Ford DL3Z-5560-D
Leaf Spring, Rear

Start your 4WD vehicle maintenance by taking out the wheel followed by the tire support while using a suitable jack to hold the axle. Set aside the shock absorber lower bolt and nut before you discard them to proceed with the removal of the U-bolt plate and the four U-bolt nuts and both U-bolts which also are discarded. You can access the spring shackle-to-frame bolt by lowering the fuel tank for the left-hand spring and you need to remove the muffler to reach the spring-to-frame bolt on the right-hand side. Remove the spring-to-frame nut together with bolt and additionally remove both the spring shackle-to-frame nut and its accompanying bolt. To extract the spring shackle assembly lower the axle until spring removal is achievable. Then you can eliminate and dispose of the spring-to-shackle nut as well as bolt along with the spring shackle. The removal of the 4WD spring spacer becomes necessary for 4WD vehicle owners during repair operations. The 4WD spring spacer installation requires proper placement between the axle and spring where the nose must face the front direction. The installation process requires using new shackle-to-spring hardware for which you should tighten until the fasteners are snug. Put the spring into position and add a new spring shackle-to-frame bolt followed by the nut until the fasteners reach proper tightness. Attach the U-bolt plate and use new U-bolts to fasten them securely by tightening the nuts. Both new spring-to-frame bolt and new shock absorber lower bolt need to be tightened until they become secure. After installation of the wheel and tire lower the vehicle while it rests on its wheels until they reach curb height. The spring shackle-to-frame nut requires a torque specification of 200 Nm (148 lb-ft) while the spring-to-shackle nut should match this torque setting if added for safety purposes. Raising the fuel tank applies to the left-hand spring and re-install the muffler as part of the right-hand spring installation. It is important to apply U-bolt nuts in four progression stages: starting at 35 Nm (26 lb-ft), followed by 70 Nm (52 lb-ft), moving to 100 Nm (74 lb-ft) and finishing at 133 Nm (98 lb-ft) while also tightening the shock absorber lower nut to 90 Nm (66 lb-ft).