Highboy front spring replacement

[brownac1983]

I was asked for details when I finished this job so I'm posting this write-up. My original questions having been answered in this thread http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... =9&t=67752
Special thanks to AverageF250 and Drake for the help there.

My truck is a 1967 F-250 4x4, model F-260 (6,800 GVWR). The front end was sagging pretty good, a little more so on the driver's side. I ordered a set from General Spring in Kansas City ($159.99 each for new front 6-leaf springs with bushings, total of $398.22 after adding $78.24 UPS shipping to NC) and their customer service and shipping time was excellent. The springs are part number 43-414. http://www.generalspringkc.com/product_p/43-414.htm

The installation was pretty simple and took about 4 hours. It didn't have to take that long but I was in no hurry. Using the front spring support bolts as a height reference, I gained about 2" (20-1/4" before to just over 22" after). The ride quality afterward is a LOT better, a night and day difference. I can take curves now without that "mushy bouncy" feeling. Here are a few pictures from the install:

Driver's side before:




Driver's side after:




Passenger's side before:




Passenger's side after:




New vs. Old springs. The old springs were slightly taller when unloaded, but were very weak. I could compress them to the same height as the new springs just by stepping on them. The extra leaf and stiffness of the new springs more than made up for it.


Before


After


The new springs leveled the truck nicely and greatly improved the ride quality.

[popeyes71]

That's great, it sounds like it was a fairly simple job! And you accomplished what you wanted to do, that's the best thing! I do have a question, what is the measurement from the center of the axle to the bottom of the fender? I am in need of doing the same thing to my truck. Thanks.

[brownac1983]

That's great, it sounds like it was a fairly simple job! And you accomplished what you wanted to do, that's the best thing! I do have a question, what is the measurement from the center of the axle to the bottom of the fender? I am in need of doing the same thing to my truck. Thanks.

It's 22 3/4" on the driver's side and 23 1/2" on the passenger's side. The difference is due to a need for new body bushings (my next project). These are supposed to be 1 1/4" thick (plus shims as needed),mine are about 1/2" on the driver's and about 1" on the passenger's side, so I would estimate with new bushings the center of axle to bottom of fender well measurement would be just under 24". I'll probably shim to an even 24".

[Superjunk]

Looks great.

I'll be ordering from them soon.My rig is just like yours,lower on the drivers side too.

[brownac1983]

Looks great.

I'll be ordering from them soon.My rig is just like yours,lower on the drivers side too.

Thanks. Check your body mounts too. My front-down sag was the springs, but the driver's side lean was half springs and half body mounts. I highly recommend changing the springs. You wouldn't believe how much better it handles with the new ones.

[brownac1983]

Looks great.

I'll be ordering from them soon.My rig is just like yours,lower on the drivers side too.

I thought of something else worth mentioning. If your truck has the 5-leaf front springs now, the replacement packs are 6-leaf and the leafs are apparently a little thicker. The new packs will be approximately 3/4" thicker than your old ones. Because of that, your U-bolt nuts will fall in a different position than they are now. Notice that the threads protrude about 1" from the nuts on my before pictures and only a few threads afterward. Before you start (especially since I see that you are in New York, I assume you have some road salt up there) clean and inspect the threads protruding past the nuts on your U-bolts. If they aren't in good condition (because this is the part of the threads you'll be using when you reassemble), you'll need to get some new U-bolts with your springs. Luckily mine were in good shape. If they weren't I wouldn't have been able to finish the job until I found new ones. I hate it when that happens.

[Superjunk]

Thanks. Check your body mounts too. My front-down sag was the springs, but the driver's side lean was half springs and half body mounts. I highly recommend changing the springs. You wouldn't believe how much better it handles with the new ones.

My body mounts are new when I swapped cab last year

I thought of something else worth mentioning. If your truck has the 5-leaf front springs now, the replacement packs are 6-leaf and the leafs are apparently a little thicker. The new packs will be approximately 3/4" thicker than your old ones. Because of that, your U-bolt nuts will fall in a different position than they are now. Notice that the threads protrude about 1" from the nuts on my before pictures and only a few threads afterward. Before you start (especially since I see that you are in New York, I assume you have some road salt up there) clean and inspect the threads protruding past the nuts on your U-bolts. If they aren't in good condition (because this is the part of the threads you'll be using when you reassemble), you'll need to get some new U-bolts with your springs. Luckily mine were in good shape. If they weren't I wouldn't have been able to finish the job until I found new ones. I hate it when that happens.

Thanks for the advice.Yes, we use alot of road salt up here.I already figured to get u-bolts and spring bolts...

[popeyes71]

Brownac1983:

Thanks so much for the information! I know that myself and others will find the information very helpful.

[Tpdaniels]

I also put new springs under my Highboy, The front was still lower than I wanted. To make it higher I took the old ones and cut them down like the picture below, repacked the new springs with the old short pieces added, put in a new longer center bolt, replaced the U bolts with longer ones and put it all under the truck. It's all bolted together, U bolts lock it in place, can't twist or kick out like blocks will. Nothing has been done to the rear, it is factory stock but adding the approximately 2" to the front make all the difference in the truck's stance, now it looks like it should have from the Factory.

[brownac1983]

Tpdaniels,
That's niiiiice. I was just about to throw my old springs away. I'll hold onto them in case I want to add a little more lift to the front. Are those later model axles?

[Tpdaniels]

Tpdaniels,
That's niiiiice. I was just about to throw my old springs away. I'll hold onto them in case I want to add a little more lift to the front. Are those later model axles?

The first picture is not my truck but the one I used to make mine by, it has a modified shock mount, The second picture is my truck, but the springs looks the same. I do have a 76 Low Pinion Dana 44 front axle, it's a direct bolt in replacement except it has Disc Brakes and open Knuckle's, I found it in a local boneyard

[popeyes71]

TpDaniels:
Your truck looks excellent, like always! I enjoy seeing it. When I get a few of my bills payed off, I'm going to turn to my truck sponser (Visa), to get my truck suspension redone.

[averagef250]

It's a pretty big no-no in the suspension world to put any sort of spacer between the front spring and axle. Because you have the spring center bolt passing through the leaf sections you have a little safety margin, but the dynamics of leaf front suspension don't work well with spacers period.

You have 70% of the braking force trying to pull the front axle off the leaf springs and the side forces from steering are twisting the springs and frame continuously. Increasing the distance between the spring's main leaf and the spring pad compounds the leverage of these forces.

If I absolutely had to do it I would step up to 5/8" B7 U-bolts and torque to 90% yield. 5/8 bolts are quite a bit stronger than 9/16. It's also not so much the absolute strength you really need, but the reduced elasticity (if you apply the same working load to 9/16 stock as 5/8 the 5/8 will stretch less).

[brownac1983]

For anybody that's considering it, General Spring quoted an extra $75 to disassemble both springs, re-arch them to customer specs and reassemble, so you could use my measurements to determine if you need extra lift and order it up front. That's probably less than you'd spend on the longer U-bolts anyway. The trick is knowing exactly what you need before you order, which is the reason for this thread.

[Superjunk]

For anybody that's considering it, General Spring quoted an extra $75 to disassemble both springs, re-arch them to customer specs and reassemble, so you could use my measurements to determine if you need extra lift and order it up front. That's probably less than you'd spend on the longer U-bolts anyway. The trick is knowing exactly what you need before you order, which is the reason for this thread.

Thats good to know,Thanks...