Leaf spring fitting

[Yamidora]

In order to repair some parts on the rear axle of my Ranger I want to replace the leaf springs.

According to lmctruck the rear suspension is equal from the 80s to 2011.

Anybody agrees with that?
Because if they are equal I could just buy some whole rear suspension from a german ranger and it wouldn't be that expensive.

 

[JoshT]

very generally speaking, yes it is.

Leaf springs from any year will physically fit in your 90, but their are differences. The latest model you can find would probably be in the best shape for springs. You need to make sure that the spring codes match up or you are likely to loose some carrying capacity.

If you decide to swap the entire suspension and axle be aware that there are difference in the axle as well. It grew wider through the years, the wider axles will fit, but it will affect the location of the wheels in relation to the body. There are also difference in gearing, brake diameters and several other items. Biggest thing if you decide to swap axles as well are to make sure that the gearing matches, and that the brake diameters match (unless you have 9" drum and want to upgrade).

You should be able to find a lot more info on both axles and springs in the tech articles section of the site.

 

[Yamidora]

That was a bit overwhelming.

In general I just want to replace the leaf spring itself, put in new ones with energy suspension bushings. The shakles seem old but are not done, so i guess I'll just replace the U-bolts and the springs.

In case the whole pack would have fit I would have bought a complete one on the German market.

 

[JoshT]

Are you in the U.S. or abroad?

Edit: just checked out your post history and saw that you are in Germany. I did not know that for my previous post. You may want to fill in your location in your profile. It'll put it under your user name and people will know about your parts situation and be able to help better.

When you said whole suspension I assumed that you might have ment the axle as well. It seems you are only concerned about the actual suspension components.

In the north and south American market you can bolt in any Ranger leaf pack from a 1983-2011 leaf pack. You could also bolt in a leaf pack from a Bronco 2 or Explorer (1991-2001), but the latter will lift the back end a bit. I'm not sure about German market vehicles, don't know how the suspension compares.

If you try to use Explorer springs you may get a 1.5 to 2 inch lift.

 

[Yamidora]

Ok, added my location to my profile. Should have done that before.

Yes basically I just want some new Leafes, add my Energy Supsension bushings and I should be done for now.

So what exactly is the stock lift ratio of the leaf springs? You may also know the stock ratio of the coils in the front?

 

[JoshT]

I'm assuming that lift ratio = spring rate? I can't help you with that one. I know that they varied, but I can't tell you what they are.

On the trucks over here their is a data sticker in the door jamb that has a lot of information on it. One of those is the the spring code. It'll be either 2 or 4 digits, and could be numbers or letters. With either code type the first half is front coils and the second half is rear leafs. Easiest thing to do would be look for a truck with matching letters or numbers.

There may be an article in the tech articles section of the site that covers it. If not I know I've found the information before by searching for "ford ranger spring code" on Google.