Rear Sway Bar with a Lift Kit?

[rallypanam]

Originally Posted by MountainBikeRoamer

Q: How many of you guys with "high lifted" (4 to 6 inch lift) SMB's (2WD or 4WD) are running rear sway bars?

Mine is, at this point, probably close to a 6" lift.. I do not have a sway bar, never felt the need for one on this van, or previous van, or others I've driven.

However, I do also now have custom springs, and they probably more properly parallel the stiffness of a stock empty van.

[MountainBikeRoamer]

Originally Posted by rallypanam

Mine is, at this point, probably close to a 6" lift.. I do not have a sway bar, never felt the need for one on this van, or previous van, or others I've driven.

However, I do also now have custom springs, and they probably more properly parallel the stiffness of a stock empty van.

Ok cool --- can I ask who crafted your springs?
Are you rolling on Deaver's?

The Deaver spring shop is about ten minutes away from me here. Visited their shop once, they seem to do some darn nice stuff (but also darn $$$)

I've actually been considering just picking up an OEM replacement set of rear springs for an E350 and dropping them in....for the cost, they're probably fairly correct for the usual weight of my rig --- and I imagine they'd be immensely better than the tired-out, 21-year-old sagging E250 springs in there now (that have an add-a-leaf recently stacked in.)

[rallypanam]

I got my springs from Agile, who had them made to spec at a local spring shop.

Boywonder did an interesting swap with some ambulance van springs.. might be a decent way on the cheap.

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by MountainBikeRoamer

I've actually been considering just picking up an OEM replacement set of rear springs for an E350 and dropping them in....for the cost, they're probably fairly correct for the usual weight of my rig --- and I imagine they'd be immensely better than the tired-out, 21-year-old sagging E250 springs in there now (that have an add-a-leaf recently stacked in.)

Originally Posted by rallypanam

I got my springs from Agile, who had them made to spec at a local spring shop.

Boywonder did an interesting swap with some ambulance van springs.. might be a decent way on the cheap.

MBR: I have my stock 2008 E-350 leaf packs sitting in my garage......I'll sell them cheap or I may use them as organ donors for my front leafs or mix and match leafs between rear packs.

I also have a pair of steel 4" lift blocks for free....they are nothing to write home about.....they were welded to my perches and I ground them off.

If you are interested I can connect you with the guy with ambulance (E-350 dually) springs but they may be stiffer than a groom's prick on your 250. The pair of ambulance springs cost me $170 and $45 for a poly bushing kit.

You are welcome to try out my old rear springs...you may want to consider this before I pull them apart for mixing and matching with my other springs..I have everything you need to bolt them up tool-wise....or perhaps my old springs could be organ donors for both your rears and mine.

Can you post a picture of your rear springs? They may not be that different than E-350's......mine have three leafs and a fat overload leaf.

[MountainBikeRoamer]

Originally Posted by boywonder

MBR: I have my stock 2008 E-350 leaf packs sitting in my garage......I'll sell them cheap or I may use them as organ donors for my front leafs or mix and match leafs between rear packs.

I also have a pair of steel 4" lift blocks for free....they are nothing to write home about.....they were welded to my perches and I ground them off.

If you are interested I can connect you with the guy with ambulance (E-350 dually) springs but they may be stiffer than a groom's prick on your 250. The pair of ambulance springs cost me $170 and $45 for a poly bushing kit.

You are welcome to try out my old rear springs...you may want to consider this before I pull them apart for mixing and matching with my other springs..I have everything you need to bolt them up tool-wise....or perhaps my old springs could be organ donors for both your rears and mine.

Can you post a picture of your rear springs? They may not be that different than E-350's......mine have three leafs and a fat overload leaf.

Boywonder --- awesome.
I might take you up on those E350 springs!

The ambulance springs, however, to your thinking --- I agree, they sound like they'd be a bit too much for my rig. I know I'm only carrying 3500 pounds over the rear axle unloaded, and *maybe* 4000 loaded for a trip.

Here's pictures of my current rear springs....
The current rear springs are the original E250 springs from 1995, with the recent add-a-leaf stacked in there with 'em.

Best overall pic I could take from underneath this morning:



Close-up of the stack-up at the axle
(*** note the shim that I had a local spring shop stack in underneath them on the driver-side only (now on top of the lift block) as the van was "listing" slightly to that side when I bought it two years ago...yeah, I know, more indication of likely-tired-out springs.....)



Close-up of the stack showing spread between add-a-leafs and lower overload spring.



*Extra Shot:
Here's a full cross-wise shot of the rear axle, I thought it was worth posting to get possible discussion around whether or not any u-bolt-style aftermarket sway bar mounts would create any interference with brake lines.

[MountainBikeRoamer]

ALSO ---

I came across this thread on Expedition Portal about replacing/updating rear leaves on E-series (both to get added lift, and/or to fix sagging suspensions) ---some pretty good discussion (and options) here too.

ExPo Thread:
E350 rear leaf springs - Expedition Portal

It sounds like factory-replacement E350 springs aren't too expensive to acquire. (aftermarket suppliers, of course).

From that ExPo thread, a list of some of the heavy-duty rear springs available from RockAuto.com (and their weight ratings):

HUSKY SPRING 431041 One of our most popular parts
Rear; 4/1 = 5 Leaf, 2-3/8" Pack Thickness, 2775lb Per Spring Rating $147.99

UCF 431085 9 Leaf, 3-5/8" Pack Thickness, 3460lb Per Spring Rating $226.79

UCF 431085HD Heavy Duty; 10 Leaf, 4" Pack Thickness, 4000lb Per Spring Rating Info One of our most popular parts
Rear; 10 Leaf, 4" Pack Thickness, 4000lb Per Spring Rating; HD Aftermarket Design (Only 2 Remaining) $266.89

Some great photos/discussion (and positive reviews!) around the custom springs that WeldTec can put together on that thread too, I'm thinking he might be getting them from the same source as Agile.

[boywonder]

Is it just me, or is post #15 missing photos?

[daveb]

I see them.