Rear suspension sagging

[RRam]

I have a 2000 Exp Sport (4wd). The back of the truck saggs down. At first I thought it would be the shocks (now I know better) so I bought new shocks (Rancho). Still sagging. Do I have to replace my leafsprings or is there another way? How much do leafsprings cost for my truck?

 

[caldi55]

$30 add-a-leaf best investment i made

 

[RRam]

thanks caldi - I'll look into it

 

[JDraper]

Best permanant solution is to replace the rear springs with a set of springs from a 4 door Explorer. The Sport has monoleafs that aren't exactly the strongest springs...The 4 door uses a 4 leaf pack.

 

[RRam]

Thanks JDraper - Since I'm gonna go with a 4 door Exp. what year should I use ?? Still 2000?? this is why I like this forum so much - I'm glad I joined it

 

[RickOTR]

All springs from 91 to 01 will work. Just find a explorer that does not have many miles on it. I got a new pair from JCWhitney for $90 and they work fine for me.

 

[RRam]

Cool - thanks - So the pair that you received should fit my truck? You wouldn't happen to know the product number would you?? (From JC-Whit) I want to order them. Jeez - what's wrong with these Exp Sports - can't do anything to them LOL

Now what about add-a-leaf??? Where can I get a pair of those?

 

[Lloyd10977]

$30 add-a-leaf best investment i made

I purchased a spring pack set on eBay that cost me $5 and 30 minutes driving to pick them up, plus the cost of new U-bolts and a center pin bolt.

 

[SteveO2569]

i have a similar problem, if u look at my explorer from behind u can tell that the driver side sits slighty lower then the passanger, it has been like this for awhile and i continue to go off road with no worries so i havent really put any money into fixing it until i can tell something is going wrong, its not my shocks so i i figured it was something with my suspension....any advice?

 

[Lloyd10977]

i have a similar problem, if u look at my explorer from behind u can tell that the driver side sits slighty lower then the passanger, it has been like this for awhile and i continue to go off road with no worries so i havent really put any money into fixing it until i can tell something is going wrong, its not my shocks so i i figured it was something with my suspension....any advice?

You have the typical "Explorer Lean". Caused by a constant load on the left (driver's) side of the vehicle. The "fix" is to replace the rear leaf springs, not the shocks. Without replacing, eventually your rear end will begin to bottom out on the stops any time you have even moderate weight in the back (like one passenger). A cheap temporary fix is to swap the springs left to right. A more permanent one is AAL (add-a-leaf). The correct fix is replacing the springs.

Been there, done that.

 

[MONMIX]

you cant aal the sport mono leaf.

I did the 2-door - 4-door leaf swap.
It was cake. $100.00 for a pair of leafs from a junk yard.

Made a huge differance in the rear hight.

 

[SteveO2569]

so if i were to go to a local garage to get this fixed how much would it cost to aal?

 

[Lloyd10977]

you cant aal the sport mono leaf.

I did the 2-door - 4-door leaf swap.
It was cake. $100.00 for a pair of leafs from a junk yard.

Sorry, I completely missed that we were talking about a Sport with Monoleaf. I am getting ready to talk with a Sport owner who expressed an interest in the #2, #3, and #4 leaves that I removed from mine. He is going to mojnt them on reversed sides so as to level out the ride, and using the Limited's L series springs should still give him a very comfortable ride.

 

[therise21]

can someone tell me how many leafs come stock on a 4dr? i bought mine used and it has a nice rake to it, and im wondering if the previous owner added a leaf or something.
thanks, matt.

 

[RRam]

Seems like the 4dr leafs have 3 springs. I think from 91 and up can be used for our truck. Where did you get your spring from? I'm looking for a pair but am having a hard time finding them. I have a 2000 Exp Sport.

Roland

 

[Lloyd10977]

can someone tell me how many leafs come stock on a 4dr? i bought mine used and it has a nice rake to it, and im wondering if the previous owner added a leaf or something.
thanks, matt.

My 95 Limited had 4 leaves on each side. The #1 was the main spring with eyelets to connect to the fron braacket and rear shackle. This was retained when I added the spring pack from the Bronco. #2 is the second spring down from the axle and is about 6-8 inches shorter than #1. #3 is shorter still by about 6 inches on each end. #4 is the shortest leaf on the bottom of the springpack.

 

[hunterdan]

To help curb my rear sag, I bought a set of Monroe Sensatrac load adjusting shocks for the rear and put sensatracs up front as well. Helped keep the rear from sagging more when adding weight to the back, and improved handling greatly. My next step will either be shackles or the leaves. I highly recommend these rear shocks to anybody, even if you dont do any hauling or towing, the extra coil spring adds some more support and the shock does a great job of absorbing the impacts, smoothing the ride, and preventing nose dive upon braking.

Dan

 

[RRam]

What's the difference between shakles and leaves? I'm having a hard time finding leafsprings (4 leaf) for my 2000 sport. Can someone help me find a pair??? Tired of the rear sagging. Thanks

 

[JDraper]

Shackles are what hold the rear of the leaf springs to the truck frame. You won't find 4 leaf springs for your Sport, you have to order them for a 4 door Explorer. The springs are the same length between the Sport and the 4 door Ex. The springs for the sport are mono leafs while the springs for the 4 doors are 4 leaf. (hint** use search button...lots of info already here)

 

[Lloyd10977]

To help curb my rear sag, I bought a set of Monroe Sensatrac load adjusting shocks for the rear and put sensatracs up front as well. Helped keep the rear from sagging more when adding weight to the back, and improved handling greatly. My next step will either be shackles or the leaves. I highly recommend these rear shocks to anybody, even if you dont do any hauling or towing, the extra coil spring adds some more support and the shock does a great job of absorbing the impacts, smoothing the ride, and preventing nose dive upon braking.

Dan

Good job, Dan. But IMHO you have just treated the symptom and not resolved the root cause which is the sagging springs themselves. Your shock choice was an excellent one and has given you good results as well as in other cases I've seen, but eventually the spring will continue to sag as it continues to wear, perhaps a lot slower now that they are being helped but your shocks, but they will sag more nonetheless. If Ford had made that type of choice in the original design, then we might not be plagued with this issue, but they did not and we suffer as a result. Walking that fine line between good ride and weight-carrying serviceability gave them reason to make what I feel was a poor choice in suspensions, which THEY realized and is proven by the changes made in 3rd and 4th gen X's.