Well I had a broken leaf in one of my spring packs so I figured it was the perfect time to put some Super Duty rear springs on my truck. Here is my write up of the process.
1. Obtain the necessary parts. I got “A” code springs off a 2001 at a local salvage yard. Decided to replace the bushings too. I ordered the Energy Suspension bushing kit for the 2001 and since I planned to use the factory shackle, I got the shackle bushing kit for my truck (1996). I was going to reuse the u-bolts but they were in bad shape so I needed to pick up some new u-bolts as well.
2. Put jack stands under the rear axle, remove tires. Pick a side to start on and put a jack under the frame. I used a stack of large wood blocks with a bottle jack on top in front of the rear tire. Jack the frame up until most of the tension is off the springs, remove the u-bolts, jack it up until you can remove the block(s) from under the spring. Unbolt the rear shackle-to-hanger bolt, unbolt the front spring-to-hanger bolt, and remove the leaf spring.
3. At this point I removed the bushing from the stock shackle. I was unable to press it out with my press (exhaust pipe, big washers, threaded rod, small washers, a couple nuts), so I took a torch and burned the old bushings out. I’m not sure if the heat has an effect on the strength of the shackle, so do this at your own risk. So far no trouble out of mine. Lube up the new bushings and insert them.
4. Next you will need to drill out the shackle-to-spring bolt holes. I used a 47/64 drill bit that I found at a local equipment company, it worked perfect. It will need to be high quality or else it probably won’t last through all the holes you have to drill.
5. Now you can either trim the second leaf in the pack, or trim your shackle to clear the new leaf spring. I went with the shackle trimming method and used a combination of an angle grinder and bench grinder to grind off about 1/4-1/2 inch of the inner section of the shackle, this was just enough to clear it.
6. Use the same size drill bit as before and drill out the front spring-to-hanger bolt holes. A right angle drill is probably essential for this in order to get between the body and the hanger.
7. Next I used my press to remove the factory bushings from the 2001 springs. If you’re using Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings, use their special super lube to lube up the new bushings and install.
8. Go ahead and attach the shackle to the leaf spring, tighten the bolts some but don’t torque them down. Put the front spring mount in the hanger and put the bolt in, tighten it, but don’t torque it. Install the shackle in the hanger and tighten, but don’t torque it.
9. Put your block(s) back in place, line up the alignment pegs and slowly lower the frame being sure to align the pegs on the spring, blocks, and axle mounting pad. Let the spring rest where it holds all these parts in place, but don’t let the frame all the way down. Install the u-bolt plate and u-bolts. Tighten the u-bolts finger tight.
10. Let the frame the rest of the way down. I followed the torque sequence in my Hayne’s manual. First tighten all the u-bolts to 150-210 ft-lb, then torque the front spring-to-hanger bolt to the same torque, then torque the rear spring-to-shackle and shackle-to-hanger bolts to the same torque spec.
11. Move to the other side and follow the same procedure.
12. Replace tires, clean up, take it for a test ride.
13. Recheck the u-bolt torque periodically.
My truck definitely rides smoother now, but obviously it’s not as good as it could be since I still have the TTB front end with my rough country lift. Time to start looking for parts for a D60 swap.
Any comments or criticisms (try not to be too harsh, lol) are welcome. Anybody with some insight on what needs to be added or removed to this is welcome as well.
Here's a couple pictures of the rear shackle showing the clearance after grinding. It looks close to hitting but I haven't had any issues so far.
1. Obtain the necessary parts. I got “A” code springs off a 2001 at a local salvage yard. Decided to replace the bushings too. I ordered the Energy Suspension bushing kit for the 2001 and since I planned to use the factory shackle, I got the shackle bushing kit for my truck (1996). I was going to reuse the u-bolts but they were in bad shape so I needed to pick up some new u-bolts as well.
2. Put jack stands under the rear axle, remove tires. Pick a side to start on and put a jack under the frame. I used a stack of large wood blocks with a bottle jack on top in front of the rear tire. Jack the frame up until most of the tension is off the springs, remove the u-bolts, jack it up until you can remove the block(s) from under the spring. Unbolt the rear shackle-to-hanger bolt, unbolt the front spring-to-hanger bolt, and remove the leaf spring.
3. At this point I removed the bushing from the stock shackle. I was unable to press it out with my press (exhaust pipe, big washers, threaded rod, small washers, a couple nuts), so I took a torch and burned the old bushings out. I’m not sure if the heat has an effect on the strength of the shackle, so do this at your own risk. So far no trouble out of mine. Lube up the new bushings and insert them.
4. Next you will need to drill out the shackle-to-spring bolt holes. I used a 47/64 drill bit that I found at a local equipment company, it worked perfect. It will need to be high quality or else it probably won’t last through all the holes you have to drill.
5. Now you can either trim the second leaf in the pack, or trim your shackle to clear the new leaf spring. I went with the shackle trimming method and used a combination of an angle grinder and bench grinder to grind off about 1/4-1/2 inch of the inner section of the shackle, this was just enough to clear it.
6. Use the same size drill bit as before and drill out the front spring-to-hanger bolt holes. A right angle drill is probably essential for this in order to get between the body and the hanger.
7. Next I used my press to remove the factory bushings from the 2001 springs. If you’re using Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings, use their special super lube to lube up the new bushings and install.
8. Go ahead and attach the shackle to the leaf spring, tighten the bolts some but don’t torque them down. Put the front spring mount in the hanger and put the bolt in, tighten it, but don’t torque it. Install the shackle in the hanger and tighten, but don’t torque it.
9. Put your block(s) back in place, line up the alignment pegs and slowly lower the frame being sure to align the pegs on the spring, blocks, and axle mounting pad. Let the spring rest where it holds all these parts in place, but don’t let the frame all the way down. Install the u-bolt plate and u-bolts. Tighten the u-bolts finger tight.
10. Let the frame the rest of the way down. I followed the torque sequence in my Hayne’s manual. First tighten all the u-bolts to 150-210 ft-lb, then torque the front spring-to-hanger bolt to the same torque, then torque the rear spring-to-shackle and shackle-to-hanger bolts to the same torque spec.
11. Move to the other side and follow the same procedure.
12. Replace tires, clean up, take it for a test ride.
13. Recheck the u-bolt torque periodically.
My truck definitely rides smoother now, but obviously it’s not as good as it could be since I still have the TTB front end with my rough country lift. Time to start looking for parts for a D60 swap.
Any comments or criticisms (try not to be too harsh, lol) are welcome. Anybody with some insight on what needs to be added or removed to this is welcome as well.
Here's a couple pictures of the rear shackle showing the clearance after grinding. It looks close to hitting but I haven't had any issues so far.
