Sagging Bed Fix

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thirdtry
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Sagging Bed Fix

Post by thirdtry »

The bed of my 1971 CS sagged on the right side. Just looking at the top of the front end of the bed, you could see that it wasn't level with the line of the rear window by nearly two inches. Both the front and the rear of the bed sagged on the right side. I looked at the forums for hours and didn't find an answer to this problem. I found some threads where people had the problem and some members tried to give possible solutions. But if those solutions worked, the askers never bothered to tell the forum. (There is a place in Hell for people who don't tell the forum what finally fixed their problem !!) I searched "bed" and went back quite a while. Maybe there was an answer way back but I got tired of looking. Or maybe somewhere there was a perfectly good thread on the subject labeled something like "I've got a problem". Maybe if people put a little more though into their Subject Lines it would be easier to do searches.

Anyway. The right rear coil spring looked a little tweaked, so I removed both the right and left coil spring in the back. It didn't do anything. I got bummed and moved onto other projects. I had to move the bump to make more room for another project. Just today I was looking at the back of the bump, and damned if the bed wasn't level. Just driveing it a little while moving it had bounced everything around after the coils had been removed and it had leveled out. Now I just have to find some decent coils and all will be well. :woohoo:

Bob Z
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Re: Sagging Bed Fix

Post by fordman »

rear coils? are you sure those werent around the shocks?
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Re: Sagging Bed Fix

Post by thirdtry »

I'll double check. I friend of mine actually removed the springs. and it has been a couple of months. I just hadn't moved the bump since the springs were removed and the bed had remained crooked. I was a little bummed and just let it go for a while. I was under the truck and saw the right coil was not straight, but can't remember if the springs were around the shocks. I didn't think so but I could be wrong. It only took him 5 or 10 minutes to remove the springs and he didn't use a jack. I'm out of town right now, but I should be back tomorrow and I'll I check for sure. Thanks.
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Re: Sagging Bed Fix

Post by thirdtry »

The setup was as I remembered it. The coil springs were on the axel in a u-bolt kind of arrangement. For sure not around the shocks. I checked with my friend who actually removed them, but I had been under there and seen it also. It had been while so I didn't want to say for certain until I checked again. I don't know what normal is on a 1971 CS F-250, but the springs are maybe 8 inches long and 4 1/2 inches in diameter. Thanks !!
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Re: Sagging Bed Fix

Post by FORDification »

These trucks only came with leaf springs in the rear, so if your friend removed coils, then they were probably aftermarket add-on overload springs which would've been installed by a previous owner.
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Re: Sagging Bed Fix

Post by thirdtry »

Well thanks for the info. I was planning on going to a company truck that I could use for parts and get a replacement spring. Guess that won't work. Since I won't be using a Camper or anything else heavy I don't really need the aftermarket coils. One less problem to fix ! :hd:
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Re: Sagging Bed Fix

Post by thirdtry »

I'm sorry about this post. I spent a lot of time today (two hours writing, taking pictures and trying to figure how to get pictures into the post......or even in the Picture Gallery). The FAQs don't really help and I even spent a lot of time just searching forums trying to learn how to get pics up somewhere. Maybe I'm missing a page or button or something. Oh well..I guess pics aren't wanted.. Below is my post as if the pics are there, but they aren't -------------------------

This is one of the coil springs that I removed from my 1971 CS F250 to level the sagging bed. Maybe it's aftermarket, but I really don't know. The top brackets are fastened to the frame with what I believe to be large rivets. The outside heads are perfectly half round shaped as if manufactured in that shape. The inside end of the rivet seems to have been bucked and not all are perfectly round. But it all looks pretty original to me. (UPDATE: I looked around on the frame more and see now that the rivets that are holding the coil spring brackets on are the same factory rivets that hold everything else together on the frame. They must be original ). Or someone did it with the bed completely off to get some big tools in there.

Here's a pic of the Springs.

(Sorry......couldn't figure it out)

Here’s the location of the spring, between the axle and the frame. The frame has the riveted on bracket with a rubber piece on it. The spring is held on with the lip you see on the spring which is then bolted to the axle with that large u-bolt hanging there (the u-bolt at the very bottom, not the one holding the leaf spring).

(Sorry...couldn't post picture )

Here’s a better picture of the u-bolt (below)

(Sorry...couldn't post picture)

I don’t know whether these coil springs are original or not. I’ll let the wise men of the forum decide that. All I know is that when they were removed and the suspension was worked from moving the truck, the bed leveled out.

I'll keep searching the site to figure out how to post pics somewhere. ( I don't like pics that are offsite. Too many times when you find a great thread about something you need to know, the picture has been deleted). A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words !!!

bob z
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Re: Sagging Bed Fix

Post by fordman »

email the pics to me i'll get them posted for you.
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Re: Sagging Bed Fix

Post by FordTruck »

My 70 has the same problem and you might want to check your leaf springs. I would take a picture of ming but there's no bed so it isn't doing it now :oops: I know on the right side the leaf on my 70 is almost flat and it sits really weird so I would start there.

Found a picture does it sit kinda like this??

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Re: Sagging Bed Fix

Post by thirdtry »

The right side of the bed is maybe 1/4 inch lower than the left side based on how the trim lines up. I can live with that. It was maybe an inch and a half or more. Looked really sad. The coils seemed to have been the problem.

Thanks
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Re: Sagging Bed Fix

Post by fordman »

those are aftermarket springs for sure i have sen them before in some of kieths pics i think. here are the pics.
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Re: Sagging Bed Fix

Post by fordman »

last one
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Re: Sagging Bed Fix

Post by thirdtry »

Fordman, thanks for posting those pics for me. I'll work at learning how to do it myself. I received a PM that should get me going. The pics show much better what I'm trying to describe. I hope you Fordification Mods know how much you are appreciated. I hate not being able to return favors so you just have to accept my thanks for now. Sure don't understand how the rivets that hold the upper bracket in place look exactly like the production rivets that are used all over the frame. Oh well. I'll learn as I go. I sure need the help getting this beast back on the road !!!

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Re: Sagging Bed Fix

Post by thirdtry »

Ouch !! Just noticed the stickey with the picture posting instructions. All I can say is I'm sorry. I looked all over for them. And I'm usually good at reading stickeys and FAQs. I really did spend hours yesterday looking. It was just too easy. Thanks for being so gentle to a newby. No flames for stupidity or anything. I'll try to repay the favor. Thanks.

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