# 2005 f150 front springs???



## buns79 (Jan 15, 2010)

Has anyone put heavier front springs on a 05-09 f150 mine are rated at 3400# and I need heavier ones for the plow I want, If so where did u find them and did they raise the ride height of the front of the truck. I have a leveling kit and have bought tembrens but the plow dealers say they wont install anything heavier than a suberinite on the truck with the current springs. I might just be putting the plow on myself!


----------



## FisherVMan (Jan 5, 2010)

These dealers are getting to be a pain in the a** . I have a 820 lb plow on mine and they all told me that same crab you are hearing . God I even had one guy on here telling me that I would need to replace wheel bearings once a week!!! This is the second F150 I have had a Fisher XV on and it works fantastic. The first one we ran one winter and the truck was an extended cab 4 door and it was just tooooooo long for me. But it worked great we just had the spacers ontop of the coils and it held it up fine . I now have a reg cab and just installed the Timgren Air Springs and they work fine. If I was going to be traveling hundreds of miles with the plow on I might have considered HD Coils but that is going to make your truck ride like a buckboard the other 8 mos of the year. We used to put F250 srings into the F150 back in the 90's and that certainly took care of the plow but the stiffness all summer was awful. I have no idea what weight of plow you are looking into but I doubt it weighes more than 820lbs does it???? I think unless you are going to be traveling long distances the Timgrens will work fine for you . Alot of these dealers dont know s**t about this and are just quoting some liability clause some crooked lawyer wrote up to protect the truck manufactures butt....................
A F150 has a massive frame and is an excellent plow truck regardsless of what some knitwit tells you .....................we had a guy post on here that carrying a ballast in the bed of a plow truck was a total waste of time and you shouldnt even consider it ????? How much plowing do you think he ever did???? That person was a DEALER????? I am sure he will tell anyone that will listen to him that these 1/2 ton pickups are useless as a plow truck???? I would like to get him in front of mine with about 2 ft of snow in the blade and chase him around a Walmart parking lot and ask him what he thinks of it then!


----------



## buns79 (Jan 15, 2010)

well thats what I thought to but I thought id ask anyway, My truck is a 05 f150 reg cab short bed and it will only be used for driveways within a 20 mile radius and i think this truck is perfect for that. so today I order a western 7.5 hts weighting in at 420lbs, with the tembrens and the leveling kit it should do fine, oh and 300lbs of ballast. hope it was 3800.00 dollars well spent!


----------



## FisherVMan (Jan 5, 2010)

*I bet you will be pleased*

That short bed reg cab should make a honey of a truck and that plow you got is actually 150lbs lighter than what they used to call a standard plow a few years ago . You will have no problems with that weight as I have no problems with twice that hanging out there Here is a post of my 820 lb plow sitting on the ground and then picked up so you can see how much it drops . Check it out.


----------



## black7.3 (Jan 18, 2010)

Your brave 820lbs. on a half ton. run the truck for a couple years like that and let us know what you think about it. Im thinkin wheel bearings and ball joints every year. Not trying to bust your chops or anything, but thats a lot of plow on small light duty parts


----------



## VBigFord20 (Aug 17, 2004)

If you don't ride it to rough you can plow with a F-150 no problem. I had my plow 2 years before needing upper ball joints. I also broke the strut on the passenger side and my sway bar end links were warn out. I ended up doing a little more then that when I was in there, and used better parts when I replaced the stuff.

But to be fair, all the stuff that was replaced on my truck was done in the summer, that's when the shock broke. And while Im sure the plow might have sped the process, the truck had over 60,000 miles when parts needed to be changed. Any truck I have owned needed joints between 60-75k so I did not think that was that bad considering I tow a lot, plow in the winter, and that the roads were I live can be considered light trails in some off road parks.


----------



## buns79 (Jan 15, 2010)

It dosnt look like your truck squated an inch this makes me feel just great about my truck and plow setup thanks guys, and thanks for the proof FisherVMan!!!


----------



## FisherVMan (Jan 5, 2010)

*Well here is a comparision*

I can tell you this much an older friend of mine has a GMC 1500 HD with a Fisher 7 1/2ft Quick Switch on it [not sure what they call that now SD????] anyway it is around 600lbs and back in 2004 when he bought it new; they would still warantee a GMC with that plow [I think that is not the case now but not sure on that either] his truck has almost 70K on it . He had a light stroke last Saturday[and is still in the hospital] and his wife asked me yesterday if I would come over and hook up his plow, so she could plow??  and I ran over . It is a MM1 plow and in great shape . I plowed the yard for her and took it over town to gas the truck up . I couldnt belive how poorly his truck handles that weight up front . It would hit the plow in the road on the same bumbs at 20mph that my truck will go across them at 40mph without ever hitting !!!! The truck was all over the road, and when I was plowing with it I didnt think there would be that much difference; as I had just been plowing with mine for 2 hrs .OH MY GOD there IS! His truck has no ballast, and no studded tires, and no locking rear end ,and the yard was all ice and I honestly think I could push more with a broom................................ this is not a fair comparision at all, but it was pretty disapointing . So there is a hell of alot more to all this than just the weight of the plow...................... I appreaciate all the comments on how fast my ball joints and sway bars will wear out and of course time, will tell the story and I can assure you that if in the future I need wheel bearings prematurely I will post that on here as well as the good stuff . Good luck with all your plowing.ussmileyflag

And for the record: I acually think a GMC truck is very very nice, and if I were to get into doing alot more plowing I think it would be a new GMC 2500 HD with locking diff and a XV 8 1/2 plow with the wing extensions .............. so this post is NOT pointed at GM stuff. My buddy has a new 09 Chev 1/2 Ton, and I drive it all the time, and I love that truck! Gets about 3mpg better than my Ford does!


----------



## Lil STX Ford (Nov 27, 2008)

I ran a winter with a 7 1/2 steel Curtis @ approx 780lbs with only level kit and Timbrens, with only 200+balast with the lil 4.6L worked well drove well and handled well, just take your time with it  Ohh and the dealership removed the plow and sold the truck to a customer that just loves it  Got me a F250 PS 6.0 now


----------



## black7.3 (Jan 18, 2010)

I was by no means trying to get anyone upset, was just stating what i've seen in the past. Its your truck you can put what ever you want on it, i was just amazed to see that plow on that nice of a f 150. We have a guy running around here in a mid 90's chevy with a 8'2" boss v on it his truck wont even pick the plow up with the wings all the way back i cant beleve the mount even clears the ground. 

Glad to see your set up works for you and happy plowing


----------



## MNSnowplower (Feb 9, 2005)

Buns79....post some pictures once you get the HTS installed. My Dad has always run Western's and I really like the looks of the HTS.


----------



## buns79 (Jan 15, 2010)

will do...installed the tembrens today that was easy and the plow should be here in a week or so cant wait! We had some ice today but no snow, hope we get a big storm here in the next two weeks or so.


----------



## FisherVMan (Jan 5, 2010)

Good luck buns79 you are going to be real happy and I am sure it will work fine for you . I was actually worryed that my truck may have been light on power for the plow as I only have the 4.6 so had sorta decided that I would just plow in low range and get by with it best we could and started thinking about a super chip, K&N air filters system and all that line of thinking.................... well it turns out that for normal plowing say up to 8" of snow on paved drives I can push all day in high range and my transmission temp never gets above 170! So the truck is easily handling all this.................... you may want to pickup a transmission temp gauge and keep you eye on it when you first start plowing with your truck and make sure your cooler will handle the pushing..................... they are cheap and will save your a** because you can monitor the fluid temp all the time and as long as it never gets hot you will never have a problem, its that simple but without the gauge you can smoke the fluid and then the seals are toast in the tranny..................... Good Luck and keep us posted on here!


----------



## VBigFord20 (Aug 17, 2004)

Since were on trans temps, How hot do you think is to hot? Personally if I hit 180' I take a coffee break and let the truck cool off. Normally I'm in the 150-160s range when plowing and 140-150s without the plow around town and 160s on the highway. Only a few times have I gone over 180 and once it was towing through the mountains of PA on I 80. I flush my tranny every 2 years and fill it with royal purple max atf along with the t-case and both axles.

I was always told 200 is when you really need to start worrying, but I'd rather play it safe.


----------



## smoore45 (Oct 27, 2007)

VBigFord20;968877 said:


> Since were on trans temps, How hot do you think is to hot? Personally if I hit 180' I take a coffee break and let the truck cool off. Normally I'm in the 150-160s range when plowing and 140-150s without the plow around town and 160s on the highway. Only a few times have I gone over 180 and once it was towing through the mountains of PA on I 80. I flush my tranny every 2 years and fill it with royal purple max atf along with the t-case and both axles.
> 
> I was always told 200 is when you really need to start worrying, but I'd rather play it safe.


I'm assuming that you put an aftermarket trans temp guage in your truck(as my F150 doesn't have one). What did you do and is there an easy and good quality kit out there to use?


----------



## buns79 (Jan 15, 2010)

I have an edge power programer and it has a trans temp gauge built in right now with no plow I range between 145 in town or on highway... by the way when you have your f150s 04-09 in four low does it seem like you have to push the gas pedal about half way down before you get any reponse from the engine or is somthing wrong with mine. It only does this in 4 lo not 4 hi.


----------



## FisherVMan (Jan 5, 2010)

*Glow Shift GS-T12*

Smoore,
I bought the Glow Shift T12 for 38 bucks off ebay. It comes with a sending unit that goes right in the test port on the tranny............ simple and cheap I have not had it long enough to comment how good it is . The lag time is higher than a normal guage, as I tryed it in boiling water to check it for accuracy and it was off some right out of the box.
I did some reseach on ATF; and the normal operating temp is 160-180 on most trucks . Anything over 200 is getting warm but they say that you really dont need to get nerveous untill 220, and then all you have done is vastly shorten the life of the FLUID. But at 240 the fluid starts to change to varnish so now you have done damage and above 260 it will harden the seals in the tranny and you are now facing a $2500 repair.
I am running around here with -10 below to 20 above air temps so with a big external coooler any temps are going to lower than the temps you may see farther south.
Hope that helps ya.........
Footnote
ATF fluid that run at 175 is good for 100,000 miles if you have run it above 195 the life is shorten by half or 50K run it above 205 and its down to 25k etc. Above 240 and you need to get it out asap and change as the fluid is spoilt then............... I have mine all pumped out after plowing season [3ooo miles or less] and change the filter with new synthetic ATF and change the filter as i feel it is the cheapest insurance to protect the tranny........


----------



## FisherVMan (Jan 5, 2010)

*Buns on acceleration with ford*



buns79;969680 said:


> I have an edge power programer and it has a trans temp gauge built in right now with no plow I range between 145 in town or on highway... by the way when you have your f150s 04-09 in four low does it seem like you have to push the gas pedal about half way down before you get any reponse from the engine or is somthing wrong with mine. It only does this in 4 lo not 4 hi.


No mine seams about the same for response of course it isnt moving forward very fast as it is very low gearing, then and it shifts right up thru the gears just the same ,


----------



## buns79 (Jan 15, 2010)

Ok thanks Ive only used mine a few times mostly pulling people out of ditches and such it just seem that the pedal is about half way to the floor before the engine revs. maybe just in my head Thanks again for all the help Ill be sure and post some new toy pics soon.


----------



## VBigFord20 (Aug 17, 2004)

I also have a edge programmer. Its worth it just to have the ability to watch EVERYTHING that the truck is doing.

Plus, I have had it set to stage 1 for so long I forgot how bad the truck is when its set to stock. I had to tune it back for my emissions testing the other day and man it was a DOG. I have only turned the tuner up to level 3 once for a week (because you need to run 93 when you do that and Im cheep) but when I did I was able to burn the tires off the line with ease. The programmer is well worth the money.

As for the 4lo, of course its going to take more to get the truck going. Your sending a hell of a lot of torque to the wheels in 4lo. I have only had to use mine twice. Once to pull a stump and once to pull my friends truck out of the lake (long story, but he basically parked on soft ground and his truck slid down the hill into the water).

I'd be concerned about changing my tranny fluid in the spring if it ever snows here again. I only plowed 6 events this season. Pathetic.


----------



## FisherVMan (Jan 5, 2010)

I have often wondered if a programmer would do us any good as I only have the little 4.6 engine.................... it is not overburdened with power................ it ran fine until it had 14K on it and then I noticed the exhust started to run black and I also noticed a loss of power it now has 30K on it and has never come out of it ............ I change the fuel and air filters but it is not the same as it was. I took it in to the Dealer when it first started this and he put it on the computer and told me that this was all in my head as the engine checks out perfect on the computer..........
He is full of bulls**t............. I drove it before and after.


----------



## smoore45 (Oct 27, 2007)

Cool, thanks guys. I hadn't thought of a programmer so I may have to consider that. Otherwise I would probably get a couple of guages(oil and trans temp) and put them in a pod on the front driver pillar.


----------



## VBigFord20 (Aug 17, 2004)

FisherVMan;970437 said:


> I have often wondered if a programmer would do us any good as I only have the little 4.6 engine.................... it is not overburdened with power................ it ran fine until it had 14K on it and then I noticed the exhust started to run black and I also noticed a loss of power it now has 30K on it and has never come out of it ............ I change the fuel and air filters but it is not the same as it was. I took it in to the Dealer when it first started this and he put it on the computer and told me that this was all in my head as the engine checks out perfect on the computer..........
> He is full of bulls**t............. I drove it before and after.


Maybe he said its all in your "heads". These stupid mod motors have the worse heads in the world. I'm already on my third exhaust manifold on the passenger side and I need to replace the one on the drivers side. I also have a nice steady tick from the motor since my lash adjusters are loose or warn. The truck does not even have 70k on it yet...

At this point, I will replace the drivers side manifold because Im sick of the noise getting worse and thats all I am doing short of normal repairs and if something else brakes. I figure 2 more years and I will be at 100k and Im trading the thing in for a bigger one. Ford finally got it right with those new 6.2L making over 400hp. A nice 350 with one of those motors will due me fine since I'm to cheep to spring for the diesel.


----------



## buns79 (Jan 15, 2010)

hey smoore45 if u get an edge programer it comes with a pod that mounts too the left of the gauge cluster up on the dash and looks factory also u can monitor all engine functions rpms oil temp transtemp horsepower ect. best programer out their imo, and it just plugs in no wiring needed. I also have the 4.6 and it brought that engine too life, night and day difference. And as far as the 4lo issue the rpms dont come off idle until the gas pedal is half way to the floor, the low end grunt is there put you have to push the pedal half way down to even start to move the tack.


----------



## svt2205 (Nov 4, 2008)

FisherVMan, you mentioned a large aftermarket trans cooler. Would you offer details regarding what you have and how you have it installed. My 07 with the factory trans cooler runs hotter then I'd like. If I work the truck it's not hard to reach 195 or so on the trans fluid.

I've contemplated adding an electric fan (motorcycle or maybe ATV) to my stock trans cooler to try to help.

thanks


----------

