Newbie here, have some questions

[tooltime]

I have an 02 Sport trac 2wd with a Camburg 6.0 pre-runner stage one lift kit. The truck is awesome, but I need some help working on the rear chassis. The truck has lift shackles on it, and an extremely too short and stiff add a leaf causing the rear not to work well off road. Aside from having a new set of spring packs made, who out there has a long thin add a leaf that I can use and throw away the short stiff add a leaf. The truck has 285/75/16's on it. I also want to re-gear it and put in some sort of traction adding device. Im looking at an all gear limited slip from Auburn or Eaton possibly. I dont know what gear is in it due to the data tag being removed. What gear should I go with for the size of tire I mentioned? Thanks in advance

 

[ncranchero]

Can't help you on the spring issue but plug your VIN into this search and it'll spec your truck to show what gear it was produced with. It'll be a 3.73 or a 4.10 though.
Etis

 

[JohnnyO]

I would get the Superlift lift kit rear springs, they will sell them separately, or Deaver springs from Dixon Brothers.

 

[tooltime]

Im trying to stay away from the deaver idea. Cost is an issue at the moment. Im going to make some measurements and go to my local spring guy and buy a add-a-leaf. I took the rear sway bar off. It was bound up causing the rear to be limited. That alone made a huge improvement. Now once I get the rear springs softer, this truck will haul the mail and ride much better off road.

 

[JohnnyO]

An add-a-leaf will make it stiffer.

 

[tooltime]

@Johnny, the short fat add a leaf that it currently has made it overly stiff and the wheel travel potential limited. A long thin add a leaf will make only a slight rate change. But most importantly the long thin add a leaf will allow for full wheel travel pontntial, unlike the short add a leaf which limits wheel travel and adds too much spring rate. I do not plan on towing anything but the necessary support grear to allow for a great day in the desert at relative high speeds within the limits of the vehicle. Ive been spending time tweaking and adjusting what is currently there. With that much spring rate in the rear, under full compression, all that stored energy is hard to contain. The rebound in the shocks can only do so much. The first thing I did was to remove the rear sway bar. That alone was binding up the rear end this not allowing the ear to articulate, and on fast corners off road, the rear being so stiff had no weight transfer and therefore the feeling was as if you were on ice. When I get this thing dialed in, its going to soak up whatever the desert terrain will throw at it. This truck has so much potential, its just not being used. Chassis setup is my forte'! AS soon as I re-gear the rear and add in a detroit locker, that is going to help a ton. Stay tuned! P.S. Ive only had this thing two weeks, and already its working better. Most of the fundamentals are in place, every thing just needs a little guidance and TLC. This will not be a show truck.
Thank you for your time.

 

[JohnnyO]

Okay, keep us posted on how it works.