About a year ago I did the 08+ leaf spring conversion on my truck, with great results. For those of you that have questions about that, here is the install thread from when I did it:

Finally doing my 08 Leaf Spring Conversion - Ford Powerstroke Diesel Forum

I've been reading some about the improved ride quality of the 2011 leaf springs. Here is an article I found about the 2011's:

First Look: 2011 Ford F-Series Super Duty - PickupTrucks.com Special Reports

In the article it sais:

The suspension has been tuned up, too. The shocks have new internal valve settings and the spring rates have been adjusted for better ride comfort. In 2008, Ford introduced its 3-plus-1 spring pack for both the diesel and gas trucks but the 2011 model SD pickups with diesel engines are setup with a new 2-plus-1 kit. Brewer said the 2-plus-1 setup reduces some of the spring binding from friction that drivers felt as a secondary impact after hitting road bumps. It also saves weight for improved fuel economy.

I've been looking for a set, and finally came across a deal on a set to try out. Found a 2011 F250 with very low miles, that had a dash fire.





Got them in today. There is definitely a weight difference. The 2011's have 3 leafs where the 2008's I have are 4-leafs each. Here are a couple of pics of the 2011 springs after UPS dropped them off today:





Will probably be the weekend before I get them switched out, but I'll update when I do.

 

Well as another member (new2deisel) pointed out, the UBolt setup on the 2011's is different. The UBolts point down instead of up. Here is a picture of the new UBolt/Block setup on the 2011 springs.:





In this one you can see the plate that goes on top of the leaf springs that has the seats for the UBolts to sit in:

 

Any updates to this? And why no replies guys?

 

You really like to work huh? You must really love your truck. I think I may have put the money used to upgrade into a new truck, although I have no clue how much you have spent. Our vehicles rust out so fast up here something like this may never be worth it. I traded my 06 based on the amount of body work needed to prevent rust through. It's neat to see this done though. Is this just done for a better ride? How do they do payload wise? I thought I read somewhere they were so soft that the truck squatted with just a minor load in the bed. Again I just heard this and we know how opinions go.

 

Haven't gotten them changed yet. I need to remove my factory hangers. I left them on with the 08 Leaf Springs because they didn't interfere with anything. But with the 2011 springs, the band that holds the leafs together will hit on the factory hanger, so I need to take them off (6 rivets on each hanger!!!)

Here is a picture of the factory hangers still in place with the 2008 Leaf Springs:



But since I have to remove the factory hangers before I can put the 2011 springs on, it did give me a good excuse to buy a new Snap On air hammer!!!





I really like the truck and don't want to spend the $$$$ for a new truck. Especially since I cant stand the front end on the 2011's. The 05-07 has always been my favorite body style. Plus theres not much money in the upgrade really, found a good deal on the used springs. Plus I have already have the 08 spring conversion hangers on there. I have heard that the 2011 leafs tend to squat a little more, but I'm doing a set of helper bags too.

 

Its amazing to see the underside of a truck just have dirt on it. My 06 was rotting good on the underside. Nothing with holes but just a good amount of surface rust everywhere. The bed supports looked like they were ready to give at a moments notice! I had a 96 F-150 where the spring hanger actually just rotted off!!!

I agree that the 05-07 had one of the best looks but this 08 is easily growing on me. I acutally really like the new (11') trucks styling, except for those awful dually "humps".

 

I HATE the grill!! I would have to do something like Josh did with his:

 

The factory grill works for me but those ugly fenders!!

 

Bump. Wondering if you ever got this done.

 

I finally got it done.

I decided to start on the Drivers side since its the hardest, due to dropping the fuel tank, . Keep in mind I am swapping out my conversion brackets too for some new ones, other wise it would just be a matter of taking one spring off and putting the new one on. As mentioned above I also had to remove my factory hangers that were still on there. This is because of where the band around the 2011 springs is located. It would hit on the factory hangers if I left them on. The 2008 springs had the band further back on the spring so it didn't interfere with the hanger. Pulled the leaf spring off and out of the way. So I put the new Snapon Air Hammer (pictured above) to work and this thing is AWESOME!!!! I put the flat chisel tip on and chiseled the head off of the rivet, which took all of about 15 seconds. Then once the head was off the rivet, I switched to the pointed tip and popped the rivet through the other side of the frame. Words cannot explain how easy this tool made the job. Keep in mind, a few of the rivets will have to be replaced with bolts because they support a cross member. I'll probably just go ahead and put bolts in all the holes.

I snapped a few pictures of the 2008 springs next to the 2011 springs

2011 on the left, 2008 on the right:





Here's a closeup that shows the different UBolt mount on the 2011 springs:



Next it was just a matter of removing the Conversion hanger, replacing it with the new one, and putting the new leaf spring in place.

 

Got the passenger's side done as well. Not a whole lot to to write about. Pretty much the same as the drivers side, without having the fuel tank in the way lol. Like the drivers side, I removed the factory hanger on the pass side. I cant explain with words how easy the SnapOn air hammer made the job. I also went ahead and put 7/16" Grade 8 bolts in the top two holes on each side of the hanger. The rivets that were there also held a crossmember in place.

Before, with factory hanger still in place:



After, with factory hanger removed and bolts in place:



I think I might make a plate to go in place of the hanger, just to clean it up a little visually

I did go ahead and use the 2011 style UBolts and Spring Plates just to try it out. I finished up this evening, so I really haven't gotten to drive it much, just down the street and back. It does feel a little softer, which is exactly what I was looking for. Once I get some miles on it, I'll post some feedback. I did want to mention, I didn't see any change in ride height, will see how that is after a few miles as well.

 

I snapped a couple of pics of the 2011 UBolt setup (UBolts point down instead of up) just in case someone wanted to see:





I haven't driven it much yet, but I do believe it settled a little. Its about 1/2" to 3/4" lower in the rear now with the 2011 leafs, compared to the 2008 leafs. I always try to keep the truck about 1" higher in the rear. To me, when a Superduty is exactly the same height on all 4 corners, it looks to me like its squatting on the rear. I'm right at 40" from the ground to the center of the fenderwell on all four corners. So I'm gonna put some more miles on it and see where it ends up and go from there. But I can tell you already, I will be changing something LOL. Just not sure yet if that means bringing the front down just a touch or going with a leveling kit/rear blocks to bring it up. We'll see what happens. Here is a pic of how it sits right now:

 

Great report. Reps sent. Be nice to know how the ride quality and height settle in after a few miles.

 

Great write up and pics!

One thing I noticed, your truck is a 1 ton but you have the 3/4 ton springs installed, correct? The only thing you're missing out on the 2011 1 ton setup is the overload springs on top of the spring stack (in case you're ever in search of some).

 

Would that work for an '04 ? What about the '08 springs didn't you like?