Adding a leaf (or 2) to my sagging rear end

[tuckman]

So I spent some time reading the thread on using F-150 leafs on an Ex. I also left a question on that thread, just no response...yet.
So I will post here too.
The wrecking yards around here want over $100 for a 5 leaf pack from f-150's, that is just too rich for my wallet. So I was thinking of adding a leaf (or 2) from my donor Ex to help keep my butt from sagging when towing the boat or just having a full load of people in the Ex. To further elaborate what my plan. First I would take the leaf pack from the passenger side of the donor 93 and use it on the driver side of the 92. That would help a bit with the sag on its own from what I have read here. Then I would take and add a leaf maybe 2, depending on the response here to the good packs. This would be an easy swap seeing that I am trading diffs soon, so everything will be apart as it is.

Thoughts, suggestions?

 

[Explorer Junky]

I have heard of some people doing what you are talking about! What I did was a little different though. I bought new leafs from LMC Truck for $100 a side. Then what you could do is add one or two of your old pack into the new! Just make sure you clean them and repaint them first just for appearance sakes. Could make it a 5 or a 6 pack. Just make sure you find some way of strapping them so they stay together. Also. Even after I did this. I still had a bit of a driver side sag! I got new tires fairly soon after, and told the manager there that I tried to TT(torsionTwist) the front end to level it to no avail. fortunately for me, the Alignment tech had just been laid off from the local Ford dealership and new how to fix my "Lean" problem. I have no Idea what he did but my Ex now sits level front to back and side to side. Good luck!

 

[tuckman]

I have heard of some people doing what you are talking about! What I did was a little different though. I bought new leafs from LMC Truck for $100 a side. Then what you could do is add one or two of your old pack into the new! Just make sure you clean them and repaint them first just for appearance sakes. Could make it a 5 or a 6 pack. Just make sure you find some way of strapping them so they stay together. Also. Even after I did this. I still had a bit of a driver side sag! I got new tires fairly soon after, and told the manager there that I tried to TT(torsionTwist) the front end to level it to no avail. fortunately for me, the Alignment tech had just been laid off from the local Ford dealership and new how to fix my "Lean" problem. I have no Idea what he did but my Ex now sits level front to back and side to side. Good luck!

Did your ride get much stiffer after adding the leafs?

 

[Explorer Junky]

I did the regular leafs from LMC and did the AAL. A little bit firmer would be a better word for it. Not so bouncy, but not rigid either. Although I do prefer a firmer ride, I don't want me Ex to feel like a luxury car!

 

[Khaelbee]

I have heard of some people doing what you are talking about! What I did was a little different though. I bought new leafs from LMC Truck for $100 a side. Then what you could do is add one or two of your old pack into the new! Just make sure you clean them and repaint them first just for appearance sakes. Could make it a 5 or a 6 pack. Just make sure you find some way of strapping them so they stay together. Also. Even after I did this. I still had a bit of a driver side sag! I got new tires fairly soon after, and told the manager there that I tried to TT(torsionTwist) the front end to level it to no avail. fortunately for me, the Alignment tech had just been laid off from the local Ford dealership and new how to fix my "Lean" problem. I have no Idea what he did but my Ex now sits level front to back and side to side. Good luck!

i need your mechanic lol. i didn't notice my "gangster lean" as one member put it... until the day my boyfriend pointed it out. now that i know its there, i see it every time i look at the truck. we were told that it was probably from the shocks wearing unevenly, but upon looking at this forum, i'm guessing i need new leafsprings. :| not ready to put that much money into the explorer haha

 

[Explorer Junky]

From the shocks???? All shock do is absorb....SHOCK!! They have no affect on ride height unless you put on AIR shocks and fill them up. Leafs from LMC are 100 bucks a side. If you can Afford M/S tires, you can afford that! LOL M/S Tires were 150 more than my BFG's All Terrains.

 

[Khaelbee]

i got my m/s tires mounted on rims and balanced and whatnot for $200 for the whole set. i'm a bargain hunter...

my boyfriend found some cool kyb shocks i can put on my car, but i know NOTHING about leafsprings. guess what i get to learn about now

 

[Slowlyvverot]

have you considered lift shackles to raise the rear?

 

[tuckman]

Adding shackles would help when I am empty but my ride will still sag with any load in it. I would like to increase the leafs capacity, rather than just achieve a few inch lift.

 

[KPSquared]

Planning to do the same thing. Have a couple extra leaf packs around here... need to stiffen the rear up a bit.

 

[tuckman]

Planning to do the same thing. Have a couple extra leaf packs around here... need to stiffen the rear up a bit.

I took the spare tire out from underneath and I could see the back end come up a little bit! That is when I knew I needed to do something.

 

[KPSquared]

Planning to do the same thing. Have a couple extra leaf packs around here... need to stiffen the rear up a bit.

Oh, and leaf springs are $35 a side a pick and pull in Edmonton...


I may just go pull a set.

 

[tuckman]

That is worth the 2.5 hr drive!!!

 

[Explorer Junky]

I am just curious. Why is every one on this site so shackle crazy? All that does is extend the leaf towards the rear and put more of the weight towards the back of truck. Also, to have all that force on the end of a longer shackle. I have talked to 3 Suspension places and one 4X4 shop here and they all think shackles are a bad way to get an inch of lift. I talked to a spring shop and they said they could get me 2-3 inches with a leaf re-arch. The way they do it he said I would prolly only lose 1/2" after 6 months. Just asking

 

[tuckman]

What was their price on the re-arch?

 

[Explorer Junky]

Price on re-arch was 60 bucks a side if I brought the leaf packs to them off the truck. That even included then adding an extra leaf in there.

 

[KPSquared]

Hey Tuckman, call Northwest Spring (780-451-0225) or City Spring (1-800-661-3843) and see if they can re-arc stuff and how much. They might be able to help you if you ever make it into Edmonton.

 

[KPSquared]

I am just curious. Why is every one on this site so shackle crazy? All that does is extend the leaf towards the rear and put more of the weight towards the back of truck. Also, to have all that force on the end of a longer shackle. I have talked to 3 Suspension places and one 4X4 shop here and they all think shackles are a bad way to get an inch of lift. I talked to a spring shop and they said they could get me 2-3 inches with a leaf re-arch. The way they do it he said I would prolly only lose 1/2" after 6 months. Just asking

Not a big fan of the shackles either man... but they sure are popular here...

 

[KPSquared]

Tuckman - I just talked to City Spring... they said $97.00 total for re-arc on both spring packs. Said he could add a couple inches of lift, or just bring 'em back to stock. That price was if I brought the leafs to him off the truck already. That's only $50/ side... that's CHEAP...

 

[tuckman]

Tuckman - I just talked to City Spring... they said $97.00 total for re-arc on both spring packs. Said he could add a couple inches of lift, or just bring 'em back to stock. That price was if I brought the leafs to him off the truck already. That's only $50/ side... that's CHEAP...

That is a SWEET deal!!! Thank You.

I will have to call them, I was thinking 1.5" lift and an extra leaf put in and see what he thinks.