For the guys that have done the drop in the back by removing a leaf, I'm looking at softening up the ride in my 71, and would like to know which one I can take out without effecting to much. I did a search and couldn't find any specifics.The only thing I'm worried about is making it to soft creating wheel hop or axle wrap. The backend is very light due to having no tailgate, rear bumper, and gas tank in the back. My truck is strickly a street truck that will never tow or carry a load. I'm not sure which one is the overloader or helper leaf. Even if you guys have a link on leaf springs that'd be great.

I've tried the suspension forum with no results.

 

If I remember right, I removed the bottom two and left the upper three.
I did not put the clamps back on, so there is a chance that things will shift.
I don't like that. I'm also concerned about the wheel hop issue, especially with the new motor.

BUT my biggest concern is the gouges worn into each upper spring by its adjacent lower spring. These can create stress concentrations where the spring may break (this truck has 270k miles on it, afterall). Given that safety risk, I plan to swap to new F100 springs when I get a chance. I hate to spend that much ($400-500), but safety issues come first.

I'm also considering rearranging the shocks like so many of automakers are doing in their live axle applications. Is it called "staggering the shocks"? I forget the term.

I may also use the econodrag upside-down reversed ladder bars for wheel hop.

Let us know what you decide and how it works. I'm still mostly in the planning phases.

 

I took just the lower leaf out of my '69 F100. It is basically a helper spring for when you load it to the max. It is the straight short one on the bottom. I removed it and definitely softened the ride a bit. I don't recall any real "lowering" going on since the spring is only like 1/2" thick. It does not really support any weight until you put weight in the bed.

 

Awesome dual quad 428 you have there Freightrain.

Great. So it's the bottom leaf. Is it a bad idea reusing the u-bolts or should they be replaced? Also, there seems to be some sort of shackle at the one end of the leaf. I'm assuming it prevents bottoming out when the box is overloaded. Think I'll remove it.

I also noticed your sketch of the throttle linkage. Did everyone else have the same contraption with the multiple linkages, and the one connecting to the firewall? I did the same and got rid of the whole thing and clipped it right onto my Holley carb.

 

I would reuse the U-bolts and just chase the threads to clean them up since you will be going lower on the threads with the nut. Just make sure the U-bolts go back into the same position since they are probably bent a partial way.

On my 1971 4x4 I have nine leaves. If it was me, I might try removing (counting from the bottom) #4 or #5 and leave the short springs on the bottom so the force of a load is spread father up the spring instead of it bending in the middle.

I was wondering about removing that little shackle thing myself. I think it is done that way so the angle of the drivetrain does not change under load and so the springs do not flatten out in a negative arc. Reason I left mine is it looked like it might pull the axle back too far out of the slip joint or out of the locating pin on the axle.

If you are taking the leaf out, you might want to clean up the leaves and put those nifty little telflon sheets in between the leaves. It is suppose to make your ride smoother. I just sprayed oil on mine.

I just replaced my rear bushings with poly from Prothane (sp?). I have not had a chance to load up my truck and take it for a highway ride to see the difference (since I had no rubber left - anything is an improvement). Just wanted you to know my set fit perfectly.

 

Thanks for the tips rebocardo. I do need to replace all my bushings front and rear. Those teflon sheets sound like a good idea.

 

Just to give you an idea how pathetic some of my vehicles have been, when I read the title of the post "Leaf Removal", I thought you were gonna ask how to get the tree leaves out of the vent

I have owned vehicles so bad that you couldn't open the vents under the dash with out getting covered with oak leaves!!!!!

 

Yep, had the same problem. Mostly just the kickpanel vents.

 

My truck still smells like old dust (which bothers me), even after cleaning inside the dash.

 

I've taken a couple of mine to the carwash and blasted out the *inside*.
The F250 took it with no problems, but some of the gauges in my S10 fogged up and acted funny for a while.

It sure cleans the dust and sneeze remants out of the gauge lenses though.