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Old 04-05-2017, 04:12 PM   #1
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Leaf springs....and when to replace them.

Howdy!

I recently installed new coils/Fox Shocks on the front of my E250. The front end feels/rides great.

The rear end is the original leaf springs and what I presume to be the stock Ford shocks. I'll be ordering Fox Shocks for the rear soon and am wondering if the leaf springs should be done as well.

Is there a standard way to figure out when the leaf springs are past their prime?

Also, when ordering new springs, is rear axle weight all that I need to know to get the correct springs?

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Old 04-05-2017, 04:41 PM   #2
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I always replace as soon as they break (well, within a few hundred miles or so)!

You have two options to replace.. Stock, which is relatively cheap and easy, or custom, which gets more expensive. If you go custom, you will need weights and heights to spec out the proper springs with someone like Agile or Deaver.
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Old 04-05-2017, 05:04 PM   #3
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^^^ what rally said. well other than breaking stuff. i guess im not that hard on my rig, lol.

Quote:
Originally Posted by BrianBlair View Post
Is there a standard way to figure out when the leaf springs are past their prime?
i cant say there is a for sure way to know, but i can see mine are past their prime because they are bending around the lift blocks. basically leafs arched the incorrect way is a good giveaway its time to spend some more money on your van.
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Old 04-06-2017, 12:25 PM   #4
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My current springs are coded N4F. Does anyone know what load that would designate?

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Old 04-13-2017, 07:41 AM   #5
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leaf springs

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Originally Posted by BrianBlair View Post
My current springs are coded N4F. Does anyone know what load that would designate?

BB
N4F+= not 4 fun.... lol

Is your van still stock height? What makes you think you need new leaf springs other then your going to put new shocks on it?
What year is your van?

Shenrie- sounds like you need a pair of our springs!
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Old 04-13-2017, 09:58 AM   #6
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N4F+= not 4 fun.... lol

Is your van still stock height? What makes you think you need new leaf springs other then your going to put new shocks on it?
What year is your van?

Shenrie- sounds like you need a pair of our springs!
The van is a 1993, rear leafs/shocks appear to be original.

The front end has the slightly longer/stiffer Moog springs and Fox Shocks(both from Agile).

As you can see in the photos the rear end sit a little lower than the front. When looking at the leafs from the side of the van they appear flat or even slightly reversed.

Online searching seems to show the N4F springs were rated for 2775lbs. I should be a few hundred lbs under that so it got me to thinking that these are likely just worn out/tired.
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Old 04-13-2017, 08:32 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WeldTecDesigns View Post
N4F+= not 4 fun.... lol

Is your van still stock height? What makes you think you need new leaf springs other then your going to put new shocks on it?
What year is your van?

Shenrie- sounds like you need a pair of our springs!
Another good reason to replace springs would be to improve the ride with a set of multi leaf, progressive springs. My current rear springs are almost reversed too, so that's pretty high on my list to fix before Baja. Jeremy, good to see you droping in here at the SMB site. So, would you happen to have any of said springs in stock? If not, what kind of lead time are you looking at to get fabricated? I do understand though, that each set needs to be talored to the individual van.
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Old 04-17-2017, 11:44 PM   #8
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rear leaf springs

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Another good reason to replace springs would be to improve the ride with a set of multi leaf, progressive springs. My current rear springs are almost reversed too, so that's pretty high on my list to fix before Baja. Jeremy, good to see you droping in here at the SMB site. So, would you happen to have any of said springs in stock? If not, what kind of lead time are you looking at to get fabricated? I do understand though, that each set needs to be talored to the individual van.
If you looking for stock springs, we always have take off packs that we would be willing to give you. If you have a van with a build out we always recommend a weight to build you custom springs, For standard passenger and cargo vans we do usually have them in stock. For the sportsmobile builds not as much but trying to get to a point that we can. Right now the lead time is about 3 weeks on custom springs.
If you looking to gain just a little height you can always do our full length add-a-leaf to get you a little additional height (1.5") with the ability to add a second spring as well as a negative arc overload.
https://weldtecdesigns.com/product/e-series-add-a-leaf/

Let me know if you guys have any other questions.

Jeremy
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Old 07-26-2020, 09:19 PM   #9
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Leaf's

I got some f250 superduty 5 leaf leafs gonna try those out at see how it goes
Especially since my stock ones are upside down right now
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Old 07-26-2020, 11:03 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by Dirtyclay509 View Post
I got some f250 superduty 5 leaf leafs gonna try those out at see how it goes
Especially since my stock ones are upside down right now
FYI the F-series springs are slightly longer. They fit, but they'll dig into the shackle when compressed, and it pushes the axle back about 2".

In the shackle interference, you can put in Sulastic shackles, and it won't bind anymore. I had no issue with the set-back axle with 32" tires, but any bigger, and they would have rubbed. Likewise, I had no problems with the driveline, but some vans might have a little less plunge which could be an issue. Eventually, I ended up going back to the E-series spring pack (the driveline still worried me, but they were't stiff enough either) so I took 2 of the leafs from the F250 and added them to the E-series pack.. This turned out to be perfect.
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