Grease attracts dirt and sand pretty quick. Works nice for a minute. I did paint mine. It wears off real quick between the leaves, but the exterior looks nice for quite a while. Every spring I have ever purchased was painted and I never noticed any serious problems.

Take your pick I guess? I think the important part is removing the 50 years worth of scale. I don't honestly think it makes a big difference what method you choose after that. A dry film lubricant might be a good compromise, but it will wear off too.

 

Hi all,
I guess I'm the one guy you're looking for who used monoleaf springs on an Effie. When I bought my 56, it had the stock, squeeky springs in the rear. It was lowered all around (with MII IFS) and looked pretty good. It had a nice stance and a soft ride. When I took it apart, I discovered why. The rear springs had only three leafs - one main leaf (shackle-to-shackle) and two helper leafs. The main leaf was busted (on both sides). So, I didn't get the opportunity to try out dropping leafs. I had to get some rear springs ASAP.
I went with mono's from the catalog of "John's F-Fun Hundreds" in Anaheim, CA, [(800) 563-3151] which is close to me. They were advertised to lower the rear 2-3 inches. The rear wound up slightly higher than it had been with the busted springs, so I don't know how that rated with what stock was supposed to be. I later added 2 inch lowering shackles.
The ride started out being very stiff and uncomfortable. I thought I had made a big mistake. But after a hindred miles or so, it got softer. I lowered the air pressure in the rear tires to 25# and it got real nice. I'm very happy with the overall setup. I'm not eveb scared off my speed bumps. I hung Gabriel air shocks on the rear for the times I need to carry a load. I hauled a short block in it not long ago and it was really sweet. Great ride and good handling.
I'm a recent member of FTE and didn't have the benefit of all this resource when I was sorting out the rear suspension stuff. Had I the opportunity, I definately would have tried dropping leafs, but maybe I just lucked out.
BTW, taking the shackle pins out was so much fun, I spent 2 weeks on it instead of the 1/2 day I thought the job would take. When I went back to put on the lowering shackles, it took about 30 minutes to do.

 

I have five springs on the backs now. Earlier this year I added the plastic liners in an attempt to make the ride smoother. I did not notice any improvement. At speeds under 30 mph the rear of the truck runs too stiff. I'm going to go to four springs so the suspension will actually operate rather than just bouncing like a hard tail Harley. Like Dewayne, my bed will not be carrying any loads. On the subject of the monos, I have a friend with a 53 f100. He's had them on the front and rear for several years. He is not satisfied and looking for a better alternative. He said that his monos seem stiffer than the original springs Thanks for a good thread. Very timely. John

 

51 F-1, straight axle truck. For you gents still running a straight axle...how many leaves do you run in the front spring and are there any problems with hanger clearance to run reverse eye main leaves? I finally got my front end all apart and am in process of cleaning up the springs and trying to decide if I need to get new reverse eye mains or if I can get enough drop and softer ride by dropping leaves from the existing springs. All thoughts or comments are appreciated.

Thanks!

Leaks

 

Actual ride height is definitely a crapshoot. I used to hate to change them for customers. They'd come in with a T-bird with saggy rear and leave looking like Don "The Snake" Then we'd do front springs next week after they got tired of explaining why their car looked so weird.

That is strange that you ended up higher with monos Randy Jack. I would have thought you would end up WAY lower. You have good performance though and that is sure important. They should wear in some over time.

I should have my new bed on shortly so I can try out mine. I know from pre-measure though that this will be it. With rear drop shackles, front mount raised and 4 leaves, I now have a bit over 3 inches suspension travel and tires that are getting close to fender interference. I got a lot of drop for 75 bucks. I was lucky and started out with good springs. I kinda doubt mine were original Ford.

 

Hey FatFenders,

My truck probably only rides a little higher in the back because the old 3-leaf springs were busted. With the lowering shackles that I put on, the ride height is pretty nice now.

 

Oileaks, I am in the middle of putting my straight axle back in my 56. I had to get new main leaves because one was broken. The shop that did up new leaves for me said the best improvement in ride and drop would come from taking out the second spring. He called this the "helper" spring as it loops around the main leaf at the back. My truck is a long way from the road but I plan to only do this step first and see where the ride/travel ends up. Then look at reversing the eyes on the main leaf if I need it lower. He said he could just heat up the new main leaves he made for me and arch them the other way to reverse the eyes.

I have also added the disc brake kit from ECI and a dual master cylinder bracket. The reason I am not going with reverse eyes right away is am also swaping in a 351W and this should bring down the front a bit more. I don't think clearance for the reverse eyes would be a problem but travel will definitely be reduced. There is also the bump stop which may be in the way when you reverse the eyes on the front.

Kevin

 

Thanks for the reply - I may just put maybe 5 leaves back in and see where it sits - the flathead motor in it is pretty heavy too and from the looks of the springs they haven't been moving much for a lot of years. Just cleaning them up and installing some moly liner (or buttons) may make a big difference.
I don't want to get less than 3 inches of travel - from what I read on the posts that should be sufficient for my loads and driving - but I would like to bring it down a bit and soften it up a weeeeeee bit. It's a truck and I don't mind that but right now it feels like someone whacked you at the slightest little bump.

Thanks!

Leaks

 

I just spotted these for those talking about mono front leaves, One day left and they seem cheap. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=34200

 

there is a set of mono's and newer rear main leafs on ebay. last i looked they were under 100, i was thinking of springin for them but am happy where i am at. the last pair that was on there were a year old and still went for over 300$. think there is less then a day left.ebay link here

 

ha thats funny, we posted at the same time

 

I have 7 leaves on my rear axle (56 f-100). the three bottom ones are flat, kind of like overloads, so they wouldn't get much activity anyway. Can someone tell me which ones I should remove if I want to drop down to 4 leaves? The previous message about taking out the second helper spring would mean that I should leave one of those 3 flat ones in. I read somewhere that you should take out every other leaf, i.e. 2nd-4th-6th or 3rd-5th-7th. Any recommendations?

 

I would pull the overload springs and see what you got. It is only hard the first time if you clean up everything. You can easily experiment after that to achieve the ride and height you desire.

 

I've got 5 on my 56. I heard your suppose to remove the smallest leaf, then the 3rd, 5th, etc. You need to be careful when removing the leafs that you have enough thread left on your u-bolts and plates.

 

I believe the method imlowr2 refers to is widely recommended because it allows you to keep the leaves that have the little U clips. Which is a good thing because the factory ones are very good quality and rivetted. Not referring to the U-bolts, but the four or so U-clips that prevent the leaves from squirming laterally. New U-bolts is highly recommended unless you live in an arid climate.

Did some trucks have five leaves from the factory? Or did they all have the factory overloads? I was down to 5 when I got my truck. And it appeared to be stock style upper pack, with the overloads missing.