I've just finished upgrading my 300 I6 and now I'm interested in improving the ride of my old truck. On a '77 F100 shortbed, what are some suggestions for improving handling? I don't want to lift or drop the truck, and I'm not looking for racing performance. Just some upgrades to help prevent the listing when I turn and the sagging in the back when I haul something. It'd be nice to get rid of the various clunking and popping sounds that seem to happen randomly.

Any ideas?

 

Red77, the first thing I would do is check the shocks. I would replace them with an aftermarket shock designed for what you do with truck. Polyurethane bushings would help- A LOT. Those old rubber bushings wear out and cause a lot poor suspension performance. Make sure your ball joints are in good order.

What do you mean by clunking sounds? When does that happen? You may want to check your d-shaft u-joints. To prevent the rear from sagging when loaded you could put on overload springs-though the ride would suffer when empty. Or there is a airbag kit you could put on-I think they're adjustable. Hope this helps some.

Also you may try larger diameter wheels. They help improve handling(less sidewall flex of the tire)

 

I've had several sets of shocks on this truck over the last 15 years that I've had it. They don't seem to last very long. I've read / heard of / been told about polyurethane bushings many times. I bought a set for the leaf springs, but I'm too retarded to figure out how to keep the spring from shooting up to the body when I pull that first bolt, so I can't get to them to replace them. The bushings that worry me the most are the ones at the bottoms of the I beams. I'm pretty confident that they're worn out, but I have no idea how to get more, much less how to replace them. How do you know when your coil / leaf springs are too weak? I guessed that since my shocks only last a couple years at best, the springs must be shot.

The clunking sounds sound to me like something has no bushing left on it. It's not in the drivetrain, it's in the suspension. I know my old transmission has a lot of slop in it, but that's a different clunk altogether. It's mostly popping, but now and then when I hit a bump in the road, something goes clunk. So, what do you think about I beams? I can see the lower bushings are worn out, what else should I pay attention to with this type of suspsension?

 

Red, I'm not sure how much $$ you are willing to throw at this, but what I what I would do is buy ALL of bushings that are found on your truck. Replace the mtransmission mount(I'm sure you get polyuerthane as well here). Just for the fun of it replace your u-joints with the greasable style. As for shocks, what have you been buying?
If they cheapies from monroe or something, yeah, they wear out faily quick. I would spend the extra $$ and get quality shocks like KYB. Also, what do you haul with truck? If you load it up heavy and often then buy heavier duty shocks. I would also buy boots for your shocks to help keep out dirt and debris. They would run you about $10 each.
Lastly, if you don't feel confident in doing some of these things-then don't. Take it to someone you trust. I couldn't see more than 8-10 hrs to replace all of the bushings, ball joints, shocks, etcetera in a shop. Lifts make work soooo much easier.

 

I'm not sure how much money I can put on the suspension project. I'll have to shop around and see how much all of that would cost me. Of course, with a '77, it's hard to find anyone who has all of the bushings for this truck. I'll probly have to go to several different places just to get everything I need.

I have been buying cheapo shocks. Whatever Autozone stocks, I don't even know. I don't think the last set was even heavy duty. I don't always run with a load, but usually, if a trip requires taking the truck, I'm moving furniture, hauling the lawn equipment, or pulling the boat to the river. Of course, on those occasions, I drive a lot less aggressively, so I tend to not notice the poor ride as much.

I changed the radius arm bushings some years ago. That might have been easy if I had disassembled the spindle like I was supposed to. But NO! I had to chisel off the steel rivets that held that bracket to the frame at the rear of the radius arm! What a dope. I'm older and wiser now, so I think I can tackle most of them. The leaf springs will be a challenge, but I'll figure out how to do it sooner or later!

 

Check out energy suspension they have kits for your truck. Another good place to check would be NPD

 

ok...the ploy bushing are great...but if you don't want a rock solid ride, and vibration, stick with the factory rubber. We put a energy suspension master kit in my buddy's integra and it rode like a tank after. everything was torqued and greased properly. but they are just really stiff. for your shocks and springs, I agree with you that your springs are probably toast. replace them and get a set of pro comp shocks. I got a complete set for 95.00 tax and shipping inc for my 92 F150 and it rode very well....very controlled.

they were the ES1000's im stepping up to the 9000's for my 05 xlt. I can get them for 135.00 plus shipping with a steering stabilizer as well. good deal.