E150 leaf springs
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E150 leaf springs
Why does my 95 E150 oem springs only have 3 leaves? I'm replacing them and didn't notice until I went to tighten the U bolts that the new ones have 4 leaves. I didn't buy an upgrade.
Postmaster
Joined: Feb 2011
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its possible that a previous owner removed one leaf to produce a softer ride?
or maybe ford had an option for a light-duty or heavy-duty e150 - i know thats the case on the 250s - not sure if that was an option on a 150.
whatever the reason, if everything lines up, they'll work. then you get to judge if its the right stiffness. that depends on how heavy you load it, and how you expect it to feel. at the end of the day, if it feels about right, you're good to go. if it feels way too stiff, you might want to pull one of the leaves out of the stack and play with it on 3.
personally, i like the heavy duty springs that ford is known for, as opposed to the super-soft ride of a chevy. i'm prone to overload things, so heavy springs are a good thing.
or maybe ford had an option for a light-duty or heavy-duty e150 - i know thats the case on the 250s - not sure if that was an option on a 150.
whatever the reason, if everything lines up, they'll work. then you get to judge if its the right stiffness. that depends on how heavy you load it, and how you expect it to feel. at the end of the day, if it feels about right, you're good to go. if it feels way too stiff, you might want to pull one of the leaves out of the stack and play with it on 3.
personally, i like the heavy duty springs that ford is known for, as opposed to the super-soft ride of a chevy. i'm prone to overload things, so heavy springs are a good thing.
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As far as I know light duty was 4 leaves and heavy duty was 5 leaves. I was shocked when I saw only 3. I've had the van since 99 find it unlikely the first owner would remove a leaf.
I may have to adjust my roadmaster active suspension.
I may have to adjust my roadmaster active suspension.
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I just noticed while doing research that I bought the correct front springs a listing for the 93 2 leaf springs. Not sure if this is a clue that one of the leaves was removed but my rear bolts that connected to the shackles were inserted opposite of the others. The bolt head was towards the inside not outside like all the others.
Not sure if they are supposed to be that way, I just put them back them same way. At that point I didn't care since I had to cut all but one bolt they were all seized inside the bushings.
But it did take care of the horrible squeaking/creaking I had.
Now on to the front springs and radius bushings.....and pay for yet another alignment.
Not sure if they are supposed to be that way, I just put them back them same way. At that point I didn't care since I had to cut all but one bolt they were all seized inside the bushings.
But it did take care of the horrible squeaking/creaking I had.
Now on to the front springs and radius bushings.....and pay for yet another alignment.
Postmaster
Joined: Feb 2011
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may as well do the axle pivot bushings at the same time. i didn't think about then when i changed my radius arm bushings, and only recently noticed they were gone. they're not hard at all if you use a c-frame ball joint press to force them in and out of the axle beams.
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may as well do the axle pivot bushings at the same time. i didn't think about then when i changed my radius arm bushings, and only recently noticed they were gone. they're not hard at all if you use a c-frame ball joint press to force them in and out of the axle beams.
The front springs are also different new ones are variable rate old ones are constant rate. With the axle hanging free the driver's side was hitting my sway bar. WTF
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