Ok folks, time for the spring upgrade I have seen others complete to fix the bottom out issues and ride improvements.

Steer me in the right direction please!

I have read lots of material and done lots of searches and tried to educate myself on this, so overall, I am pretty confident I know how to do this. The B code mod is somewhat confusing though.

I do not want any additional lift! I have to get in my garage and many other low places I frequently visit. As long as the new springs take me up 1.5" or so, I should be ok. Likely this will put me back to near what the truck was when new as I am sure it is way down now. I also don't want the rear to be lower than the front!

Ok, the first task is to determine where to purchase the springs from. I see some really good information from the SDTRUCKSPRINGS dot com site. Any reason why I should not just get the springs from them vs trying to negotiate from my Ford Dealer? Out of convenience, it seems I could just place the order and get the discounts that look good to me. However, I don't want to be doing this again in a year!

Second is to determine for the B code mod, what length of bolt do I need to use once I add the extra springs? I think I saw something about a 5" or another to get a 6" long bolt? Anyone done this can measure theirs and let me know?
This is assuming I go the B code mod as what one of the other posters did:
Modifying the B Code takes the bottom two leafs from the stock EX spring and the spacers.

Keep me straight folks!

 

Robert, I personally would not buy from sdtrucksprings.com, they advertise their spring using Ford's "codes" but their products fall short of what the OEM specs are. If I'm spending my hard earned money on something as important as suspension parts I want to know exactly what I'm getting. One of this forums sponsors is Junior from ATS Springs, he has hooked several members here up with quality springs of the correct weight ratings.
I'm on vacation camping right now and my beautiful bride wants her breakfast so I'll stop back later to suggest more spring ideas. Check out the suspension threads in the tech folders at the top of the EXcursion section, tons of great spring swap info there!

 

X2 You say you don't want any lift but then say 1 1/2" is ok
Your not going to be able to fix the issues without any lift BUT you can stay within the 1 1/2" - 2" range without a problem. Look at the thread of posted height / measurements about 2 pages deep & you'll have a good idea where you'll end up on different options

 

What he said ^^^^!! Call Junior. I just got Modded C's from him and love them!! I had my local garage install them. I wish I had done the same with the fronts. I had gone to a very reputable spring shop and had to twist their arm to get the V's installed up front. (They are not into modding vehicles, and had problems in the past with people complaining about the ride with heavier springs up front.) While I love the change in ride, if I had plenty of money I would be ordering the X's from Junior and having my local shop install them. Keep in mind I have a 7.3. The ride is firmer but definitely wouldn't rattle your fillings out!! I am now going to do something to bring up the front to get rid of the rake. At the rear I measure total height including roof rack @ a generous 7'. Hope this helps.

Keith

 

Thanks guys. Just trying to close out the confusion.

By lift, I meant not to raise my vehicle on purpose with a lift kit type lift. But, if springs bring me up a inch or to, that lift should be ok. Keeping in mind, the sagging springs now is lower than normal, so guessing half of the lift with new springs will be back to normal, the other half due to upgraded springs if that makes more sense. Kinda hard to explain it.

Will look for Junior.

And by all means, the bride is first!

 

Hey Junior, you out there? Will be looking for you on this topic.

 

Junior at ATS knows his stuff. Get 'em there!

 

I'm sure ATS will be able to do what ever you want & just call him. Do you need his #
The X sits 2" lower +- than a superduty SO when you put on SD springs you get a 2" lift kit type lift right the bat. When I added the rear overloads from my Bs to the front SD springs I gained 3 1/4" over the stock X measurements

 

Got it. I can live with 2".

I sent Junior a message so will await his response.

Thanks guys! Been reading up in the tech section and these are different articles from what I was ever able to find searching. THey are spot on for the detail I was looking for.

Didn't like the parts on the destroyed sockets though! I hope mine is not that hard. No salt corrosion in my neck of the woods, so hope that will help.

 

"No salt corrosion in my neck of the woods, so hope that will help"
Big Time!! Plus start spraying them with penetrating oil of choice

 

Another measurement. Ground to front wheel well straight up the center of the hub 39 1/2 inches. Rear is 41 1/2 inches. Full tank of fuel & apron 200 lbs of tools. I'm bringing it up with shackles in the front tomorrow. Again I have Vs in front and modded C's from Junior in rear.

 

I'm pretty certain w new springs you may break the 2" mark. If so maybe you can delete the rear block altogether and use an extra left over piece of the old rear springs to prevent you from being rear low.

I read about quite a few of the members going v codes and honestly it didn't raise it enough for me. I can't see you going modded B without a solid 2" ht increase unless ditch the oem block.

I used used take off X codes and modded some B codes and netted exactly 2".

Be aware with that additional fenderwell clearance you may feel the urge to fill out that space with larger diameter tires. That will raise you some more.

Can you give ground and hub center to fender opening measurements as well as the clearance you have now with your garage door opening.

Albeit that will really zero in on allowing these spring gurus to guide you without causing a roof to garage accident!

On a different note, understand it will he a strong possibility you will need an adjustable Track bar if you do get a full 2" of lift. I ordered mine today.

Regardless, you will appreciate the firmer planting you get with a spring upgrade.

Sorry for the ramble....

 

If you want V codes and B codes (or any OEM alpha-character labeled leaf spring) you can only get them from Ford. Any alpha-character labeled leaf spring from any company other than Ford is an aftermarket version.

I have yet to find an aftermarket company with a V labeled spring meet the same spec as an OEM Ford V code spring.

That being said, Junior from ATS has helped many a user here at FTE and I would not hesitate to order from him if they sold a product I wanted.

Stewart

 

Guys, thanks for putting me in touch with Junior! He was fantastic. I went with the V for front and C for rear per his recommendations and for my application.

Overall, a difficult but rewarding job to swap out. Removing front bumper made it much easier for the front.

I can say, the ride is much improved! Hard to understand how it could ride better with heavier duty springs, but it was really smooth and stable.

I got 1-3/4" lift in the front and forgot to measure the rear, but for sure gained a couple of inches in the back. Has to let the air out of the tires to get it out of the garage! This is only when I back in the garage since I am on a hill, so it raises the rear too much. If I pull in forward, no issue.

I was not able to reuse my Landyot radius rods as these springs are a bit different. More layers closer together not allowing a flat spot to mount them. I guess I could make a spacer/filler plate and salvage them, but think I might just go for the RAS system instead.

I did find one of my Rancho RS9000X shocks on front was shot. So will no longer go for Rancho's as these keep failing about every 2 or so years. Will try the Bilsteins on front this time and see how they do.

I think once I get the new shocks on front, it will improve ride even more. Also, my Rancho Steering Stabilizer is shot, so just going for the Monroe at Advance with lifetime replacement since these seem to go every year anyway.

Overall, no more bottoming out and stability on the highway was much improved, even with a bad shock and no radius rods, so that says a lot for new springs!