99 e250 5.4 ext cargo, carpet van its whole life
318k
Just wondering about my leaf springs, are the supposed to be flat?

Ill take better pics tom. Has a set of overload springs. Cant remember brand. But leafs stay flat loaded or kinda empty.

 

You don't go by leaf shape, look at the bump stops between axle and frame, how much space between.

 

Is the Van sagging when empty? Some of these vans were equipped with springs that had a very low free arch but your spring is not one of those.

The fact that the van carries heavy carpet and has so many miles is a good indication that the springs are just tired.

 

 

 

There you have it, bump stop is right where it should be, no worry about worn leaves.

 

More worried about my own van now. It has about 1.5", and it is shiny and well worn from use!

 

That would be broken down and in need of replacement.

 

yeah but looking at the van it doesn't appear to be sagging.

 

If you have 1 1/2" between the bump stop and axle you have about 4" of sag.

 

Those springs are pretty whooped looking. That top helper setup is acting like the muscle and not allowing the spring to go backwards anymore.

 

It looks like the original springs are shot and the only thing supporting the van are the helper springs.

 

dang man that's hard to swallow. Ima check it tomorrow and report back.
Im going by estimation and memory (lots of room for error) regarding the bump stop gap. But the stance looks totally normal. I even measured the ride heights on it the other day out of curiosity. I can't imagine the rear 4" higher.
I'll report back tomorrow.

 

The nice part of New springs besides increased handling and load carrying is the new bushings that come with them .

Helper spings seldom do once your springs are shot

 

Totally agree.

The way the springs look in the pictures, they been shot for along time, and the add on helpers only covered the problem.

Hows this thing steer on a a windy day at highway speeds???