Hi,

I'm considering lowering my truck a tad by removing a few leaf springs. Does anyone have first hand experience with how many I should start with? I'd like to go down an inch or 2 in the front, and maybe 2-3" in the rear.

The front spring pack has 6 leaves (I believe) and is basically flat right now, so I was thinking I would remove just the smallest leaf which would probably have a minimal effect.

The rear has 2 sets of spring packs, so I was going to remove the overload spring pack altogether and probably pull 2 leaves out of each side of the main pack (the smallest and the 3rd smallest).

Does this sound like a reasonable plan? I've got adjustable air shocks in the back currently. I would love to go big and drop this thing like 6", but the reality is that I use my truck as a truck, so cutting up my bed won't work. I also don't want to spend an arm and a leg.

I know that removing leaves is not the most ideal route to take, but I can't imagine the ride quality getting a whole lot worse, plus it's a reversible procedure if it turns out to be terrible. I'm familiar with the arched axle from Sids, flipping the rear hanger, notching the frame, etc. and for various reasons, I don't want to do any of those. So if removing leaves doesn't work, I'm happy to leave it stock.

Thanks in advance!

 

Another user on this forum, Vsanzbajo, commented that removing leafs results in a bad ride;

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...the-front.html

If you need more input from him, perhaps you could PM him.

 

Thanks. Yeah I saw that thread, and a few others like it. I'm not overly concerned with decreasing the ride quality, because if it's really bad I can put the leaves back in.

 

I would not suggest removing spring leafs to lower a vehicle. This will reduce the spring rate, thus causing the springs to sag and the remainder of the leafs to work harder. In the end, the vehicle will lower, but the ride will be softer, possibly causing the suspension to bottom-out when subject to heavy loads or large bumps. Additionally, you may not have enough thread on the U-bolt during reassembly after removing the leafs. There are lowering blocks, which are a cheap way to lower a vehicle, but increase the torque effect the rear axle will have on the springs during acceleration and load, possibly inducing wheel hop if traction is lost. The proper way to lower a vehicle is with lowering springs. You can send you originals out to be re-arched, however the expense may meet or exceed the expense of a new set with a custom ride height. Detroit Spring can build you a set of springs to your desired spring rate and drop.

Additionally, anytime the U-bolts are removed they should be replaced. These are one-time use parts, as the bolts stretch when torqued, which contributes to some of the difficulty in removing the nuts. Any spring shop can make you a new set for cheap.

 

You sound like my old engineering professors

 

nick, ihave done this to my 57. on the front, not advised. I did like how the rear came out though. looks good but rides terrible, and I believe it finished off my steering box. there's a pic on my profile.

 

Thanks for the first-hand insight. I'll probably hold off for a bit and do it properly when the time comes.