A little advice on mild suspension work?

[shaneb]

Hey guys, I have an 04 Edge 2wd 4.0sohc supercab.

Sorry, that's the only recent photo I have of it.

A few years back I cranked the torsion bars just enough to fit 265/75/16s under it. It sat level and I loved the way it looked. I put Cooper Discoverer STs on it (amazing tires) and went all over Texas and Louisiana... never got stuck... not once.

Fast forward to this year and 70k or so miles later. I added a Ranch fiberglass camper shell and a wooden sleeping/storage platform in the bed for long hunting trips and hauling camera gear and my english setters.

Everything looks great till I start to load dogs/guns/shells/dogfood/ etc. And then the back end drops pretty bad. It's not overloaded though... if the front end was not cranked it would sit perfectly level, but since it is cranked it sags in the back pretty badly.

So my question is this... whats the solution!? 2" blocks in the back? new/taller/firmer rear springs? bags? Blocks and helper springs? What?

In a perfect world I would lift the entire truck with the fabtech setup, but I refuse to spend the money on aftermarket wheels to get the right offset.

Any advice?

Thanks,
Shane

 

[RangerSVT]

Swap out your rear leaf springs with a set from an explorer...it will give you about an inch or so lift, but will improve your load capacity by like 150 or 200 lbs...the springs shouldn't cost you that much at the JY, and are plentiful, just go hunting...
SVT

 

[-Nathan-]

Buy an add a leaf (AAL) its real simple to do, and youll get about an inch or so of lift. If thats not enough, get ahold of a set of stock 4wd lift blocks and NEW u bolts. That will give you another 2 inches or so of lift. Or if youre pretty handy, get a set of ford explorer (4 door) leaf springs, theyll give you a couple inches of lift.

 

[07rangerfx4lv2]

add-a-leaf, bout a 100$, adds something like 300lbs to your payload

 

[shaneb]

Buy an add a leaf (AAL) its real simple to do, and youll get about an inch or so of lift. If thats not enough, get ahold of a set of stock 4wd lift blocks and NEW u bolts. That will give you another 2 inches or so of lift. Or if youre pretty handy, get a set of ford explorer (4 door) leaf springs, theyll give you a couple inches of lift.

OK, so the factory 4wd truck sits taller than the Edge in the back? So I can just roll down to a ford dealer or a junk yard and buy the blocks and ubolts? That actually sounds like a plan.

The add a leafs are going to make the truck ride a bit stiffer in the back right?

The Explorer spring idea sounds interesting too. I would have never guessed those trucks sit higher than an Edge.

 

[07rangerfx4lv2]

the add-a-leaf does make it ride rougher...

 

[shaneb]

Hmmm, so just the block and I get the ride height back, but no increase in payload and same ride quality. Add a leaf (or I suppose explorer springs are about the same?) and I get lift, increased payload and a stiffer ride.

I suppose I'll have to ask the dog what he thinks... he is the only one that ever rides back there.

Also, I haven't looked into it in years. I am assuming that the spindle lift is still the best way to get any real height out of this front suspension? I am not a fan of the body lift look. Has anyone come out with a spindle lift that doesn't require aftermarket wheels?

Thanks again,
Shane

 

[RangerSVT]

The explorer springs won't ride any rougher, actually when I did my explorer spring swap my truck actually rode betterand had increased capacity to boot
SVT

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Ok, I went through something sort of like this with my Ranger. Except I didn't lift the front because it didn't have torsion bars, lol. But I used my Ranger like an F-250 for a number of years and the rear springs did not last long at all.

Now, some stuff I picked up when I did my homework on it all:

AALs (add a leaf) does often make for a stiffer ride. You have to tear your spring pack apart to put them in, and I have not been impressed with them, they're usually a thick, stiff leaf from what I've seen.

Blocks will lift the back, but they do not increase payload at all. And they make it easier to experience axle wrap because you're moving the axle further away from the spring, which gives the axle leverage to bend the springs in an S shape - which equals broken parts. It's usually not very noticeable when you're stock with a 2" block, but I did watch a jeep blow out a rear driveshaft on a simple hill climb with 2" blocks - and he was running an Explorer rear axle. So I don't trust blocks. 4x4 Rangers got a factory 2" lift block in the rear.

A Belltech 6400 chevy drop shackle will get you up to 2" of lift without the negative effects of blocks (a 2" drop shackle for a chevy will lift a Ranger or Bronco II), but again, no increase in payload.

4-door Explorer leafs will work. They are a little heavier than Ranger leafs and you can see up to 2" of lift out of a stock pack, depending on how worn they are. You do have to flip the centering pin when you put them in though.

Or you can do it the way I did for both my Ranger and my Choptop. I built my own packs. You can use Ranger, Bronco II and Explorer packs to custom build something. By doing this, you can play with what you need for payload, lift, and ride. Depending on the condition of your main leaf, you can keep it or replace it. Whichever main you do not keep you can trim the eyes off it to make a really long leaf. Then combine leafs going slightly shorter each time. By keeping the longest leafs you can in a pack, you can increase payload but still get a soft ride. I would suggest a 4 or 5 leaf pack, counting the main.

 

[JohnnyO]

The AAL will only make it ride firmer when it is unloaded. With all your hunting stuff in back, it should feel normal.

 

[shaneb]

OK... all good advice here.

I am very handy, but also have kind of put my heavy wrench turning days behind me. The idea of tearing into the spring packs makes me groan.

But, I like the idea of upping the payload, lifting the rear and keeping the time/money investment under control all at the same time.

So what if I used the Beltech shackles (I like the idea of adjustment in case I ever remove all the stuff from the bed) to raise the back end and then used a bolt on helper spring to increase the payload? Something like this?
http://www.suspensionconnection.com/cgi-bin/suscon/1250FR.html

That would put me in right under $150 without breaking the packs apart and up the payload by 1000lbs.

Also, do I have to make some adjustment to the driveshaft angle or am I still in check with just a 2" lift?