Info needed: Ford CMP 15cwt Hard Riding

[Tim Bates]

The springs on my F15 have been greased and wrapped with denso tap or something similar (looks like a grease filled wrapping possibly may even be hessian). Truck runs fine loaded or unloaded on rough ground or on the road.

Only issue would be having to strip them down to do this.

The other option is to oiled springs, I have done this with good results in the past on other vehicles, but you'll need to try and keep them reasonably clean to stop dirt getting in between the leaves.

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Edwin

Well your question about hare ride, promoted me to get the shocks for my Pat 12 C60L off the shelf and actually install them on the truck, only been driving it without them for 10 years.

Yes shocks actually make a difference that in an unquantifiable way does improve the ride. Drove the truck just before and just after connecting the links on the front over the same stretch dirt road and without changing anything else the ride was improved, maybe I was only feeling each bump once instead of twice.

But how hard the tires are is the major part of ride. Some of the tires I've seen on MVs were so hard that with no air they still held their shape particularly the original runflat tires..

Will report back after I get the rears connected. Of course no good effort goes unpunished, in the process of installing the rear shocks, crimped a brake line so had to replace one side and will bleed the brakes in the morning.

Cheers Phil

[Edwin Wand]

We checked the items suggested in earlier emails. The tires are as they should be; new NDT 900x16 From Specialty Tires of America through Wallace Wade. We have used these elsewhere on Chev 15cwt's with no issues but apart from this Ford we have no other Ford experience.

We are going to rebuild the shocks and see where that takes us. They should move more freely than they are doing at present and rebuilding may solve the problem. In any case its an interesting investigation.

Regards Edwin