Modifying Ford Explorer Leaf Springs for Lift using F-150 Leaf Springs

[Bronco638]

It's been a while but I think the F150 leaves gained me about 1 5/8" of lift. That's no where near the 4" you'll get out of a set of SuperLift leaves but then you'll never get close to 4" out of a Torsion Twist (2" max.). So, your truck will have a forward rake of about 2".

 

[jfman]

I just got done reading this thread.

I am confused

Can you just salp the f150 leaves on or do you have to swap the top leaf from the X tp the rest of the f150 leaves ?

 

[Silver X]

You have to use the main leaf from an Explorer because the F150 main leaf is way too long eye to eye.

Also, I'm now running 32" Dueler Revos and there's plenty of clearance to the body with just a minor touch on the front sway bar. I'm still happy with this suspension setup. Only complaint is the coating came off pretty quickly and the springs are already rusty.

 

[MadScotsMan]

jfman,

I bought Bronco638's Explorer. While I had nothing to do with the install, I can give you some insight as to the end result. My brother had a '97 OHV Explorer so I do have some basis for comparison. The F150 springs, even with the body lift, do tend to minimize body roll considerably. There is a definite difference in how stiff the rear rides. With the combined body/suspension lifts, I am able to run 32x11.5 BF Godrich TKO's with only a little rubbing at full lock. The other benefit is that when I hook up my pop up camper, there is no sagging at all. Given what the vehicle is, it actually handles better than my brother's stock '97. If you have any more questions, or I can send you pics of the suspension if it helps, let me know.

And once again, hats off to Bronco638 for doing a top-notch job with the truck!

MSM

 

[jfman]

Well I will look into this next time I got to the junk yard.

 

[IZwack]

LOL christhebeast is a terrorist -- keeps hijacking people's threads! Deleteasaurus!!

 

[Lloyd10977]

Well I will look into this next time I got to the junk yard.

I used the springs from a Bronco and they gave me a 1.75" lift in the rear. Twisted the torsion bars in front up 1" and my X is peffectly leveled. Installation was super simple. Only difference is that the Bronco springs are 3" wide compared to the X's 2.5" but they fit between the brackets as if made for it. After adding spring clamps to hold everthing together, the job looks as if it came that way except for the regular X's main leaf on top.

The Bronco springs cost me $5 for the set, so how's that for a deal? Sure they may be no good for the Bronco any more, but they are ideal for me. Ride is a tiny bit stiffer but handling is greatly improved with no body roll.

 

[jfman]

Can I get them from a 2X4 f150 ? Or should I only go with 4x4 f15 hardware ?

 

[Silver X]

I'd stick with the 4x4 leaves. They're probably heavier duty and less likely to sag.

BTW, I finally took some updated pics of my '01 Sport with this spring upgrade and 32s. Looks like I probably could've fit 33s without any more lift.

Spring upgrade with 30" tires:

Spring upgrade with 32" tires:

 

[Tilt168]

suscribing

 

[Lemptee]

Did the F-150 Leaf Swap this weekend

It's been a while but I think the F150 leaves gained me about 1 5/8" of lift. That's no where near the 4" you'll get out of a set of SuperLift leaves but then you'll never get close to 4" out of a Torsion Twist (2" max.). So, your truck will have a forward rake of about 2".

I just did the f150 spring swap this weekend and I ended up with about a 4 inch lift from stock using James Duff leaf shackles. I've been driving around for two days and I love it. I found a set of '86 f-150 springs on the crusher pile and a local yard and got them for $100. They were pretty rusted but after a weekend of grinding and painting (used Magnet Paint's Chassis Saver), they look like brand new and the ride is great. I would recommend this for anyone who gets a 3-4'' suspension lift that comes with an add-a-leaf rear solution. This will take the same amount of time as the add-a-leaf build, but you end up with a much better spring.

Once again, Bronco638 thanks for the write up. Exactly what I was looking for.

 

[sport01mi]

So has anyone went from a double leaf pack to the upgrade from eaton? Just out of curiosity. I wanna see if you saw much of a difference in the ride quality because im thinking of purchasing it and replacing it with my current setup which has more lift but ride is pretty crappy and im not going to be running anything more than 32s on it. Might do it this weekend since I can just go pick up the stuff since its so close. Thanks.

 

[Silver X]

Sport01mi,
If you want to test drive my truck before you commit to anything, let me know. It has the Eaton springs, EE anti-sway bar, Rancho shocks, and 32s.

Woodhaven is only a few miles from me. I'm out in your area fairly often too, since we're building a house in Brownstown a couple miles south of you.

 

[catatonic]

i just read all the posts in this thread and i was wondering one thing, does this work with the WAR shackles?

 

[MountaineerGreen]

i just read all the posts in this thread and i was wondering one thing, does this work with the WAR shackles?

These can be used with the leaf pack swap, but you will get quite a bit of lift from the combo.

 

[Naasau]

I pulled the springs last week to do this swap, and then found someone online selling 4" lift coil springs for up front, along with superlift extended radius arms, so i'm going to replace my shackles with custom ones i'll make myself. My question is whether or not it would be a good idea to use spring steel for the shackle bars. I'm not an engineer and have no idea about tensile strength or whether or not the heat generated by cutting the flat, thick, spring steel (for both length and for bolt holes) would destroy any sort of special temper that the metal would have.

I don't mean to hijack the thread at all, just not sure who to ask or where. What do you guys think?

 

[hardywo]

So why does it have to be an 80's F150? Wouldn't it be better to use the leaf springs off of a newer F150/250 with a tow package? Thanks for the help.

 

[MountaineerGreen]

The leaf springs on the newer trucks are 3" wide, where as your Explorer leaf springs are 2.5" wide. Plus, I'd wager they are too long on most trucks.

 

[hardywo]

Well I did see somebody say that they used 3" leafs...I know the stock ones are 2.5 on Explorers though. Also, the length shouldn't be important right? I'm just using the smaller leafs, not the main one and I'm going to retain the factory ones from my X.
So is it safe to say that if I got the leaf springs from an F-250 with a towing package I'd get even more lift than an F-150's? Also, it has been mentioned that some have 4 leafs and some have 5...is that number including the main leaf that we don't take or is it 4 or 5 leafs that we actually take and use. And in summary......as long as the weight ratings are around those of an F150, and the leafs are the correct width, would I get an equivalent lift from using the leafs from a different truck? Thanks so much for the help, as I'll be going to the junkyard Tuesday morning. (Chemistry final Monday, then one month of summer!).

 

[glfredrick]

Two separate issues here... First leaf springs, then shackle material.

Leaf springs have a spring rating in pounds measured by the amount of deflection by X number of pounds of force (simply stated). The same size spring could have more or less spring rating based on the metal, the temper, etc. So, a spring that simply fits a bracket may or may not be the best overall spring to use -- yes, you would gain a lot of lift using a higher rated spring -- but at a cost. The rear of your truck would be almost like a pogo stick, versus having a correct spring rate suspension that would allow the springs to flex while going over obstacles.

I've seen a lot of guys (trying) to wheel something that has incorrect spring rates. They're all jacked up, but can't get anywhere because the truck just hops versus plants a tire and goes. Same goes when too low a spring rate is used. Then, there is a resultant lack of control as the spring just deflects over every obstacle, turning the truck into a baby carriage, bouncy-bouncy, and never plant and go.

This is also important up front, and it is difficult to actually find another coil spring that is rated as high as the ones that come stock on a TTB front end under an explorer. Due to the short lever arms, the front springs are rated much higher than a similar sized vehicle with a straight axle, i.e., a Jeep Grand Cherokee. The Explorer would run close to a 500 # rated front spring, while the Grand would run closer to 300 #.


Shackle material...

It does not have to be made out of spring steel. Any decent grade of mild steel will work fine. Besides, it is virtually impossible to machine spring steel, spring steel is brittle when used in an unsupported manner, and it is simply not the correct material for the job.

I used 3/8 common bar stock for my own extended shackles and they've taken every sort of abuse I can hand out to them with no problems. Most guys use 1/4". To use 3/8", you also have to find a source for longer metric bolts, which can prove an interesting search. They are not on the shelf at the local hardware store...