How difficult is it to add leaf springs to the rear end of my 98 ranger quadcab w/3.0 2wd. I need to beef up the rear end because I pull a trailer occasionally and need to lift the rear a little so any help would be great

 

It's not really very difficult, it's just that you're dealing with the heavier parts of the suspension and need to take precautions relating to the job. You'll need a couple of jack stands and a floor jack, plus new u-bolt for the axle and new bolts for the spring packs. By adding a couple of leaf springs to each side you'll gain a small amount of lift and a bit more weight carrying capacity. By just adding leaves you wouldn't need to remove the bolts from the main leaf on either side where they bolt to the frame. They can be a pain if there's very much rust. When you look at your springs, you may only have three or four on each side with the shorter springs being on the bottom position of the spring group or "pack" and being arranged in a stair step fasion. When adding springs you can put the additional springs in where it kind of fills in where it looks like a missed step woud be on a set of stairs. Also before starting this project, take a good look at the springs where they all bolt together by the u-bolts, to look for broken or cracked springs. Some Rangers have had trouble with broken springs. When you acutually start this project, support the truck on the frame with jack stands so there's room under the differential for a floor jack to fit and be able to drop it down several inches without the tires on it. Also block both sides of both front tires so they can't roll when the truck is on the jack stands. Take one side loose at a time to add springs and you won't need to take off the brake line to the axle. By doing one side at a time you can also refer to the other side if you need to see how things were put together. You'll need to take each shock loose from the axle so it will drop enough to clear the springs. Take both axle u-bolts loose on one side with the floor jack under the diff. Lower the axle till it's away from the springs enough to loosen and remove the spring pack bolt in the center of the springs. It should come out from under the springs. If it's badly rusted the head can be cut off with a hack saw. Once the bolt is out and the springs are appart check them over for cracks. The main leaf can stay bolted to its hangers and just the smaller ones can come down. You can lay the springs out on the ground in the order they were bolted together so you can see where you can add the extra leaf or two or whatever you want to add. You can stack them together with the new pack bolt and see if it's long enough with the main leaf too. Then put them all up to the main leaf and tighten up the pack bolt with the head under the springs. The head of this bolt goes in the hole of the spring pad that's on the axle to locate it in the correct place. Usually the spring pack bolt has a special head on it so it fits the spring pad. Then just put every thing back together with the new u-bolts and tighten them down good and you're done on that side, ready for the other one. Let us know how it goes.

 

I'm considering an air-lift type of suspension add-on. 'Ride-Rite' was recommended by a buddy of mine, he loves what it does for his truck.
RIDE-RITE™ Air Helper Spring Information
I'm sure there is many manufacturers of similar products.
...Terry

 

An overload system would be better than just more leafs. More leafs would give you a stiffened ride when empty, where as a overload would only come into play when you are carring a load whwn the stock springs are compressed to the point of activating the overloads.

 

Has anybody tried Gabriel Hi Jacker shocks, do they work as advertised, are they durable, and are they a viable alternative to an additional leaf spring.

 

I've had Monroe lift shocks on my 96 Ranger & there were a couple of problems.

1. If you carry much load with high pressure in shocks, the rubber bushing will deform quickly. Apparently shock bushings are not designed for constant loads that high.
2. The damping part of the shock didn't last long. I don't think there's enough room (diameter) to include good damping design & the air system. Or, it could be that good damping, and an air lift system would be too expensive. My experience was that the damping part of the shock was crap.

Anyway, what I'm working on now is an air lift bag system by Firestone. Haven't installed it yet, but took a wheel off and did some measurements to make sure it will fit. My purpose is to soften the ride and have a way to maintain normal height. Part of the plan is to remove either the bottom or middle spring leaf to soften the ride, and use the Ride Rite bags to maintain ride height.

Anyone have an opinion on which leaf should be removed? Looks like removing the longer middle one would soften the ride for sure, but might allow more spring wrap when pulling. I'm thinking that removing the short bottom leaf will have less effect on normal ride since it probably is stressed only when carrying a load.

BTW, sagging rear springs on 96 & some earlier Rangers with 2 piece drive shafts can cause drive shaft vibration. The vib is caused by the differential pinion shaft angle change when the back settles down. Spring wrap also causes the pinion shaft to point up. That's another reason I'm installing the air bags.

Ride height and ride quality is a common problem on pickups. I don't know why the companies don't offer an air ride option. A pickup with automatically adjusting rear air springs would be a great improvement.