Leaf to Coil Conversion.

[TheFarmRanger]

So I'm doing a sas on my 2000 Ranger and I'm going to put coil springs up front and I'm stuck on whether or not to put coils in the rear to. How hard would that be? Just taking the leafs off and putting coil buckets on right?

 

[snoranger]

The leaf springs locate the axle. To change to coils you would need a way to hold the rear in the truck (ladder bars, 3 link, 4 link, etc). If you just removed the leaf springs and installed coils the only things left to hold the axle in would be the brake hoses, e-brake cables, shocks, driveshaft, vent tube... Did you ever see the movie Gung Ho? How about American Graffiti?

 

[TheFarmRanger]

Haha yea that wouldn't be to stable hu? But I would probably put a 3 or 4 link in. How much of a job is that?

 

[adsm08]

I don't know that I would bother, especially since it would all be custom fab probably.

The leaf spring setup is stronger, and can carry more weight. About the only thing to be gained by coils is ride quality. Some might argue that you can gain flex, but if you set it up right you can get the same flex from a leaf spring setup.

 

[TheFarmRanger]

Ok, yea I think I will stick with leafs in the rear. But by putting one in the front that shouldn't mess up a lift would it? I would just have to buy bigger springs and put leaf spring blocks in the rear?

 

[bobbywalter]

i would disagree....stock leaf springs are not stronger then a properly constructed 4 link....not even close if you have horsepower and tires.

i busted my traction bars from duff due to the design limits being well below my rigs capacity....they were made for 3 inch lifts and 33 inch tires with stock horsepower, so i just kept modifying them.... but i still destroy leaf springs regularly when they fail....i need another set of rear mains....well the driver side anyway. thats 3 in 14 months...and my front springs are beat to hell and the tags are not even worn off yet....and they are about the only thing i clean regularly.



if you really want to do it for reasonable hassles and costs, i would suggest looking into and matbe using and tuning the kit from james duff for the early broncos. one trip out west, i was at the king of the hammers and ran into a few guys running that setup. i have to say i came away most impressed with one that was extended wheelbase...very extended. watching how well that shelf system worked in a non intended wheel base application was great to see and like i said, i was impressed. if you ever been to the hammers and seen what you subject a vehicle to there....well...i considered it myself.




due to the way i use my truck though.....i need to stay on leafs or get some bad ass bags. and the cost of doing what i want, or rather would have to do will buy 15 years worth of leaf springs.

and i need the room for my 34 gallon fuel tank and all the other crap under my bed. i still use my truck as a truck.


that said, the simple nature of the spring and its availabilty and costs when you fail it can not be beat.

it is the reason i have been considering bronco rear springs at all four corners....then i only need to carry one or two mains when the shit hits the fan....and easy to fix.

 

[TheFarmRanger]

So correct me if I'm wrong, this is how I interpreted your answer.

●Stock springs suck.
●4 link is the strongest.
●Bronco leaves will work way better than stock leaves.

And keep this in mind I do have a built 302 for my Ranger that I will put in some day (years). But for now I have a Dana 44 that will be going in the front and my stock 8.8 28 spline in the rear (gonna run it until it blows and upgrade to Dana 44 rear). I will be putting 35s on it to go through snow and mud that we get in the midwest. It will be lifted both suspension and body to fit the new tires.

●Final question would it be worth it to put a 4 link in the front ( I heard they were pretty complicated) and springs in the rear or 4 link front and back, or just run upgraded springs.

 

[bobbywalter]

So I'm doing a sas on my 2000 Ranger and I'm going to put coil springs up front and I'm stuck on whether or not to put coils in the rear to. How hard would that be? Just taking the leafs off and putting coil buckets on right?

well, before anything..... knowing intended use usually is a good place to start.


with the limited info so far here, looks like you want it mostly for a driver....

so that definitely leads me to suggest leaving the leaf springs and just doing a simple coil spring radius arm swap with a trac bar.


actually simplest would just be leaf springs in the front too.

So correct me if I'm wrong, this is how I interpreted your answer.

●Stock springs suck.
●4 link is the strongest.
●Bronco leaves will work way better than stock leaves.

And keep this in mind I do have a built 302 for my Ranger that I will put in some day (years). But for now I have a Dana 44 that will be going in the front and my stock 8.8 28 spline in the rear (gonna run it until it blows and upgrade to Dana 44 rear). I will be putting 35s on it to go through snow and mud that we get in the midwest. It will be lifted both suspension and body to fit the new tires.

●Final question would it be worth it to put a 4 link in the front ( I heard they were pretty complicated) and springs in the rear or 4 link front and back, or just run upgraded springs.

stock springs dont suck. they work really well for light to medium use. it is a stock light duty truck. but, if or when your making over 300 pounds of torque, then drop it in low and get twisted up off road.....they get tweaked pretty easy.....i usually tweak them back a few times before i replace them as long as its not a bad kink. if you push it they bust right in half. any leaf will do that though if you tweak them a few times. but its mitigated with a custom selection and military wrap mains. but that is not cheap or easy to replace in the middle of nowhere on saturday night using full custom leaf springs.



link suspension far and away is strongest. constructed properly it exponentially strengthens and adds huge layer of safety to the entire drivetrain.



dont take the bronco mention as a recommendation....they are 3 inches wide and require modified or different hangers right off the bat, not to mention relocation. so bronco leaves wont work for just anybody....well they will, but to say they are better then one thing or another is user specific. in my case i would build the rears to one rate and the fronts to their respective rate and then i would only have to carry one or two main springs....this saves on space and weight in regards to spare parts for the eventual failure of a main when on adventure rides... the few times i have wasted mains i was able to chain the axle fore and aft to get to a work area and even went 200 miles thru the night.


and. a dana 44 is not stronger then a 8.8.....sure as hell not a 31 spline unit anyway......both the 44 and 8.8 can be seriously upgraded....but thats a piss waste of time and money when a 150-250 dollar dana 60 is in every yard everywhere...the 60 is pretty good, i put them over a 9 inch any day...but if you had a d44 that bolt pattern and gear matched your front axle, i would use it or trade it for a 60.

but a 70 or 14 bolt or the 10.5 are really where the strength is. just depends on where you end up with power when you prepare the v8.




your final question definitely leaves me to suggest keeping it simple....do leafs all around or coils up front with some arms and maybe some 2wd 150 springs in the back with 3.5 or 4 in blocks depending on where the front ride height shakes out..


if i would have fixed and reinstalled my traction bars....or atleast put the chains on top till they were fixed my springs would probably be ok right now....so that is neglect and laziness on my part. i run bastard setups from 150/explorers mostly out back and 52 inch chevy springs out front.. these are pretty easy to get anywhere.

empty is 3600 plus # front weight and 2000# ish out back. it sits well over 6k with me and road tools/spare and jack. so fawking up springs is easy to do.

 

[TheFarmRanger]

Hey I really appreciate all the advice that I've been getting on here. I think I have an idea on what I'm going to do. Now I just need to start collecting parts for it!

 

[2trux]

To add some more input on the subject.
I put rear coils on my 69 Bronco years ago. That was one of the better ideas I had. The amount of wheel travel I gained was well worth the effort.
My setup:
I narrowed a D60 to match the width of the front. I used stock EB springs and welded up some buckets for the frame. Used an EB trac bar to locate the axle and F100 radius arms. Welded wedges to the axle to attach the radius arms to and fabricated mounts for the frame end.
I ended up with way more wheel travel than I ever had with the leafs and I also felt an improvement in the ride quality.