Suspension Upgrades - No lift wanted

My 24 inch body magnaflow 2.5 in/out sounds fantastic, its routed all the way back to the bumper

 

I'll look into it do you know roughly what it cost you??

 

$100 or so, same price range as the smaller ones.

Had a 14 and hated how raspy and loud it was, had an 18 for years but wanted a more mellow tone.

 

The Magnaflows on my 442 are 22s. Of course, that is behind an Olds BB V8 but just a nice mellow rumble at idle, pretty quiet at cruise, and mean when your foot is in it. I had the same size on a 2011 Ford F150 Ecoboost I owned until I had to lemon law it and it sounded great on that V6. I'll likely do something similar with a cat-back when the time comes.

I just noticed when I was under there working on the PS shock how rusted out my exhaust is. Truck only has 58K miles on it but the exhaust is nearly 15 years old.

Actually, come to think of it, the cat-back system I put on the F150 was MBRP but I did use a Magnaflow 22" muffler. The Magnaflow cat-back was like $300 higher than MBRP even though both were stainless.

 

If anyone is still paying attention to this [or cares?], I "hope" to get back to my truck this weekend and put on those Deavers .

So far, it has been an improvement but I can't say I'd recommend it based on just the COs and rear shocks. I pretty much knew up front though that the rear leaf springs were likely going to have the most impact so I am anxious to get back to it.

 

Great thread Canon. Good info. I'm looking to do a similar set up. Only want just a bit of lift. 2in max but more like 1.5. Really thinking on the Toytec Boss COs up front. Not sure what I'll do on the rear yet. Keep us posted!

 

Unfortunately we got 4 inches of rain in 3 hours yesterday so I spent all day today patching the roof on a rental property [new roof scheduled for June but didn't quite make it] . . .

So, I did NOT get to my leafs today after all. But, it has finally bubbled up to the top of the non-emergency priority list anyway so it should happen this week or coming weekend . . .

 

Deaver J59 Install

OK, sports fans, before we get started here, I want you to answer 2 questions honestly.

1) Can you afford to hire this done?
2) Are you an old decrepit sick fuck like me?

If you answered yes to either or both questions, you might well want to consider hiring it done. This is a LOT of work . . .

Now that said . . .

I start out by setting the parking brake and block the front wheels.

Drop the spare tire [good time to power wash it if you care] and get the truck on jack stands. Don't know about you but I like having back up blocking for jobs like this hence the cinder block as back up for the jack stand.


Of course, you naturally need to keep the floor jack [or something else?] under the rear axle since the leaf springs connect the rear axle to the truck [duh]. Just like the cinder block back up for the jack stand, I like to keep blocking under the rear wheel as back up for the floor jack too. You can't quite see it here but you also need to take the brake line mounting bracket loose from the top of the rear axle to keep from putting too much strain on the brake line since you will be dropping the axle quite low during this procedure to get the tension off the leaf spring. If you are a serious offroader, you would likely want to get brake line extensions so the extra travel won't create the same problem jumping those dunes . . .

Remove the rear shock lower mount bolt and slide it off, remove the 4 nuts from the old U-bolts that attach the leaf spring mounting bracket under the axle and remove it, and remove the leaf spring rear shackle. A good idea to keep the nuts on the rear shackle bolts as it required a LOT of persuasion to get it loose and you don't want to damage those threads.

After you remove the front mount bolt as well, CAREFULLY relieve the remaining tension on the leaf spring by lowering the floor jack that is supporting the axle, and you can slide the old leaf spring out.

I greased all the new bushings and bolts before assembly. This doesn't show them all . . . figured you'd get the idea.

Slide in the Deaver and hook up the rear shackle. It pays to have a nice piece of 1/2" aluminum bar with a bend in it just like this one because this new spring takes a LOT of persuasion to get it positioned properly. I have 2 of these aluminum bars that are extensions for the tailgate on my utility trailer. They worked perfectly to pry the spring into position and then forward so you can get that front bolt in. Sorry about the giant blurry finger nail . . .

And despite all the persuasion from the rear with the pry bar, the front end will still require some more persuasion with a large screw driver or crowbar [or both!] to get the bolt hole aligned. You have to actually raise the rear axle here to squish the spring down which elongates it in the process to get the front bolt in.

And this just shows the new U-bolts in place and the rear shock lower bolt hooked back up. I am putting on Firestone air bags so the black circular piece mounted on top of the new springs are the Daystar cradles for the air bags. These "cradle" the bottom of the air bag holding it in place without having to bolt it solid to the rear axle. Allowing the lower part of the bag to float on the cradle saves it from damage if you over-extend the suspension offroading OR if someone raises your truck on a lift, without the cradle, it will effectively hang the rear axle from the air bag [NOT GOOD!].

All I had time for today . . . I'll document the Firestone air bag install next. Then it's just lather, rinse, and repeat for the passenger side.

I hopefully can then show the final stance of the truck with the Boss COs up front, Deavers, Bilstein 5125s, and the Firestone air bags in back and share a final driving impression.

Enjoy, questions/comments welcomed . . .

 

im wondering what this soft spongy oem suspension ride you guys are talking about with oem leafs?

I have stock oem leafs (as far as I know) and stock oem shocks (I am sure about them) in the rear and if I hit a small bump or rough patch in a normal highway speed turn or drive down a washboard gravel road and my truck starts to break loose and is sliding out of its lane from wash boarding and barely contacting the road on rough patches. I wish I had this soft spongy ride you speak of so I can maintain control of my truck and the ride would be easier on my back and my butt.

if I stiffened the suspension then I might as well weld the axle straight to the frame, it wouldn't feel much stiffer that way then it is now that's for sure.

I am actually trying to find a way to take the stiffness out of my suspension to soften the ride because stock oem ride quality is too stiff and hard. im even contemplating removing one of the leafs in the back to allow it to have some "give" when hitting bumps instead of being solid as a rock.

as I understand it the whole problem with the trucks poor handling is no absorption of road bounce or bumps causes the tire to lose contact with the road.

perhaps im all wrong on this, but I thought the whole problem was the suspension is to damn stiff and solid so it needs to be softened up to absorb road impacts.

 

Um, my stock suspension wasn't soft or spongy. It was almost non-existent. Combined with such a light ass end . . . you have precisely what we are trying to fix [or at least I am anyway]. Literally the day my truck got here, I almost piled it up. Was just going up to the stop sign on our dirt road and hit some washboards just prior to it and my ass end tried to pass me. Applying the brakes then would have been a disaster so I had to wait until I regained control before I could even hit the brakes. I just almost ended up out in the highway and I was not going that fast . . .

I got the passenger side Deaver spring pack on today and, though I didn't have time to drive it, I can already tell that the rear end is MUCH more forgiving than it was before just by bouncing up and down on the rear bumper. The stock height went from 36 1/2 to 38 1/2 but that will no doubt settle some. Once it does, I will have to re-adjust my Boss COs up front to level things out plus my 1/2" Taco-Lean is back on the driver's front.

That Taco-Lean is freakin' weird. Right after I put the new COs on I had to adjust the driver's side almost 5/8" higher than the passenger side to get the front end level. Then over time as things settled, I ended up backing out ALL of the driver's side UP adjustment to make it level but now the passenger side rear was a 1/2" too low. Now, with the Deavers on, the rear is perfectly level again but the driver's front is 1/2" too low now.

Still have to get the Firestone bags on . . . will update on that later.

 

ok, great so im not crazy and the cure is to soften the suspension.

I definitely don't want any lift to it at all and would definitely welcome and lower stance I get from any changes.

im thinking to leave the front alone since all the problem seams to be in the back leafs.

has anyone tried just removing a leaf to make it a 3 leaf like the 5 luggers? my old 5 lugger I used to have had a very nice ride quality even though it didn't have much payload to it. I had to add 800 lbs helper springs to help with any loads I wanted to carry but unloaded they didn't touch and I had a car like soft ride

 

keaker, the main problem is the flex or bounce in the springs. oem were almost flat from the factory offering little arc and if you carry anything they wear out quicker. with mine being worn they rest a little on the overload causing it to be stiff. also the shocks are wearing out which equates to less/slower rebound causing the wash-boarding effect and "Cadillac" body roll in corners

Obviously depending on which leafs you go with will determine if its "stiffer" under normal conditions but newer springs/shocks will handle the flex/rebound of going over bumps better making it easier to handle.

new springs are in my future but may have to wait (they are not broken and still offer a little travel)

 

Subbed for results. I'm looking to fix my suspension as well with minimal/no lift. Currently I'm looking at a Bilstein 5100 front/5125 rear and a set of General Spring leaves. (Torn between heavy duty and regular. These will probably go in with all new bushings for the steering/sway bar

 

ok, so if I understand your point, removing a leaf only makes washboarding worse and reduces payload.

my springs are not flat at all and have a nice bend to them with no indication of sagging.

I don't have the money to spend on suspension replacements unless I make some serious budgetary sacrifices on other areas of my living expenses so when and if I do something I need to know ahead of time exactly what I need and where to get it for the least money and most importantly im looking for car like ride quality but still have the payload weight to handle hauling things like my boat without excessive squat.

I am also not a fan of air bags and compressors even though I do think they are the most logical solution, just not something I see as an option for me mainly because I don't want all that extra crap that can fail.

 

Same. As I read it seems the heavy duty are more in line with what we have and the regular is too "lite." It's about $100 more for the HD set but still reasonable at <$400

Yeah the logical is the best for what you want. shocks help with this by their rebound speed (or w/e it is) to lessen the jarring but the springs themselves are bouncy. removing a leaf will kill payload and will probably end up tapping the overload/bumpstop frequently giving a horrible ride

 

so then the "cure" for this is not getting "beefier" leafs as most tend to look for, but instead to just get better quality "stock equivalent" leafs that don't cause lift or increase payload?

from what I know of shocks they really do nothing but dampen the bounce so doing anything with them isn't going to change much and like trying to fix it with a band aide

im sure you have been looking into this longer then I have, what are solutions that have worked?

im interested in proven to work no lift solutions like add a leafs or aftermarket replacement leaf spring options (no airbags)

I don't have the money to buy stuff just to "try it out"

 

I think the main problem with the stock setup is the overload spring combined with such a light rear end. You only have 2 full leaf springs which is inadequate and then the thick overload to handle any weight. They are not at all forgiving and as I said above these Deavers are MUCH more flexible. Feels like I actually have a suspension under the rear now. Bad news is the Deavers are NOT good for loads so I am adding the Firestone air bags for that since I will quite often get a dozen bags of concrete or dirt at the home store amongst other things.

Still didn't have time to get the air bags on today. Shouldn't take too long though as they are pretty simple.
Only thing I lack and I am done.

 

Oh, and also, without any way to raise your front end at all, even after it settles the Deavers are going to give you 1-1.5" of lift in the rear so they perhaps are not a good solution for those lacking funds or looking to keep your front end the way it is. Or likewise if you won't like the look of the rear end lifted slightly compared to the front?? I have to wait on mine to settle here but right now I kind of like the rear at 38 1/2 with the front at 37. Doesn't look bad at all IMO . . . try to get some pics up tomorrow.

I went with the Boss COs because I couldn't stand the "BAM" front end every time I hit a bump, road seam, or pothole plus the overly excessive body roll in any sudden maneuvers. The Boss COs have fixed or significantly helped the body roll and have dramatically helped hitting divots or holes up front. Bumps are still somewhat problematic because I have those 600 lb. coils instead of the 550s.

Just make sure BEFORE they ship that Toytec has your order right. They won't admit mistakes and won't pay for additional shipping if they make one.

 

OK, here is how it stands with everything complete but the air bags.

Front is at 37" and rear at 38 1/2". Going to level it up some tomorrow by putting about an inch of lift into those Boss COs and then go get an alignment done.

Drove it a while today and it rides REALLY nice with those new Deavers in back.

Rear end doesn't try to pass me now when I hit washboards and it's nice in general just having "a suspension" under the rear period.

 

OK, I adjusted the Boss COs to get the front level with the back today. I am now at 38" ground to fender all the way around. It is a little taller than I wanted but I should see those Deavers squat about an inch as they settle so my final height should be about 37" all around when all said and done. Going to get an alignment done now [hopefully] tomorrow.

Got about 100 miles on it and just LOVE the way it rides/drives now.

Driver's side CO has to be a good 1/2" higher than passenger side due to the notorious Tacoma Lean problem.


And the passenger side . . .



And the truck as it sits . . .




Hopefully get to the air bags this weekend . . .