grumpin Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 Do you know if there is any difference in front springs between an '85 F-250 and a '97 F-250? As you might remember, I used to have an '85, and I loved the truck, but I was really glad to switch to the ride of the '95 F-150 I got next. The rear was bad, but the front really wasn't good either. Now I have my '97. It's a crew cab with a fiberglass topper, so it has more weight on the rear axle than the standard cab '85 had (with an aluminum topper very occasionally). And it has a 460/E4OD so there's more weight on the front than the '85s 351/NP435. But the '97 rides SO much better than I remember the '95 riding. Maybe it's just the weight, but I wonder if the spring rate is different. Big Blue has the 460, and I'd guess the ZF5 he's getting will be closer in weight to an E4OD than an NP435. So maybe if you get the rear dialed in he'll smooth out a lot. But it might be worth looking into springs for a newer TTB F-250 That's interesting, I had a 94 F250 with the 460 and E4OD, I knew the PO and he had the extra leaf installed in the front. I always joked that in the winter when you went across the"ruts" in the road, you had to reach down and pick your teeth up off the floor. That thing rode rough. I mentioned to the Po that I was thinking of trying new shocks, and he said you'll probably find a steel bar in where the shocks go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 Do you know if there is any difference in front springs between an '85 F-250 and a '97 F-250? As you might remember, I used to have an '85, and I loved the truck, but I was really glad to switch to the ride of the '95 F-150 I got next. The rear was bad, but the front really wasn't good either. Now I have my '97. It's a crew cab with a fiberglass topper, so it has more weight on the rear axle than the standard cab '85 had (with an aluminum topper very occasionally). And it has a 460/E4OD so there's more weight on the front than the '85s 351/NP435. But the '97 rides SO much better than I remember the '95 riding. Maybe it's just the weight, but I wonder if the spring rate is different. Big Blue has the 460, and I'd guess the ZF5 he's getting will be closer in weight to an E4OD than an NP435. So maybe if you get the rear dialed in he'll smooth out a lot. But it might be worth looking into springs for a newer TTB F-250 That's interesting, I had a 94 F250 with the 460 and E4OD, I knew the PO and he had the extra leaf installed in the front. I always joked that in the winter when you went across the"ruts" in the road, you had to reach down and pick your teeth up off the floor. That thing rode rough. I mentioned to the Po that I was thinking of trying new shocks, and he said you'll probably find a steel bar in where the shocks go! I don't know how much my shocks are doing. The truck had about 160K on it when I bought it. I don't know if a PO ever replaced them, but I know I haven't touched the shocks. But there's enough friction (and little enough travel) in the suspension that it doesn't seem like it needs better damping. New shocks might hurt the ride! But that would make it much like my '85 that still had the original shocks when I sold it at ~180K. It's problem was that the springs (and therefore the shocks) hardly ever moved, so I don't think new shocks would've helped there either. And a correction to what you quoted me saying above. I meant to say that my '97 (F-250HD) rides better than my '85 (F-250HD also). I didn't mean to say it rides better than my '95 (F-150). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpin Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 I don't know how much my shocks are doing. The truck had about 160K on it when I bought it. I don't know if a PO ever replaced them, but I know I haven't touched the shocks. But there's enough friction (and little enough travel) in the suspension that it doesn't seem like it needs better damping. New shocks might hurt the ride! But that would make it much like my '85 that still had the original shocks when I sold it at ~180K. It's problem was that the springs (and therefore the shocks) hardly ever moved, so I don't think new shocks would've helped there either. And a correction to what you quoted me saying above. I meant to say that my '97 (F-250HD) rides better than my '85 (F-250HD also). I didn't mean to say it rides better than my '95 (F-150). With that extra leaf in the 94, my 86 rides better. And they're both super cabs with the longer wheelbase. And saying it rides better is probably not saying too much. HD suspensions don't ride well. I did just put bigger tires on my Bronco, that helped quite a bit. Not nearly as "squirrelly" as it was with stock size tires. They are 31 10.50 15's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 .... And saying it rides better is probably not saying too much. HD suspensions don't ride well.... No one riding in my '97 F-250HD would think they're riding in a Lincoln. But we take it on a lot of long-ish trips (80 - 200 miles) and no one's complained about being beat up. In fact quite a few people express surprise that it rides and drives so well for a big old truck. And I know my wife wouldn't dread riding in it out to Colorado. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 .... And saying it rides better is probably not saying too much. HD suspensions don't ride well.... No one riding in my '97 F-250HD would think they're riding in a Lincoln. But we take it on a lot of long-ish trips (80 - 200 miles) and no one's complained about being beat up. In fact quite a few people express surprise that it rides and drives so well for a big old truck. And I know my wife wouldn't dread riding in it out to Colorado. A year or so ago I rode in an early 2000's F350 diesel and was amazed at how well it rode. Dramatically better than Big Blue. But, it was a crew cab, so did have a longer wheelbase, although you could extend BB's frame a bunch and it'll still be brutal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpin Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 .... And saying it rides better is probably not saying too much. HD suspensions don't ride well.... No one riding in my '97 F-250HD would think they're riding in a Lincoln. But we take it on a lot of long-ish trips (80 - 200 miles) and no one's complained about being beat up. In fact quite a few people express surprise that it rides and drives so well for a big old truck. And I know my wife wouldn't dread riding in it out to Colorado. True, on the freeway I really like the truck, the long wheelbase makes for a nice ride in my opinion. My sister rode back to California from Illinois with me and really liked the truck. On the rough roads though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 A year or so ago I rode in an early 2000's F350 diesel and was amazed at how well it rode. Dramatically better than Big Blue. But, it was a crew cab, so did have a longer wheelbase, although you could extend BB's frame a bunch and it'll still be brutal. My '02 F-350 CCSB diesel rode about the same as my '97 F-250 CCSB 460 on average. But the front of the F-350 was a little softer (it would wallow up and down a few times on a bigger bump) and harsher in the back than the F-250. My '08 F-250 CCSB 5.4L was the best riding and handling truck I've had (significantly better than my '95 F-150 SCSB). I hated that truck for other reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted January 30, 2019 Author Share Posted January 30, 2019 More Bullnose Flareside love on the FB Rally page;). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted January 30, 2019 Author Share Posted January 30, 2019 More Bullnose Flareside love on the FB Rally page;). And some Blue Oval catching some serious air! Love seeing that front suspension in action (and this one a 4x4 too). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 And some Blue Oval catching some serious air! Love seeing that front suspension in action (and this one a 4x4 too). I think I like the Bullnose pic better. I've always been afraid of "getting air" as there's the inevitable landing. And in the case of that one it doesn't look like it'll be very soft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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