I was under the 89 F250 and looking at the front springs and noticed that I cannot even fit my little finger between rubber stop and the top of the differential. The drivers side had more clearance, it was about 1/4" and the right side had about half that. So when I hit a bump all the travel that I have in the front end is a 1/4". I am assuming that the springs have sagged over the years and that originally it was more.

Anyone know roughly what the original clearance was?

Thanks

 

my 85 is the same exact way, I suspect the springs need replaced, that or some others said the bushing are rotted out. I plan on getting new ones... Will front springs from a gasser work on the 6.9?

I do believe even that my drivers side also has more clearance than the passenger just like yours.

 

Gasser springs are not heavy enough.

I bought new springs for mine as well as new shackles.

I had a bad time getting the old bolts out of the front springs, so I wound up changing shackles first, then the springs.

I gained four times the extra bump stop clearance by changing the front shackles than I did changing the springs.

Both shackles cost about 70 dollars with bolts, new front springs were 350.

Do yourself a favor, change the front shackles and bolts before you order new springs.

The bushing up inside the frame was completely worn through and the shackle bolt was wearing into the shackle side plate when I removed mine.

Soak all the bolts and nuts dailey with PB Blaster or some other penetrating oil a couple weeks before you try to remove the bolts.
Getting them to come loose from the metal sleeve inside the bushing was a chore.
I wish I would have refilled my oxy actelyne torch tanks before I started this job, then I would have just burned the bolts off, but I still would have to get the bolt out of the spring bushing.

Also there was nothing wrong with the spring bushing on either of the springs front or back.

 

Sorry for dumb question but what is the shackle your referring to?

 

The spring shackle on the front of the front springs.
Most of it is up inside the frame, you can only see the bottom of it where it bolts to the spring.

Once removed, it looks just like the one on the rear of the rear springs, which you can see.

 

Looking at it, the shackes mount up in the frame. The bolts seem to be in good shape in the springs, I suppose I will have to pull out the shackles to see what is going on in there, probably a good idea to see how much material is left.

What was the clearance to the bumpers after you changed the shackles and springs? I have a set of springs off of a F350 Diesel. It looks like they should fit. I am wondering how much higher than stock they would put me. I am guessing it would gain ~3" of travel.

 

Also IF I put on the F350 front springs would it require me to change any of the linkage?

 

F350 springs are the same ones you have now.

All diesel F250 trucks have the same frame and springs as an F 350.
The only difference is the F 350 may have overload springs on the rear, which the 250 frame is drilled to mount.
Also the F250 had 2" spacers on the rear axle, the F 350 had 4" spacers.

Yes there were different options for springs, and you may find a truck with special order springs, but the basic spring package uses the same springs, front and rear.


Also on the IFS front axle, more leaves in the springs or heavier springs may raise the front end to the point that there is not enough adjustment to get the front end alignment back in spec.

I tried different air pressures in my Ride Rite air bags at the alignment shop, 20 PSI was the max before the alignment was out more than there was adjustment for.

 

yep... I went and looked.. they are off and curved up alot... but the same thickness and 2 leaf setup, so with the weight they will be sagging a bit too. Maybe not as much since these were pulled off after only a few years of use. The rear has the overload springs and the 4" spacers but the same 5 leafs, so the spirngs are all the same just the stack is taller with the overloads on the top. Thanks Dave.

If I put the 2" spacers from the rear (put the 4" ones in the rear) to the front with new springs and shackles.. do you see any problems I may encounter from adding 2"?

 

I put 350 springs in the front of my 250. Raised it up 2 or 3 inches. my steering is off a bit but im not sagging in the front at all. Nice and level. Ill worry about the steering once i get my polyurethane bushings and ball joints in.

 

I don't know how this will affect the TTB set-up but I put an add-a-leaf in my '91 Dodge with a Cummins and it made a lot of difference.
It seemed to put just the right amount of spring rate in the front. This is a solid axle Dana 60 truck though. It also as a heavy winch bumper and winch and I think the Cummins is a couple 'a hundred pounds heavier so you might take all this into consideration.
I had a couple of inches of travel already but it still wasn't hard to hit the bumpstops. About everyone who rode in it both before and after commented that it rode much better.
Also you DO NOT WANT TO PUT BLOCKS IN THE FRONT SUSPENSION if that's what your talking about trying. That heavy truck/motor combination could put enough side load, especially with the extra leverage it would cause, to spit the blocks out and then you'd have some really scary or non-existent steering ability.