rear suspension upgrade time
 

Rear suspension recommendation?

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First what is wrong with what's there? What are the problems you want to solve? The parameters that you desire? How much money and/or time do you want to spend? What is your skill level, equipment/tool availability? There are a lot of possibilities but you first have to establish your needs and goals.

Thanks for reply axe..springs need bushing pin sets for sure. Taking them apart to look between leafs tonight to inspect ..not looking for anything fancy just a nice smooth ride,but would like to possible get away from having to grease pins

Hate to keep answering questions with questions but what is wrong with having to grease pins? They are better than any alternative. There are plenty of other grease points on one of these trucks that should be maintained. Just make a check list of all the places, then do them all in one session. If kept greased they should last a lifetime and aid in the ride quality.
Do you know how to disassemble springs safely? If rusty between or worn where the next shorter spring leaf has been rubbing, sand surfaces clean and smooth by hand or with belt sander using lengthwise strokes only. DO NOT cross sand or use rotary or orbital sander, Do not paint. If springs are OEM, then removing every other leaf will lower truck and soften ride. (See Mid Fifty catalog for instructions on which leafs to take out.) Adding the inexpensive HMW plastic slider strips (Mid Fifty sells a roll that's enough to do both springs) between leafs will also make a significant difference.

Got them apart. Slight pitting here and there with some grooves where the leaf next to digs in,pretty much on every leaf. There also wasn't much tension behind the Center bolt when removed. Also noticed half inch difference when measured from eye to eye between the two sides. .looking for what to do. Do you think they look usable with the information Givin? If I was going to replace I would probably needa standard not dropped set because I already flipped axle and is pretty low and that's without full tank (underbed) and bed wood.

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Leaf spring selfy!

Do you have a belt sander? If so or willing to buy one that you can get silicon carbide belts for (3x21 is commonly available size SiC belts, if buying belt sander get one that uses this size belt). Common aluminum oxide belts used for woodworking will not work. get a pack of 50 grit, 80 grit, 120 grit. Sand longways only! Use each grit in turn 50 until pitting and edges of gouging is gone, then 80 until 50 scratches are gone, then 120 until 80 grit scratches are gone and leaf is smooth. Use the HMW plastic slider strip from Mid fifty between when reassembling. You may want to swap every other leaf side to side to even out any sag on one side (often the driver's side will have more sag) Is the length difference actually due to different length main leaf or difference in arch? If different length, likely one spring was replaced sometime. Not really a major issue, shackles will adjust for difference.

Hi Keisha,
We swapped out our stock rear end & huge leaf stack for a 2001 Explorer 8.8 in. axle with 3.73 gearing,
limited dif, & disc brakes. This was one of the better mods we did to our truck. It's at most a 2 weekend job.

You need to decide what you are going to do up front. If you are sticking with the stock front end & the truck
wheel stud set then go with the matching Ford 9 inch for the rear. If you are moving to a Mustang II style modern IFS
up front then go with the Explorer 8.8 in.

The only negative I have with the 8.8 in. axle is that we had to use wheel spacers to get the wheels to look right in the fender.
I was also concerned with replacing the huge rear spring stack with the Explorer one with just 4? springs. It hasn't been an issue -
we continue to use our truck like a truck & haven't had any problems hauling things.

Good luck over there. (I like having 4 wheel disc brakes).

Ben in Austin
1950 F1

How will I know if the springpacks are worn ? I don't want to sand down 14 leafs if they need replacing. BEN I'm running heidts up front already. Also for the bushings, should I heat and beat?

Don't use heat on the bushings. Unless you are into self-flagellation, take the springs to a spring shop and have them press the old bushings out and new ones in. Might as well also have them re-arch as necessary to make each side the same.

The wear pattern on the spring you posted looks like your springs don't have enough clips to prevent them shifting side-to-side. A shop can probably add some clips.

If it were mine, I'd say if there are no broken or reverse arched leafs They are useable. Unless you are going to be hauling heavy loads they aren't going to get much of a workout. < 100.00 to rebuild, 600.00 for new, what is your time worth, how thick is your wallet, only you can decide. Stock rear springs are nearly flat.

Hey Keisha,
If you are running Heidt's IFS up front - what wheel stud set up do you have? Personally
I'd match the back end with a more modern suspension at proper ride height to work with the front.
I wouldn't spend much on that huge spring pack.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1

Running the 5x4.5 all around. The axle is late 60s f100,I converted it to match front pattern...

AX,
What's the trick to do this safely? I would just support the frame and rear end and undo the U bolts around the springs. Something else I should do?

Most leaf spring packs are designed to be progressive in rate. Part of that is to make each leaf's curve a smaller radius before clamping together with the centerbolt. This results in stored energy in the pack, when you release the centerbolt it releases that energy and the pack blows apart sometimes with great force, enough to do bodily harm. The greater the at rest arch in the spring pack the more likely the increased amount of stored energy, but eve a flat spring pack can have a lot of stored energy. To undo them safely, my method is to lay the spring on it's side on the floor, place a large strong C clamp on each side of the centerbolt. loosen the centerbolt but do not completely remove the nut. Now stand on top the spring from the main leaf side to get ankles out of harms way and slowly and evenly start releasing the clamps. If the centerbolt gets tight again before the clamps fall off, retighten the clamps just snug and loosen the centerbolt. Continue to loosen the clamps until the leafs no longer push apart. Used rear leaf springs are less of a problem since they are nearly flat and most of the preload has likely gone out of them, but be especially careful if working with newer springs or ones with a lot of arch. Better to err on the side of caution than end up with a bruised or broken wrist or ankle or worse from a blown apart spring pack.