Which would be easier, better, more durable, etc. I know the 78-79 stuff is set up for coils, but I think either would work so I'm wondering if the leaves may be a better option for strength and doing actual work.

 

what do you mean by strength and doing actual work? like trail riding? towing/hauling? in either case coil springs will be adequate for what ever work or wheeling a half ton is going to see. i would say there is a reason they went to leave springs when they built 4wd f250s, because the coil springs are more than enough for a 1/2 ton, not to mention they usually ride better when you are not trail riding or towing/hauling and as for easier coils are going to be easier it was engineered to use coils, as far as better or more durable there are a lot more factors than just coils or leaves when determining which is better

 

I meant for towing and hauling. I occasionally haul more than I probably should for a half ton but for my daily proses, I couldn't justify a 3/4 ton. I thought I may make things a little stronger so it handles it when it's needed. I'm also starting to learn that d60s are easier to find so I was starting to consider that now that I realize new wheels are going to be in order either way.

 

either way is going to be stronger than the ttb you have now, just a note but ford went back to coil sprung solid axles after they tried leaf springs, a d60 wouldnt make it any stronger since it would be on the front, unless you are towing it backwards, but even still no matter what you do to try and beef things up you are still going to have a f150 frame among other things, which will then make it pointless to swap in stronger parts

 

Stay with coils .
Easier and cleaner conversion, and a much nicer ride.

 

I've put together axle swaps with both leaves and coils so let me give you some advice.

The leaf sprung trucks (like my F250) ride pretty rough with the TTB they come with. The leaf springs don't have much give to them, and they lunge when you hit bumps making for a very uncomfortable ride. When you do an SAS you have the opportunity to use better springs, as even F350 springs ride better than the TTB ones do. It also gets rid of the lunging effect.

On a coil sprung truck, like yours, the ride is much smoother than the leaf sprung ones. The coils have a good amount of give to them and the lunge doesn't seem to be an issue because of that. When you switch to the straight axle, you will gain a little height. Inherently giving you a little more suspension travel and making the ride a little better.

If you want to go to leaf springs, you will lose a ton of the ride quality that you currently have and I think that would be a mistake, especially because the truck still retains the weight rating that is in the door jamb no matter which option you choose. Just be aware that you're going to have to bring the rear end up a little bit to accommodate the front end being taller with a SAS.

 

I have to use 4" lift coils to clear the cross member anyway so I plan on bringing the back up to level it out.

 

I'm assuming the "lunging" effect GNR22 is talking about is the leaf spring forcing the axle to move forward as it hits a bump and is pushed up. This is common in most leaf spring applications. A lot of people address this by doing a reverse-shackle swap (moving the shackle from the front of the spring leaf to the back). Coil setups will have a similar issue depending on the radius arm geometry. If the radius arms are angled down toward the front (as they often are following a lift) they will force the axle forward as it moves up. If the radius arm is horizontal it will not force the axle forward.

Also the main reason an F-250 leaf spring feels stiffer than an F-350 spring is that the leaf-TTB combination is fighting itself. As the wheel moves up-and-down the TTB makes it move right-to-left while the spring tries to make ot move front-to-back. The result is that the spring leaf has to bend and twist in ways it really doesn't want to, so it acts much stiffer than it would in a solid axle setup.

To Jarryd's questions, I'd stick with coils for the generally better ride you certainly aren't going to make your truck any more heavy-duty by putting leaves in it. If you don't think the coils are enough you need to upgrade the whole rest of the truck to a 3/4 ton to get any net gains.

 

Thanks for the info. I figured coils would be better in every way.