Ok my question is if the springs off of a f450 cab n chasiss fit my f350 long bed... i found some beefer springs at the junk yard for a good price... and as far as i can see it seems it would be a direct swap but i just wanted to get some feed back...

 

I put a set of F450 springs in my 79 f350 all I had to do was drill out the bolt holes on the spring hanger. It was like putting a lift kit I needed longer shocks and for some reason it moved my rear back about 1 1/2 inches. This is a wrecker and it takes a lot to squat it now.

 

well luckly i have a pair of brand new larger shocks so im not to concered with that i was just trying to make sure that the springs werent longer for some reason...
Now starmilt im assuming u got these 450 from a different year pickup ....because im wondering if ill have to do that drilling because the truck seems to be around the same year it even had a the 7.3 idi turbo diesel engine like mine.

 

Yea the ones I got were from a new ambulance about 10 years ago. I'm thinking you probably will because on them ambulances they changed the spring hangers and everything all new to get a better ride before they ever went to the customer and sold me the springs for 50 bucks, worked out great for me.
What I could have done was take them to the spring builder and have different bushings installed in the springs, but at the time I needed the wrecker every day.

Unless you are hauling some big loads these are going to be very stiff.

 

im not worried about stiffness im used to big trucks ...but i hate when i see a truck sag so ill probaly try them out im gettin the pair for 50 bucks aswell so i feel its worth it...

 

Get them! Then remove their top two leafs, and put the rest under your own top leaf, it should clear the shackles and save you the grief from moving spring hangers and stuff. Then you can use 2 or 3 of your old leafs to build yourself some nice big overloads, if you don't have overloads now the holes are already pre-drilled in the frame rails so all you'll need is grab the brackets from Ford and bolt them in... Take a look at this: From top to bottom these are: F350 overload leaf, F-Superduty overload leaf, F-Superduty overload spacer block, two F350 top main leaves, three F250 middle main leafs (from a '99 truck), F350 bottom leaf, F350 overload spacer block, axle.

 

7 leaf main springs with 5 leaf overloads.

Rides like a road wagon till you have at least 2 tons in the bed.

 

at least u real the road

 

When I've put HD 1-Ton (Dodge's "F-450" in the '70s) factory springs in RamChargers, 1/2 Tons and 3/4 tons they always had bigger bushing and shackle holes with larger diameter bolts.
Since starmilt ran into this on a '70s Ford it must have been common at least then. Makes sense; stronger truck=stronger bolts.

 

thanxs guys for all the feed back ... as i have it now the truck has a set of overload springs that handled pretty decent ...but ive heard of a few ppl upgraded and then running overload springs and since the oppurtuinty is there i think im going to go for it...it might be a bit but i will try to post pixs of the swap when i am done.

 

Are your overload like mine - a separate leaf, spaced away from the main leaf pack, and riding on its own pads when truck gets loaded enough for it to contact them? I'm asking cause many folks confuse overloads and add-a-leafs:

a) the overload is like in the pics above, normally it just sits there and looks mean (lol) and you're only riding on your main pack, but when you load up the truck good the main pack sags a bit and the overload contacts the frame brackets and starts working to help handle the load.

b) add-a-leaf is used to stiffen up the main pack, it 's connected to it all the time and therefore works all the time, really add-a-leafs are the cheaper alternative of installing beefier main packs to handle higher loads that you pull regularly.

By all means the overload is a better setup, it gives you a nice ride when empty and it don't jack your rear end way up, but when you load the truck it's still there to prevent sagging and to help carry the load. It's also good because it distributes the load across 4 frame brackets per side, whereas the add-a-leafs only use the front and rear hangers of the main packs.

So, back to my first question, do you have overloads (like mine), or add-a-leafs? If you have the factory single-leaf overloads you can always double or triple them up, it will not affect your empty ride height and quality, but it will make big difference for those few times when you overload the truck like there ain't no tomorrow If you have add-a-leafs, just ditch those and build yourself some nice overloads from your current packs, after you replace everything but the top leaf of your current main packs with the F-Superduty leafs.

 

as of right now i have the factory f350 springs... with the Over load springs that sit on top of a seperate block... these overload springs are not the crappy flimmsy ones that come stock with some trucks these are a little beefer that i picked up at a local spring shop that mainly does semis so they handle very well with only two add leafs... but last year i added leafs to my stock leaf springs to my 99 ford f350 and added the overloads which worked out great ... but it was a bit pricey due to the fact that my 99 has a lift so the leafs had to be "curved" to fitt the lift springs and since these leaves that i found at the salvage yard are cheap i figured hey why not ... and if it seems like it will sit up to high ill jus add an add a leaf up front should give it a beefer look which i am perfectly comfortable with