Will '73-'79 coil springs fit my '72 F250? (8,100lb GVW).

[robroy]

Good morning,

I've been having trouble locating coil springs for my '72 F250 8,100lb GVW truck (there's another thread about that topic).

I've recently discovered that although nobody in the world seems to have my springs, they do have springs for '73-'79 F250's with 8,100lb GVW. These are the same springs for trucks between 8,100lb GVW and 10,000lb GVW, so they're the heaviest springs they put on Ford pickups.

Will these '73-'79 springs fit in my truck without modifications?

Thanks very much!
-Robroy

[robroy]

'Evening,

I located the paper I'd written the years/models down on and I was wrong; the springs they can get fit these:

'77-'79 F350 8,100lb GVW
-or-
'76-'79 F250 8,100lb GVW

What are the chances these will bolt right in my '72?

Thanks!
-Robroy

[FORDification]

The later coils will work...as long as you also use the '73-up radius arms. The '73-up springs have a larger pigtail on the bottom side, so they won't fit the lower spring cups on your '72. And the '72's spring cups won't fit the '73-up stamped-steel radius arms.

When you have your front end apart enough to remove your front springs, you only have one more nut to remove on the end of the radius arm to remove it too, so just get yourself a pair of '73-up stamped-steel radius arms and spring cups from a junkyard truck...and everything will then bolt up.

[robroy]

'Evening Keith, thanks for your reply!

Do you happen to know if the radius arms, spring cups, and springs are the same between '73 to '79? Are there any differences between the F100/250/350 parts?

Thanks very much for the great information Keith!
-Robroy

[robroy]

Hello again,

My search for springs may be over, but this seems a little too good to be true, not to mention that it doesn't jive with what Keith has pointed out about Bumpside springs being different from Dentsides.

Check out this listing for F250 (over 6,900 GVW) springs:



The listing claims to fit '71 through '75.

I called NPD and asked about this, and they said they didn't have much information on the springs but that if they didn't fit, I could send them back.

Is this even worth a try, or is this almost certainly a mistake in the parts listing?

Thanks very much!
-Robroy

[FORDification]

I can't speak for the F250 springs with absolute certainty, since my experience is with F100/F150 springs....and they're definitely different. (As mentioned, they can be used, but they're not a direct exchange.) However, I see from your scan that they've also got the dentside F100 springs listed as fitting the bumpsides, so I'm guessing that since they've got those wrong, they've also got the F250 springs wrong as well.

[robroy]

Hi Keith, I think you're right--the chances of them actually having my part are extremely low. Especially since no other supplier I tried even came close to having my springs (not even Eaton Detroit Spring company).

I guess it's possible that they're selling a universal spring with some plates of some kind to adapt it in to either pickup style. I should call and ask more questions.

Thanks very much Keith,
-Robroy

[FLATBEDFORD]

I think this is one area in which the the F100/150 differs from F250/350. As far as I know, the arms and I beams are the same from '67-'79, based on the F350s that I have messed with. I have compared a '67, '68, and '70 to the '77 Ibeams and radius arms that I have and the only difference seems to be the addition of disc brakes. The front springs that I put on my truck are supposed to be for a dent F350 because my parts guy couldn't find a listing for my '70. They bolted right in. It seems that the bigger trucks changed a lot less over the years than the 1/2 tons did. In fact, the '86 that I took apart last year wasn't that different from my '70, except for the front end that changed in '80. The rear frame and springs were darn-near identical.

[robroy]

Hi Steve! Well this is wonderful news!

Since my F250 is the 8,100lb GVW model, it's likely that it shares the same beams and arms as the F350.

It sounds like I should go ahead and order springs for an 8,100lb GVW Dentside F250 and try my luck!

Thanks very much for posting your experience Steve,
-Robroy

[robroy]

Hello again Steve,

Judging from the online parts database at Rockauto.com, it looks like there are different springs options for different Dentside years.

Do you happen to know which year your springs are for?

Thanks again,
-Robroy

[FLATBEDFORD]

No I don't. The ones that I used are Moog cc828. I have a real good local independent parts guy, he let's my try stuff and return if it doesn't fit. Hopefully you can do same.
Did you see this thread?
http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... s&&start=0

[robroy]

Hello Steve! Thanks!

I read the forum thread you linked to in detail--thank you for that! It's exactly the information I've been searching for for quite some time now.

Given the information from the Hollander Interchange manual, it's surprising to me how much difficulty the million spring shops I called had in finding me springs!

Thanks also for posting the part number of your springs.

Much appreciated,
-Robroy

[FLATBEDFORD]

That information came after I installed the Moog cc828 springs. I never tried to find the ones listed. I never found a shop or catalogue that listed thye springs for my '70 F350 DRW. After a year the ones I used seem to work just fine.

[robroy]

Great! Thank you Steve. It seems like the chances are good that the springs for those other vehicles are indeed Moog cc828's. I'll find out.

-Robroy

[robroy]

Hi! I've done some poking around on online parts places with these findings:

cc828 is a variable rate spring designed for E250's and E350's. It's good to know it works in our trucks.

Moog 8646 is a fixed rate spring that's designed for '77 through '79 F350s, '76 through '79 F250's and a few other applications.

Since I'm interested in a fixed rate spring I'm going to try the Moog 8646. I'll let ya'll know how that goes!

Thanks again for all the great advice,
-Robroy