Snow Plow Springs?

[sid325]

So, I just dug my springs out for Matt400 and both of my springs have the original tags still on them. One is a 52113985AA and the other is 52113986AA. I checked my VIN and confirmed the snow plow package. This is on my 05, must have changed a few times over the years.



Jacob

 

[Matt400]

Thanks Jacob!

I was looking at my sons truck today (04. 5) and his are Drivers- 52113984AA and Pass- 52113983AA which seems odd, dunno what package that is unless Dodge felt those were too weak and upgraded in 05.

 

[brods]

If you think of it and have the chance, why not grab a ride height measurement right before the spring swap and right after to see if there is any noticeable difference.

 

[Matt400]

Good idea, I will do that.
Not sure when I will get it done though cuz the plow is for next season as this year we have a contract plow.

 

[2Rowdy]

I put 988 springs on mine right after the replacement bumper. I don't know how much rougher it rides. Couldn't be much, it already rode rougher'n hell.

 

[Matt400]

I put 988 springs on mine right after the replacement bumper.

Did it raise the front?

 

[2Rowdy]

Did it raise the front?

Initially prolly an 1 1/4", it has settled some now don't really know how much. It is still higher than stock.

 

[jgillott]

Just did a quick check for you all. Hub center to the bottom center of the fender on the '07 with the plow prep is roughtly 25 1/2". It has right around 800# or so in the bed right now, so there may be a slight change when empty. The '04. 5 without the plow package is sitting at 24 3/8" empty. Both trucks have between 3/4 and a full tank of fuel.

 

[Matt400]

As far as ride goes I think a stock truck just doesn't have enough wheel travel to begin with requiring a stiff (to begin with) spring to keep from bottoming, which happens anyway on bigger bumps. A stiffer yet spring helps on the bottoming out but stiffens the overall ride on the easy bumps.

I changed to the yellow Bilsteine's which help to control bottoming on larger bumps but a better fix I think is to lift the front with a good aftermarket spring for more travel. I haul a 5th wheel so not interested in lifting the truck as I already had to modify my RV to fit the stock ride height. Now I throw into the mix hanging 700+ lbs off the front and want it to ride good... Seems everything is always a compromise

 

[Matt400]

Come to find out there are no "snow plow specific springs" just that trucks with the snow plow pkg have the spring number upped by an increment of "1"

Mike from CF was kind enough to share this information here:

I will add some information about "snow plow springs" springs since I did MUCH research into it at the time. I did the research back in 2005 (so I am not sure if the same part numbers for the springs apply to 06+ trucks).



I found that Dodge used at LEAST 12 different front springs for the 3Gen HD 4X4. MORE IMPORTANTLY THERE IS NO SPECFIC SPRING FOR THE SNOW PLOW PACKAGE! The part numbers for the twelve springs I found run consecutively from 52113977 thru 52113988. (from here on I will only use the last 3 digits for spring part nos. )



2) Dodge uses the springs in sequential pairs with the pairs progressing in "1" increments. The springs are used as follows:

977-right 978-left (driver side)

978-right 979-left

979-right 980-left

980-right 981-left

981-right 982-left

982-right 983-left

983-right 984-left

984-right 985-left

985-right 986-left

986-right 987-left

987-right 988-left



3) The right (passenger spring) is always lower in number by 1. As the pairs go up in number the springs are heavier with higher lbs/in ratings.



4) Dodge does NOT list the lbs/in ratings for the springs, nor do they provide any info on what truck/option combination the springs are used. You either have to look at your front spring (they have tags on them and the last 3 digits are easily viewed) or run the VIN thru Dodge to get the spring used.



The springs that are installed at the factory are computer selected and depend on ALL the variables, such as wheelbase, engine, transmission, cab style, etc. The difference of adding snow plow springs to a truck results in the front springs going +1. Confusing? Yes, so let me try to explain. A good example is two trucks identical in every way except one has the plow pkg. The one without-(example: a diesel 4X4)- usually have springs 52113984 on pass side and 52113985 on drivers side. The EXACT same truck with the snow plow pkg-will have 52113985 PASS side and 52113986 on the drivers side. So if you dont have the plow pkg and want it to have the same springs as if it did have the snow pkg then check you springs tape tags. You will find the driver spring will be the higher part number by "1". Order one (yes only one) spring from dodge with a part number that is "1" greater than the number on your driver spring. Take the new spring put it on the driver side and move your "old" driver spring to the pass side-your done. Now if you really want to increase the front spring capacity you can go two steps, that is increase the part number by +2. This is what I did on my 04. 5. I went from a 984/985 to a 986/987 setup.



So remember, your truck may have the 985/986 (or any other spring pair) combination and NOT have the PLOW PKG. What DODGE does is if you do get the plow pkg it uses a spring "1" higher than the truck would have been built with. So those here who have the 985/986 springs and no PLOW PKG, if you found an identical truck as yours and just added the plow pkg to it then it would have 986/987 as the front springs. The springs themselves are not PLOW PKG specific. Ordering a truck with this pkg pushes the spring "pair" up one notch. Hope I explained this in a way everyone understands.

 

[mgoncalves]

Interesting, my 08 has 985's on both sides???

 

[Matt400]

They may have changed weight distribution so same springs could be used, or it was a friday build :-laf at any rate Mikes findings were based on the 03-05 models.

 

[brods]

Good info Matt, thanks for sharing it. Who or what is CF?

They may have changed weight distribution so same springs could be used, or it was a friday build :-laf at any rate Mikes findings were based on the 03-05 models.

Or the bean counters decided that the engineers could not justify the cost to buy, stock and handle so many different springs. This is what their discussion looked like, lol > :-{}

 

[Matt400]

Good info Matt, thanks for sharing it. Who or what is CF?

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