Jsweezy
Explorer
Hey everyone,
I just finished up with my 4wd conversion on my 2010 Ford E250 with a coil kit I purchased a while back and wanted to share with you all how I went about making the rear match the front.
So instead of using conventional rear lift springs from Deaver or Atlas or just slapping some lift blocks under the stock springs, I noticed that the "Bolt pattern" on the rear shackle hangers for the E-Series vans happens to be the same as the ones on the 1978-1997 F250s. I also knew from my past life before vans that Sky's Offroad Design aka Sky Manufacturing here in Springfield Oregon happens to make a shackle flip and heavy duty shackles for those year trucks. Knowing that those trucks are rated to carry way more than ill ever have over my rear axle in my van I decided to give it a try and if it didnt work out I could always just bolt the stock ones back on. Another plus of using a rear shackle flip kit is that not only does it lift the rear, it also moves the axle forward as well as repositions the pinion so it is pointed further up than it would when it was stock. This means that it basically adjusts the rear to do everything you would need to do anyway with the lifting of the rear end.
Before I get into it how it worked out I also want to state that I am running a 2014 F250 rear axle (I have rsc so it had to be the newer axle for RSC compliance) so that may have something to do with how things worked out but the wheels are just as wide apart as anyone with rear wheel spacers would have using a stock van axle. I also have Fox shocks in the rear but they aren't anything custom other than the high clearance mounts on the axle.
So I initially started with purchasing the shackle flip kit (https://www.skysoffroaddesign.com/collections/ford-78-97-rear-suspension/products/ford-rfk-001) and then sweated for a month or so hoping it would actually work. I waited on purchasing the rear heavy duty shackles because Sky also offers a 1" lifted heavy duty shackle but upon realizing that would move my axle further forward than I wanted to I just went with the stock length heavy duty shackles (https://www.skysoffroaddesign.com/c...-stock-replacement-extreme-duty-rear-shackles). One other thing that I ended up doing that I didnt plan on was having to purchase an add-a-leaf to account for another 1" or so of lift that I needed to match how tall the front of the van was after using MG's coil kit with the CC880s Springs and having a 5.4l engine. I went with this one here that came with everything I needed to add the leaf (https://www.generalspringkc.com/product_p/e350aal923.htm) and as you can see it not only lifted the rear but also added an extra 1492 lb to the spring capacity.
Well after all of that I am happy to report that the ride is phenomenal. Not only did it lift the van but the rear sway on this high top van is non existent. Before I converted this van to 4wd I had to order a rear sway bar from hellwig so that I could go around a corner without feeling like I was going to fall out of my seat. Now I haven't even installed the sway bar back on and the rear end is so solid I never plan to put it back on. The longer leaves also make it for a firm but soft ride over bumps. The ride matches the way everyone is always trying to get their trucks or vans to ride and is usually only attained by "adding weight to the back" but I haven't added anything other than whats listed in this thread.
Overall I am extremely happy with how this turned out and see it as a viable option for anyone else doing a conversion for their van or having issues with axle wrap or a stiff ride. I will be attaching a good amount of photos in the next post because, "Pics or it didn't happen!"
Feel free to hit me up with any questions!
EDIT - Something I forgot to add was that I did have to "dump" or cut the exhaust where it comes down after going over the axle because otherwise the leaf springs would have been resting on it.
I just finished up with my 4wd conversion on my 2010 Ford E250 with a coil kit I purchased a while back and wanted to share with you all how I went about making the rear match the front.
So instead of using conventional rear lift springs from Deaver or Atlas or just slapping some lift blocks under the stock springs, I noticed that the "Bolt pattern" on the rear shackle hangers for the E-Series vans happens to be the same as the ones on the 1978-1997 F250s. I also knew from my past life before vans that Sky's Offroad Design aka Sky Manufacturing here in Springfield Oregon happens to make a shackle flip and heavy duty shackles for those year trucks. Knowing that those trucks are rated to carry way more than ill ever have over my rear axle in my van I decided to give it a try and if it didnt work out I could always just bolt the stock ones back on. Another plus of using a rear shackle flip kit is that not only does it lift the rear, it also moves the axle forward as well as repositions the pinion so it is pointed further up than it would when it was stock. This means that it basically adjusts the rear to do everything you would need to do anyway with the lifting of the rear end.
Before I get into it how it worked out I also want to state that I am running a 2014 F250 rear axle (I have rsc so it had to be the newer axle for RSC compliance) so that may have something to do with how things worked out but the wheels are just as wide apart as anyone with rear wheel spacers would have using a stock van axle. I also have Fox shocks in the rear but they aren't anything custom other than the high clearance mounts on the axle.
So I initially started with purchasing the shackle flip kit (https://www.skysoffroaddesign.com/collections/ford-78-97-rear-suspension/products/ford-rfk-001) and then sweated for a month or so hoping it would actually work. I waited on purchasing the rear heavy duty shackles because Sky also offers a 1" lifted heavy duty shackle but upon realizing that would move my axle further forward than I wanted to I just went with the stock length heavy duty shackles (https://www.skysoffroaddesign.com/c...-stock-replacement-extreme-duty-rear-shackles). One other thing that I ended up doing that I didnt plan on was having to purchase an add-a-leaf to account for another 1" or so of lift that I needed to match how tall the front of the van was after using MG's coil kit with the CC880s Springs and having a 5.4l engine. I went with this one here that came with everything I needed to add the leaf (https://www.generalspringkc.com/product_p/e350aal923.htm) and as you can see it not only lifted the rear but also added an extra 1492 lb to the spring capacity.
Well after all of that I am happy to report that the ride is phenomenal. Not only did it lift the van but the rear sway on this high top van is non existent. Before I converted this van to 4wd I had to order a rear sway bar from hellwig so that I could go around a corner without feeling like I was going to fall out of my seat. Now I haven't even installed the sway bar back on and the rear end is so solid I never plan to put it back on. The longer leaves also make it for a firm but soft ride over bumps. The ride matches the way everyone is always trying to get their trucks or vans to ride and is usually only attained by "adding weight to the back" but I haven't added anything other than whats listed in this thread.
Overall I am extremely happy with how this turned out and see it as a viable option for anyone else doing a conversion for their van or having issues with axle wrap or a stiff ride. I will be attaching a good amount of photos in the next post because, "Pics or it didn't happen!"
Feel free to hit me up with any questions!
EDIT - Something I forgot to add was that I did have to "dump" or cut the exhaust where it comes down after going over the axle because otherwise the leaf springs would have been resting on it.
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