Tired Front Suspension

[leon]

My 99 3500 qc dually 4x4 looks a little tired on the front end, almost like she's sagging.  What are my options here?  A good set of Billsteins?

In her previous life she pulled a gooseneck carrying a 60hp tractor every day.  She seems awfully happy not to be dragging that thing around anymore.  I sporadically pull heavy weight with her, 40 hp tractor, dump trailer, etc.

[Me78569]

I think springs are in order if it is sagging.  are you sure it's sagging or just got the typical rake of a 3500?

[leon]

1 hour ago, Me78569 said:

I think springs are in order if it is sagging.  are you sure it's sagging or just got the typical rake of a 3500?

Good question. How can I tell for sure?

[dripley]

The rear end sits about 2 to 3 inches above the front end. That would be about a factory rake on a 2nd gen.  2500 that is.

Edited March 7, 2017 by dripley

[KATOOM]

Post a picture of what it sits like.  Someone will be able to confirm or compare its ride height.

[leon]

21 hours ago, dripley said:

The rear end sits about 2 to 3 inches above the front end. That would be about a factory rake on a 2nd gen.  2500 that is.

Rear is 12" and front is at 9" so I guess she's not as tired on the front as I was thinking.  Thanks guys!

[Dieselfuture]

When I build my front bumper out of quarter inch steel, I put two new front Springs instead of using spacers. There is a lot of different part numbers for front Springs, and there's also left and right, and not the way it's coiled, I believe it's just rated at slightly different weight. I ended up getting both the same rating and I believe it was the highest rating they offered like a snow plow package. They are pretty easy to change, assuming all the bolts come out nice, one thing to watch out for is the cup that the spring sits in, mine were pretty Rusty but still had enough beef in them so I left them alone. I put a bunch of grease on them before I set Springs down, to slow down the rust. Every once in awhile when my truck is washed I dribble some oil where things are rusty. Personally I would stay away from front spacers, for multiple reasons.

[Royal Squire]

I recently added a ranch hand front bumper and I also use a snowplow in the winter so was wondering if anyone could tell me if I add snowplow front springs will the suspension be a lot stiffer and ride rougher or should I use a leveling kit. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you 

[jlbayes]

I have the original snow plow group springs in my green truck. Not any stiffer than my white truck with 2" coils. Tire and wheel choice make the largest impact I've found.

[Royal Squire]

How much do shocks affect ride?

Edited September 5, 2017 by Royal Squire

[Dieselfuture]

Leveling kit will not support extra waight,  I would go with plow springs. That's what I put on my truck with my bumper. Didn't notice any difference other then it sits an inch higher then with original springs. 

[Royal Squire]

Thanks guys. Really appreciate the input 

[jlbayes]

On 9/5/2017 at 0:04 PM, Royal Squire said:

How much do shocks affect ride?

 

They can have a huge effect but there is such a broad range of shocks it is hard to get one extreme or another.