I'm guessing about 10 hours or so. Not too bad I don't think being all by myself with no one else at all for help/assistance.

 

check your rear driveshaft. mine was 1 1/4'' too short after installing the fabtech kit on my 03.
the truck looks great, btw!

 

What did you end up doing to correct this?

 

pull it off, and take it to a driveshaft shop. they saw the ends off, and weld a new, longer piece of pipe in the middle. it is best to change the u-joints out as well. i paid $200 out the door for the extended driveshaft, w/ new u-joints.

you should only have 1 1/4'' of driveshaft sticking out of the transfer case, when i put the fabtech kit on, mine was sticking out 2 1/2''. it can fall out w/ too much play. chances are your transfer case is leaking as well.

also, why do you have the rear shocks mounted like that? is there an advantage to doing so as opposed to having them fastened in the same direction? thanks.

 

Wow - that sounds like a lot of work! Wonder why they designed a kit like that if that is such a big issue. Could I get the fabtech driveshaft spacer and do that instead? I know they make them for the 04+ trucks, would assume it would work on mine as well. I will have to measure it tonight and see where it is at. I already had both rear u-joints replaced when I purchased the truck 2 months ago. The rear-most one was squeaking whenever in motion so I did them both at that time.

The rear shocks were mounted like that from the factory. I believe it has to do with the 'Off-Road' edition that my truck is. Don't know if there is any advantages or not but they did it that way for a reason I'm guessing.

 

factory driveshaft length is dictated by many factors, including engine/transmission. think about it, a truck w/ a 4.6L engine and the 8.8 rear would have a longer rear driveshaft from the factory than the bigger 5.4 and the 9.75 rear to compensate for the smaller rear axle/ engine.

driveshaft modifications are generally a hit or miss thing. you need to measure how much of your driveshaft is sticking out. fabtech makes a 1'' spacer you can order, but i chose to extend mine because i needed 1 1/4'' more to get back to factory spec. you want to get that driveshaft exactly the way it was. eventually, you will run the risk of it falling out, or stripping out the transfer case extension housing if you ignore the situation. you need to see how much driveshaft is sticking out, and go from there.

on my 03, the rear shocks were mounted the same direction from the factory, and when i lifted my truck, i put them on that way. that's why i was asking.

 

^^^^^^^^Cool - thanks for that info then. I never had to do anything on my '07 and it never leaked or gave me any problems. I do know that this is definitely sticking out a bit because I noticed it while crawling around under it. I will actually measure it tonight and see where it is at. But yeah - thanks for bringing that to my attention.
I think a spacer might be a good idea anyways just to add some extra insurance/piece of mind even if it's not out too far.

 

check out this thread for more info/part# for the fabtech driveshaft spacer.
https://www.f150online.com/forums/su...ince-lift.html

 

it's like that to help control axle wrap

 

i thought people said before that there was a problem running stock wheels with certain lifts. is that true in this case?

 

In some cases yes. For example, my '07 with a 6" pro comp lift wouldn't work with the XLT 17" wheels. They could be bolted up but your turning radius was hugely limited because the outter tie rod end would start scraping the inside lip of the wheels and prevent you from turning any sharper.
In this case, they seem to be fine. I can turn full lock-to-lock and nothing rubs, scrapes, etc.

 

Ok, so after measuring last night, there is a full 2 inches from the transfer case to the larger part of the driveshaft. It appears that exactly 1 inch is the 'shiny' part of the driveshaft that has been pulled out. I think a spacer would fix me up just fine it it pushes it back in 1 inch or so. Do you guys agree???

 

yes, if i had your situation, i would order the fabtech spacer. my truck is a scab, yours is a screw, so perhaps there lies the reason for my driveshaft requiring an actual extension, as opposed to me being able to use the 1'' spacer. did you check out the other thread i linked? it has the fabtech part # you need.

i believe the spacer kit includes the longer bolts you'll need as well to compensate for the spacer.

 

Yes I did - and thanks again! I found a retailer for just under $50 shipped. Going to order it soon. It does come with hardware as well.