My front springs (D50) are sagged a little bit. I think the clearance spec from the spring to the bumper stop is about 1-3/4" and the clearance on mine is about an inch.

I know that logically I should go to a D60 but the D50 is almost there and right or wrong I'm sticking with it.

I've replaced the pivot and spring shackle bushings and the camber is still not quite right. I could replace the springs, but this is a working truck and I'm thinking they will just do the same thing in relatively short order.

I've read some pretty good reports on front air lifts for F-250's solving weak leaf spring problems. Just wondering if anyone here has any opinions?

Thanks,

Bob

 

My neighbor has them but I don't think he ever inflates them. I replaced my coil springs and I liked the way it lifted the front end. This will give you a bump anyway.

 

Thanks for the bump and the info. I went ahead and ordered them yesterday. I called Trucksprings.com to get their opinion first and they said they didn't recommend them to correct sagged springs because they've had complaints from customers about a stiff ride. He said the best thing to do is replace the springs. Of course he's right and the springs are cheaper than the air lifts but the main reason I'm not replacing the springs is I just don't have the time or energy to spend fighting them. Last time it was a real struggle to get them lined up and the bolts back in. Plus, this is a working truck and spends a lot of time on rough mining roads and it will be only a short time until the new springs are sagging too.

I only need about a 3/4" boost from the air lifts to get it to factory spec and I've got my fingers crossed that it won't make the ride too stiff. It will also be great to get the D50 camber back closer to what it's supposed to be, which is the main reason I'm doing this.

Bob

 

1" of space? You have more than when I got my TTB. With about 140k miles, I could barely get my knuckle under the rubber bump stop.

Because of the shortish nature of the TTB arms, the camber changes quickly as the wheel pivots up and down. A little bit of sag changes the camber. But also, lift, air bags or otherwise, will cause a change too.

If you know how much it is out, using an adjustable castor/camber sleeve may get you back to where you need to be.

The alignment shop monkeys like to hammer those sleeves in and then tighten the bejeesus out of the top nut.

But once you get this top sleeve loosened the first time, I found I could remove it, re-set it to a different setting, then reinstall, without jacking the wheel off the ground. Admittedly this was after my D60 swap so I had enough room to reach over the tire and into the wheel well. But, my point is that this is a relatively easy change to make, and remake if needed.

 

Leo,

Thanks for your reply. I have a set of adjustable specialty products caster/camber sleeves along with a set of new ball joints and tie-rod ends. They are just waiting for me to dig deep and come up with enough energy to install them.

Replacing the pivot and spring bushings made a huge difference in the camber. I know I can probably get it to spec with the adjustable sleeves but I'd still like to get the suspension height correct first. Maybe getting the height right will put the camber back into spec.

It's interesting that even though the suspension travel is almost at the bump stop with no load, the truck still rides just fine and negotiates rough roads and potholes just fine too. Main reason I want to get the D50 squared away is that I just got new tires and don't want to wear them out.

 

Others have said this too, but there are many more TTB D50s on the road than there are converted D60s.

No shame in keeping the D50 maintained.

And you are so much o the right track. Get the ride height set first, then adjust caster/camber.

Bob, I gotta ask, (assuming it needs to be changed anyway) is the IH water pump worth it? Any tips?

 

Leo,

About the IHC waterpump, I can only give you my opinion, for what it's worth. My old pump was leaking and I liked the idea of having a coolant filter. I didn't like the idea of an auxiliary coolant filter because of the extra hoses and clamps (more possible places for leaks).

I bought my pump from buspartsexperts.com. I researched pretty thoroughly and talked to the pump manufacturer in Florida. The pump is supposed to be made in USA but the seal comes from China and I suspect a lot of the pump, if not all, comes from China but don't know that for a fact. The manufacturer told me that although they are the OEM supplier to IHC, the pump they sell to aftermarket parts stores has different seal material than the OEM pump.

My pump has been in service for about 10,000 miles and works fine with no problems. Based on recommendations on various forums I changed the O-ring to a Viton o-ring on the little shut-off valve used to isolate the filter when changing it. I think the Viton o-ring cost me about a quarter at a hydraulic supply store.

So, my personal opinion is yes, it's worth it. If I were to do it again I think I would buy the OEM IHC pump from an IHC dealer, unless their price was completely out of reason.

You have to trim a bit of cast iron off of the face of the pump casting so that the belt clears. Not a big deal at all and the only downside is that if you have a catastrophic water pump failure and are stuck alongside the road (not likely) it will not be so simple to get a replacement IHC pump that will just bolt in. If I recall correctly the IHC pump uses the same belt as the Ford pump but different hoses so in the very unlikely event that you had a roadside water pump failure far from home you could put in a replacement Ford pump and hoses. I'm only bringing this unlikely problem up because someone else mentioned it when I was planning my pump change. I personally don't think it's a realistic issue.

Bob

 

Just an update on the Firestone air bags for the front of an F-250. The darned mounting brackets are seemingly designed to fit every truck ever made, with numerous bolt holes, and not in the right places. I think Firestone is saving some money at our expense by not making different brackets for different models.

Once I got them figured out and spent some time with a die grinder on the bracket getting things to fit everything went OK.

Haven't seriously road tested them or checked the camber yet, but about 12 psi of air pressure seems to be enough to get things close to the specified ride height.