Details on Ford F150 leaf spring swap?

[ThatJeepGuy]

Can anyone elaborate to me the function and reasoning behind going with f150 leaf springs? Lots of hear say to do soo but no real install details.

 

Is it availability? Weight capacity? Longevity? Do they offer any amount of lift? 

 

Does anyone have some before and after install notes of interest. 

 

Not soo much the hear say of the swap I'm looking for your experience if you've done the swap.

 

I had a miss hap over the weekend and wrecked another set of MJ specific leaf springs and looking for a financially effective solution to my spring problem

[pizzaman09]

Wow, what did you do to break those springs!  

I am not familiar with the F150 spring setup you mention but I have to expect they are higher capacity than a stock set of Comanche springs as an F150 is a larger higher capacity truck theoretically.

[ghetdjc320]

Certain years f150 and explorers share leaf spring lengths and are very close to the same offset as Comanche’s. They don’t have much arch in their factory forms but can make decent SOA springs from the ones I’ve seen. Load capacities also vary. 

[Tex06]

On 8/29/2025 at 8:32 PM, pizzaman09 said:

Wow, what did you do to break those springs!  

 THIS.  😳

[Pete M]

On 8/30/2025 at 3:33 AM, ghetdjc320 said:

Certain years f150 and explorers share leaf spring lengths

 

the 99 Explorer leafs I tried on my old '90 were close, but not close enough.  the tire was no longer centered in the wheelwell and I lost height.  if I can find a pic I'll share.

 

 

[ThatJeepGuy]

I've done a few of the explorer leaf sets over the years soo I'm well aware of their effectiveness.

 

I did aquire a set of 3 leaf f150 leaf packs which are rated lower than the factory mj leafs (1180 iirc vs 1280) for a mere $40.  I'm still gonna keep my eyes open for a set of the 1415lb or even 1900lb leafs though.

 

All I can say is windrock TN had me getting a little wild with the throttle and aggressive ledges

[ThatJeepGuy]

The F150 leaf spring swap progress update

 

This was the before. Take notice to the shackle angle...

 

The pictured leaf spring on the right is a dorman factory replacement. On the left we have the f150 leaf spring.

 

Small note - the front bolt in the Ford is an 18mm which is larger than our factory 9/16s bolt. I'm having a custom sleeve made to correct this but others may drill out their front mounting hole to compensate.

 

Install is simple enough

 

1st thing and its not too surprising, it sits lower than the former dorman leafs did. Obviously lighter rated so i expected that, roughly 1-1.5" lower than previously- this being measured in my distance between bump stop(s).

 

Also the shackle angle, which again this is to be expected because of the slightly longer length.

 

I'm still going to keep my eye out for another set of the higher weight rated leafs before i call this over with soo until then - hope this helps others

[ThatJeepGuy]

Soo we're back!

Bottom leaf is the 3 leaf pack, middle leaf is what I believe to be the 1415 pack and the top is what I believe to be thr 1900 pack. Difference between the 1415 and 1900 4 leaf packs? The 1900 pack has dual clamps and also the arched overload vs the 1415 pack having 1 light duty clamp and a completely flat overload.

Adapting sleeve for the front bushing

 

Again this is the 3 leaf pack. Just under 34" to my bumper. This is purely a reference point

 

Then at just under 35" we have the 1415 pack

 

Lastly what i believe is the 1900 pack at just over 35".

 

I'm going to stick with the 1900 leaf pack to start out, if they prove to be too stiff then I can bastardize the pack as needed with he other 2 sets.