i was wondering how long are the front and rear leafs in my 79 f250? i was wondering if it was possible to use superduty springs, i found some for 16" lift that a guy is trying to get rid of, but need to know if i can use my leaf spring mount mounts or if i need to get superduty shackles and space them accordingly on my frame. thanks guys.

justin

 

What happened to "keep it big and low.......", anyway it's been done. Look at this https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...&albumid=13895 he's using them on a 79 250.

 

I'm using them in the front of my truck and they fit right in. I believe the difference in length he's mentioning in the linked gallery is for the rear springs.

I'd advise you to give some serious though to whether you actually want 16" springs in your truck. Holy moly those things will ride like poo and be absolutely worthless for wheeling if you ever take your truck offroad.

 

Good call Ivan.
Used springs are usually for sale for one of two reasons.
1. Owner decides to go bigger to clear bigger meats.
2. Truck rode so bad with those "U" shaped things under it, it wasn't fun any more.
Yeah, that is about it.

 

We call them "banana springs". Bananas are for monkeys . . . not for suspension. I'm not against big lift by any means. I'm running 18" now and will be bumping that to 20" soon here. But to do that with all springs is a BAD idea unless it's a show truck that's only going to be trailered around.

 

I still have yet to put a set of stock 04 superduty springs under the front of mine.

 

i am going to be running rockwells and 53" military tires. i am all for cutting my fenders and had decided to go with 12" leaves but was wondering about this deal. will probably stick with my original idea. what do yall think i should do about fitting those tires then? drop down leaf spring hangers? that just almost seemed like a weak alternative. oh and this truck will be far from a trailer queen. plan on mudding the hell out of it. and i still have my big and low f150 now at 5.5" of lift and 40" swampers.

thanks guys
justin

 

All I'll say is it seemed to do the trick for BigFoot and all the original monster trucks. They were all running 5 ton axles and 66" tires . . . heck they even wheeled them from time to time.

 

would i need to build an entire subframe for the truck? i considered using 2x3 tubing and doing that, then bolting the whole thing to my frame and bolting the hangers to the dropped frame. or would it be possible to use 10" long shackles and built 10" dropped hangers? i am just wondering what will be the most durable. i already have a pretty well built 460 and a granny geared 4-speed so power is going to be available and with the rockwell 6.72 gearing, i am going to be torquing pretty hard on everything. thanks guys.

justin

btw, do we need to have this post moved to the 4x4 forum? dont want to get in trouble for talking about an unrelated topic.

 

As you go up, consider a spring that is longer. Try not to get locked into factory mounting points. The stock front length of 53" is too close together to give you what you are looking for. You may wanna consider changing the mounting points to utilize a longer spring. This will give you usable lift, and the springs have a better chance of flexing the way that they should. You will be much happier with the results. Is a coilover type setup out of the question? Maybe, maybe not?

 

i have been thinking about using a longer spring, i just found the rockwells i want to use, a guy in my area said he'd hold on to them for me, and i am now trying to get my suspension figured out. coilovers arent out of the question, but i am unsure about how to build the 3 or 4 link system that is required in order to run them, and leafs are just so much simpler. if i go to a longer spring, the only thing i am looking at, for the front anyway, is having to extend my frame forward in order to not move my axle backward under the truck. i had planned on moving it to the very front of the frame, but if i do that and go with a 60" long spring, i will end up with the same axle location, defeating my purpose of moving the front hanger forward. if i could look at and measure a good 3/4 link setup i would be more than willing to attempt it! i plan on driving this thing on the street (to and from the mud pits, shows, etc,) and want to be able to go about 55 without problems, so that is always a consideration as well. thanks


justin

 

Soooo................. Super Duty front springs will bolt right in? How accurate is the lift amount then, or is it a shot in the dark as to what to get? I've heard that the ride is way better, any truth in that?

 

jgreen:
axle location would be based on the spring center pin. There are no rules stating that the pin has to be in the middle of the spring.
This being said you may consider using rear springs from a different application, in the front of your truck. Do your homework, and study up on spring rates. Understand how tension can work for you to provide lift without the compromise of poor performance, and you will be way ahead of the game. Better yet, many custom spring builders have the knowledge already. Count on it costing a few bucks, but you can rely on a decent result with a good builder.

 

Yes, they will bolt right in. The amount of lift you get should be pretty accurate for what the springs are rated with the exception of using diesel springs. They're rated for a lift height on a truck with a heavier front end so they tend to yield about 2" more lift for our trucks.

The ride being better depends on the type of springs you buy. I'm a big fan of Skyjacker softride springs because they DO ride a lot better than stock springs. Superlift springs ride like doo doo. It depends on the kind of spring pack a company sells and how they treat their springs. For me personally, I wouldn't buy any leaf spring besides Skyjacker. I'm running 6" Superduty springs in the front and 4" Bronco springs out back.

Justin, for the amount of lift and tire you want to run I would strongly recommend you don't fool with a linked suspension if you plan to drive on the street at all. Even for someone with 4 link experience it can be a challenge to make a TALL truck stable enough to be driven safely on the street.

You don't need an entire sub-frame for your truck. Drop hangers will work nicely if they're properly reinforced and if you have the experience in welding to properly attach them to the frame. Make sure you are using a welder capable of proper penetration for such a job, not a 110 volt setup. Don't build 10" long shackles as you'll risk them buckling, risk your axles shifting sideways and get poor flex out of them. Instead, you just need to drop the shackle mounts the same as you do with your hangers.

Again, I can't stress enough how important it is to do this properly using heavy enough materials, heavy enough welding equipment and properly designed components. I see a lot of people do a lot of scary redneck engineering for mud trucks and while it makes me cringe it's really not that big a deal for a truck that's going to be trailered to events. If something breaks your speed will be low (most likely) and chances are you won't be around a lot of other vehicles when it happens. If something like this fails on the road you risk not only your life but the lives of everyone else around you. Even IF nobody is killed you face a good lawsuit that could screw you for the rest of your life.

 

thanks ivan, thats what i wanted to hear about the linked suspensions, i have been looking aroung and not only are good coilovers expensive ($400-500 each!) the reliability of a 4-link at 60mph has me a little bit worried. i am sure someone can, and has, done it, but i don't want to under take that kind of a challenge. have a 220volt welder and a good friend who is a welder will be doing all my welding for me. i have read you should not acutally weld anything to your frame as it creates new/different flex points compared to what the factory intended, have any of yall heard this as well? you say you are running 6" springs, then you have 10" dropped hangers right? could you post a few better pics of just your suspension? i would really appreciate that.

75 f350-if my spring center pin is not at the bottom center of the spring, this will have a negative effect on the articulation and axle angle wont it? i just cant picture a setup where this would work. maybe if one end of the spring was lower or higher than the other end, but that is the only way i see.

thanks guys
justin