Adding springs to factory leafpacks from another set of original leafpacks...

[BKennedy]

Since it only went for a five mile ride around town, and climbed one rock, I did not expect it to settle. It looks like it might have settled slightly, or maybe I just got used to it. This project is still in the experimental stages. This next Truckhaven trip will take care of any settling and show any problems with doing this.
Started with the standard three leaf plus an overload spring Explorer pack. Took out the overload spring and added two more (cut down main and second leafs). If I get axle hop or spring wrap then I will take out the second leaf (cut-down main) and put the overload leaf back in, but upside-down.
How many leafs you decide on is up to you, what you plan on doing with the truck, and the ride height. Need to mess with it to see what works for you. I suggest you cut down the entire set of old leafs at once and mix and match until you get the right ride and ride height. Also remember a shortned leaf spring will be stiffer than the original. If you are towing or hauling loads with it, then you should leave the overload leaf in. I don't tow, and the only road miles my Explorer usually gets is flat towing it to the dirt, and maybe a ride around town to keep the battery charged up.
The cool part about this project is if it doesn't work, I am only out some old worn out cut-down leaf springs, about four hours of my time, and a few bucks in paint.

 

[J_Train]

Oh i thought you went to truckhaven this past weekend sorry. Im pretty sure I'm going the route you did then go from there if needed i have a AAL i can put in there to help if my current springs are weaker/flatter then your were. so if get 2-3 inches out of them if i do what you did then I'll put the AAL in or the overload spring. I'm also keeping the spring under axle.

 

[BKennedy]

Springs handled very well. Good flex, no hop or wrap, much less sway than the stock springs and good ride at 60 down the wash. They also sagged about an inch on day three, putting them at the right height for my Explorer. Now, if I can just swing the SAS I will be in business.
I will post some pictures later.

 

[J_Train]

cool will try this for sure before buying lift springs. i may keep the over load in if yours sagged an inch afterwards.

 

[BKennedy]

Few pics from Truckhaven. Pics are not that great, but you can see the leaf springs flex pretty good. Second pic shows 35" tire well below the body line of the Explorer, which is better than it did before. Up travel is limited by the inside of the fenders when they are contacted by the tires. I am pleased.

 

[BKennedy]

Had these for awhile now and no problems have come up.
I do have a question; Anyone know what those thin metal shims or spacers between the stock leaf springs are actually for? I am thinking of taking them out after looking at a National Spring pack with no spacers/shims. I think they are just there to keep the leafs slightly apart so they don't squeak.

 

[MidnightRebel07]

Yep, that's what they are for. Newer spring packs like mine have plastic shims. I still plan on doing this mod, just waiting til this fall when I do my SAS.

I've been gathering all the parts for that swap for two months now and so far I ha a Dana 44 ('89 Grand Waggy), Rancho 44044 lift springs for the front, CTM Racing Dana 44 front u joints, 37x12.5x16.5 H1 Hummer tires on H1 Hummer double beadlocks that have been recentered with trailworthy fab 6x5.5 bolt pattern centers. Still alot more parts to get.

 

[Stic-o]

Been thinking about trying this but with a sport mono leaf as the main...not sure if it will work or be to much:scratch:

 

[BKennedy]

How about the sport leaf as the secondary leaf?

 

[Stic-o]

How about the sport leaf as the secondary leaf?

not even sure if I should waste my time...I've heard they are fiberglass, instead of metal....I deal with a bent spring on the trail, not one snapped off completely

 

[tooltime]

Love the write up here. My only question is, does anyone know what the differences of the FRONT eyelet bolt size between my 02 ST compared to an Explorer front eyelets? Im wanting to do a spring swap between the two for my project pre runner 2wd ST. My front eyelet bushings are shot. Ford wants 100.00 each. And that does not include the rear shackles. If I can find Explorer spring packs, then I can replace all bushings with Energy Suspension Urethane units. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[BKennedy]

I am assuming they are the same. Pull one of the front mount bolts and see if they fit in a Explorer leaf spring. Ford Leaf springs are 2.5" wide so no problems with that.
The stock bushings are hard to get out and the one time I changed bushings, I ended up torching them out. If the bushings look good on the replacement springs, I don't change them. If the bushings don't look good, I don't buy the springs. The springs usually wear out about the same time the bushing do so buying used springs with worn out bushings is counter productive.

If I pull those shims out mentioned in a earlier post, I figure I will end up with the ride height a little bit lower, which should suit my Explorer. I don't like the spaces between the leafs, they should sit right on top of each other. When I do the SAS next month, I am planning on doing a rear disc brake swap as well and will pull out the shims then.

 

[tooltime]

Man, your rig looks great! How do your dual Bilsteins work in the rear? Are they valved specific for your sweet looking rig? Whats the front ttb setup like? Do you run fast at all, or slow crawlin type stuff? Im building my 02 2wd for the fast desert floors, small to medium whooped out roads, tight twisty trails ect. If I have time tomorrow, I had already planned on pulling off one of the nuts on my 02 ST to match up with an Explorer with disc brakes and of course a 4.10 with a l/s. Up until I was pointed to this chat from Midnite rebel, I was forming a plan already. It appears at this point, the 99ish & up Eddie Bauer Explorers have everything I need.The rear springs, providing they will bolt in are 30.00 per spring, and the whole rear with everything, discs,4.10 ect runs just under 200.00 if I pull it myself. Smokin deal! I offered many yards cash money,200.00 and my entire complete rear end, brakes springs ect. Nobody would go for it. So now I need to find a way to get rid of the oem unit from my st.
Being that the Explorer spring rates are 100lbs lighter works in my favor. I want to add leaves like guys have done above. But, I don't want to raise the rates too much. I want just enough rate to stabilize the rear, thus allowing me to work more on compression and rebound with the rear shocks. Im glad I finally found guys in here working in the same area as me. Thanks fellas for the awesome data!

 

[Maniak]

Mr Bkennedy,

I ran across something that might help.. Graphite paint. It appears to be made for leave springs to help them slip. Might be worth a shot.. It was in one of the June issues of the off-road mags. I can't remember which one but it was in an article where they redid the suspension to get more flex.

~Mark

 

[BKennedy]

Mr Bkennedy,

I ran across something that might help.. Graphite paint. It appears to be made for leave springs to help them slip. Might be worth a shot.. It was in one of the June issues of the off-road mags. I can't remember which one but it was in an article where they redid the suspension to get more flex.

~Mark

Think I saw that same article. It was a Early Bronco in the Explorer buyer's guide edition, right?? See if I can find some local and paint them up after I take the shims out. edit; I just bought two cans of graphite paint on ebay.http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300741748851#ht_1320wt_1164

Man, your rig looks great!:

Thanks.

How do your dual Bilsteins work in the rear?:

They work great. When there was a single shock, due to the angle they are mounted, it would lean way over. The second shock fixed that. I am not a huge Bilstein fan, the front shocks seem to last about two years before they blow, but the rear seems to hold up much longer. I think its because they are for a much heavier vehicle than they are holding up.

Are they valved specific for your sweet looking rig?:

Shocks are off the shelf and the part number is for a F250.

Whats the front ttb setup like?? Do you run fast at all, or slow crawlin type stuff?:

If you click on the Explorer link in my signature, you can see some pictures of the TTB. Mostly crawlin type stuff with a little back to camp down the wash at 60 bits. I am doing a Dana 44/radius arms/coilover SAS next month so my TTB is getting tossed. I am going to leave the rear suspension and axle alone, other than swapping in disc brakes and wheel adapters for the 5on5.5 bolt pattern to match the front axle. I am going to raise the front slightly to match the rear ride height and call it good.

 

[tooltime]

Cool thanks!

 

[frankcal]

So using this page I did my own build this weekend. I started with a 4dr leaf pack I had bought a while ago. Took the 4dr pack apart an cleaned them up to take off all the rust and chipping paint. Them took off my 2dr pack and took em apart keeping only the pro comp add a leaf and the smallest leaf from the pack and cleane those up. Then painted up everything with dry moly lube to get to of the squeak. So I put them all together and thu were just perfect, the smallest leaf from the sport pack was just slightly smaller then the smallest from the 4dr pack so no need to trim. Once all assembled painted them with some rust o Leung satin black and reinstalled. I was left with a total of 5 leafs and was able to put them on with the stock u bolts. Lifted the rear pretty good but just drove around for about 20 mins so I expect them to settle and will measure once they do. Did make the ride a little stiffer but nothin bad. Thanks for the ideas guys, I'm really happy I was able to get some more lift out of why I had laying around.

I took out all the metal shims and just had leaf on top of leaf with no spacers. I spoke with deaver suspension couple months back when I had started about doing this and the guy told me that it better without them. According to him the spacers create more stress on the spring and could lead to them breaking if driven hard. I also got the idea for the dry moly lube from them since he showed me that's what they use on their leaf springs instead of the shims to get rid of noise. I got pics if anyone's interested thä I can post.

 

[J_Train]

Yes pics please, and are you spring over axle like BKennedy? Or just stock axle over spring?

 

[frankcal]

Just stock set up. I just wanted to get more lift than what I had. I had already done the pro comp aal about 2 or 3 months ago, but wanted to go a little higher so this seemed like a pretty good idea.

The first pics shows the 5 (well 6 total leafs with the bottom one) stacked together and painted with the dry moly lube. Next one just shows painted with the satin black once fully assembled. Last is installed on the car with stock u bolts. (sorry if the pics are too small or big, using my gf's macbook and don't know how to really use it that good)

 

[frankcal]

So after putting about 600miles on the updated spring pack they have slightly settled. Haven't gotten that much lower but I did notice a difference in the ride. It is stiffer than before but also does a little better in cornering. Would it be maybe that I need new shocks now? Maybe extended ones made for a lift? Since now I got about a total of 3 1/2 inches of lift withe the new leads. I just got rancho5000 about 34k miles ago so they shouldn't be gone yet but I'm thinking maybe I need extended ones now? Anyone have any input?