Spring related questions

I'll be in the market for some new springs soon & am looking for advice. Here's what I need them to do & what ideas I'm bouncing around at the moment. I've searched quite a bit & still trying to gather more info.

Currently my Bronco has a 3" BL, stock suspension, 28/7.5 axle combo with 4.10s. I know I could use some new shocks, but waiting until after I find the right springs. I drive this to work 2-3 days a week & until I got this Bronco that struggles everywhere, I went offroading on a regular basis (I'm working on some solutions to the weak offroad performance). Anyways, I'd like to get another 1-2" of clearance without killing flex or adding spacers if possible. I'm aware that my factory springs are probably shot since the rear squats bad every time i hook up my 4x8 trailer.

Here's some of my solutions:

Front
Explorer 4 door springs - I hear they ride rough, no flex
Early STX springs - Anyone have a real replacement part number or know where to find a set? I'm sure these would be exactly what I'm wanting if I knew what to look for. Possibly even just the spring rates, installed height, diameter, etc.
Aftermarket MOOG springs - Looks like the factory # is = cc836, so what would cc842 or cc866 do? I'm afraid the cc866 would be too stiff, but I'm no expert. The spring specs can be looked up on MOOG's chart or I can post if needed.

Rear
Explorer springs - Again, worried about lack of flex & rough ride
Longer shackles - Would guarantee lift & since the springs are worn I'd be pretty flexy with my rear sway bar disconnected, lol
Not a fan of blocks, but would consider. I just feel that they would put additional stress on the springs & risk breakage.
BII/Expo bastard pack or an add-a-leaf? This almost seems like the best route.

I don't really need to go much higher for the places I wheel. As of now, I rub while turning on 31x10.50 ATs with an 8" wheel 3.75" BS and drag the rear bumper on certain obstacles. All I need is just that little bit of extra clearance to make me happy. I plan on going with some aggressive 31-32" MTs & possibly welding the rear since I can't seem to find a good 7.5 locker.

Suggestions?

Unless your front springs really are shot (rusty, sagged out, etc.), I think your best bet for performance (flex) will be retaining your stock springs (or maybe the Moog springs specified for your BII), + adding ¾" - 1" spacers under the springs for that small boost you were looking for. Reason being anything else (lift springs, Explorer springs) are going to be stiffer.

For the rear, perhaps try a set of Explorer leafs with the 3rd leaf pulled out (but keep the overload leaf at the bottom) which might offer you a bit better load carrying without being much stiffer than your stock BII springs. You can always add a set of BellTech 6400 shackles to it if you need a bit more height (the BellTech shackles have something like 3-4 height adjustments you can use).


The Detroit Locker is available for your 7.5"... hard to beat that as far as durability goes. Though if you were looking for something along the likes of an ARB, then yeah you would have to swap to an 8.8" axle (not a bad thing really... the 8.8" has much better parts support, plus if you think you'll ever go to 33" or bigger tires, you'll already be prepped for this as well).
However I wouldn't suggest welding the axle on a rig that will be used on the street much.

I thought about spacers, but the springs are pretty shot. I like the Explorer rear spring idea though if it gives me a stock ride height or maybe an extra inch.

The door tag says I have factory limited slip & 4.10 gears, but if I do, it's wore out. I'll probably pull the cover in the spring & see exactly what I'm looking at. A clutch pack would be cheap & easy enough if I have to. I didn't know Detroit made a locker for the 7.5, thanks. I really don't plan to go bigger than 31-32" tires though. If I have to swap axles, might as well go full width & 35s.