I started out with stock springs that were worn. I took them all apart and ground the steps down and rounded the edges of the shorter springs. Once they were all smoothed out, I painted each leaf then added grease and assembled. It felt better and was quieter. Some time later I replaced the whole assembly with two new spring packs thinking the ride would be better and safer. Safer it was, smoother it was not! I called to make sure I got the right springs it road so hard. I pulled the front springs back out to add the teflon liners. The liner was big help, it road much better and stayed quite. Five or six years later I pulled the springs again to remove every other leaf starting at the bottom. I went from 7 to 5 on the front and 9 down to 5 on the rear. The ride improved again and it stayed for years this way. I started to worry about the reduced spring pack so I called Detroit spring and talked about the ride and safety. I ended up buying custom made spring just for the weight of my truck and couldn't be happier with them. It was a lot of money but cheaper then buying something else and starting over.
As for grease and oiling of the leaves, it does help for a few months, then fades away. Mine were heavily greased, but after a year or so, rust was back and all the grease was gone other then what was on the outside covered in dirt! My new springs have the teflon buttons on the ends, this lets them slide but also lets the dirt and water out due to the gaps.
