Tired Leaf Springs

[MountaineerGreen]

I really thought about a SAS, but, I don't have the time or energy or money to do it. Plus, I'd want a narrowed front axle with the same bolt pattern so I could keep my wheels and tires. Not practical at this point since this is my DD.

I did flex it out today and wow. I can drop a tire ~16" without even affecting the rest of the truck. Flex is greatly improved with SOA.

A monoleaf is out regardless, my spring plates are for 2.5" wide springs, my understanding is monoleafs are 3" wide. I was almost willing to try it before I figured that out.

I wonder if some Heep springs would bolt in? I can probably source some if I knew they would work.

I'd really like to get the rear down, and let my T bars out- this sucks.

[jobunn]

How about the leaf pack from the late model sports, 2001 and up I think? Ford went to a thin 2 or 3 leaf system with overload...not sure if axle wrap would become a problem or not with that setup.

[Hokie]

Originally Posted by MountaineerGreen

I did flex it out today and wow. I can drop a tire ~16" without even affecting the rest of the truck. Flex is greatly improved with SOA.

You know, I used to argue round and round about how going SOA increases your flex. Glad to hear someone agree with me

A monoleaf is out regardless, my spring plates are for 2.5" wide springs, my understanding is monoleafs are 3" wide. I was almost willing to try it before I figured that out.

I'm running a 3" wide mono-leaf with a 2.5" wide support leaf and 2.5" wide overload leaf : no problems (I think the spring plates on a Sport/4 Door are the same width regardless of which spring width it gets)

[MountaineerGreen]

I found a solution I think- Heep XJ rear leaf springs. They are thinner than my stock ones, a tad shorter, and have more leafs. Under load, they are flatter than my stockers. I got them for free, but they are on a rust bucket XJ, a real PITA to remove. I worked on it for 3 hours today, I will go back tomorrow with a sawzall to finish getting it out.

[MountaineerGreen]

Oh yeah, my massive a$$ u bolts and spring plates are drilled for 2.5" leaf springs, there is less than 1/4" on each side of the springs between the u bolts.

I seriously doubt the XJ springs will bolt right in and the center pin be in the right place, so I will most likely swap all but the main leaf. I hope this will get me down to a more reasonable height. If they happen to bolt in, I will do just that.

I really hope this works, its a ton of work to remove those old springs and use the shop to change my springs out.

[MountaineerGreen]

Well..... got 1/2 way there today. I got the leaf springs out with a sawzall today, removed my factory leaf pack, put all of the XJ leafs except for the main leaf under my main. When I first let it down, it was perfect. Now it has settled out to slightly lower than it was before But, I am going to swap in my factory second leaf for the XJ second leaf and see if its a little better. The leafs are actually completely dearched at this point, so the thicker factory leaf is needed. The benifit is the XJ's overload is not as thick and completely flat, and the third leaf is flatter. I think my factory two leafs plus the XJ third leaf and overload will be the right combo. This way I get flex without excessive height.

[Hokie]

Ha! A Franken-leafpack

[MountaineerGreen]

I am so tired of tearing my rear suspension apart- tomorrow will be 3 times in one week.

I also had to cut off my tailpipe It ran out between my leaf springs and frame on the passenger side, when I first let my truck down, it was resting on the exhaust.

And, one of the big honkin u bolts fubar'ed on me today, that took an extra hour. I cut the extra length off the bolts with sawzall, they are grade 8, hard to cut. Apparently when I ran the nuts back off, it didn't "fix" the end of the bolt, that nut was not going back on without a fight. All the other bolts worked fine. I ended up using a cheater bar, then finally stripped it all the way out. The other side of the same bolt is fine, as well as the inboard u bolt, so its OK for a day or two. Tomorrow I am getting new center pins and a new u bolt for my 3rd attempt.

[MountaineerGreen]

OK, third attempt done. The height is about right- no pictures yet though. I do have a problem with it. Spring wrap. The lack of a "real" overload spring causes spring wrap and a bit of a course shudder at highway speed.

I am now thinking of getting custom lift springs and going back SUA.

[Hokie]

Originally Posted by MountaineerGreen

OK, third attempt done. The height is about right- no pictures yet though. I do have a problem with it. Spring wrap. The lack of a "real" overload spring causes spring wrap and a bit of a course shudder at highway speed.

I am now thinking of getting custom lift springs and going back SUA.

[MountaineerGreen]

Here are the pictures of what I have now. The height is about right, maybe a little high, but now the leaf springs are nearly flat. My pinion angle is wrong, not too bad, but there is a slight vibration. As you can see the springs are nearly flat. It rides like crap, but flexes good.

I have contacted custom suspension about some leaf springs, no response yet. I guess I will have to call them. I don't know what to think about a company that doesn't answer emails though

[mounty71]

I didnt think of this until just now, and i dont know if you'd even want to go this route, but how about putting back on the original explorer springs like you had right after you did SOA, and leveling it out with a 2" or 3" body lift in the front and transitioning to no body lift in the rear? I know a few people on here have done this to match an SOA.

[MountaineerGreen]

Well, I thought about that, but then I'd want 35's, 4.56's, plus my headers would cause issues with the steering shaft. That and my hitch comes through the bumper, and Hokie discovered that factory fog lights don't work with a BL. A whole host of problems created by more lift. Before I do all that, I'll just SAS.

[Hokie]

Originally Posted by MountaineerGreen

and Hokie discovered that factory fog lights don't work with a BL.

Well, it wasn't thaaat big of a deal. More of a headache b/c I didn't know I was going to have to take them off. Yeah, I had to loose the factory fogs, but I've got some ProComp 5" lights there now that probably put out more light than the stocker's did.

[MountaineerGreen]

Yeah, but I really like my factory fog lights.

Still no reply from customsuspension.com, I have sent them two emails

[Hokie]

Originally Posted by MountaineerGreen

Yeah, but I really like my factory fog lights.

Still no reply from customsuspension.com, I have sent them two emails

Do they have a phone number listed? As a general rule, I call first, email 2nd. That way, in the email, you can say "This serves as a follow up to the voice message I just left."

[MountaineerGreen]

I guess I'll call them- Either that or go back to stiff arse leaf pack and shackles.

$500 or teeth rattling ride?

[MountaineerGreen]

Ok back again. Its back to SUA, this time I shuffled some leaf springs around, it seems to be a little less stiff. I let the torsion bars out, even lower than before, so the back doesn't look so high. What I'd really like is sightly larger front fender openings so I can run 33's with no rubbing and not any higher. I'd like to do a Sport Trac front clip conversion one of these days.

I'll try to snap a picture tomorrow.

Great, all this work and expense and I am back where I started

[MountaineerGreen]

But, I do have those spring perches on top of my axle still, which gave me an idea. What about coil springs, soft rate of course, and my stock leaf pack? Would that work? Or am I crazy?

[Hokie]

Originally Posted by MountaineerGreen

But, I do have those spring perches on top of my axle still, which gave me an idea. What about coil springs, soft rate of course, and my stock leaf pack? Would that work? Or am I crazy?

I'd be similar to air ride springs