Removing spring leafs

JF1957 · November 24, 2006

Do you think that I Can take two rear spring leafs from my 1999 burb 2500 ?

I bought that truCk for towing not for loading and I'm tired to wear my ConstruCtion hat for driving.

Rolandd · November 25, 2006

The other area to look at for ride quality is your tires. You may be able to reduce the tire pressure when riding empty to soften the ride. Check the owner's manual and/or door decal and don't mess around--you don't want to go the way of Ford Explorers. A different tire may also help, seach the forum as there have been lots of threads on this topic.

The short answer to your question is yes, but it would be very ill-advised. If you want to soften the ride, I would recommend that you have a set of springs built at a reputable spring shop to meet your needs. If this were my vehicle, I would be VERY concerned that lowering the rear spring rate to soften the ride would leave the vehicle highly suseptable to oversteering during evasive manoevers, which is a great way to roll over. While a rear sway bar might help, I would not want to bet my life on it.

New springs can be tuned to have a softer ride when unloaded but quickly stiffen as they are loaded (such as in a hard turn). Also, if you are towing you will want the stability that a progressive spring rate will offer when you brake or corner with the trailer.

jamram · November 26, 2006

I agree with the last poster. I would not mess with the leaf springs. I would also be careful adjusting tire pressure. Your vehicle probably has a lower pressure spec for the front than the rear. Although I cannot recommend adjusting your pressure to anything other than what the manufacturer recommends, I would definitly not lower the rear pressure to anything less than the front pressure spec. You might consider new softer shocks too.

Do you think that I Can take two rear spring leafs from my 1999 burb 2500 ?
I bought that truCk for towing not for loading and I'm tired to wear my ConstruCtion hat for driving.

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ken1mod · November 26, 2006

I run 25 lbs in my rear tires unloaded. sticker pressure is for full rated loads.

Ken

Rolandd · November 26, 2006

The owner's manual will also give tire pressures for various load ratings. If not call the dealer and they can give you this info. Given what Ford just went through I imagine they will be very cooperative, if not a quick reminder of Ford should be all they need.

The desired handling characteristic of a front-heavy load hauler (pick-up or wagon) is to understeer--have the front end slide (no skid) before the rear end in a turn. In an empty pickup this effect can be hard to achieve because the rear end will break loose very easily. You will see very strange things with tire pressure and spring rates to get this handling effect (a friend's wagon had a 10psi difference between the fronts and rear).

JF1957 · November 26, 2006

The owner's manual will also give tire pressures for various load ratings. If not call the dealer and they can give you this info. Given what Ford just went through I imagine they will be very cooperative, if not a quick reminder of Ford should be all they need.

The desired handling characteristic of a front-heavy load hauler (pick-up or wagon) is to understeer--have the front end slide (no skid) before the rear end in a turn. In an empty pickup this effect can be hard to achieve because the rear end will break loose very easily. You will see very strange things with tire pressure and spring rates to get this handling effect (a friend's wagon had a 10psi difference between the fronts and rear).

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The MiChelin LTX LT245/75R16 are rated at 80# at full load. The speCifiCation label on the left door says 50# in front and 80# at rear. The shoCks have been Changed for Monroes. My pressure on tires is 30# all around and the rear of the truCk is about a 1 1/2" higher than the front.

What do you think ?

Rolandd · November 26, 2006

I would think that you want to get the pressure difference adjusted correctly--right now you are running even pressure (30#) all around. My concern would be if you ever had to take an exit ramp too fast or had to swerve at highway speeds to avoid some one or something. Would the rear end get sloppy and come around? At 50-60 MPH?

I cannot answer what the pressure difference should be at below-full-load. Be carefull until you get this sorted out. When I lived in San Francisco I watched a Suburban and an Excursion roll with several hundered feet of me, all at 70 MPH. I passed plenty of others shiny side down. In talking with friends in the business they all said it was a combination of bad luck, driver error, poor design, and often something in the vehicle being out of spec that caused so many roll-overs out there--usually non-stock tires.

I have learned to take a very conservative attitude to making suspension and wheel mods because I realize there is no good way to test these mods' effect on handling under extreme conditions. I used to regularly hit 100 MPH commuting in the Bay area, now I live in the Boston Area where the driving earns its reputation. We have all seen crazy things that should have killed the driver long ago and they are still on the road with the issue and doing fine (my favorite was the guy I saw with the tires on his Volvo worn down to steel across the entire surface--he said the car was hard to stop in the rain but other than that OK). I just hate to think that I would advise you to do something that would put your own life or those of your family, friends, and community on the line unnesessarily. Get the tire pressure info and go from there.