What are the current options out there right now for leveling kits for the 80-86 trucks?

I see LMC sells springs that they claim do not change the ride quality. I also found spacer blocks that I figure go between the spring and the I beam itself.

Are there other options other than those two?

I ask because my truck rides kind of rough and harsh unloaded so I am really looking at having Eaton make me springs front and rear to OEM specs and see if they will improve the ride quality. I also am thinking of just having him make the coil springs like a leveling kit coil spring. But I need to see the quote he gives me on two coils and two leaf springs. Rather have them built to oem specifications vs buying some generic stuff that you pick up from the local auto parts store.

 

If you are looking into leveling kits, don't forget to find one with the drop down brackets for the TTB pivots. Before I switched mine I tried gaining about an 1.5 inchs with the spacer kit you refered to. What a nightmare... The truck was almost riding on the sidewalls because the geometry was so off.

 

Why would I need to do that? Raising the truck 1 1/2" in the front should still keep it with in adjustment to align it via camber bushings.

Thing is though I really don't care for the leveling aspect I am only looking at it cause the KO2 tires I have, have an aggressive shoulder that hits my plastic inner fender on some very hard bumps and figured a simple spring swap for new coil springs would not stop this from happening. Didn't have the problem with the Pathfinders I had before nor the KO1 tires but since KO1 is obsolete now and only KO2 are being made I am stuck with this

 

I put these on my truck 1.5in Leveling Coil Springs Lift Kit for 80-96 Ford 4wd F-150 Pickup / Bronco [9265] | Rough Country Suspension Systems®

I'm happy with them so far

 

If your current coil springs still hold decent tension I would think that you could get away with spacers being as how you are only looking for an inch and a half elevation. No need for dropped arms for 2 inches or less from my research (a lot of research). It "may" have to be re-aligned with eccentrics at the upper ball joints to avoid the well known camber issues with TIB/TTB.

 

That's what I figured, but I am thinking of getting new springs cause this truck rides like ****. New shocks but every bump I hit the dash pops and everything rattles inside cause our streets here are pure **** and bumps just drive me crazy in this truck so I am thinking maybe these springs are not wore out but just settled with age and has stiffened up with age as well.

 

You know when they were built they where built as TRUCKS not to ride like a car like todays trucks are.


When I bought my first new truck in 86 and wanted HD springs (diesel truck for towing trailers) the salesman said "you know it will ride ruff?" I told him "yes I know it's a truck not a car!"
I did not think it rode ruff, and it had factory duel shocks up front also.
My grandmother rode in it from Raleigh, NC to CT and said she was surprised it rode so nice.


I think for you to get the ride you want you will have to go custom made. Maybe one of them progressive type spring? It will smooth out the little bumps but when you hit the heavy ones the other part of the spring comes into play to keep from bottoming out.
Dave ----

 

I understand it will ride like a truck but I just do not believe the ride will be so harsh the dashboard pops and crack and the interior rattles like the truck is falling apart. Part of it maybe could be the tires I have but it just seems way harsher than it should be. I built a long wheel base 82 F150 that we lowered sure it had almost 1,000,000 miles on it but we lowered it with lower profile tires and it rode no where near this harsh.

I know Eaton can build custom springs but I just want it to ride like it did when new I just don't think a short wheel base single shock truck is going to ride rougher than say a new dodge 3500 truck and I drive thoses all the time when I do work on them at work for the wrecker company and thoses ride rough but no wheres near where mine rides at.

Now the leveling aspect I am looking at that because the KO2 tires I have they keep scrubbing my plastic fender well and they are the same size as the KO1 I had previously and the discount tire brand pathfinders and they scrubbed just a little but you had to hit the bumps that was big at around 40 or 50 mph theses scrub at even 25 to 30 mph on them so I figured raising the front up via leveling kit might actually stop this as LMC claims it allows the use of 33" tires on these trucks and mine are just 31x10.50-15.

 

Another thing on the leaf springs without the helper springs how much weight does it take to start to drop the rear end on a swb f150?

I ask cause i put a 80lb battery in the back and the truck sat down some. Wondering if my leaf springs are weakened or if the new ones will work the same?

 

I think regardless of the wheelbase, an 80lb. battery shouldn't lower the rear end. I'm not sure how many leaves are in your springs but i can stand in my bed or on my step bumper (at 165lbs.) and the rear barely moves....maybe about 1/2 to 3/4's of an inch.




Pic from when I first got the truck to Ohio. Replacing the stabilizer pin busings helped by leaps and bounds.

 

I don't have swaybars on mine but going from memory I believe I only have 3 leafs I don't have that curved leaf at the top that contacts the frame mounts to raise the carring capacity.

But the truck does squat fairly easy I just wonder if its worn out leaf spring bushings or if its the springs are weak itself.

I know the truck does seem to ride smoother if I have the back squatted down some with weight in the back but figure that is normal for any leaf spring truck.

 

Correct...any truck with leafs that i've owned rode better under load. Given the thickness of the bushings, i'm thinking that the springs might be the culprit, causing the "sag".
If new springs are out of reach, maybe a set of Adjustable Coil-Over shocks would be a "happy medium", firming up the butt-end. That along with your idea of new front springs just might smooth things out. Keep in mind that the coil-over's will raise the rear a bit. I know it's a totally different animal but, when i had new springs built for my '97 Ranger (due to a FoMoCo known spring breakage issue) and installed the coil-overs, it raised it approximately 3 1/2 inches over stock ride height. But, my Ranger is a Flareside with plastic bed sides and is much lighter. Bed empty, i had to install a rear stabilizer to stop "rear hop" but i can haul a fair amount of weight in a 1/4 ton truck.

 

Be careful, physics are involved here. You are complaining your truck squats too much in the rear and want stiffer springs, but you still want a cushy ride. Not going to happen. Your truck reacted to the battery because it has very soft springs for a good empty ride. And that is also why it sits high in the rear, so it can go ahead and squat easily the first couple of inches without the hood being higher than the rear of the truck.

 

I understand that. I don't want a cushy ride I just felt the ride was too harsh and thought the springs were stiff with age or something. Its just certain horrible roads I get on it rattles the teeth out of my head and shakes and pops all the plastic pieces in the inside of the truck. But on normal roads that are not that horrible truck rides great.

Now on the leafs, mine is just like the photo above except I do not have the curved helper spring at the top. I stepped on the back bumper and with my 200 - 220 lb self the truck squatted on one side down a good 2 to 3 inches. Not sure if this is normal or not but the truck did haul a heavy trailer for a few years as a work truck when we had it. Before that I don't know. But I figure with me doing ball joints I want to do springs and everything if it needs it. The leveling kit I been throwing around to raise the front some to stop the new KO2`s aggressive shoulder from scrubbing my plastic fender on the passengerside (its just the passengerside) when I hit dips in the road at any speed over 25-30 mph.



In the end if my springs are functioning as they should be I wont replace them. I just figured I would look into this and do the leveling kit. Instead of going with the spacers I could get Eaton to make me some coil springs like the LMC ones that are taller to give me the leveling without use of spacers and I can rest easy knowing the springs are made to have the same specs as the stock height springs. I thought of doing the plastic spacer thing but not exactly sure how thoses will work but it would be easier though as for $50 if the camber cant be set I could always pull them out again and no big deal. Harder to do that with a pair of $150+ coil springs.



Well I am thinking on it and the more thinking I am doing, I am leaning towards not even doing the leveling kit. Some people had problems of getting camber in the green with even a 1 1/2" leveling lift being done. Like wise as was stated above the rear springs are designed to be soft and settle easily to prevent the front from being higher than the rear. Well doing a leveling will negate this. I am how ever wondering if I need to atleast check the rear bushings. I don't think this truck has as many miles as the one I did the 5.0 swap on but that one he wore through the bushing and through part of the spring eyelet. I already did bushings in the I beams, also replaced front shocks. So if everyone agrees that the springs don't sound worn out or that I wouldn't benefit from the cost of replacing the springs front and rear then I think I will just go for replacing the ball joints as they pop when cold weather sits in and they are original to the truck. That coupled with having an alignment done might stop my passengerside tire from scrubbing the plastic inner fender.