The leaf springs on my 98' xlt Offroad have been dearched an 1 1/2". Want to put some new ones on, does anyone know of anybody who makes some stock leafsprings. The dealer is too expensive. Or am I just sol?

 

Deaver, Atlas, National, and General spring all make leaf springs, im sure they can make something close to stock. They might make the dealer look cheap though. Im not sure what the dealer wants.

 

thanks man!

 

General spring 299 for both! Thats cheaper than the dealer wanted apiece! Thats where im orderin from.
Thanks FX4life!!!

 

No problem. Kansasjoe (i think thats his s/n) is a member here, thats his place.

 

Just get a pair of "lightly used" springs from a salvage yard. 2wd or 4x4......it doesn't matter - they all use the same "height" springs. Just make sure they have the GRAWR that you want. They usually cost 100 - 150 a pair. Also, keep in mind that inexpensive aftermarket springs are usually junk. They will loose ride height much quicker than OEM springs.

 

.......Or, if you can find them, just get some 3" Ranger blocks to replace your 2" F-150 blocks. Cheaper and easier.......

 

Yeah, some one had taken the 2" block out, but kept using the same Ubolts instead of shorter ones. So the clamps on the leafs broke probably due to rust and maybe more stress with the extra slack. Anyway so your saying if I can get a set off of a 2wd, they're the same height just can't haul as much weight?

 

Nah, I'm just saying to find a spring with the GRAWR you want. It doesn't matter if it's off a 2wd or 4x4, they are the same "height". I don't know what springs you have on your truck, but you can find 2wd springs with just as much load capacity as yours......if not more. So the blocks are missing?? You don't think that has anything to do with why it's sitting lower in the back??

 

yea guess it's sitting 3 or 4 inches lower in the back than the stock height. I just wanna get the rear back up so when I crank my torsion bars to put 35's it won't look stupid. I mean I like the front level or sitting maybe half to an 1" higher, but the front would probably be bout 3" higher. How do you think that would look, especially on a reg. cab?

 

Hmm......lets see......A regular cab with cranked torsion bars, stock rear springs and 35's...... It would probably sit something like this.

 

The truck sits nearly level. But, because the rear wheel wells aren't as big as the front, it looks like it's sagging in the back slightly. I stacked in another 1" block and it looked much better. But, stacking blocks isn't really the best idea....

How many leaves are in your current spring pack? 2+1 or 3+1? And according to your door sticker, what's your rear axle rating? Do you want springs heavier than what you have now?

 

AWSOME TRUCK!! Its like mine, except better. Are those lightening wheels? I'm not sure about the rear axle rating don't have access to it right now, but my springs are 3+1. I'm just pretty sure that it's not gonna clear 35's in the rear with it sitting 3" lower in the rear. Especially the back mud flaps.

 

By the way how does the truck handle with the cranked TR's?

 

Hey, thanks! Yeah, they are Lightning wheels.....the real ones, not the knock-offs.

Ok, here's the truth on torsion bars. Forget anything else you may have heard. First off, never buy "keys". Unless you're running something EXTREMELY heavy on the front end, or have EXTREMELY soft torsion bars(Supercrew).....the the OEM setup has PLENTY of adjustment. But.......if the previously mentioned conditions apply to you....then you need heavier bars - not keys.

Next, cranking up your bars does not make them "stiffer" or "firm up the ride" etc. Now, it will make the ride WORSE because of the loss of down-travel.......which I'll explain how to fix later. But in no way does it change the spring rate.

In stock form, the shocks are the limiting factor for down-travel. With the torsion bars at the factory setting, this works fine because the shock catches the suspension at about the same time the torsion bar runs out of pre-load. But, when you adjust the pre-load indexing(a.k.a crank your torsion bars).....the suspension will still be under thousands of pounds of force when the shock tops out. And, after your truck goes airborne a couple times, your shock will rip apart(happened the very next day). The solution is to use a longer shock that allows the upper control arm to be the limiting device. This will regain most of the lost down-travel and put the ride nearly back to stock.

Within about a month you'll need new ball joints. And if you have the OEM mud flaps like mine did.......they not gonna work with 35's.