Hi, forgive me if I've missed the answer to my question somewhere else. I've searched and cant seem to find it.
96 f-150, 300ci, 4wd, single cab, short bed.

To start off, I "accidentally" raised my truck in the front. After a broken shock tower, I rebuilt the front end and suspension and added moog 824's as per my research here. It raised my truck 3 or 4 inches, way higher than the rear end. (put new "lower spring perches" on in order to add a swaybar, and they were a touch taller than stock as well.) Anyway, I don't mind the lift, but now am trying to level out the rear end.
I've been researching add a leaf systems but am running into an issue. For my truck, they all seem to be 3 inch wide springs, and my leaf pack is 2.5". I've talked to techs at two companies and they have both told me that all listed add a leafs for my truck are 3 inch wide.
After working on this truck a bit over a couple of years, I have seen a few issues that make me think that there has been some real half *** rigging done to this truck in the past. Upon looking at the rear leaf spring mounting brackets, I'm wondering if someone didn't replace the old springs with 2.5 inch wide packs just because thats what was laying around, and then just tighten the mounting bolt until the mounting braket bent in to fit. ( there are other oddities that make me think that is possible).
Anyway, my questions are these;

1- Does anyone know if that 2.5 inch wide pack of springs was ever an offering on my model of truck, and if so, could anyone point me towards the correct add a leaf?
2- If these trucks were all offered with only 3 inch wide stacks, could I try and bend the mounting bracket back out to accomidate a 3 inch wide stack again?
3- Should I bite the bullet and replace all for mounting brackets ( I'd really love to avoid this)?
I sure hope I'm wrong, and that i'm just missing something.

Sorry, I know that's a lot of background, and possibly tough questions to answere online.
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks a ton for all the info I've already gotten from this forum.

 

Somebody screwed up. 4WD F150's all had 3" wide springs, but 2WD F150's had the narrower 2.5" springs.

It makes me think that maybe the truck was a 2WD that got converted to a 4WD and they just didn't change the rear leaf springs. Does your bed have two fuel doors? Only the 2WD single cab short beds came with two tanks, so if you have two doors, it almost certainly was a conversion from 2WD to 4WD. If you think the brackets for the leaf spring mounts are "bent in" to accommodate the narrower springs, then it was probably a 4WD and someone screwed up.

The 4WD F150's also came stock with 2" blocks in the rear - so that might be why you are seeing such a dramatic difference in the height - the front of a 4x4 sits naturally taller than a 2WD, so if you essentially still have a 2WD rear end, I can see why it would look like there is such a difference. Those moog cc824's shouldn't raise the front end much more than 1-2" - I have the same springs on my 4x4. Make sure to get a camber bushing alignment done once you get it all dialed in.

If I were you, I would plan on replacing the hangers and springs/shackles. If you can find a decent set of F250 springs with a 5 leaf pack, it should do the trick without having to put blocks under them. I have been running a used set of 1989 F250 leafs with no blocks on mine for a couple years now and they work great.

 

I'm pretty sure it has always been a 4x4. Only one fuel door. What you say seems to back up my suspition that they stuck a 2.5 inch stack in there, and just tightened the braket until it pinched in. I still don't know why those 824s raised it so much, but it was quite a bit. Like i said, I added a sway bar, and the spring perches twith the end links that I needed were a little taller, but only about 1/2". Like I said. I don't get it, but I'm fine with a little higher. Might help to bolster my fragile ego. Just need to get the rear to match. I was planning on pulling the bed off and doing a new gas tank, some rust abatement on the frame, and the new rear springs all at the same time, so I may do new brackets, springs and shackles all at the same time. At least I'll be standing up. The f250 springs was initially what I was going to do, until I ran into this issue.
As for the spacer blocks, as of now it has 1 under one side, and 3 under the other. I'm guessing mr. ford didn't design it like that.
Thanks for the info.
I'm getting real leary of this truck. I keep finding weird little things like this, and all that with the fact that I recently realized that, while I've got what looks to me like a factory pain job, the title says it was a different color. I think thier may have been some under the table dealings with this truck.

 

You sound like you are already ahead of the game on most things, so I probably don't need to mention you can upgrade to a larger tank in the rear, which would be especially awesome since it's a single tank truck.

Sounds like you have to un**** the truck a little bit. It'll be worth it in the end.

 

I need the F250 non HD springs, is that correct?
I hadn't looked into a larger tank at all. I've never messed with gas tanks much, but would it be stupid to go used on the tank? Seems like that'd be one of those things that all I would find is other rusty tanks.
Again, thanks for the info and tips.

 

That's not much of a description. The more we know about the truck, the more likely we can offer useful suggestions. Click this, read the caption, and fill in your signature:


(phone app link)I have to agree with you! And it seems to be continuing...

If you post several clear pics of the suspension, including measurements, we might be able to help figure out what's going on. Follow the link in that caption if you need help posting pics.

 

I think that is correct - my old 4WD 150 springs had a 4 leaf pack, the "new" ones have a 5 leaf pack. They would be considered standard for an F250 and HD for an F150.

https://www.sdtrucksprings.com/index...oducts_id=1518

I wouldn't hesitate finding a used tank, but I live in Oregon where rust is non-existent. If you can find a good one that is rust free, you can paint/treat for future rust prevention before you put it in the truck. The larger tank option mentioned previously has two options - you can try to find a bronco tank and FDM (requires some modifications to mount), or you can purchase one of the aftermarket spectra F26 or F8 variants (requires modifications to the float/sender, and longer tank straps) that are very popular for these trucks. Neither is a bolt-in solution, but either one will get you close to 2x the fuel capacity you have now.

Steve is right about the sig - use mine as a template - it allows us to help without having to go back to the original post every time to see what kind of truck you have

 

[QUOTEI have to agree with you! And it seems to be continuing... ][/QUOTE]

Sick burn, Steve. I was worried for a second that I was going to get away with asking a genuine question on the internet without being randomly insulted. Way to keep me humble.
"sick burns" aside. You're right about filling out my truck profile and posting some pics. I'll get on that when I get home from work.

 

That wasn't random, and it wasn't an insult. It was an acute observation that you're considering doing exactly what you're ragging on the PO for doing.

 

I had a great experience dealing with this company. Look up your vehicle and browse the different offerings.
https://www.autoandtrucksprings.com/index.php?p=login
Replaced the rear springs on a 1997 F Super Duty. Went with the HD springs for a few dollars more, really picked up the back of the truck nicely. It carries a bunch more weight without sitting on the overloaders also. Bought all the appropriate hardware, hangers, etc. and was very pleased with the quality. Been about a year and no issues so far.