Hey,

I am trying to rebuild my 1951 F-3 for work on my farm, towing especially. And my friend told me to replace my leaf springs. But most of the leaf spring replacements I've found are only for F-1's (which is a very common occurance for me ) and there not heavy duty enough for my 1-ton.

Does anyone know where I can find replacement parts? Or can I modify some other kind of leaf springs to fit? Any suggestions???

Thanks for any help you can give!

 

Welcome to FTE, We got some F3 folks here that will be along to give you a lead. I did my F1 fronts and rears but I think you may have beefyer ( is that a word ) springs on yours.

 

There is another spring thread ("raising not lowering") going right now, and one of the posters is a rep for Eaton Spring. They make both coil and leaf springs and understand our needs and want to help. Give em a shout.

 

Well, first, welcome to the forum. I'm sure you'll get a lot of good advice for your rebuild here. Now, I just have to ask, did your friend say why you needed to replace your springs? Are they broken, or have some other such problem? Or is he just trying to spend your money?

 

Welcome to FTE!

Any good spring shop should not only be able to tell you what you will need to do to get the suspensionin the order you want it, but they should be able to MAKE the springs and install them right there for you.

If you want to replace them yourself, you could always take it in and tell them to make them and swap them out yourself.

Good news is they are usually the least expensive way to go as well, and can take care of any contingencies on the spot.

 

if your springs are not broken, most good shops can also re-temper them. a little less expensive, same end result.

 

Hey,

Thanks for the welcome this forum is awsome!

My friend advised me to replace the springs for a smoother ride mainly. I don't want to if I don't have to and they seem to be in good condition, besides being rusty. Will cleaning help ? If so how do you clean them?
Also because I'm using this truck for towing should I raise it ?? A reason I'm asking is because I had to replace the original 17" split rims with 16" Dodge steel wheel rims (as far as I know all the rims that are made to look like the original are only for F-1's , and was adviced to look for steel wheels (I only payed $5 for them I'm not going to be picky)).

Thanks alot to all of you !!!

 

Taking the springs apart to clean them is a little tricky on heavier springs like yours. You need to remove them from the truck and obtain two large (at least 2" bigger than the spring stack) very heavy duty C clamps. Lay a spring on it's side on the floor of the garage and place the C clamps one on each side of the centerbolt clamping the leaves together with the clamp screws facing the bottom of the spring. remove any intermediate leaf clamps. Stand on top the spring with both feet (safest place to stand, if the leafs should pop apart while removing the centerbolt they could easily break toes, feet or ankles if you're standing along side. Soak the centerbolt nut with a high quality penetrating oil like Liquid Wrench (NOT WD40!) for a day or two before attempting to remove centerbolt. Loosen the centerbolt nut until the nut has just 1 or 2 threads showing past it, DO NOT remove! completely. Now SLOWLY!!!! 1/2 turn at a time, start to loosen the C clamps alternating clamps. Watch for the leafs to start moving apart at the centerbolt. When the clamps are loose enough to take up the space on the centerbolt, stop loosening the clamps and carefully remove the centerbolt nut. Now continue to slowly open the C clamps until there is no more tension between the leafs. Give the spring a whack on the side with a big hammer to be sure that rust isn't still holding any tension before attempting to handle the spring. You should be able to separate the leafs. Mark each leaf with a crayon indicating which spring pack it came from and which end is the front. Keep re-marking as needed thru the cleaning process so you don't lose track. Now use a belt sander with an 80 grit silicon carbide belt on it or a "Clean and Strip" wheel on an angle grinder and sand off the rust working from end to end. DO NOT sand or grind across the leaf, even small crosswise scratches from the sanding can be the starting point of a crack. Sand smooth any wear marks and round the ends of each leaf so they slide smoothly. Do not paint the faces of the leafs! Use your markings to re assemble the springs. Be careful when clamping the leafs before you install the centerbolt nut. Replace the spring eye bushings with new ones and any hanger bolts that show signs or wear and/or corrosion before reinstalling.

 

*weakly* sounds fun...
Thank you for taking the time to write all that!

 

Let's see if I can help you. There's a 12 leaf - 1950 lb capacity spring and a 13 leaf - 2400 lb capacity spring and capacity is per side and these springs fit the 48-52 F3. Not the cheapest springs at $200 per side but if you want them then send me a PM. I have 8 of the 12 leaf and 7 of the 13 leaf. If you want to verify measurements the springs are 2-1/4" wide and measure 22-1/2 x 22-1/2 which is middle of front eye to centerbolt and then centerbolt to middle of rear eye following the arch so the total length following arch is 45".

 

Those springs are $200 per side and they weigh quite a bit at 112bs for a pair so if you give me your zip code I can get you a quote for shipping. That's the normal price I sell them for but I could help you out and subtract $20 per spring.

Edit: When I reply back to your message it sends it here and won't let me pm you for some reason (probably post count)

 

New members must have made 25 posts before they can send or receive emails or PMs.

 

Welcome to FTE!

I feel the need to offer a word of caution about going to a local spring shop. If someone you know can refer you to a spring shop that has done something for them similar to what you need done, then by all means you should go to a local spring shop.

If however you don't have a referral and you're just left with going to the Yellow Pages, then I would say "be careful" because you're going to be subject to luck-of-the-draw. I went to the Yellow Pages to find a local spring shop. They sold me a set of springs without asking me any of the (what I now know are) important questions necessary to make a proper spring selection. It has been an expensive lesson for me to learn.

Even if you go with one of the national spring shops, make sure that they ask you the weight of your vehicle, the amount of weight that you intend to haul/tow, and the ride height that you want.

In any case, good luck with your project!

-DV