1996 4D leaf springs on 1998 Sport?

[TomCat_Ford]

Will second generation (1996) four door Explorer leaf springs will bolt up under my 1998 Explorer Sport? I have done a couple of searches pertaining to this question, but I wanted to be sure before I start taking things apart. Did the '96 4D suffer from the same "lean" issues that I have read about? Would I be better off just buying new leaf springs?

Thanks. This weekend, I think I'll be doing rear brake work and rear leaf spring work on my '98 Sport. .

 

[TomCat_Ford]

Any input from anyone?

Also, someone told me that you shouldn't re-use the u-bolts? Is there any truth to that? Thanks.

 

[KPT]

Yes the leafs will work. I think you could even use first gen leafs.

I've heard that about u-bolts but I reused mine. Haven't had and problems several years later.

 

[97Xplorer_sport]

yes the 96 leafs will fit on your 98 its still a second gen and the leafs are the same lenght. and you shouldnt use the same U bolts, better off spending a few extra dollars on new ones and if you want some leafs to get rid of the lean you can upgrade to alcan springs they are custom for your Xplorer

 

[TomCat_Ford]

So some say the u-bolts will be fine, others say buy new. If I decide to pick up some new ones... anything special that I need? This will be my first time messing around with leaf springs.

As for the lean, my rear end sits about 1.5-2" lower than the front. The rear end seems to be equal from side-to-side, so it doesn't appear to be suffering from the driver's side lean that I have heard of. The springs on the donor '96 have quite a few miles on them, but I never noticed any sort of lean on that vehicle. Plus those springs should really help stiffen the rear end up being that they're not a mono-spring like the springs on my Sport (why did they do that!?).

I want to re-finish the springs from the '96 so that they look halfway decent, so I'll probably hit them with a wire wheel, some rust converter primer, and some sort of durable paint (any recommendations?).

 

[trj360]

I want to re-finish the springs from the '96 so that they look halfway decent, so I'll probably hit them with a wire wheel, some rust converter primer, and some sort of durable paint (any recommendations?).

Don't waste your time unless they will never see dirt or water. The rust converter might be a good idea but if you want to make your springs look good, I think that would be more trouble than it's worth.

 

[TomCat_Ford]

Yeah, I'll see when I get them off. At the very least I'll go over them with a wire wheel and hit them with some rust converter.

The u-bolts... just get them from a local hardware store?

 

[yellowford]

On my 96 4 door I had the drivers side lean with the whole back being lower than the front I was able to fix it by putting an aal and shackles in something you might want to think about with putting used springs in.

 

[TomCat_Ford]

I'll measure ride height before I take the springs off from the '96, but if it is leaning, it's very minimal- nowhere near as bad as my Sport. Neither Explorer has the drivers side lean that I have read about.

 

[TomCat_Ford]

I have one side done now. The drivers side spring was damaged on the '96. The front mount was broken (the curved part that the rubber bushing goes in). The difference between that spring pack and the one from my '98 was definitely noticeable, though. My 98's was much flatter. So... what I did was I took the additional springs off from the '96 pack (two springs & the overload spring) and mounted them to the factory spring from my '98. This helped immensely. It still isn't as high as it should be, but it's darn close. It will get me by until I buy new springs for it. I haven't decided if I will do a lift or not yet.

The other side should go a lot quicker now that I know what I'm doing. A few questions, though:

1) I torqued the u-bolt nuts to 95ftlbs... is that okay?

2) Does it matter which way the leaf spring is installed... is there a front end and a back end?

 

[TomCat_Ford]

I know the answer to number two... they're directional.

Anyway, I finished up earlier today... no more squatting rear end.

 

[James909]

The torque spec for the U-bolts is 65 to 87 ft-lbs but you should be fine with them torqued to 95 ft-lbs.

 

[yellowford]

Maybe I should tighten my u-bolts up the warriors said to torque them to 35-45 ft-lbs.

 

[TomCat_Ford]

Oh, so I over-torqued them, eh?

Thanks for responding.

 

[JKrueger06]

So instead of swapping you just added additional springs to your '98 from the '96?

 

[TomCat_Ford]

Yes, I added two leaf springs and the overload spring (sometimes called a helper spring). I would have just completely swapped them, but that front mount on the '96 was broken.

 

[Ohm]

Yes, I added two leaf springs and the overload spring (sometimes called a helper spring). I would have just completely swapped them, but that front mount on the '96 was broken.

Just to claify, you kept the mono leaf as your top spring and added everything from the 4 dr 96 leaf pack except the top springs underneath your stock mono spring.

How is this working out? And, how much lift do you think you got from this set up.

I am asking because I also have a 1998 Sport, and have read on this forum that you could not make this type of modification. Or at least noone has tried like you to properly confirm weather or not this type of mod. could be done.

 

[TomCat_Ford]

Yes, I kept the factory spring that was on my Sport and added everything save for the main spring from the 4 door to the factory Sport spring. One of the primary springs from the 4D was damaged and was not in any condition to be used (the front mount was broken). The Sport spring was wider than the springs from the 4D, but it didn't really matter-- just make sure that the additional springs are centered. I simply re-bent the strap that was on the 4D springs to fit the newly created leaf pack.

It has been working just fine. I have put 3,000-4,000 miles on it since early March, and I haven't had any problems (knock on wood!). The only "lift" that I saw was enough to bring the rear end back up to the factory height.

Anyone who says that you can't do this mod simply hasn't tried it.

 

[Ohm]

The only "lift" that I saw was enough to bring the rear end back up to the factory height.

I have mesured my 1998 Sport for suspension height. Measurements were taken from the ground to outer wheel well, and along the center line of the wheel hub. I have stock 16x7 rims with 255/70R/16 tires (30"x10"). My measurement are below.

Stock (I.E. - Factory or no modifications)

Drivers Front 33 - 3/4
Passenger Front 33 - 3/4
Drivers Rear 32 - 3/4
Passenger Rear 32 - 3/4

I also did a full Torsion Twist (temporarily, I did not keep it this way) and here were the measurements after that:

With full TT

Drivers Front 35 - 3/8
Passenger Front 35 - 1/2
Drivers Rear 32 - 1/4
Passenger Rear 32 - 3/4

I obviously have a sagging rear end.

If you have the time would you mind measuring your Ex's rear wheel well as I did. I would like to know what "factory height" is for the rear + just would like to compare. If your to busy then don't worry about.

 

[TomCat_Ford]

Mine sits just over 33 inches at all four corners. The rear end was between 1-2 inches lower before I did the leaf spring work.