What leaf spring or springs to add when adding more?

[91stranger]

So I'm in the process of swapping my rear end and I'd like to add a leaf or two to give it a little better stance and would help with getting firewood and stuff. Which leaf spring or springs do you all recommend? Not sure if I need to get the small one, middle one, or what works best. It's just a 2wd so I'm not looking to lift it crazy tall. Just want to help the old worn out suspension. Any suggestions?

 

[RonD]

I would add overload leafs, they are not used until weight in bed gets over say 500lbs, so you get a smoother ride with empty bed but can still take on the heavier loads when needed

Pickups are usually "oversprung" in the rear so they can have the 1/2 ton(1,000lbs) rating, its just cheaper for truck makers to do that
But it makes them rough riding when empty
If you have an "OK" ride when empty now then you have the lower spring rating, so overload leafs would be my choice

 

[91stranger]

Thanks.

 

[don4331]

I would add overload leafs, they are not used until weight in bed gets over say 500lbs, so you get a smoother ride with empty bed but can still take on the heavier loads when needed

I went with Chev C-3500 overload spacers/springs/bump stops as they are the same 2½" width as our Ranger springs, and the mono leaf version added 250 kg/side (565 lbs) capacity.

You can also get the multi leaf version which adds something like 1,500lbs/side, but I thought that was overkill.​

Installing them did require drilling some holes in frame for the overload bumpstops, and replacing the spring pack bolt with one about an inch longer (getting old one out was probably biggest PIA).

Note: I also went with Chev C-1500 main springs - front spring hangers are 6" forward of where Ford placed them on Ranger, but that was for other reasons.

 

[Dirtman]

I had a job out of highschool doing nothing but building leaf springs from raw steel. There's actually alot of art and science to them. There's two types of overload springs. One is a couple leafs on top of the normal pack with their own stops that dont hit until a certain weight. The better option from my experience is an under spring. Which is a heavy stiff flat spring that goes on the bottom of the pack but is not arched the same. So when you load up the main springs fall down onto the bottom spring. The bottom spring method is cheaper and easier and tends to provide a more consistent ride.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Longer leafs make for a softer ride too because they flex more than short ones. I’ve built a number of packs and I usually cut the eyes off a main spring and start there

 

[Locotomb]

I was thinking about throwing some Flexo-matic springs off of my 69 f250.

They are 2"1/2 wide and the same eye to eye.

 

[bobbywalter]

2wd tib 150 mid pack.