Replacement Rear Leaf Springs
Thread Starter
|
Hotshot
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 11,958
Likes: 228
Replacement Rear Leaf Springs
My 95 F150 2wd has the 2.5 inch 4 leaf pack. They are rated at about 1400 lbs. I am changing the rear bushings out and going with polyurethane. The truck has about 225K miles on it. I just thought I would go ahead and replace the stock springs so I won't have to do it later when they start to sag. Besides that I would like a slightly stiffer spring anyway. I am thinking about going with the 5 leaf pack rated at about 1700 lbs from JCWhitney. If anyone cares to look at it, their part number is ZX975254B. My first question is this. Does anyone know if these will be good and durable springs? Second question is will the extra leaf and weight capacity affect ride height much? JCW's support couldn't answer this question. I'm not really concerned about the thickness of the leaf. I would think the spring would be designed to ride about the same. I currently have 2 inch blocks. I can always go to a 1 inch or a 1.5 inch pair of blocks, but I only want to do this once. I'll get new blocks before the project starts. If not these springs, where do I find good quality replacement ones with out going to the Ford dealer?
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 431
Likes: 1
From: Hampton,Va
about to " add - a -leaf in my 95 4wd due to sagging springs ,from what i saw the shorter the spring the stiffer the ride will be, they should be near to stock but maybe with the added leaf ,just see which one is added thats all , long or short.
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 204
Likes: 0
If you want good quality springs, you can take your chances with jcw (you can always send them back if ng. I had good luck with coil springs through jcw). Or you can find a spring repair shop near you. Ask around at parts stores and garages or just check the yellow pages. You will need new ubolts and eye bolts when you replace the springs and these you would have bent up at a spring shop anyway.
If the spring has more leaves in it, ride WILL NOT be as smooth as before. Air helper springs are a much better and less expensive alternative to swapping out your leaf springs if they are in otherwise good condition.
Never re-use ubolts on your axles. When brand new, they lose 33% of strength if they've been torqued down then loosened, oiled and re-torqued. If they are old and rusty, they lose even more strength.
If the spring has more leaves in it, ride WILL NOT be as smooth as before. Air helper springs are a much better and less expensive alternative to swapping out your leaf springs if they are in otherwise good condition.
Never re-use ubolts on your axles. When brand new, they lose 33% of strength if they've been torqued down then loosened, oiled and re-torqued. If they are old and rusty, they lose even more strength.
Thread Starter
|
Hotshot
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 11,958
Likes: 228
I don't know if they would neccessarily be sagging already. I have seen several cars/trucks that didn't have sagging springs when they were 10 years old but did when they were 15-20 years old. I was thinking the same thing that the Ford springs might be better than JCW's springs. I really don't like the 4 leaf spring. I would prefer the 5 leaf spring with the few hundred lbs extra capacity. This would be about right to compensate for trailer tongue weight. When I tow a standard flat bed trailer now the back of the truck drops about a half inch and if I tow the 19 ft boat it drops and inch or more and while driving down the highway the rear just goes up and down. Have Rancho shocks. I wonder if this looseness is caused just by worn bushings. Those 4 leaf springs are definitely not desingned for hauling/towing much of anything. They are not beefy enough. I have upgraded rear gears and differential and have a transmission cooler. This is the last thing I really need to have it more capable of towing. I would like to know who has bought some good replacement springs. Also, for the eye bushing bolts, you can't reuse these bolts? I was told about 100 bucks to get these from Ford. That is rediculous!
Posting Guru
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,781
Likes: 1
From: Central NY
http://broncograveyard.com/bronco/i-...ngs__stock.htm
Eyebushing already installed and they have the rest of the hardware you need too.
Eyebushing already installed and they have the rest of the hardware you need too.
Thread Starter
|
Hotshot
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 11,958
Likes: 228
That is excellent. Its exactly what I was looking for. Hopefully they are the right width it doesn't say if they are 2.5 or 3 inches wide. It is the extra load capacity and even has an overload leaf on top of that. The other ones I was looking at didn't have the overload leaf. For 200 bucks with bushings too!
Thanks!
Thanks!
Trending Topics
New User
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
ive used the 5spring setup b4 when i had my bronco, they were great, didnt really affect the ride although i put on rancho shocks at the same time so i really couldnt tell. but for the price and the quality i was very satisfied.
FTE Stories
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Ford Trucks Ever Sold on Bring a Trailer
Joe Kucinski
2027 Ford Super Duty Buyer's Guide (Every Model, Engine, & Package)
Brett Foote
Top 10 Ford Truck Tragedies
Joe Kucinski
AEV FXL Super Duty - the Super Duty Raptor Ford Doesn't Make
Brett Foote
Lobo Vs Lobo: Proof the F-150 Lobo Should Be Even Lower!
Michael S. Palmer
Ford's 2001 Explorer Sportsman Concept Looks For a New Home
Verdad Gallardo
10 Best Ford Truck Engines We Miss the Most!
Joe Kucinski
2026 Shelby F-150 Off-Road: Better Than a Raptor R?
Brett Foote
2027 Super Duty Carhartt Package First Look: 12 Things You NEED to Know!
Michael S. Palmer
Thread Starter
|
Hotshot
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 11,958
Likes: 228
I wouldn't mind going with the 3 inch ones. Actually I would prefer it, but then I would have to change all of the shackle/mounts etc. Did yours come with the 2.5 inch and you upgraded to the 3 inch. Unless I am missng something I don't think they will be a direct swap. Thats's good to know that the JCW springs are probably a good replacement though. I'll probably order those soon. Are yours the 4 or 5 leaf pack? If they are the 5 did it change your ride height any?
Last edited by TexasGuy001; Jan 12, 2006 at 03:57 AM.
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 431
Likes: 1
From: Hampton,Va
just last night i installed the LONG add-a-leaf from bronco graveyard it advertised a 3- 3 1/2 lift , i got what they said , my springs were sagging and it got em back up to par then a little so they work out good , the longs don't give you the stiffer ride that the short ones will , went ahead and put Rancho's on as well while i had the shocks off. by the way i have the 3inch springs only 3 springs w/ overload leaf on bottom now it is 5 counting the overload spring had to get new u bolts as the older ones weren't tall enough.
Last edited by msb71; Jan 13, 2006 at 03:31 PM. Reason: misspelled
Junior User
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 94
Likes: 0
From: upstate NNY WATERTOWN
replacement rear leaf spring
I have a 1992 flareside 5.8 auto 4x4.I tow a 5,000# camper and had to much
dropped when hooked up even with torsion bars.I put coil over shocks and added a leaf to spring set and the truck now sits level when hooked up and tows fine.With just my honda foreman which weights about 600# I had 18" fo clearance from ground to bottom of bumper before work was done .Now I have
22" of clearance.Also before I couldn't load wheeler and tow camper,now I can load wheeler and tow with no sag.I spent about $500 for shocks and leaf.
dropped when hooked up even with torsion bars.I put coil over shocks and added a leaf to spring set and the truck now sits level when hooked up and tows fine.With just my honda foreman which weights about 600# I had 18" fo clearance from ground to bottom of bumper before work was done .Now I have
22" of clearance.Also before I couldn't load wheeler and tow camper,now I can load wheeler and tow with no sag.I spent about $500 for shocks and leaf.
