Gary Lewis Posted June 19, 2021 Author Share Posted June 19, 2021 Well, the F150 wins the ride and handling test hands-down. It is much more like a car and Big Blue certainly rides and handles like a truck. It is hard to quantify what change the front suspension by itself made, but let me try. On a scale of 1 - 10, with 10 being awful: Dad's 4wd F150 with coil-sprung TTB's & sway bars = 2: You don't really notice bumps, and certainly don't fear them. Big Blue now = 4: You do notice bumps, but no longer fear them. However, this isn't all due to the front suspension as pulling out 2 of the 7 leaves in the rear, which made it essentially a stock F250, made a big difference. Big Blue w/a D60 & a 7-leaf spring pack & no sway bars = 6: The front suspension change made a really big difference, but there was still a "snap" or "kick" when you hit a bump that turned out to be the extremely heavy rear springs that were on the truck. Big Blue with TTB's, 7 leaves, & no sway bars = 8: Ken Blythen suggested I disconnect the sway bars and that made a big difference. Big Blue with sway bars = 10: When I got the truck, in addition to having TTB's & leaf springs up front and a way too heavy spring pack in the rear, it had the sway bars connected. With them connected you studied the road ahead and prepared for any little bump. The retainers came in from Eaton today and I installed them. They aren't on so tight that the leaves can't slide, but they are tight enough that they won't let the ends clang together. Then I inspected the rest of the front springs, and found this at the back. Yep, the plastic slider is gone on both sides, and there's wear into the metal. So I'm sure this was making noise as well. I just happened to have some reasonably new sliders on the leaves I took out of the rear springs, so installed them. But, as the TSB instructions say, I had to shorten the stems to be able to get them in. That left the stem just long enough to come through the spring, so I melted the stem over on the bottom. Not 100% sure they can't come out, but I don't think they will. Haven't driven it yet, but I'm sure this has removed a bunch of the clatter I was hearing going down the road. I'll update you when I get a chance to drive it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpin Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 The retainers came in from Eaton today and I installed them. They aren't on so tight that the leaves can't slide, but they are tight enough that they won't let the ends clang together. Then I inspected the rest of the front springs, and found this at the back. Yep, the plastic slider is gone on both sides, and there's wear into the metal. So I'm sure this was making noise as well. I just happened to have some reasonably new sliders on the leaves I took out of the rear springs, so installed them. But, as the TSB instructions say, I had to shorten the stems to be able to get them in. That left the stem just long enough to come through the spring, so I melted the stem over on the bottom. Not 100% sure they can't come out, but I don't think they will. Haven't driven it yet, but I'm sure this has removed a bunch of the clatter I was hearing going down the road. I'll update you when I get a chance to drive it. Nice job! That looks good! Good info for future installers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted June 19, 2021 Author Share Posted June 19, 2021 Nice job! That looks good! Good info for future installers. Thanks, Dane. That was the intent 'cause these springs can put up a really serious rattle going down the road, so others may want to know how to silence them. But, I don't know for sure that I've been successful as I've not driven it. Hopefully I can soon and let y'all know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 28, 2021 Author Share Posted July 28, 2021 Thanks, Dane. That was the intent 'cause these springs can put up a really serious rattle going down the road, so others may want to know how to silence them. But, I don't know for sure that I've been successful as I've not driven it. Hopefully I can soon and let y'all know. Well, that was written on June 19th and today, July 28th, I drove the truck for the first time since installing the clips and sliders. But since I'd made several changes to the truck I didn't think about the springs initially. However, I was thinking "This thing has a whole lot fewer rattles than I remember!" And then it dawned on me that I'd made the above changes to the springs - and they WORK! Man, did it make a difference. No more rattles going down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted July 28, 2021 Share Posted July 28, 2021 Thanks, Dane. That was the intent 'cause these springs can put up a really serious rattle going down the road, so others may want to know how to silence them. But, I don't know for sure that I've been successful as I've not driven it. Hopefully I can soon and let y'all know. Well, that was written on June 19th and today, July 28th, I drove the truck for the first time since installing the clips and sliders. But since I'd made several changes to the truck I didn't think about the springs initially. However, I was thinking "This thing has a whole lot fewer rattles than I remember!" And then it dawned on me that I'd made the above changes to the springs - and they WORK! Man, did it make a difference. No more rattles going down the road. Congratulations, on a job well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 28, 2021 Author Share Posted July 28, 2021 Congratulations, on a job well done! Thanks, Jim. I'm really pleased with the results. It makes a huge difference in the way the truck sounds. I really didn't realize how much clatter there was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpin Posted July 28, 2021 Share Posted July 28, 2021 Thanks, Jim. I'm really pleased with the results. It makes a huge difference in the way the truck sounds. I really didn't realize how much clatter there was. That’s great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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