Project Little Green Turd

[BlackBII]

Looks great man.

I put Explorer leaves in my truck as well. I used Polyurethane bushings and they worked great.

 

[wizkid00104]

Thanks! I still need to order some stuff. I decided to go with out isolators except between the overload and spring pack. I am going to paint the leaves with silver Chassis Saver and then Slip Plate. And I am going to get the Energy Poly bushings for the spring eyes.

I picked up a used HF 20 ton press for a nice price. It is slow but it gets the job done. I tested it and it removed one of the spring eye bushings without much problem at all.

 

[wizkid00104]

Small update....

Wife's car got fog lights, snow tires, and new rear brake shoes installed. She is set for the winter.

The broken Ranger leaf is causing the truck to sag more and more. Last night I finally had some time to tear on of the "new" Explorer springs apart and get all the right pieces. I had to order the front bushings online, but a local spring shop has everything else that I can pick up tomorrow. I ordered U-bolts from Ruff Stuff Specialties and they are BEEFY. Also got a quart of Slip Plate to coat the springs.

When I bought them:


Center bolt cut off:


Leafs had steel isolators between them:


Here is what was left of the slider pads:


Here is the whole thing disassembled:


Now that one is apart, I have the rest of the parts ordered. I might tear the other one apart tonight. When it warms up Saturday or Sunday, I am going to sand blast the leafs and then sand them a bit to smooth them out before applying Slip Plate. Might be able to get them installed over the Christmas weekend.

For anyone who cares of the details, these springs are off a 97 Explorer. I ordered bushing kit Energy Suspension 4.2124G. This is suppose to fit 95-01 Explorer springs. There is one minor detail missing though.... the front spring bushings have a steel sleeve that mush be reused. As you can see, I do not have that luxury...



The correct steel encased rubber bushing is part # RB12ST from www.autoandtrucksprings.com. I am putting this info here because it took some work. Direct linky: http://www.autoandtrucksprings.com/products/Ford_Rubber_Encased_Bushing-2186-186.html

The rear bushings are much more common and the Energy ones fit perfectly, but I am returning the whole kit since the front are no use to me. Here is the rear:



So for anyone who needs the info, 95-01 Explorer leaf springs have a 1.875" I.D. on the front spring eye and 1.250" I.D. on the rear spring eye. The center bolt for the leaf pack is 7/16". Hopefully this will save someone else the time and effort

 

[wizkid00104]

So here is what $100 worth of new hardware looks like.... $55 of that is just the two front spring eye bushings.



I got the second spring torn apart last night. Here is what remains of the hardware.



Here is the disassembled spring.


These need some attention with the wire wheel and maybe some sand paper to smooth the surfaces where the leafs will contact one another. Then they will be getting two coats of Slip Plate. Hopefully I will get that done over the long weekend and get to put these on next week.

 

[wizkid00104]

Well I am not as far ahead as I would like to be, but I did get a new DeWalt angle grinder for Christmas from my parents to replace my cordless Craftsman one that annihilates batteries. I got to try it out a little bit yesterday and with a wire wheel, really cleaned up the one of springs.





I am going to try and clean the other one up tonight after work and then get them wiped down so a the first coat of slip plate can be applied.

I did find a fair amount of pitting and wear from where the old spring sliders pads use to ride. I am hoping that the slip plate will really help these areas. I may even start by applying an extra coat in those spots.

 

[wizkid00104]

So I got a 60 grit sanding disc for the grinder and used that to smooth out the wear spots on the springs. Not perfect, but definitely improved the feel. Not so many rough edges where the springs contact.



Garage is cleaned up and the springs are ready for the first coat of paint tomorrow.

 

[Rowdy Fitzgerald]

I did the same thing to two of my trucks. It takes a long time to prep them. Way longer than a guy would think!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[wizkid00104]

I do have a fair amount of time in them. And the little things add up. In hindsight, it probably would've been just as easy to order new springs from ATS.... I am looking at the prices now. I didn't realize how much the little bits add up. On the bright side, I can say that I built these and they will be graphite coated where as ordered ones will not.

 

[wizkid00104]

Slip Plate applied to one side of the springs.



First lesson. Make sure the can is above 50 degrees. I set it on the heater to slowly warm it up.



Second lesson. Don't bother stirring. Extensively shake it. A lot. It is the easiest way to mix in the graphite. Stir once it is almost ready to use.

I wiped everything down with acetone before applying the Slip Plate. Acetone takes the slip plate off of the brush. After this first application, I would actually paint the underside of the springs then flip them and do the side you see. I feel as though it would not run even when it is inverted.

You can see the brush strokes as it begins to dry. It is a very thick paint because of the graphite content.









I am really pleased with how it went on. It went on the springs easily. The sheet metal for the spring clips was not roughed up, so it was definitely harder to apply. So I would scuff up new metal before applying.

I will get the second coat on tomorrow after work. I can then press in the bushings and assemble the springs on Friday.

Something I never snapped a picture of was u-bolts I ordered from Ruff Stuff Specialties. These are major overkill.... 5/8" x 3" x 10" grade 8. The ones on there now from James Duff are 9/16" grade 5. In the photo is a 9/16" bolt for comparison. Ruff Stuff makes a really nice quality product.

 

[wizkid00104]

Springs flipped and painted:


Paint dried and being assembled in the vise:




Finished product:











Finally.... Before:


and After:


And now for many beers in preparation for New Years

 

[wizkid00104]

So I got the springs installed today!

Before left side (broken leaf):



Right side:


How it sat looking at it from the rear. My garage floor does slope slightly to the left for the floor drain.



The bolts in the the driver's side Teraflex shackle were a bitch. We would up removing the bracket and pressing the bolt out. I made these bolts greasible to avoid this problem but I do not think I greased them enough.... So I will keep up with that better on the new springs.



New spring compared to the non-broken old spring:



Very little height difference, not the expected 1.5".







Springs off:





New springs on and my buddy who was helping had to leave, so the bed will go on another day.



New spring plates were drilled out to 11/16" to accommodate the new 5/8" u-bolts:



Old springs:





Everything on back together:





Before and after:





Time for some beers and to prepare for work

 

[wizkid00104]

Got the bed on and took it for a test drive! But first, the measurements...

L/R
Before: 20.5"/22"
After: 24"/24"








It now sits level:




The front sits at 22" on both sides. As a result, there is some rake now...


So I am at the very end of the rear shocks. There is no room for droop with the new springs and I have about 2" of rake... so I am going to order new lift blocks and lower the rear. As I measure the factory block, it is about 2.5"...



So I am looking at getting a 1" or 1.5" blocks to replace it... I am still contemplating.

As for the ride, the new springs are definitely more firm, but the ride is not harsh. It seems the graphite paint is really effective at making the springs slide well. The rear end is very planted, but not uncontrollably harsh. The drive to work tomorrow will help me get a better feel, but at first glance, I am very happy with the swap.

 

[Stangman92]

Looks good

 

[ericbphoto]

You might try junk yard for different blocks. I pulled a pair from an F150 and found out that they were shorter than my Ranger blocks. I don't think it was quite an inch of difference, though. Maybe F250 has even shorter ones.

 

[wizkid00104]

Looks good

Thanks!

You might try junk yard for different blocks. I pulled a pair from an F150 and found out that they were shorter than my Ranger blocks. I don't think it was quite an inch of difference, though. Maybe F250 has even shorter ones.

I didn't think of that. If I can find time, I will. If not, I have found a set of 1.5" for $40 shipped which I can live with.