4 Door Leaf Pack Swap....CBoug76 | Page 2 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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4 Door Leaf Pack Swap....CBoug76

Original Height of rear wheel wells:
Drivers Side: 33.25"
Pass Side: 33.50"

New Height of Rear Wheel wells:
Drivers Side: 34.50"
Pass Side: 34.75"

I gained 1.25" in height in the rear, just by swaping the rear leaf springs from the Mono-Leaf to a 4-Door Leaf Pack from a 1994 Explorer.

Tools Needed:
Hammer
Drift Pin(used to Align the holes....)
3/8" Ratchet
10mm Socket
1/2" Torque Wrench
1/2" Air Impact Gun
18mm Deep Impact Socket(These are not Easy to Find!)
13/16" Impact Socket
7/8" Impact Socket (Warrior Shackles Only)
7/8" Wrench (Warrior Shackles Only)


Removal:
1, Remove Rear Tires.

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2, Support one side of the rear axle.
(To do this, I used a Ratchet Strap To lift one side of the Axle at a time, and I also used a Chain as a "Saftey" in case the Ratchet Strap broke...)(Also I performed this Mod while the Explorer is on a Lift, 6ft in the Air....)

Springs01.jpg


Springs02.jpg


Springs03.jpg


Springs04.jpg


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3, Separate the rear spring from the rear axle.
-A, Remove the four rear spring U-bolt nuts.

Springs05.jpg


-B, Remove the two U-bolts.

-C, Position the rear spring plate aside.
(On the Passenger Side it is Necessary to remove the Emeregency Brake Cable Bracket from the spring plate, to do this you need a 10mm socket.)

Springs06.jpg


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4, Remove the nut & bolt holding the rear shackle to spring.

Springs07.jpg


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5, Remove the nut & bolt holding the spring to front frame bracket, and remove the rear spring.

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Install:
1, Install the rear spring to front frame bracket, place the bolt thru the bracket and spring, hand tighten the nut.

Springs08.jpg


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2, Lift the rear spring to the rear shackle, place the bolt thru the shackle and spring, and hand tighten the nut.

Springs09.jpg


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(I had to losen the U-Bolts from the 2nd side while tightening the U-bolts on the 1st side in order to get the Axle to Twist a little so that the U-Bolt Spring Plate could be flush up against the spring)
3, Install the rear spring plate.
-A, Position the rear spring plate underneath the spring.
-B, Install the two U-bolts.
-C, Install the four rear spring U-bolt nuts.
-D, Tighten the four rear spring U-bolt nuts to 65-87 Lb/Ft.
(On the Passenger Side it is Necessary to replace the Emeregency Brake Cable Bracket to the spring plate, to do this you need a 10mm socket.)

Springs10.jpg


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4, Lower the rear axle onto the spring.
(making sure you have enough slack in the saftey chain to remove it, when you are done.)

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5, Tighten the rear spring to front frame bracket bolt and nut to 57-77 Lb/Ft.

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6, Tighten the rear spring shackle lower bolt and nut to 83-112 Lb/Ft.

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7, Repeat for Other side.

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8, Replace Rear Tires, Tighten the lug nuts 100 Lb/Ft.

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Springs12.jpg


Springs13.jpg


Here is my "After" Shot:

Springs11.jpg
 












If you look at the 2nd to last photo you will not see the spare tire, I removed it at the end of the day I swaped the springs.....
 






thanks alot man your instructions made swappin out my springs easy as hell.

thanks I got 1.75 inchs of height right after doing it but haven't measures where the springs settled. it also leveled the explorer out 33.75 inchs on both rear fender but i may need some add a leafs before the tt

thanks alot man :D
 






Dude. Thanks for the write up. This was such an easy task. My dad and I did it in like 2 hours (we had no lift nor air tools, so it was slow going at some points).
Only got 1 inch on the pass side and .75 on the driver side, but hey, that seems pretty good since everyone else was getting about 1.5 back when this was written 10 years ago. Can't wait to take a test drive with it. Hopefully I won't lose much of the lift once it settles.
 






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