I need new rear leafs, help please?

[nobodyspecial]

OK, here is my situation. I have a bent leaf on my Mountaineer, and they are both pretty worn and saggy. With our house being flooded, and living out of our cargo trailer, I am towing it a lot more than I thought I would.

I am looking for a new, off the shelf leaf pack to replace mine. I am not interested in piecing together used leaf springs. If it comes to it, I will, but that is not my first choice.

I want to maintain factory ride height while increasing capacity and reducing sag. I know that this will mean a rougher ride, which I am perfectly fine with.

Does anybody have any suggestions, or know what I need?

My Mountaineer is a 302 V8, auto, BW4406 with 3.73s and 255/85R16 (33x10). Here is what I have been towing:

 

[rickybobby]

Your best bet is going to be to visit a spring shop

 

[nobodyspecial]

OK, thanks.

I should say I guess that no lift is ideal. Minimal lift is acceptable. (less than 2") I have warrior shackles on it right now, but will eventually do a SOA in the the rear, and shortening the shackles back to factory length. So, springs that are near factory, or very little lift will be manageable.

 

[drdoom]

Custom Suspension may have some...

http://www.customsuspension.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=170&products_id=777

 

[nobodyspecial]

I am looking at other options now... Are there any common upgrades for Explorers that increase capacity? Its OK, if they provide lift as well.

 

[eazyasone23]

you can add shocks with helper springs to help with load capacity. They are a little over a 100 bucks for the pair. It will help with an extra 1000lbs of capacity or so.

 

[IZwack]

Yeah I think your best bet is a load assist because even if you replace the springs now, they'll probably sag soon enough due to the trailer. So I'd look into some air bags or as eazyasone23 mentioned, shocks with helper springs. When the vehicle is parked (overnight for example), you can also lower the trailer's jack to help the rear springs a bit (and stabilize the trailer). Just dont forget to rotate or retract it back before you move the vehicle.

 

[drdoom]

I am looking at other options now... Are there any common upgrades for Explorers that increase capacity? Its OK, if they provide lift as well.

A few days ago I did the PRO-COMP 13120 Add-A-Leaf, $34.10 shipped to my door, easy job with jack-stands & air tools. Not real high-falutin, and probably a Band-Aid, but on my old ride it helped a lot, and really improved the handling. Once these sack out, I will probably just get new packs.

 

[nobodyspecial]

OK, I have another crazy idea...

I found a place online that carries heavy duty springs for Rangers. (1750 lb capacity)

I know that rangers are SOA, but I was planning on going SOA a little bit down the road. I do not have any numbers that would tell me how much lift this would create, but from what I read, that heavy duty spring pack does not lift the ranger.

Does anybody have any idea what would happen if I bought those springs and did a SOA conversion?

I don't know if this link will work, but here it is: http://www.jcwhitney.com/extra-heav...jcwx?filterid=d658y2000j1&_requestid=16190519

 

[Demo1986]

Ah man I replaced my stock rear leafs with deavers and I scraped them b/c they took up a lot of space. They only had about 55k miles on them and never hauled anything heavy.

 

[nobodyspecial]

I am not talking about Deavers. Deavers are generally used for flexy set ups if I remember correctly, not increased load capacity

These are heavy duty 4 spring packs.

 

[JCat]

I tow a very similar trailer.
I purchased extra leafs from a local spring shop and added Monroe shocks that have coil springs on them.
Cost about $300 for parts.

 

[nobodyspecial]

I just finished reading through the thread about F150 leafs, and that is something I would consider, but I would need new main leafs for mine as well, in addition to the F150 pack.

I also contacted Eaton Detroit about their Explorer upgrade pack, but have not heard back from them yet.

 

[Demo1986]

I mean I replaced my stock leafs for my deavers and I threw my stock leafs away.

 

[nobodyspecial]

After hearing back from Mike, I think I will go with the Eaton Explorer upgrade pack, when I can scrape together the money.

If anyone else has gone with Eaton's upgrade, let me know how it worked out for you.

 

[drdoom]

After hearing back from Mike, I think I will go with the Eaton Explorer upgrade pack, when I can scrape together the money.

If anyone else has gone with Eaton's upgrade, let me know how it worked out for you.

How much $ ?

 

[nobodyspecial]

It will be about $450. It is a little steep, but when I am able, I am willing to pay more for brand new springs instead of used.

 

[RomeovilleIL]

In the interim until you can get the $ to upgrade to new springs, there are fairly inexpensive (less than $40) towing springs you can add to the truck which will take the majority of the stress off your leaf packs. The spring sits between the axel and frame. You mount a base plate with a u-bolt on the axel. When you want to use the springs, jack up the rear and place the spring ends over the bump stop on the frame and set on the base plate then lock down with a bolt/latch in the center of the plate. Takes maybe ten minutes to put the pair on/off with a box end wrench.

I use a 1500 pound set when I have the truck loaded down towing boat & hunting gear or short hauls with our horse trailer. With no weight the rear is lifted 4" and rides horrible. When weighted down ride on highways is well controlled if a little stiff. No sways or getting pulled around by the trailer.

 

[GRNMACHINE]

I installed ARB

http://arbusa.com/Products/Suspension-Systems/Emu-Dakar-Leaf-Springs/34.aspx

Cant comment on load capacity, do not tow.

 

[Maniak]

I've been running ARB "type" springs for years. They are actually OME (old man emu) model 36 springs. Thats the really old part number for them.

We have the 2" lift ones. They flex so much better than stock BUT that means they are softer and aren't really good for towing. That being said, I've towed quite a bit on them over the years but I wouldn't recommend it.

~Mark