Has Anyone ever used Ford 57" rear springs??

[Sluice Box Hero]

im just getting ready to do my tranny swap and SAS at the same time.  D44 with mini spool and 12bolt(open, or it would blow up) with 5.13 gears.  anyway, i have a few sets of ford 57" rears just sitting around my yard ans was thinking that this may be a good rear spring for the toy (86 excab).  i was using them under a scout, but scraped it and now have 2 sets.  they are 57" long, and i think that are 22-23" from pin to eye on the short side.  if i could just get the rates and specs on them i am thinking i may beable to use them on the toy for front and rear, or at least rears.

have any of you ever seen anyone use them on their projects??

thanks,
Callen

[FIREBALL]

What are they off of?
I''m using 2 1/2" wide f150 springs. Can't remember what length they are exactly. I think about the same.
If they are the same, I love mine. They flex awesome. A little on the soft side, but a 2" add a leaf firms them up just enough, and you still can max out 9012's in front.

[MidgetMike]

Ask dontstall rock crawl he knows someone running ford rears in the  front of his toy, all I know is those spring had a holy amount of flex, he could droop his tire to a 60 or 70 degree angle with a D44 in the front.  good luck  

[Sluice Box Hero]

ya, the ones i have are from a big bronco ('96).  they are a 5 leaf and 3" wide.  i had them in the front of my scout and they were very very soft, but i took out 2 leaf :gasp:.  anyway, i think im going to go with them front and rear and see what i can get out of them.  i guess i can mis and match them up until i get something to work eh??

but still, if anyone else is running them, please chime in here, im never that confident in myself when it comes to half cocked ideas;)

Callen

[kyle_22r]

the 12 bolt makes a better boat anchor than an axle.  if you want wide, just get a taco or a tundra axle

[Uncle Jesse]

I had a 96 f150 2wd short bed on the rack the other day.  I had heard about f150 spring swaps so I paid a bit of attention to them.  On a stock truck just static droop is amazing for a three leaf with overload half ton pack.  My rough measurements were 25 1/2" and 30".  I looked at a 01 ranger and it had the same measurements, but didn't flex nearly as well.  97 and later trucks appear to have a similar spring, but don't flex as well either.  Anyway, after seeing the 96 droop with just the weight of the axle and wheels, I was impressed.

[Sluice Box Hero]

yup, i agree, they flex like mad, you should take a look at the 4wd packs, they are a 4 pack and 3" wide without overlaod and they kick the 2wd spring flex;)

after talking to Sky at Sky Manufacturing today i decided i would wait for him to make an all new D44 compatible front corssmember and rear shackle bracketry (hes makes a short run of these some time next week because of the demand people have had for them lately) and use 44044s in the front, and use the 57"s for the rears.

Callen

[greengo]

anybody have some flex shot of these springs in action. trying to find somthing other then chevy to throw under the rear of my runner. thanks in advance.

[Volcom]

I'm bring up from the dead, anybody using these springs in the rear?  I'm going rears up front but needed something in the rear.  I wanted some other options rather than the chevys. 

[WHITE_TRASH]

Chevies are crap unless your rig weighs 5k+  I use Ranger or broncoII springs int he rear with fantastic results.

[Sluice Box Hero]

yes, i am using these in the rear.  i had them arch 6 more inches to match the front.  with you going to rears up fron tyou should only need to arch them 2-4 more inches.  also the rear shackle hanger ended up being farther in than stock, so if you would like you can chop a lot off the rear of your frame.

take a look at my thread over at raven.

http://ravenoffroad.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=562

Callen

[FIREBALL]

Here... http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=7746.0 there are some pics in this thread of my old rig with 150's. I prefer the 2 1/2" wide srpings from the 2wd. All my buddies that used the 3" kept breaking springs, and they 2 1/2's flex just as well.

[Volcom]

Thanks for the links guys.  Those pics in Moab of the yellow truck flexed are great.  That's what I'm looking for.  I'm looking to clear either 37" MTR's or 36" Iroks.  Probably quite a bit of trimming and some add-a-leafs for the F-150's and a drop hanger for the rears in the front.

[FIREBALL]

my front hangers were dropped about 3", with a 2" add a leaf. The rear didn't have any drop, but had a 2" add a leaf. Front axle moved forward about an 1 1/2". In moab it had 35's, at the end it had 37's with almost no triming.

[trollbum]

i know of a chevy 3/4-1 ton that has those springs, there is very little flex on that rig and it's a heavy mofo

[hossjs]

 i run the ford ranger springs in the rear of my 84 toy. they flex like crazy. my front hangers had to be moved forward a few inches.
but i love them.  

[alwayzbroken]

As far as 57" f 150 springs go, which are more desirable, 2wd or 4wd? I know 4wd are wider, but what else is differant? Which has more arch?

[chevyLUVtoyota]

hey try old bronco springs like pre 71  the old boy  bronco springs

[FIREBALL]

All of my buddies that have used the 3" springs broke one at one time or another. I ran my 2wd 2 1/2" spring for years and didn't have any breakage probs. I think either one would work great though. I like the mid '80's to mid '90's because they have the teflon pads built in. I haven't notice any height differances.

[Volcom]

OK, I bought some 57 inch ford F-150 2wd springs and was curious on how forward to mount the spring hanger? 

[FIREBALL]

I think I mounted mine about 3 1/4" forward on my front end. That moved my axle forward an inch or so too.

[Volcom]

I think I mounted mine about 3 1/4" forward on my front end. That moved my axle forward an inch or so too.

Thanks, so if I wanted to move the rear axle back an inch or two, I should only move the hanger forward an inch or two.  Did you move the rear shackle hangers as well or did you keep them in the stock locations?  If I wanted to move the rear axle back an inch or so, could I just run a longer rear shackle in the stock location to make up for it?

Thanks for the quick reply Fireball