Leaf springs

[Di Jack Regan]

Can anyone tell me how many springs I should have on my MK1? As it has a 2.5 Di (don't know if it makes a difference) I have one leaf on the front and 3 on the back.

Would I benefit any by putting, 3 on the front and 5 on the back? I carry heavy tractor stuff sometimes and could do with a little upgrade

Thanks
Joe

[mb4ever]

Can anyone tell me how many springs I should have on my MK1? As it has a 2.5 Di (don't know if it makes a difference) I have one leaf on the front and 3 on the back.

Would I benefit any by putting, 3 on the front and 5 on the back? I carry heavy tractor stuff sometimes and could do with a little upgrade

Thanks
Joe

That's a 50,000,000 dollar question Jack.
The Di engine won't make much difference by the way.
However to give a few pointers, we need to know more about your vehicle.

Model number?
Van, pickup, or coachbuilt motorhome?
Why you think your springs need a helping hand?

As a general rule, if you want to carry more weight than the design spec for your vehicle
whilst still retaining a sensible ride when not heavily loaded
you need helper springs.
Helper springs only work when you are heavily laiden.

Air bags are the mega-buck solution.
They are excellent for your job, if a bit unreliable.

The cheap and cheerful solution if you are a bit handy, is to cannabalise some Transit springs, and make you own.

If part of your problem is that your old springs have settled (sagged), then a local black-iron technician (blacksmith / farrier) will re-arch them for you.
Not as flash as re-tempering, but more than good enough.

Boring disclaimer
Your insurers might not be too happy if you muck about with your springs, and the law enforcement batsards my not be too happy if you exceed your axle / tyre ratings.
.

[Neil]

my mk 1 has 3 on the back and 1 on the front that's the norm ,,,,the single front was tempered for the weight and ive seen before on fitting a heavier di the front end sags a bit low as the early ones are for a perkins or v4 on my last mk 1 di I fitted a pair of fronts off a later mk 2 di to cure it or off a v6 will do,,, a firm called Rossendale road springs can give good advice on re tempering,,, on my mk 1 with the v8 in that has a 1970 s jacking kit fitted which gives about 740mm from floor to wing arch at the front

[oldyellar]

my mk 1 has 3 on the back and 1 on the front that's the norm ,,,,the single front was tempered for the weight and ive seen before on fitting a heavier di the front end sags a bit low as the early ones are for a perkins or v4 on my last mk 1 di I fitted a pair of fronts off a later mk 2 di to cure it or off a v6 will do,,, a firm called Rossendale road springs can give good advice on re tempering,,, on my mk 1 with the v8 in that has a 1970 s jacking kit fitted which gives about 740mm from floor to wing arch at the front

defo the di and v6 springs are the way to go i put mk3 springs on my truck for the di it was a pinto engine before

[mb4ever]

Hey, come on guys, Jack's running a '73 Transit with a diesel front.
It's most likely it started life with a diesel.
The difference in weight between the York and the Di is neither here nor there.

Even if it started with a V6, the weight difference betweeen the V6 and the diesel isn't that great compared with the max permitted weight for the front axle.

Here for the records are some dry engine weights for common Transits.
I couldn't find reliable dry weights of the York or the Di I'm afraid, just the original perkins diesel


Perkins .. 236 Kg

Essex V6 172 Kg . . . 64 Kg lighter than the Perkins

Essex V4 149 Kg . . . 87 Kg lighter than the Perkins

Rover V8 145 Kg . . . 91 Kg lighter than the Perkins
.

[Neil]

I can only say what works from personal expieriance do those weights include all the bolt on bits too or just the blocks

[mb4ever]

I can only say what works from personal expieriance do those weights include all the bolt on bits too or just the blocks

The diesel certainly had all the bolt on bits Neil.
As far as I could work out, the petrols also had all the bolt on bits.
.

[Di Jack Regan]

Neil/mb4ever, thanks for all the info. I'm afraid all the geometry and maths is going over my head I'll try and post a picture up later of what my MK1 looked like on my trip to France last month. My understanding was, that if I didn't want to have my arse kissing the tarmac with the 3 leafs I've got at the rear with a full load, surely adding another 2 leafs per side would give me the stance I want at the rear.

I ask, as I've seen a pair of NOS rear leafs, with 5 leafs, advertised as for MK1 up to 1976, and also NOS fronts with 3 leafs. Has the seller got it wrong, or are they maybe for the twin wheel LWB?

Joe

[mb4ever]

Neil/mb4ever, thanks for all the info. I'm afraid all the geometry and maths is going over my head I'll try and post a picture up later of what my MK1 looked like on my trip to France last month. My understanding was, that if I didn't want to have my arse kissing the tarmac with the 3 leafs I've got at the rear with a full load, surely adding another 2 leafs per side would give me the stance I want at the rear.

I ask, as I've seen a pair of NOS rear leafs, with 5 leafs, advertised as for MK1 up to 1976, and also NOS fronts with 3 leafs. Has the seller got it wrong, or are they maybe for the twin wheel LWB?

Joe

The single leaf front spring and the 3 leaf front spring are designed to carry the same weight Joe.
If you want to know how one skinny looking blade can carry as much weight as a big bad butch 3 blader, let me know.

The single leaf spring gives a better ride however.
And gives you a little more payload.

I don't know about the 5 blade rear springs without seeing them I'm afraid.
If you wish to send me the ebay number by pm, go ahead.

Something to consider is how far you drive unloaded.
And the quality of the ride you have now when you are loaded.
If you fit big bad butch springs, you are likely to get a big bad butch ride.

The sweet and simple way to solve your problem, if you are handy with a spanner, is to put a block between the axle and the spring when you want to carry a load.

A more expensive solution is to fit coil assisted shocks for loaded runs, and drop back to standard shocks when empty.

If you want more info on either of those let me know.
.

[Neil]

I can only say what works from personal expieriance do those weights include all the bolt on bits too or just the blocks

The diesel certainly had all the bolt on bits Neil.
As far as I could work out, the petrols also had all the bolt on bits.
.

also the perkins only had I battry no servo and a small rad as the v4 early on which model mk 1 had a 3 leaf front spring

[mb4ever]

also the perkins only had I battry no servo and a small rad as the v4 early on which model mk 1 had a 3 leaf front spring

I daresay you are correct Niel, the diesel front would also have added a few kilos.

Looking at it from the other point of view, the axle had the same maximum load rating through the entire range.
Presumably, the springs on the petrol were Ok up to the max rating, so why would Fords upgrade them beyond the maximum load rating?

From a second point of view, the diesel had a higher CoG, why not capitalise on the improved stability achieved by lowering the roll height achieved with a heavier engine?
Especially since the fully loaded height will be the same with a heavy engine as it would be a a light engine.
.

[davev6newman]

My Mk 2 V6 LWB camper has singles on the front and triples on the rear.
I did have a Mk1 V6 camper as well LWB and the springs had sagged at the back.
I had new springs made by a local firm to me, but the van always sat high at the back after that.

[Neil]

the perkins was front crossmember mounted spanning over the axle

[mb4ever]

My Mk 2 V6 LWB camper has singles on the front and triples on the rear.
I did have a Mk1 V6 camper as well LWB and the springs had sagged at the back.
I had new springs made by a local firm to me, but the van always sat high at the back after that.

It seems to be a re-occuring problem with coachbuilt campers Dave.
I put it down to that they come out the factory nearly on their load limit.
Realy they new at least and extra leaf or two to solve the problem.

It seems to be a re-occuring problem with after-market springs, although I am surprised if your V6 was a coachbuilt.
I bet they made your rear doors a bit high didn't they?
.

[Neil]

coachbuilt campers left the ford factory as chassis cabs