot holes, dirt roads, etc., the entire back end of the truck will jump off of the pavement! I'm sure adding some weight in the bed would soften the ride some, but I don't want to do that if I can avoid it. I was wondering if I could possibly swap out the springs with that of one of the lighter duty trucks to help some? I would surely appreciate your ideas on what I might be able to do to help soften up the ride a little bit. Thanks.

 

Without knowing for sure what someone did to the suspension, it is hard to say. If they put in an add a leaf, it would be tough. Assuming it is stock, oil shocks ride better than gas. That might be all you need.

 

It's the stock suspension. Hasn't been modified, and I think it has oil shocks on it now.

 

By oil shocks, I meant something like rancho RS5000, hydro shocks. For your stock ones, if you take them off and they extend on their own, they are gas. Oil doesn't move.

 

my dad's 80 f-250 rode really rough, same situation. the truck has almost no weight in the back, and it's designed to carry a lot of load, so you're best bet, short of losing the capabilities of f-250, is to add a little weight, it'll also help with traction, since you have a decent amount of power going to wheels with no weight on them.

 

What pressure do you have in the tires?

 

Reducing the tire pressure was the first thing that I did. I've lowered it down to about 30 lbs. They're rated at about 80#, so I'm reluctant to go much further down. I was wondering if it would be possible to either remove a leaf from the rear leaf springs, or to swap the springs on it now for a set of springs from a standard duty F-250? They do have different springs on them right?

 

First, 30 pounds of air will ruin the tires (burn them off on the edges). Second, removing springs will not soften the ride if it is stock as it will be hard to tell which one to remove. If the truck has helper springs, look and see if the are hitting the stops. The stops should have shiney rub places on them. If so remove them. A 250 does not need helpers unless it is towing a fifth wheel.

Also, you can change the tire rating from an E to a C. This will soften it up, but will kill your weight carrying capacity (down to a F150). If you change the tires, go two steps higher and one step wider (265/80R to a 285/70R), but find a tire that you can at least run 50 pounds of air in. That way, if you need to move a load, you can do it safely.

 

Thanks for the pointer on the tires. What exactly do helper springs look like? I'm out of town right now so I can't look at it to see. I know there is a real thick short leaf on the top, but I don't know if that is a helper spring or not. I'll check it out when I get back. I've got to put new tires on it soon, so the change to a C rated tire sounds like a good idea.

 

helper springs look like a second leaf pack, which is typically bolted onto your regular leaf pack. they come in several varieties. your best bet might be to do a google image search for helper springs and see the multitude of different styles.

 

That could be it.

Since you've tried 30 psi, that more or less proves that it's not caused by the tires. I wouldn't go down any further than load range D, BTW.