Howdy!
In an effort to replace a couple broken leaf springs in the back, and diminish the sag in the front of my '81 4WD F-250 when I attach the snow plow, I just picked up a complete set of front and rear springs from my local salvage yard.

Upon closer inspection, the rear looks to be pretty straight fwd. I can swap out the sets and add a leaf or two from my original set if I want to add ride height.

The front leaf springs, 2 per side, seem to be a bit more involved as they are both part of the shackle.

On the front ones, can I cut the leaves just befor they curl around the mounting point and add them underneath the existing front springs? I assume I'll have to modify a bracket to insure that they do not "splay out".

Secondly, if I decide to add a leaf or two to my "new" rear springs, which ones do I want to add? The longer or shorter ones?

I'm not looking to have a monster truck, but would like to add 1-1.5in ride height as I think the truck has settled some over the years. Plus, with the plow in the air, the poor front springs really strain.

Is there an existing thread that has some pictures on doing this?

Thanks,
Russ

 

The longer the spring the less it carries. Think of springs in the leverage point of view. Its easier to bend a long piece of metal around a fulcrum than a shorter one.

 

Adding leafs won't buy you too much "ride height", but it will buy you a stiff jarring ride and the truck won't squat as much when loaded. If you are actually looking for lift you might want to consider taller axle blocks in the rear, or shackle reversal. Front lift with TTB 4x4 is tricky because it will affect camber and alignment. Some of the heavy F250's and the F350's have more of a straight pair of front leafs instead of the reverse arch, I would look at finding some of those before I added a leaf, if yours are not already that type. Before you do anything, consider looking at trucks similar to yours that have a height and stance that you like, then study the suspension components and see what is different from yours. I think you will figure out pretty quickly what parts you need to make it happen. Don't forget that cab and body mounts collapse over time and account for much of the tired, saggy truck look. A fresh set of rubber body mounts will really perk up your stance. Put in your new leafs (since you have to replace the broken one anyway) and see how it sits. Decide how you want it to change, if any, and go from there.

 

Thanks for the help guys!
I'm for sure going to swap out the rear springs. The set I bought does not have any broken ones.

When I bought the snow plow, I installed Timbrens after a couple folks on the forum recommended them. That did help some. However, I'd like to lessen the sag when I lift the plow as it is quite a bit.

How do I determine if the leaf spring bushings are worn out? I realize if the rubber is totally rotted, that would be easy to identify... If they are in need of replacement, is it difficult?

Finally, how many rubber mounts are there on the truck? Are they all the same? I just did a quick look at RockAuto and was not able to answer that question.

Thanks,
Russ