[Obs4life]

Im getting ready to order new front & rear leaf springs for my 97 f250hd 4x4 supercab longbed. Prepping for my d60 swap. As much as i really want to do the rsk for comfort, im not. I want to keep the weight of my 3000lb slide in truck camper as low as possible. I already chose the 43-516 2200lb leafs for the front to replace my tired 3486lb factory "Q" codes.
My rear leafs are factory "A" codes. My original research led me to believe they were rated at 2,810 lbs replacement spring 43-803. Specs say 4/1 leaves, 6 7/8" arch. Then on friday i called ats and spoke with junior. He mentioned that my original "A" codes were rated at 2,450lbs replacement spring 43-695 4/1leaves, 8 3/8" arch. So i spent many hours this weekend searching several forums and found both choices listed as original. I forgot to mention to junior that my truck has the camper package. So now im assuming the 2,450lb springs were on a regular 250hd and the 2,810lb springs came with the camper package.
Can anyone elaborate more on this and/or confirm this ??
I found charts that cary posted but were for newer rigs. I took some pix of my rear leafs. I will try to attach. Im not a mechanic but it looks like i have 3/1 leaves and a small plate.

 

[Obs4life]

I absolutely understand that search is my friend. I try hard not to just ask questions until i have done my research. I spent at least 15 hours this weekend searching. 3 seperate forums extensively as well as just googleing. I also spent several tens of hours in the past few weeks searching. Sdsprings has a search by code chart available online and both of my choices are listed as well as several others. I also called sdsprings and spoke with justin as well as ats and spoke with junior. Again i got conflicting info. I also went to newins ford in bay shore and sayville ford both with no progress. Ford was actually totally useless and a waste of time and diesel fuel. Also tried my local spring shop. He can do whatever i want. Problem is i need a starting point. What came in my truck from the factory? My d60 is shipping this friday and my brain is totally fried from researching and getting conflicting info. I hope im not coming across nasty or arrogant. After researching rear leaf springs with over 50 hours of online research and 3 field trips to seperate businesses, i felt it was time to post. I really hope someone has a chart or something. I really dont want to roll the dice and randomly guess what spring to buy. Someone has to know.
I know its only about $300 for rear leafs but i am disabled and live on 25k a year on long island ny so i have been researching and saving for this refresh for over 5 years. I cant afford to make a $300 mistake. With diesel fuel over $6 a gallon now i already feel i may be making a mistake refreshing my truck but i certainly cant afford a new truck. Plus i really love my truck. Sorry for the long rant. Hopefully, someone has the answer.

 

[cainbr]

I did the same work for my 97 f250hd. Your original research was correct. 2,810# capacity each side for your rear springs. 43-803 part number is the replacement.

 

[Obs4life]

Thanks for the reply.
If you look closely at my pix, it looks like i have 3 thin leaves and 1 thick leaf. Im not a mechanic but im assuming that is a 3/1 spring pack. Both the 2910# & the 2450# have a 4/1 spring pack. Makes me wonder if my factory original set up is not what i originally ordered or are they accomplishing the same weight capacity with more leaves. My ocd wont let this rest. Lol

 

[Obs4life]

So i couldnt just let this rest. After more than 20 more hours searching the interweb and several more phone calls, this is what i found out as far as dayton replacement springs go.
In 1996 & 1997 ford used several different springs on the f250hd. F6TA-5560-UA should be my original spring part #. The original A code rear replacement leaf springs with the camper package were the 43-1223 spring which is rated at 2600lbs. Its a 3/1 stack with a 7" arch & 2&1/4" thick. The current recommended replacement is the 43-803 spring which is rated at 2810lbs. Its a 4/1 stack with a 6&7/8 arch & 2&1/4" thick.

For 96-97 f350s only, the original A code replacement rear leaf springs were a 43-1225 spring rated at 2700lbs, 3/1 stack, 7" arch, 2&1/4" thick which was superseeded by 43-879. 2700lbs, 7&3/4"arch, 4/1 stack, 2&13/16" thick.

The original rear replacement spring for f250s without the camper or towing package is the 43-695 spring. Rated at 2450lbs, 8&3/4" arch, 2"thick, 4/1 stack.

Hopefully this will save someone a few hours of research.
I spoke with many different spring shops & spring suppliers. Sometimes several different people at the same company. Justin at Sd springs actually originally gave me the correct replacement spring as well as 2 other possible replacements but couldnt confirm the exact replacement. 2 weeks later and another call to sd spring and some knucklehead brian gave me 5 more spring possibilities which all turned out to be for f150s. I live 5 miles away from sd springs but this misinformation and brian telling me he would call dayton and get back to me through email but never did convinced me to purchase from ats. Junior at ats springs was the first to mention the 2450lb springs which threw me off and i forgot to elaborate further about my truck having the camper package. That was my fault and he was spot on based on the info i gave him. But that new spring rating made me do more research and make more calls. After figuring everything out i called ats today to order and brandon confirmed my research. Its much better to deal with competant people and ats has better prices too. I just wish i would have stayed on the phone with junior longer and elaborated further when i called 2 weeks ago. It would have saved me a lot of time.
The only things left to research and order for my d60 swap is the shocks, the 3 brake hoses and new track & sway bar bushings. Thank you to everyone who helped.
Steve

 

[97F250HDXLT]

My truck's rear spring code is also A, but it has an overload leaf on top (RGAWR 6084#).

1997 Ford F-250 Big Red picture | SuperMotors.net

1997 Ford F-250 3-inch Drums picture | SuperMotors.net

druml.jpg I found it easiest to grease & hang the front shoe; then connect the upper retractor spring, grease, and rotate the rear shoe onto the pushrod; then hook the lower spring across them; then install the autoadjuster; then the autoadjuster arm & its spring; then hook the e-brake cable to...

www.supermotors.net

 

[Obs4life]

My truck's rear spring code is also A, but it has an overload leaf on top (RGAWR 6084#).

1997 Ford F-250 Big Red picture | SuperMotors.net

1997 Ford F-250 3-inch Drums picture | SuperMotors.net

druml.jpg I found it easiest to grease & hang the front shoe; then connect the upper retractor spring, grease, and rotate the rear shoe onto the pushrod; then hook the lower spring across them; then install the autoadjuster; then the autoadjuster arm & its spring; then hook the e-brake cable to...

www.supermotors.net

Thanks for your reply 97f250hdxlt and thanks for the big red link. Alot of great info there. I see you have the 3/1 spring pack like me but yours has the overload. F6ta-5560-sa. Ultimately i figured mine out by the engineering code stamped on the bottom of my leafs. I really like the red/white 2 tone on your truck. Im thinking about doing that when i repaint mine. Thanks again, steve