Leaf springs
10-28-2018, 10:15 PM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Leaf springs
I posted this elsewhere but should have posted here. Hopefully it will get a little more attention this way.
I have a 1994 F150 with a bunch of miles. One of my leaf springs is shot so I’m going to replace both springs and shocks. Here’s my question- I live on a farm and the truck does double duty as a commuter and farm truck. This means that it occasionally hauls a load though not usually for long distances. Worst case would be a stock trailer with a couple steers. More often then not it runs around with no load. I can get HD springs rated at 2450 lbs or standard rated for 1700 lbs. It sounds like the HD springs will lift the back end 2-4”. I’m not sure if the 1700 lb springs provide any lift. I had planned on lifting the front a couple inches in the spring but don’t want to go more than 2-3”. Which weight rating for the springs do I want and which shocks do I want? I’m leaning towards the Tuff Country SX8000 with the HD springs the come this next spring I’ll shoot for the Tuff Country 2.5” front kit. Does that seem like a reasonable plan? Is there a different route I should go?
Thanks.
I have a 1994 F150 with a bunch of miles. One of my leaf springs is shot so I’m going to replace both springs and shocks. Here’s my question- I live on a farm and the truck does double duty as a commuter and farm truck. This means that it occasionally hauls a load though not usually for long distances. Worst case would be a stock trailer with a couple steers. More often then not it runs around with no load. I can get HD springs rated at 2450 lbs or standard rated for 1700 lbs. It sounds like the HD springs will lift the back end 2-4”. I’m not sure if the 1700 lb springs provide any lift. I had planned on lifting the front a couple inches in the spring but don’t want to go more than 2-3”. Which weight rating for the springs do I want and which shocks do I want? I’m leaning towards the Tuff Country SX8000 with the HD springs the come this next spring I’ll shoot for the Tuff Country 2.5” front kit. Does that seem like a reasonable plan? Is there a different route I should go?
Thanks.
10-28-2018, 10:53 PM
#2
Member
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Memphis, TN, Earth, Milky Way
Posts: 11,256
Received 1,731 Likes
on
1,487 Posts
The more info you give us, the more we can help. And it all needs to be in your signature so it appears automatically with each of your posts. Click this & read the caption:
(phone app link)Define "shot".
Changing the ride height on a TIB/TTB suspension is complicated, and expensive to do right. Don't just start throwing bigger parts at the truck - you'll end up with something dangerous. If you want a lift, buy a lift SYSTEM - not a "kit".That's a can of worms. You can get more answers to that question than people answering. Only you can consider all your considerations, so only you can make an informed decision about what you need. If you just blindly take some internet advice about what to bolt to your truck, you'll get what you pay for.
(phone app link)Define "shot".
10-29-2018, 11:12 AM
#3
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The more info you give us, the more we can help. And it all needs to be in your signature so it appears automatically with each of your posts. Click this & read the caption:
(phone app link)Define "shot".Changing the ride height on a TIB/TTB suspension is complicated, and expensive to do right. Don't just start throwing bigger parts at the truck - you'll end up with something dangerous. If you want a lift, buy a lift SYSTEM - not a "kit".That's a can of worms. You can get more answers to that question than people answering. Only you can consider all your considerations, so only you can make an informed decision about what you need. If you just blindly take some internet advice about what to bolt to your truck, you'll get what you pay for.
(phone app link)Define "shot".Changing the ride height on a TIB/TTB suspension is complicated, and expensive to do right. Don't just start throwing bigger parts at the truck - you'll end up with something dangerous. If you want a lift, buy a lift SYSTEM - not a "kit".That's a can of worms. You can get more answers to that question than people answering. Only you can consider all your considerations, so only you can make an informed decision about what you need. If you just blindly take some internet advice about what to bolt to your truck, you'll get what you pay for.
Sorry for the lack of information. Something I should have thought of. ill get a signature set up but for now its
94 F150 Ex cab
5.0 EFI, E4OD
285k miles, was told engine/transmission rebuilt around 200k miles
31x10.5 15 Cooper Discoverer AT3’s
not 100% sure on trim package- seats say “sport” on them but nothing else in the truck does? It’s different from the last 94 XLT I had but that’s probably not relevant.
When I say the leaf spring is shot, I mean that the rear drivers side very visibly sags. When I last loaded a steer to haul the squat was real bad, much worse than before. I’ve inspected all the brackets and shackles and these appear to be in surprisingly good shape. The truck spent most of its life in MT so salt and overall rust isn’t a problem. It’s very solid for its age.
Forgive my ignorance but how is a lift system different from a lift kit? I can understand not going on the cheap and just throwing the minimum necessary to get the front in the air, but if all parts are purchased as a kit, put together by the same company to work together, isn’t that the best route to go?
I would like to replace the leaf springs now. What I’m not sure about is if it’s a bad idea to put the HD springs on in general, and how it would effect things if I do add the front lift in the future.
10-29-2018, 10:10 PM
#4
Member
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Memphis, TN, Earth, Milky Way
Posts: 11,256
Received 1,731 Likes
on
1,487 Posts
You could have put all that into your sig by now:
https://www.f150forum.com/profile.php?do=editsignature
That's not a diagnosis of any problem with the leaves. Read this caption, and the diagram:
(phone app link)
You just described a lift system. A lift "kit" is any conglomeration of 2 parts or more that have SOMETHING to do with increasing ride height. They may not be from the same company, and they may not be engineered to work together, or at all on your particular vehicle. To order a true lift system, you have to tell the company selling it a LOT more about your truck & what you want than what you posted above.OK, but that's pretty arbitrary. You might as well have chosen to replace the tires, since they have something to do with ride height & level, and you haven't diagnosed them, either. Maybe a body mount has collapsed... Replacing the leaves without knowing what caused the symptom you're concerned about is just a shot in the dark, and NOT likely to solve the problem.You might end up buying another set of springs as part of the lift system, in which case you'd have wasted the money, effort, & time of installing some now.
https://www.f150forum.com/profile.php?do=editsignature
(phone app link)