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SHOCK AND LEAF SPRING ADVICE

821 views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  roofcock 
#1 ·
Hello fellow Powerstrokers,
Just as the title states, looking for advice. I have on 01 F250 with a broken rear spring. While talking about it to a guy I know he offered up a brand new set from an 01 F350 for free. Seems he bought the truck new in 01 drove it home and pulled them off for a lift kit and they had been sitting in his garage since.
So now I am going to install them on my F250 and see posts that say reuse the u bolts and some that say don't. I guess I am looking for a general consensus of the popular opinion. And another question is are they the same length.
Then while I am at it i figured I should put new shocks all the way around. Here I am looking for what brand, type , style or otherwise has been a biggest bang for the buck for the superduty. I would really appreciate any real world opinions from real world users. I use the truck to push snow and pull a 12000lb GVW trailer. Its not a grocery getter but I will use it for that too.
Thanks in advance
 
#2 ·
Should be no problem using the leaf springs. I have reused factory u bolts before with out problems. I say use your own judgement based on the condition of the U bolts you have there to reuse. Bilstein shocks have done a pretty good job for me in the past.
 
#3 ·
You can get away with reusing the rear u-bolts but not the front. Ford says to replace them (front or rear) everytime but IME the fronts have to be replaced since they're designed to bind and lock in place. i.e. they are a bit softer and the nuts will crush the threads and make them un-usable.

I just pulled my front springs off this past weekend and forgot to order new bolts so I'm using a set of rear until my fronts arrive.
 
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