F250 Rear Spring Flip - Pirate4x4.Com : 4x4 and Off-Road Forum

87 Ford · 04-29-2004, 06:31 PM

I'm in the process of putting a flat bed on my truck (meaning i have the bed off ! ) In order to bob the frame to it's fullest , I'm considering flipping the rear leaf springs,
( ie: long side of spring forward and short side to the back). My question is , What does this do to flex ? Better, worse the same ??? I'm sure someones done it to their fullsize....(I just couldn't find the thread). If so....enlighten me if ya would. I want the 6 inches shorter bed this would give me but not at the cost of screwing up my rig.

Thanks

AZFord4x4 · 04-30-2004, 12:29 PM

I'm not 100% sure, but I think it will point your pinion down a bit, & give you a bit more axle wrap... that's the only things I can think of. I'm not sure how it would effect wheel travel.

87 Ford · 04-30-2004, 03:32 PM

Hey ...thanks for the response, actually I thought that flipping the springs might have bean an easy thing to do but the more I look at it the more of a hassle it seems to be! It sounded real good in theory, but Id have to move all 4 spring hangers 6" forward, move my air tank, relocate the e brake brackets, find a new home for the rear gas tank, re route the exhaust........Geez all for 6" less bed. To top it off I was hoping Id get 100 replys telling me it would flex way better....I had tried to envision how it would affect wheel travel, but I kept getting brain freeze (something I picked up in the late 60's i think )! Looks like reality is hitting home hard. Might be time to put the stock bed back on and keep nerfing off tree's........Unless ,
oh nevermind,

AGAIN..... thanks for your thoughts.

muddinmike · 04-30-2004, 03:40 PM

I did it on my bronco to strech the weelbase out. I like it. Didn't seem to make flex any diferent and I dont have a noticable problem with axle wrap but I made the spring perches longer. And as far as pinion angle I had to weld new perches on that 14 bolt anyway so I just set it at what I wanted at the same time.

Mike

87 Ford · 04-30-2004, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muddinmike

I did it on my bronco to strech the weelbase out. I like it. Didn't seem to make flex any diferent and I dont have a noticable problem with axle wrap but I made the spring perches longer. And as far as pinion angle I had to weld new perches on that 14 bolt anyway so I just set it at what I wanted at the same time.

Mike

Soooo you flipped the spring but didn't move the mounts if I understand.....right ? ANd flex is the same , Hmmm...
would love to get about 99 more replys like yours, there might be hope yet.....Thanks

muddinmike · 04-30-2004, 04:04 PM

yep. I haven't hit the ramp yet. most likely it would go farther up the ramp beacuse it has a longer wheelbase but the rti number would stay the same...................

04-29-2004, 06:31 PM	#1 (permalink)
87 Ford Registered User Join Date: Mar 2004 Member # 28703 Location: Pair O Dice , Calif. ECV 7-11 Posts: 407	F250 Rear Spring Flip I'm in the process of putting a flat bed on my truck (meaning i have the bed off ! ) In order to bob the frame to it's fullest , I'm considering flipping the rear leaf springs, ( ie: long side of spring forward and short side to the back). My question is , What does this do to flex ? Better, worse the same ??? I'm sure someones done it to their fullsize....(I just couldn't find the thread). If so....enlighten me if ya would. I want the 6 inches shorter bed this would give me but not at the cost of screwing up my rig. Thanks __________________ 1 Ton on 3/4 Ton with lots of stuff on it..... [SIZE=3][COLOR=Red]Jackass Wheelers[/COLOR][/SIZE] Custom BodyWork By Humbug...

04-30-2004, 12:29 PM	#2 (permalink)
AZFord4x4 Ford Forum Moderator Join Date: Mar 2000 Member # 421 Location: Mesa AZ Posts: 3,093	I'm not 100% sure, but I think it will point your pinion down a bit, & give you a bit more axle wrap... that's the only things I can think of. I'm not sure how it would effect wheel travel. __________________ 76 F250 Supercab 2wd, undergoing Cummins/ZF5/D80 swap 78 F250 Supercab, 60/70 Doubler & dry rotted 42" TSLs. Waiting yet another rebuild. 3 more 70s supercabs, because you can never have too many spare parts around...

04-30-2004, 03:32 PM	#3 (permalink)
87 Ford Registered User Join Date: Mar 2004 Member # 28703 Location: Pair O Dice , Calif. ECV 7-11 Posts: 407	Hey ...thanks for the response, actually I thought that flipping the springs might have bean an easy thing to do but the more I look at it the more of a hassle it seems to be! It sounded real good in theory, but Id have to move all 4 spring hangers 6" forward, move my air tank, relocate the e brake brackets, find a new home for the rear gas tank, re route the exhaust........Geez all for 6" less bed. To top it off I was hoping Id get 100 replys telling me it would flex way better....I had tried to envision how it would affect wheel travel, but I kept getting brain freeze (something I picked up in the late 60's i think )! Looks like reality is hitting home hard. Might be time to put the stock bed back on and keep nerfing off tree's........Unless , oh nevermind, AGAIN..... thanks for your thoughts. Last edited by 87 Ford; 04-30-2004 at 03:36 PM.

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04-30-2004, 03:40 PM	#4 (permalink)
muddinmike Registered User Join Date: Apr 2003 Member # 19049 Location: boise, ID Posts: 945	I did it on my bronco to strech the weelbase out. I like it. Didn't seem to make flex any diferent and I dont have a noticable problem with axle wrap but I made the spring perches longer. And as far as pinion angle I had to weld new perches on that 14 bolt anyway so I just set it at what I wanted at the same time. Mike

04-30-2004, 04:04 PM	#6 (permalink)
muddinmike Registered User Join Date: Apr 2003 Member # 19049 Location: boise, ID Posts: 945	yep. I haven't hit the ramp yet. most likely it would go farther up the ramp beacuse it has a longer wheelbase but the rti number would stay the same...................