Silence The SuperDuty Springs!

[Gary Lewis]

Ok, I spoke with Mike of Eaton Detroit Spring.  I'm sure he's the same guy I spoke with years ago when I bought the spring liner that was initially for Dad's truck, but the leftovers of which are now on those SD springs on Big Blue.

I explained what I have and the noises it makes, which Mike quickly understood, and he agreed that clamps would be the best way to quieten the springs.  They have them in stock, so a pair of springs and rubber pads are on their way.

But, when I asked about tack welding the arms of the clamps he said "Bad, bad, bad!  Your splatter will get on the spring, causing a stress riser, and the springs will break at that point some time in the future.  Bending the arms will be enough."  

[ArdWrknTrk]

There are plenty of welding methods that would have no spatter and would have a small and quick enough heat affected zone that it couldn't possibly effect the temper.
But I understand completely why Mike is concerned about disrupting the shot peened surface of the leaf.
And also why you don't want to restrain the leaf pack at one point when the whole stack is supposed to move.
That's why they incorporate the liner material in the first place.

Good luck with your quest for quieter springs.
I still think coils would better solve your complaint.

[salans7]

Gary Lewis wrote

Do you know what code of springs you have?  Must be heavier than mine.

They're aftermarket Pro-Comp lift springs, so no factory codes.

[Ford F834]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

I still think coils would better solve your complaint.

I would agree, and that should improve the turning radius also…. But talk about a lot of fabrication! 😓

Justin Wheeler used to frequent the FTE diesel board until he leaned toward a Cummins engine, and has done probably the nicest coil conversion I have seen. The watermarked photobucket thumbnails are all that is left, but you can still see his handiwork here:

https://www.cumminsforum.com/threads/1992-f350-cc-drw.610907/

[85lebaront2]

Aren't some of the later Superduty models live front axle with coils? If it weren't an opposite drop transfer, Dodge used coils up front. I had long thought if I were insane enough to want to convert Darth to 4WD I would want to retain the coil springs. I considered researching how hard it would be to use the F350 twin Traction Beams with coils and adapt my existing radius arms.

One thing that keeps me from thinking about it much, Darth, even at 168" wheelbase will turn inside of just about any 4WD pickup. The inside front wheel goes almost 90° to the frame, the trade off is just about everything in the steering other than the box is unique to the crew cab.

[Gary Lewis]

Everything I've read says Ford went to coil springs on the 4wd heavier trucks in 2005.  Which is why my SD springs have to be 2004 or earlier.

But I'm happy with what I have, so there's no chance I'm going to consider changing to coils.  The ride could be better, but what I have is so much better then the leaf-sprung TTB's that it isn't funny.

Still, I would like them to be quieter, and I think the clamps will do that and still let the suspension work properly.

[Ford F834]

Gary Lewis wrote

But I'm happy with what I have, so there's no chance I'm going to consider changing to coils.  The ride could be better, but what I have is so much better then the leaf-sprung TTB's that it isn't funny.

^^^This 100%^^^

I don’t know what the ride is like on SD coil springs vs SD leaf springs but I suspect the primary gratification is the accomplishment itself by those who have the time and skill to fabricate a front coil system (or perform a body chassis swap to get it). I admire the handiwork but it sure isn’t for me!

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks, Jonathan.  Janey and I both still marvel at how much better the truck rides with the changes that have been made.  So while there might be further improvements to be made with a different spring setup, we are happy with what we have.

Oops, the rest of this was to go in Big Blue's Transformation thread.  

[Ford F834]

Gary, how would you qualify the ride of Big Blue now with SD reverse shackle and monobeam compared to a stock F150 with coil spring TTB?

[Gary Lewis]

Well, the F150 wins the ride and handling test hands-down.  It is much more like a car and Big Blue certainly rides and handles like a truck.

It is hard to quantify what change the front suspension by itself made, but let me try.  On a scale of 1 - 10, with 10 being awful:

Dad's 4wd F150 with coil-sprung TTB's & sway bars = 2: You don't really notice bumps, and certainly don't fear them.

Big Blue now = 4: You do notice bumps, but no longer fear them.  However, this isn't all due to the front suspension as pulling out 2 of the 7 leaves in the rear, which made it essentially a stock F250, made a big difference.

Big Blue w/a D60 & a 7-leaf spring pack & no sway bars = 6:  The front suspension change made a really big difference, but there was still a "snap" or "kick" when you hit a bump that turned out to be the extremely heavy rear springs that were on the truck.

Big Blue with TTB's, 7 leaves, & no sway bars = 8: Ken Blythen suggested I disconnect the sway bars and that made a big difference.

Big Blue with sway bars = 10: When I got the truck, in addition to having TTB's & leaf springs up front and a way too heavy spring pack in the rear, it had the sway bars connected.    With them connected you studied the road ahead and prepared for any little bump.

[Gary Lewis]

The retainers came in from Eaton today and I installed them.  They aren't on so tight that the leaves can't slide, but they are tight enough that they won't let the ends clang together.




Then I inspected the rest of the front springs, and found this at the back.  Yep, the plastic slider is gone on both sides, and there's wear into the metal.  So I'm sure this was making noise as well.



I just happened to have some reasonably new sliders on the leaves I took out of the rear springs, so installed them.  But, as the TSB instructions say, I had to shorten the stems to be able to get them in.  That left the stem just long enough to come through the spring, so I melted the stem over on the bottom.  Not 100% sure they can't come out, but I don't think they will.

Haven't driven it yet, but I'm sure this has removed a bunch of the clatter I was hearing going down the road.  I'll update you when I get a chance to drive it.  

[grumpin]

Nice job! That looks good!

Good info for future installers.

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks, Dane.  That was the intent 'cause these springs can put up a really serious rattle going down the road, so others may want to know how to silence them.

But, I don't know for sure that I've been successful as I've not driven it.  Hopefully I can soon and let y'all know.

[Gary Lewis]

Gary Lewis wrote

Thanks, Dane.  That was the intent 'cause these springs can put up a really serious rattle going down the road, so others may want to know how to silence them.

But, I don't know for sure that I've been successful as I've not driven it.  Hopefully I can soon and let y'all know.

Well, that was written on June 19th and today, July 28th, I drove the truck for the first time since installing the clips and sliders.  But since I'd made several changes to the truck I didn't think about the springs initially.  However, I was thinking "This thing has a whole lot fewer rattles than I remember!"  And then it dawned on me that I'd made the above changes to the springs - and they WORK!

Man, did it make a difference.  No more rattles going down the road.  

[ArdWrknTrk]

Congratulations, on a job well done!  

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks, Jim.  I'm really pleased with the results.  It makes a huge difference in the way the truck sounds.  I really didn't realize how much clatter there was.

[grumpin]

That’s great!