just finished the next project - XRF ball joints, Spicer U joints, Rancho add-a-leafs, energy suspension poly leaf spring bushings, and differential fluid change. while i was at it, everything got debreased, power washed, cleaned up, and painted. here's a few pics prior to re-installation.
Hey I like what you're doing, I have a 97 that I've been building up and I've been looking for add a leafs with no success, the ones you installed look as if they are for the rear since they're pretty short in length. I assume you have the p/n and I'd like to know what it is.
thx
David
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97 F-350, Gas Guzzler, Yellow Plow
86 K-5 Blazer, Yellow Plow "back up rig"
08 F-350, Oil Burner, Cruise Vessel
06 Yamaha 660 Grizzly, Black Plow
nice I have a 97 f 350 with 126000 miles on it they are great trucks for plowing.
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2011 GMC 3500hd Dump Truck 9' Boss & 2 yard Tornado Salter
1997 F 350 9' Snoway and 2 yard SS Western Salter
2002 Chevy 2500 HD 7.5 Fisher MM
2011 Toyota Tundra 7.5 Fisher MM
2008 420 Cat Backhoe with 12' Pro Tech Pusher
2000 John Deere 544 Loader
2008 Chevy 1500 7.5 Western
thanks guys. it takes alot more time than money. all in, this axle project cost me around $350-$400, but it took 3 weekends to do it all. i don't need the truck during the week and only have weekends to work on it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BUFF
Hey I like what you're doing, I have a 97 that I've been building up and I've been looking for add a leafs with no success, the ones you installed look as if they are for the rear since they're pretty short in length. I assume you have the p/n and I'd like to know what it is.
thx
David
i've had front add-a-leafs on several of these era trucks. they come in both short and long versions. the biggest concern is to get a "full taper" spring. this means the thickness tapers down as you get to the end of the spring. you can see that in the pictures. the springs that are the same thickness along the entire length are a much stiffer ride. and in my experience, the shorter springs hold the lift longer. the springs i ran are skyjacker (not rancho like i said earlier). they were the highest qualty i could find. they use US steel whereas others use cheap steel from china and taiwan.
skyjacker offers 2 springs for these trucks. F35G is for 300/302/351 engines - this is what i used. F46D is for the 460 and diesel. the F46D is a full length spring. either spring will fit any truck regardless of the engine, but skyjacker recomends using the longer F46D spring with the heavier engines, although i ran a F35G on a 1996 PSD i used to own and it held it up just as well as it holds up my 1996 351.
and if you are doing add-a-leafs, definetely do the poly bushings as well. i can guarentee your old bushings are compressed and you're losing a 1/2 inch of clearance due to the bushings alone.
i gained 1.5 inches of clearance which just about the levels the truck out. 1 inch because of the add-a-leafs, and a half inch due to the bushings.
here's where to buy the parts. cheapest place by far and i got free shipping.
Linckeil thanks for the info, I did the bushing kit on my old 96 PSD and it makes a world of difference. Also I ran a set of long rancho add a leafs on this truck and they ended up being a POS so I decided to pull the springs and had them re arched/tempered with another leaf at a spring shop in Denver. This worked out very well but it also was close to $300.00 and truck was down for 3days. I'm thinking I'll go with the Skyjackers this time, if they work then great if not then I'll go the way I did on my 96.
So a few post up someone mentioned you needed a bumper, don't mean to poach your thread but I recently built one of for my 97, the truck had a Meyer Classic Easy Mount on it. I wasn't a fan of the push bar approach, the look and I wanted more front end protection cause of wildlife. So check it out, the lights are mounted with dowel pins to locate on once they're lined up, the lower pump mount is on a receiver and the top is just bolted on at the pivot point. I gusseted the bumper to the plow mount for extra support to prevent sag.
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97 F-350, Gas Guzzler, Yellow Plow
86 K-5 Blazer, Yellow Plow "back up rig"
08 F-350, Oil Burner, Cruise Vessel
06 Yamaha 660 Grizzly, Black Plow
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LET IT SNOW!!!
Looking for work in the lower Michigan area. (Jackson)
1987 F250 Western pro Plow
1997 F150 4x4
1996 Mustang Cobra
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Jeff
got over a foot of snow on its way. just gassed her up, got a bit under a yard of sand, and hooked the plow up.
beginning of november i went through the plow and pump, rebuilding and repainting just about everything. went over all the welds and repaired a few elongated holes. also put in 3 new gauges a couple of weeks ago - trans oil temp, egine oil temp, and vacuum.
so the trucks ready, now its time for me to get ready and take a nap.
thats a sick looking truck, i just repainted my F-250 w/7.3 diesel. I have wanted to put a plow on it put with the truck having IFS in the front its not going to happen, Anybody on here got a 1999-2003 Diesel they wanna sell? Anyways man nice work on the truck give you a lot of credit to do all that work. Good luck to ya!
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thats a sick looking truck, i just repainted my F-250 w/7.3 diesel. I have wanted to put a plow on it put with the truck having IFS in the front its not going to happen, Anybody on here got a 1999-2003 Diesel they wanna sell? Anyways man nice work on the truck give you a lot of credit to do all that work. Good luck to ya!
Go to a bone yard and pick up a solid front-end, it's a pretty easy swap
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97 F-350, Gas Guzzler, Yellow Plow
86 K-5 Blazer, Yellow Plow "back up rig"
08 F-350, Oil Burner, Cruise Vessel
06 Yamaha 660 Grizzly, Black Plow
Go to a bone yard and pick up a solid front-end, it's a pretty easy swap
+1
If the truck's in good shape, why not? That's what i did a couple years ago.
You can plow with the Dana 50 too, while you source the axle and other parts.
I ran my 95 F250 with an 8.5' Ultramount for 5 seasons, with a set of timbrens in the front. While i didn't work it full time plowing, about 3-4 hours after each snowfall, it handled it fine. In fact, the company that bought it is still running it as a dedicated plow unit for their residential accounts. I think it's still on the same ball joints i put in when i got it in '02.
If yours is a 97 Crew short box 4x4, and you do decide to sell, shoot me a pm, i'd be interested in seeing more of it. I've got my eye on a mint one in MN for a personal rig, but my friend isn't ready to sell it yet.
so last weekend i installed some strobes. the front hideaways are from strobesnmore.
the cab light strobes are a kit i put together using relays and a sho-me flasher. after seeing some of the kits atomic makes for the newer trucks, i figured something similiar could be done for the OBS trucks at a fraction of the cost.
here's a video. the video doesn't really show the intensity of the lights all that well. its brighter in person.
just finished the next project - XRF ball joints, Spicer U joints, Rancho add-a-leafs, energy suspension poly leaf spring bushings, and differential fluid change. while i was at it, everything got debreased, power washed, cleaned up, and painted. here's a few pics prior to re-installation.
Are the backing plates orginal or replacement ? I've been trying to find some, I guess no longer available from ford
thats a sick looking truck, i just repainted my F-250 w/7.3 diesel. I have wanted to put a plow on it put with the truck having IFS in the front its not going to happen, Anybody on here got a 1999-2003 Diesel they wanna sell? Anyways man nice work on the truck give you a lot of credit to do all that work. Good luck to ya!
I have a 96 f250 that has the ifs suspension I plow with it.
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