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spacers between leaf springs

reptillikus

reptillikus

ate lug
Joined
May 26, 2020
Member Number
1444
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767
Loc
Reading PA
So now that im done rebuilding a set of leaf springs for my F250 (thread here) i figure its the perfect time to understand why i did it wrong :laughing: Or maybe i didnt.

Ive rebuilt a few leaf packs over the years, and ive never seen shims between the individual leafs before. Except for Excursions. For some reason, Ford put steel shims between each individual leaf. You can kind of see them in this pic:
000.jpg


with the packs all broken down, i have a full set of them:
013.jpg


They are ~.110" thick steel. The one with the hooks is to keep the anti-wrap leaf from rotating. So the question is, why are they there? Ford didnt use them in the rear leafs on the Superdutys (or any other truck for that matter) so why did they add them to the Excursions? 6 per leaf means you gain almost 3/4" of lift, without having a block under the springs. So did they add them for increased ride height? Or was it to make the leaf pack feel smooter overall? But then, why arent they used in p/u trucks? Does it have a negative effect on spring rate, or overall lifespan of the leafs??

I didnt use them when i built the spring packs for my F250, but now it has me wondering why Ford put them there, and if maybe i want to put them in before i swap the springs into my truck.
 
That's kind of what I figured too, but Ford uses plastic ones in their front leafs
009.jpg


So you'd think that plastic ones would work in the rear too, but the trucks didn't get any and the Ex's got thicker steel ones.

AKnate said:
Exist on other trucks too.
Click to expand...

I guess I'm over thinking it, but I'm also thinking maybe I want to rebuild my leafs again with the steel shims in there. I made plastic ones to go between the leafs instead of using the steel ones, but if I put the steel ones in there I could, in theory, gain another 3/4" of lift, meaning I could then take the OEM 4" block out in favor of a shorter one. I was concerned they would reduce load capacity, or affect the overall strength of the pack.
 
Dodge had spacers on the leaf ends as well for a while.
 
Same shims were also in Explorer and Ranger leaf packs. I don't know what purpose they serve, probably to reduce noise.
 
It reduces the friction between the leafs , makes the spring work smoother .
 
Thats what i assumed, just odd to me that Ford used steel spacers in the rear of the Ex, but plastic in the front. Anways, i had made my own plastic ones out of this stuff

010.jpg



Ive used it before, but who knows if it works, nothing to compare it to. Maybe ill clean up the steel shims and put em aside for now. Its gonna be a shitty rainy week, i could always put them in instead of the plastic ones while i wait for a dry day to swap the springs in.
 
When I asked about these 486 pointed out that trucks with thicker shims seem to have leaves last longer before rusting out, presumably because any shit that got in could also get back out.

Next time I have a set of leaves apart I'm gonna make a set out of 3/16 aluminum.
 

Leaf spring anti-friction service

Hello all, after a couple years of testing and a handful of people asking me about how I got my rear suspension to work so well after doing the Terra video, I've decided to offer one of my secrets to the public. No, these will not make your vehicle instantly work like a linked truck but it will...
forum.badlinesgoodtimes.com forum.badlinesgoodtimes.com
 
TTMotorsports said:

Leaf spring anti-friction service

Hello all, after a couple years of testing and a handful of people asking me about how I got my rear suspension to work so well after doing the Terra video, I've decided to offer one of my secrets to the public. No, these will not make your vehicle instantly work like a linked truck but it will...
forum.badlinesgoodtimes.com forum.badlinesgoodtimes.com
Click to expand...
Man I remember reading shit like that on forums back in 2007 when I was just starting to learn about car stuff. Seems like nobody puts serious effort into leaf springs anymore
 
I was actually looking at buying some Slip Plate to paint em with.

I'm thinking since I already have those shims, I'm just going to break the springs back down and put em in. All the other plastic bushings are new, so they should work pretty well at that point.
 
BDK said:
I made up a Frankenleaf pack and painted the individual springs with graphite spray paint before assembly. No squeeks
Click to expand...
Kalgaurd? We used to paint the 7 truck springs with some fancy anti froction paint from them.
 
All newer springs use em it seems. My 2011 F150 has em. The brand new Zone 4" GM 47" springs I bought for my Scout have them too. Just helps reduce friction.
 
I ordered some slip plate (which is supposed to arrive Thursday) so I guess Friday/Saturday I'll coat em with that and put em back together next week

slip-plate-aerosol-product-image.png
 
You'll be riding around on a cloud of titties
 
I hope so!

Cross post from my other thread:


My graphite paint showed up, so i disassembled the springs and repainted them. Ive also decided to use the steel shims from the Excursion packs, so they got painted too:

016.jpg


017.jpg


If i have time this weekend im going to start assembling them. I also have to get the 4th pack apart & painted. Going to try to get that done so i can hopefully start the front spring swap monday. Theres been lots of rain in the forecast, and theres more coming so we'll see how this all goes.
 
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