I need to upgrade my leafs in my ranger b/c they are overloaded and as flat as a board. I was at the j/y and found a pair of sport trac leafs and they look like they would fit. I compared them to explorer leafs and they had more arc and looked a little more stout. I was wondering if anybody knew a little bit more about putting sport trac leafs into a ranger? With the bigger arc, they looked like they would give a bigger lift, but i wasnt sure about the load rating they have. I did go ahead and buy the explorer leafs cause i wasnt sure about the sport trac ones. I would like to put in the sport trac leafs if anybody has got a litte more info on them. Any info or opinions will help.
Thanks.

 

............ thanks guys :(

 

they should be the same leaf springs.

the sport trac has a reversed shackles in the rear, which would give it more arch

this is mostly an assumption though.

 

I just got back from the j/y and measured everything up. The ST and the ex have different springs but mount with the same type of rear bracket. The ST does have a much larger arch than the EX, but the overall width and length are the same. So my assumtion is that my ranger will have a bigger lift with the ST springs. So instead of using the chevy lowering shackles (which i am running now) im going to go back to the stock ranger shackles, and they do fit together. So i guess im the guinne pig for this swap and im going to tackle it this weekend. Ill take lots of pics of this project and hope for the best.

 

cant wait to see your results...

 

got any results for us yet?

 

wrong beard!!!


the explorer and sport trac leafs have the same shackle setup as the rangers


they just mount under the frame, instead of off the side of the frame

 

any pics? i was curious about the same thing as im planning my suspension lift.

 

I was waiting to get back home to add pics to this post, but i'll at least give you a heads up on the results and post pics later. The ST springs went in without any real problems and i retained the same ride height in the rear and possibly gained an inch. But i did remove the lift block between the axle and spring. So im guessing that with the ST springs it would provide a 3-4" lift. Now, the ST spring had a big arch in it, way bigger than the EX spring, and since my truck is weighed down with a topper and a rack and a sh*t ton of tools and supplies, my guess would be that the ST springs would provide for at least a 4-5" in lift, if you kept in the lift block. So if you add an add a leaf you could gain even more. Im really happy with the ride quality as i cruise down the highway, before with my flat *** stock spring, if i hit a bump it would rebound and bounce a time or two, now if i hit a bump it just seems to absorb and not rebound, its kinda nice. So when i get back home from my hitch, ill post some pics. Hope this helps for now.

 

good to hear, I just ordered an AAL for my truck, my leafs are flat as a board on my 08 and all i have on is a topper, and im gonig to get putting on a roof basket with a spare tire and jack and crap much like what you have, so i may end up putting a set of these in my truck instead of the explorer

 

I was told that the GVRW of a ST is higher than the Ranger. When I was told this I was thinking the guy was talking about the V8 ST but maybe not.

 

I don't remember if the GVWR was higher, but I'm sure the rear axle rating was higher. Likely partially due to the 31 spline rear end too. The ST springs definitely held weight better than my ranger did though.

 

No matter what the weight rating is, im happy with the end results and it looks like its gonna hold up fine. Im planning on pulling an enclosed trailer down to SD, and Brian did just fine with his ST. So im hoping for the same results from the springs. I would definately go with the ST springs over the EX springs, its just a win win.

 

where did you find them and how much did it cost?

 

^^^ what he said, I was looking at a set of ST leafs of a blue 05 at meridian auto a 2 weeks ago.

 

Well I think I know what I'm going to go with in the rear when I do my spindle lift. Should work perfect without the block but keeping my 1.5" shackles. Plus I run a fiberglass topper like you.

 

thats perfect, glad it worked for ya, yea only have a tonneau cover but my stock springs suck, and was hoping to do something like this when i get my spindles, awesome find.

 

need pics!

 

I was at a local JY looking at ex springs and saw the ST and did some measuring, it was a match. So i pulled them and paid $40each and while i was at the JY i pulled alot of hardware from a ranger, an EX and the ST. I took u-bolts from each, and stock shackles from the ranger (just in case i was gonna use them) and all the shackle and leaf end bolts. I didnt know how it was all gonna turn out so i wanted to make sure i had everything i could possibly need.

And im gonna get some pics up as soon as i make it back to town.

 

so did the ranger ubolts and leaf end bolts work or did it need the ST u bolts and end bolts?

 

The ranger i took the shackle from was a stock 2wd reg cab ranger so it did not have any lift blocks under the leafs, so they were the smaller/shorter u-bolts. I grabbed those planning on taking out my lift block. So i did end up using the 2wd ranger u bolts because i did take out my lift block. The ST leaf end bolts would not go through the front leaf hanger on the truck, the OD was slightly bigger. If you wanted to bore those holes open a little you could, but i didnt have the right tools so i just kept the stock ranger leaf hanger bolts. Now i have all sorts of spare ubolts and leaf bolts, im OK with that.

 

So i finally have a chance to add some pics......

lets start with the ST springs and all the ubolts i collected


my ranger flat *** springs


dissassembly


my sketchy workarea with new ST spring installed



Ranger vs. St springs


installed


this is when i had to come back in and replace the stock leaf shackle with the chevy lowering shackle to adjust my ride height after it sagged a little bit


Sorry it took so long to update this, its been a really busy year so far.

 

i hate how hard it is to find a wrecked sport trac around me.....
nice write up though.

 

damn bro those old leafs were verrrry flat haha

 

That is a good find. How much lift do you think I could get if I left in the stock block and added ST springs? I am going to start looking for some springs now.