F-150 leaf springs

why not pull the extra spring out to get it back to stock. Then measure the front also (it could be the front its off). Anyway, get it back the way its supossed to be so you know what your dealing with.

If I'm going to tear the suspension apart, I only want to do it once. The fact is, even with the extra spring on the left side, it still leans down on that side, WITHOUT a load on it.

Both sides are worn out enough that I want them both replaced. The reason is, I plan on taking my Ranger off the road this spring and using the F-150 in its' place. Meaning that I will start using it to haul my trailer/ATV, and occasionally larger loads of lumber and material related to my work. But I'm not going to use this truck to travel into the city like I used to with the 1/4 ton.

Just to give you an idea of how bad the springs really are, last year when I was doing work to my lawn, I needed top soil. So I took the 1/2 ton out to the pit and loaded 2 yards of top soil on it (dry, not wet). When the first bucket load went into the bed, it dropped a bit, maybe an inch or inch and

1/2. When the second load was dumped in (very slowly because I knew the springs were in bad shape), the back bumper was about 1 1/2" from the pavement, and the inner fenders on both sides were hitting the top of the rear tires. For a second, I thought about grabbing a shovel and shovelling some back off the truck, but I said the hell with it, as I only had 4 kms to haul it. Let me tell you, those were the longest 4 kms I've ever driven, I don't think I ever went over 20 km/h. At one point when I drove over the railroad tracks by home, I thought the back half of the truck was going to snap off and lay there on the road, while me and the front half would likely have rolled into the ditch.

If that gives you any kind of idea how bad the springs really are, you can understand why I want to replace both sides, LOL. As it stands, the idiot who put the other leafs in thought it would be a good idea to strap the springs together with hose clamps, about 20 of them altogether. When I say this guy is a moron, that is a complete understatement, but that is a whole different story.

But I appreciate the suggestion anyway, Sharky

BTW, the front suspension on the truck is in good shape, the shocks have been replaced and the coils are both good as well. So no, it is not leaning down in the front.

Sharky

wow, if it sagged that much it MUST be missing the overload springs (short thick ones mounted at the bottom of the stack, one on each side) It seams a junk yard would know what springs will fit what truck. You could also check with a Ford dealers auto parts dept by part number. look up your trucks springs then find a newer truck and see if its the same number. Or check the place you got a price from before. There are also shops that specialize in springs that you could check with. They can even arc them for any height you want. Hose clamps to hold leafs together, thats a good one! You might want to look over the rest of the truck really well for anything else the hose clamp king may have touched.

Many years of Ford 1/2, 3/4 and 1 ton trucks use the same width leaf springs. I have swapped entire spring bundles, as well as all but the main spring, because the ends and centers were different dimensions. You could easily get two complete springs off a newer 1/2 or 3/4 ton truck and swap them out. If the center pin has the same measurements to each end it will be a direct drop in replacement, or if you are going with a spring from a

3/4-1 ton you just place all but the main spring pack onto your original main spring.

Good Luck

ShoeSalesman, the hose clamps on the leafs are only the beginning. When I inherited the truck after my grandfather passed away, I looked it over for two days, knowing Mr. Midas (thats where he works for a living, SURPRISE!!!) had gotten his hands on it before I registered it for the road. A few of the things he "tried" to fix were:

- new carburetor with missing automatic choke assembly, meaning when it ran, the choke was wide open all the time. My grandfather always did complain it was a bit hard on fuel ... SIGH!

- fuel gauge, it had stopped working about a year before my grandfather died. Mr. Midas decided to install what he told me was a "new fuel tank and sending unit". Complete load of crap! He also installed an aftermarket gauge after installing the tank and sending unit and the factory gauge still wouldn't work. He still thinks the original gauge is broke, even though I now have it working. Just last week, for the 3rd time, I had to remove the tank because it had a pinhole in it (it was full of rust) and I replaced the sending unit with a brand new part. I had another tank that I rust painted and it was in better shape, so hopefully it should last a few years. The sending unit he put in, where the wire goes into the sensor part was broke off on the nylon bushing. Needless to say, the gauge now works perfect after reinstalling it.

Those were the two biggest annoyances, although there still probably are a few things I haven't found yet. Thankfully someone else repainted the truck and put a bunch of new body parts on it in the process. The engine, now that the carb. is fixed properly, runs great and only has just over 105,000 original kms on it.

Anyway guys, I appreciate all of the help and info and I'll look into some of the suggestions. Thanks again.

Sharky

Well.... late rear springs are different.... You can go with used units (which your brain dead hillbilly already got paid to do) and, quite possibly face the same fate.... several times over until you get what you want.

If you take a trip through the woodworking newsgroups, you'll notice that the thought trend leans towards "buy the good stuff and only cry once....".

However, there are a few sets of old springs in the scrap pile out back..... I'll be happy to let them go "by the pound"..... I'll even commiserate with you if they don't do the trick... (Sorry, all sales final).

I've thought about it last night, and I've decided that I do not want to go through the BS of removing another set of springs if I get a used set and find out they're no better than what I've got now. So once I get my income tax back, I think I'll use it to purchase the new springs at Parts For Trucks (where I got my $300 quote from). I'll use what's left over for shocks and new assembly hardware.

BTW, Mr. Midas was never paid to do any of the work. Most of the time he did the work in exchange for rent payment (he rented a trailer on a lot on the same piece of land my grandfather lived on). So unless he had time to do it at his job, most of the work was done in his driveway. He always had some help from The Captain, which is where most of his work turned ugly. How that poor truck ever stayed safe for the road is beyond my stretch of the imagination.

The only reason I didn't take the truck and set it at the end of the driveway for sale when it was passed to me is because it is the first vehicle I ever drove before I got my license. 16 years ago, it was in a lot better shape than it was before Mr. Midas got his hands on it. When I got it, it had a lot of sentimental value because I was pretty close with my grandfather. But now that it has been painted with a lot of new body parts and I've gotten some repairs done on it, for a 22 year old truck with just over 105,000 kms on the clock, it is still a pretty tough old beast. Unfortunately, after the springs are fixed, my next battle is with the rust on the floor and frame. When it wasn't being driven by my grandfather, it sat most of its life on a grassy part of the driveway. Thankfully, only the bed has a few holes, the rest is just surface rust that needs to be prepped and undercoated.

Anyway, I'm sure everyone has heard enough about this old truck, so once again, thanks to all for the help. BTW, the storytelling was also passed on to me from my grandfather, as you can tell, ;)

Sharky