Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and Paulos
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 7, 2018
- Messages
- 477
- City
- North Carolina
- Vehicle Year
- 1987 STX
- Engine
- 2.9 V6
- Transmission
- Manual
I came across is a deal on some new leaf springs for my '87 STX Ranger, but I'm having a little trouble identifying the correct replacement leaf springs, and I'm hoping someone here knows more about this topic than I do. My spring code is F3E, "F" being the front coil springs, "E" being the rear leaf springs, and "3" apparently being an "optional usage code" for the rear leaf springs (according to the 1987 Ford Ranger shop manual). "3" is not listed in the options, but "2" is "Heavy Duty rear springs". "E" is listed as E67A-5560-EB, but I can find absolutely no cross referencing or any kind of detailed information on this Ford part. Rock Auto's listings show no "EB" variants.
I have found basically four different weight capacities for most Rangers; 1100lb, 1250lb, 1350lb, and after-market Heavy Duty 1750lb. I have seen Rangers that sit high in the back with a lot of space between the fenders and the tires compared to the front suspension, but I like that my STX sits fairly level. I'm assuming that the "arch" of the leaf springs determines how high the bed will sit above the tires and also the way the truck rides (in regards to stiffness; more arch = less stiffness). The recommended universal 1250lb replacement springs (43-781) have a 6" arch, there is another 1250lb spring (43-967) that has a 4-13/16" arch, and a 1350lb spring (43-863) that has a 4-3/8" arch. I get the impression that the 1250lb are the most common, but I suspect that mine are the 1350lb, due to the "optional usage code" "3"; which may explain why the suspension has always seemed to be a bit stiff. I'm leaning towards the 1250lb 4-13/16" arch springs, hoping that they would not be as stiff, even though they're 200lbs capacity less overall. But, I would appreciate any comments or opinions.
I have found basically four different weight capacities for most Rangers; 1100lb, 1250lb, 1350lb, and after-market Heavy Duty 1750lb. I have seen Rangers that sit high in the back with a lot of space between the fenders and the tires compared to the front suspension, but I like that my STX sits fairly level. I'm assuming that the "arch" of the leaf springs determines how high the bed will sit above the tires and also the way the truck rides (in regards to stiffness; more arch = less stiffness). The recommended universal 1250lb replacement springs (43-781) have a 6" arch, there is another 1250lb spring (43-967) that has a 4-13/16" arch, and a 1350lb spring (43-863) that has a 4-3/8" arch. I get the impression that the 1250lb are the most common, but I suspect that mine are the 1350lb, due to the "optional usage code" "3"; which may explain why the suspension has always seemed to be a bit stiff. I'm leaning towards the 1250lb 4-13/16" arch springs, hoping that they would not be as stiff, even though they're 200lbs capacity less overall. But, I would appreciate any comments or opinions.
