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1976-91 E-Series Ford Leaf spring installation

Floor jacks and jack stands and other safety equipment are a must. You will want to lift the van several inches off the floor before getting started. Keep in mind that the location for the spring shackles and mounts will be approx. 43 inches from  the front frame horns. So don't put your jack stands in a place where they will interfere with the shackle mount installation.

Complete the front suspension installation before lifting the rear suspension

Remove the front brake calipers and hang them out of  the way somewhere in the fender well. Don’t let the calipers hang loose on their hoses. The weight of the caliper will stretch and ruin the brake hose.

Remove the upper mount of the shock absorber and disconnect the clip that holds the coil spring into the upper part of the spring tower. Disconnect the  tie rod ends from the 2wd steering knuckles and pitman arm. Leave the pitman arm in place. A nice firm smack on the end of the pitman arm or knuckle arms ( not the tie rod end itself) with a small sledge hammer will shock the tie rod end taper loose.

You will then start by cutting the brackets that provide the pivot and mounting points for the left and right side I-beams and radius arms. Drag the old axle and suspension out from under the van. Grind the ruff edges and slag off the frame.

Because of differences in axle configurations and slightly different spring perch locations, it’s best to pre-assemble the  hangers, spring bushings, springs, spring plates, u-bolts, shackles, axle as an assembly. Don’t use locking nuts or u-bolt high nuts during pre-assembly, use standard non locking nuts.

Lift the entire assembly via two floor jacks up into the frame. Align the front spring hanger’s most forward edge with the front edge of the frame horn. If you are using Pathfinders suspension conversion parts, you will center your front hanger and shackle mounting block at 43 inches for the PF904, 906 & 908 kits.  If you desire to lift the suspension a little higher than the springs provide, you can increase the lift by creating a sub frame that mounts to the frame horns, then weld the hangers to the sub frame.

This measurement will give your shackles the proper angle they need to articulate. You may need to alter this measurement if your van is heavier than the average van. Large engines and heavy bumpers with winches will flatten out the spring more than a standard van, altering the shackle angle.

 If you want to have your shackles in the front and fixed hangers in the back, now’s the time to decide. Most choose to have the fixed hangers in the front and shackles in the rear.

                    Proper angle                          Improper angle                    Improper angle

With the suspension and axle in place, make measurements from identical points on the front suspension to points on the rear to make sure everything is square. Tack weld the hangers in place and lower the springs from the hangers and finish welding the mounts. After they cool, reinstall the springs and tighten down all the hardware with lock nuts.

Don’t be too concerned if the front springs are toed in at the front compared to the rear. This won’t hurt a thing. Most springs that are toed in at the front rarely have shimmy problems. Trucks from the 1940’s and 50’s rarely have springs that are parallel to each other, they can be toed in as much as 5 to 7 inches.  The goal is not to have any part of the suspension on a bind. Suspension that needs to be forced into place will eat up spring bushing very quickly.

The upper shock mount will need to be modified. The hole is big enough that the upper shock stem bushings can pull through. Make a heavy washer that will make the pilot hole small enough that the bushing won’t pull through. The lower shock mount will need to be fabricated to suit your axle. Pathfinder brackets are a simple angle design that drops over the top of two studs of the front axle u-bolts. They protrude outboard of the spring and have a single hole for the lower shock bolt. 

The next step is to install the appropriate size blocks and u-bolts to lift the rear of the van to match the front and also add an Add-a-leaf to the rear spring pack if needed. It may also be necessary to lower the frame mounting bracket that supports the rear brake hose. Or replace the hose with a longer one.

Steering

To finish your steering, determine which steering arm is appropriate for the style steering knuckles you have. For Dana 44 applications, it will be necessary to drill and tap the top of the steering knuckle to except the steering arm mounting bolts. The Dana 60 steering arm (trunnion style only) will bolt on without modification to the steering knuckle.

If your axle came with  a wheel to wheel style tie rod, use it. If you have clearance problems between the springs and tie rod, Pathfinder has several custom options available.

Questions on parts or need to place an order? Call Gordon @ 801-915-1402 anytime from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM mountain time. Monday-Saturday

(Sunday is OK if you have no other time to call )