Hey all,

I’m starting the brainstorming process for my rear suspension upgrade. I snapped some pictures this weekend and wanted to see what y’all thought. Seems pretty obvious my leafs are due for a swap. My question is, is the block between the axle and springs stock? I would like to have a little bit of lift with the new springs and shocks. About 2”
would be great. Could I get a taller block? Add a 2” shim to the existing block, or just get springs that are 2” taller?

all personal experiences, info and advice welcome!

thank you give mind, have a good one!

 

Yes, on 4x4s there was a 1" or 2" block, those look bigger/taller than stock

Yes, springs are bad
That may have been why previous owner put in taller blocks, to off-set the sag in the rear, lol

I would get new springs and use the same blocks to see where it sits

For off-road you want softer springs, lower weight rating, for hauling heavy loads all the time you want stiffer springs, higher weight rating
You can use lower weight rated spring with an added overload spring so the best of both uses

The reason you want less stiff springs off-road is so the wheels STAY ON THE GROUND
You can NOT steer, brake or accelerate unless the Wheels are on the ground, its that simple

The suspension is designed so the wheels/axles can move up and down WITHOUT transferring that motion to the frame/body
Say the frame/body above one wheel/spring weighs 1,000lbs
And you install a 1,200lbs rated spring
When you hit a bump the 1,000lbs frame/body can't hold the top of spring in place/down, so the motion of hitting that bump is transferred to the frame/body and up it goes, and when that happens the 1,000lbs frame/body then PULLS UP on the 200lbs wheel/axle and its now off the ground or has very little weight on it for steering and braking

So stiff is bad, soft is good, you don't want too soft, lol, like driving a boat
Suspension is an "art"

You can firm up soft suspension with adjustable shocks, but nothing can change stiff springs, damage is done, well you could pile bags of concrete/sand in engine bay and bed to set correct weight for the high weight rated springs, lol

 

thanks a lot for the detailed response! So when I buy springs, the rating is for total weight on the springs, and not the load in the bed? I don’t haul heavy ****, it’ll be more off-road with a few hundred pounds of gear.
To get the best possible setup, should I calculate 600lbs of bed/frame and 400lbs of gear? I will haul wood a few times a year too so I don’t want to go too soft either.

another question: to buy shocks for this lifted setup, do I just measure the distance between mounting points and go from there for the length?

thanks again 🙏

 

You get leafs for empty bed weight, then add an overload spring
The overload spring doesn't support any weight until you have an added bed weight of say 500lbs and up
So softer springs give you the good ride empty or partial load and the overload spring allows for the 1/2 ton(1,000lbs) rating

You jack up the frame so wheel is off the ground, then measure distance between upper and lower shock mounting points, add an inch, thats extended length

Compressed is easier, have weight on the wheel(no jack) and measure distance between shock mounts, "at rest" length
All suspensions have a Bump Stop, usually a rubber block to prevent suspension from going up any farther, measure from bump stop down to its plate(where it would contact suspension)
Subtract that from "at rest" length

So you have the "at rest" measurement, weight of vehicle on suspension
The max extended length
The max compressed length

Lets put some numbers in
extend is 26"
Compressed is 16"
So you have 10" of travel
BUT......................"at rest" would need to be 21", so exactly in the middle, so you have equal travel, 5" either way otherwise shock could be over extended or over compressed

What happens when you suspension LIFT a vehicle is that the Bump Stop is now in the wrong place, allows too much upward travel, needs to be lowered to center the shock travel
With a Body lift suspension doesn't change

 

Older 4x4 Rangers had a 2.5" block, while the Edge/Sport 4x2 trucks had a 2" block. Then in 2008 when Ford dropped the ride height on both the Sport 4x2 and 4x4 trucks, they both came with a 1" block.

What he has looks like the factory 2.5" block.

 

thanks for the input. I’ll be keeping that block for the time being and just changing the springs and shocks.