so i got my 2" autospring and tore down the driver side with no problems. the problem came with trying to reattach the upper control arm with the spindle. me and a buddy tried for an hour, tried using a pos spring compressor from autozone and still couldnt get it to work. so does anyone have any suggestions or tips on how you made it work?

 

1. Loosen lugs on tires
2. Jack up truck and put truck on jack stands with tires off the ground
3. Remove tires
4. Choose a side to start with
5. Unbolt the three nuts holding the C/O in place on top of the tower. The front two are easy to remove. The back one is tough. I went in through the engine bay.
6. Remove bottom nut that is holding the sway bar to the lower arm from underneath the arm.
7. Take the 30mm socket you got as a loaner tool from your local parts store and loosen the lower C/O nut.
8. Remove the nut holding the lower ball joint to the upper arm.
9. Take a 4-pound sledge and hit the ball joint bolt where you just removed the nut (it will take a few hits)
10. Suspension should completely droop out when the ball joint is separated.
11. Remove lower C/O nut and bolt and slide C/O out.
12. Place Autospring on top of C/O and tighten all nuts that were originally used to hold the C/O in place up top.
13. Put C/O back into position, top first and then bottom.
14. Slide in lower C/O bolt and hand tighten the nut
15. Jack up lower arm as far as you can without lifting truck off jack stands.
16. Wrestle with upper arm, pulling down as hard as you can while pulling up on the spindle. While doing this push the ball joint into the spindle and put the nut back on. (This is really hard to do alone)
17. Put nut back on that holds sway bar to lower arm
18. Put top 3 supplied nuts on to top of C/O and tighten
19. Tighten upper ball joint to spec
20. Tighten lower C/O bolt to spec
21. Put tire on
22. Have a beer
23. Repeat steps on other side.

 

i was using those directions while i attempted to do the install, when you start jacking up the lower control arm there is little to no play before you start jacking up the truck. is the problem with the spring, does it have so much force that it prevents you from jacking up the arm enough for clearance? did anyone use a spring compressor to make this work?

 

I just used a floor jack, it lifted the frame off of the jack stand a bit before the spring compressed and pull down on the upper control arm. I didn't have any problem doing it alone. Are you positioning the jack saddle under the spring seat area out towards the spindle?
Do a step 22 and give it another try, you'll get it!!

 

I used a ratchet strap to pull the upper control arm down into place when I installed my 2.5" autospring. It worked like a dream.

 

i didnt have the jack saddle in that location, is that where you should have it to make it work easier? i had the jack more under the truck around the crossmember area.
as for that ratchet strap......where did you attach it to? the upper and the lower control arm?

 

The farther out the jack is positioned (toward the spindle) the more leverage you will have, and the less likely you will raise the truck off the jack stand

 

Hey DarkShadow04 - I think that what you are calling the "spindle" is what I am calling the upper ball joint. I hooked the ratchet strap to the upper control arm then looped it under the lower control arm and put the other hook on the upper control arm. Then I turned the ratching action and drew the upper control arm down until the tip of the upper ball joint slid into position and then I twisted on the retaining nut and tightened it all down. I did the entire leveling kit by myself with just the F-150's siscior jack, jack stands, ratchet strap, and hand tools.

I just re-enacted the setup and took some pictures. Hope these help.

 

I GOT IT TO WORK!!!!!!! ended up being the placement of the jack stands that helped out. thanks for all your suggestions, took me an 1 1/2 hours, no problems at all.

 

That’s a clever idea you got there Oxlander

 

Great tip, Oxlander. My wife just bought me the AutoSpring kit for my birthday. I'm trying to decide if I should do it myself or have a pro do it. I'm not the most mechanically inclined person.

 

How much beer did you drink?

 

They (AutoSpringCorp) recommend using an impact wrench for the 30mm ... is that needed or dependant on how "stuck" it is? I just got my 2" kit and am contemplating putting it on myself using the ratcheting strap method ... am just worried about getting half way through and being screwed because I have no access to an impact wrench. I have all the tools needed and am pretty mechanically inclined if I do say so myself Sometimes I feel the $100 install might be worth it, but DAMN I love that feeling of accomplishment when you get done installing your own mods

 

WELL SAID DevilSun

 

DevilSun,

I feel that anyone who can attach a socket to the rachet driver can do this mod themselves. Just take your time and work on one side at a time so you can have the other side for comparison.

I used the loan-a-tool from the local parts store for the 30mm socket for my 1/2" driver and it didn't cost me a cent. Being that these are new trucks I don't feel that this nut will be stuck too much, and should loosen easily with hand tools.

Save yourself the $100 and put it towards the alignment that you're going to need.

cheers
~Ox~