i have been on all morn trying to find post about leaf springs and lifts on a 78 F250 4wd, i know there has to be a few out there but can only find ones on leaf swaps. I need to know more bout the stock leafs and also i caught something about lifting the front with blocks being a bad idea(thats all it said) and i just bought my truck and of cours it has the blocks up front. Why is this a bad idea... so if u have a link to some useful threads that would be great

 

You must have a body lift on it now? I assume so being the blocks in front. The blocks when used off road or hard work can cause axle wrap and breakage from what I understand. You are much better off with a suspension lift than a body lift. Well I'm not a lot of help but your thread is up top again so someone with more info hopefully will help you out. Welcome to fte and good luck

 

This is a heated topic on the offroad forum, but I will give you some high lights about blocks. Steer axles have a considerable amount of side loads applied to the springs during a turn. A block under the spring creates more leverage on the spring perch and the axle can move under the springs. Imagine standing on a pair of soup cans. Not very stable right? The same is true for the vehicle.
Now add the fact that the axle is trying to take impacts and fighting the steering forces.
Alright, now lets talk about axle wrap, know that these forces are present to both acceleration as well as braking. Since the axle has to steer, and the original steering design has a drag link that runs from the front of the frame to the driverside steering knuckle, any axle wrap will result in bumpsteer.
That being said, the additional axle wrap also changes steering caster, so the truck can be a handfull under braking conditions.
Correct springs are cheap and easy to install.
This is as much a saftey concern as it is a performance concern, and a sacrifice should not be considered here. Blocks are not even all that cheap, and after u bolts have to be purchased, the total savings is minimal.

I am not sure what your questions are about factory leafs, can you be specific?
Also as a note, your topic might recieve far better results if it was titled differently.
A title that pertains to your question will net far better results as a user that glances over the titles, can identify with your topic, and reply. Also a great tool for future searches. Keywords that relate to springs will eventually permit someone to find this thread in the future.
Just a suggestion. Welcome to the site, and I hope that you can find the information you are looking for.

 

Thank you both for the insight. 75F350, the info is a great start. My truck has 3" maybe 4" blocks between the axle and leafs. I do notice under hard breaking it wants to pull. The weird thing is on the front their are only two leafs per side(GVWR is 6700lbs) and they are stright. I was under the impression that even under load they should still have some arc in them.

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...d/DSCF7933.jpg

Again thank you for the help

 

Alright some pics. We can work with this.
Your pulling is exactly as I had mentioned and the pulling comes from the axle housing tryint to rotate forward under braking. See, as the axle rotates, the drag link binds and pushes the wheels to the left. IN some cases, it may pull any direction, depending on any dips in the road. Unfortunately the steering desing is not all that great, and adding a block such as yours does not complimemnt the poor design.
OK, well now that we see that you have a problem, we can move forward. Lets look at what the fix is and talk about your exisitng springs. These leafs did not have much arch from the beginning, and as time goes on, they loose some tension.
With such a flat spring, I can say with great assurance that you have a very rough ride. See the spring has to change length during suspension cycles, and thisperfectly flat spring cant so this too well. It has already reached its full length and will never get any longer than it already is. This means that the suspension is almost stuck, and the spring can onlu bend or invert. This pulls the shackle forward, and against the natural angle that the shackle want to go during a compression cycle.
The fix: a new set of springs with enough arch that will form a small "U" and have just enough of a bend to provide adequate lift without using the block. You will need new shorter u-bolts and a new spring. Now this spring will probably have more leafs and with the proper shape, and proper shackle angle can ride like a caddy. Really, these trucks do not have to ride rough.
Spring options are all over the place. For this year of truck, you can purchase small lift springs or use front leafs from an early F250. They are intercchangeable and will provide some lift and eliminate the block.
Cant find leafs springs? This might be the best attempt I could make. I would actually consider using a 99-04 Super duty front leaf spring pack tat is described a a leveling kit. I would purchase just the leafs and bolt tham in. Since this is a 54 inch spring, it would make the shackle angle just about perfect for a quality ride. Some slight mods will have to be made, but these springs are cheap as can be, so shop around.
If you dont lift the vehicle any further, you wont have to make anu other modifications, provided that the rest is not all hacked up too. I am refering to the brake lines and driveline angles.
These small lift springs should be cheap and easy to find. This is an easy fix.

 

That's good to hear, as this is my daily driver right now. I did finally find some threads on swapping out the front springs. Luckily my friend and his dad run a dumptruck and demolition company with a shop with more than enough to do any modifacations. I really appriciate your help and input. Do you have any recomendations as far as new shocks and is there anyting else I should replace while i have the front end apart. I only paid $500 bucks so putting some money into her is not an issue. I just want to keep it as a daily driver with weekend wheeling In mind. Thanks again you have been a really big help

 

Congrats on your find, that is a fantastic investment, and you will be bery happy in the long run.
As far as shocks, this is a rather interesting topic, and can have many results that vary from person to person. I have a reference to the bilstein shock and feel that this is a very well performing shock, and probably the best on the market in this category.
With some careful measurements and a little patience you can have this thing running straight and true. Stopping should be no problem for the size of tires you are running, and this could be a very fun truck for you.
Much luck.