leaf spring help

[jprentice94]

OK so I have 92 xlt SAS soa with coils front. My front is sitting about 2 inches higher due to my sagging leafs also it doesn't seem to flex as much as most I've seen so my question is what have you guys done to get flex and still get them to they are not negative arched. I can deal with height issue but need more flex. P.s. I have 2 inch lift shackles

 

[Anime]

What leaf springs are in there? Stock 3-leafs with an overload spring? 2-leafs from a Sport? Something else from a lift kit? No clue?

Stock Explorer leaf springs with a SOA are pretty decent. Some members have used leaf springs from other vehicles to make a 'custom' leaf spring pack that gives more lift and that they claim gives good flex, but if you want more flex and need a 2" lift, I'd say get the OME (Old Man Emu) leaf springs for the Explorer. They raise the rear 2.5" and have more but thinner leaf springs, which makes them super flexy.

http://store.arbusa.com/Old-Man-Emu-Leaf-Spring-CS042R-P20999.aspx

I got Ricks OME rear springs from his '91 explorer back when his X was black. to give you an idea how long ago he bought those, they are marked as OME-36 which is a p/n scheme they haven't used in 5+ years.

We still have the main spring and a few other leaves from that pack on our X now. There are 200k miles on the OME spring leaves. We have of course added/replaced leaves over the years and now its a franken pack. F-150, Stock Explorer and OME leaves intertwined. I "think" 2 leaves (including the main) are still OME.

Anywhoo.. The OME leaves are great for flex but they are not very good for towing and are closer to 2" of lift than 2.5".

What I Like about them is they are strong. As in, we haven't cracked them and I know they go inverted when wheeling.

truckhaven-rti-2011-1 by maniak_az, on Flickr

After looking at the pic above, I "think" 4 of the leaves in the pack are still OME. Also, we threw away (cut and used somewhere else) the overload as the OME overload hung down.

I almost forgot.. The OME rear springs work on all the 1st and 2nd Gen explorers (solid rear axle).. They are actually listed for the 2nd gens but they work on the first too.

~Mark

You could also get custom leaf springs made by companies like Deaver.

 

[jprentice94]

Ya i have stock leafs 3 with overload and a few people like svande used stock leafs when i seen his i noticed mine doesnt flex as much also i see more 2nd gens flexing better so could i use a set of those because they seem more flexxy

 

[Four0Sport]

i was in the same boat you are.. after the sas i was running superlift 3" lift packs and warrior shackles UNDER the axle. not tall enough. ditched the lift springs and shackles, went spring over axle with stock 4dr leaf packs with the overload removed. did ok for a few months, still SLIGHTLY too low in the rear, and after a few trips the main leafs started to bow. had another set of mains laying around, measured roughly where to cut the eyes off, beveled the edges, installed below my existing main leaf and the truck sits level. actually if you measure body line to ground front and rear the back is < 1" taller, but looks wise it sits level. does great offroad, flexes amazing, always getting asked what im running in the back to get the flex.

 

[jprentice94]

So you cut the eyes off a main leaf and stuck that in without overload i like the pre runner look so im not to worried about that but mainly flex my front droops really good but rear not really

 

[Anime]

You could also just get some leaf packs from a 4 inch lift kit.

 

[jprentice94]

I just dont have much money at the moment as both my cars have to be registered and smogged lol
So am looking for a junkyard fix kinda like a.f150 main leaf and 2 leafs fromthe ex pack but i dont wanna just by tons of individual leafs to peice a set together i may save up for some emu leafs if i cant find something for now

 

[Anime]

I wasn't suggesting you buy new, you can usually find used leaf springs for a lifted Explorer for not much, especially if someone is selling them locally. The good part is any leaf springs from a 91 all the way to 98-2001 or so should work.

 

[jprentice94]

Not near me lol

 

[Four0Sport]

yes.. i just cut the eyes off another main leaf and added them to my pack. stock shackles

 

[jprentice94]

I have longer shackles i may do that then take overload out and 1 more ?

 

[BKennedy]

Try this, it worked great!
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=372601

 

[jprentice94]

My shackles are 2 inch lift im thinking of adding another main cut and take overload and one more off so i have a 3 leaf pack how that sound also do you have to have the square clip because i might take that off first to see if that helps

See how flat they are in background
If i read this right wildhorse 5.5 coils give like 8 inches of lift plus i have coilbuckets 2 inches lower so thats 10 inches and the rear is 2 inch lift shackles and soa woth 1 inch perches so 7 inches whichh is like 2 -3 inches lower if this helps

 

[Four0Sport]

the rear of the leafs are flat because of the extended shackles.

 

[jprentice94]

IBut even when i didnt have shackles my rear sagged like 2 inches. So should i use a block or what p.s i measured and and rear was 3 inches lower i kind of like how it looks though so maybe lift it an inch.
And eventally im adding a track bar to have less axle wrap