Rear Air suspension Illustration
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From: Kihei, HI (most of the time)
Rear Air suspension Illustration
Here's a copy of the rear suspension setup shown in the Ford Motor Company 1999 F-150 Lightning/Thunderbolt Manual. I checked with with local dealer and there are part numbers in the computer for the system. Has anyone seen and/or tried this setup? What did it come on?
This is the first time I've tried to use an image and I see that the image does not load with the post. What did I miss? I enclosed the link with the [ img ] protocol.....
This is the first time I've tried to use an image and I see that the image does not load with the post. What did I miss? I enclosed the link with the [ img ] protocol.....
Last edited by kerno; Aug 10, 2004 at 05:10 PM.
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From: Kihei, HI (most of the time)
I must be doing something wrong. I have no trouble findng the picture in my gallery, but I can click on it all I want and cannot find "forum codes"anywhere. So I did a search, and the thread that once expained it is no longer valid. Looking in the FAQ section says to use "browse" and paste 'em off my hard drive. Good idea, but only works for adding them to the gallery, not attaching them to my post. AAARRRRGH!
How do I bring up "forum codes"?
How do I bring up "forum codes"?
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From: Eastern TN
While in your gallery, right-click the image and select "Properties".
Click and hold at the beginning of the address and select the whole address, turining it blue.
Press CNTRL-C to copy the address to your clipboard.
Create your posting, click the IMG button, and when the dialog box opens for the "Text To Be Formatted", click on the line and press CNTRL-V to paste the address.
Finish your post and it should look like this one...
Click and hold at the beginning of the address and select the whole address, turining it blue.
Press CNTRL-C to copy the address to your clipboard.
Create your posting, click the IMG button, and when the dialog box opens for the "Text To Be Formatted", click on the line and press CNTRL-V to paste the address.
Finish your post and it should look like this one...
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From: Richmond, VA, USA
Kern,
I don't recall ever having seen the suspension setup that you posted on an F-150. I also have never seen a Lightning specific shop manual. a Thunderbolt was a cheesy (IMO) add on package that SLP did for Rangers a few years ago, but they didn't have that in '99 so I'm curious about the book that you have. the ranger wouldn't be in an F series book, and due to the thunderbolt being essentially an aftermarket add on, it wouldn't be in any of the shop manuals either.
in any event, the suspension you showed is a load leveling suspension. as you can see it still uses leaf springs, the air bags are there only in the event that the bed is heavily loaded. it would be difficult to add this system to a Lightning because you'd also have to encorporate the air compressor, the ride height sensors, the air lines, the module to control the whole thing, the frame and axle brackets to mount the airbags, etc. and even if you did that, all it would allow you to do is carry very heavy loads in your truck, it wouldn't allow you to "drop" the truck for appearance reasons.
at first I thought it might be from a Navigator, but they use much larger control arms and no leaf spring, also the frame is different. it's also possible that this was only used on the Super Duty trucks.
if I remember correctly 1999 was the last year that you could get a F150 Super Duty or heavy duty suspension or whatever they called it while still maintaining the F150 style body. I believe that after 99 all of the heavy duty stuff went to the larger F250-550 body and chassis.
just my .02 worth of input.
good luck.
later,
chris
I don't recall ever having seen the suspension setup that you posted on an F-150. I also have never seen a Lightning specific shop manual. a Thunderbolt was a cheesy (IMO) add on package that SLP did for Rangers a few years ago, but they didn't have that in '99 so I'm curious about the book that you have. the ranger wouldn't be in an F series book, and due to the thunderbolt being essentially an aftermarket add on, it wouldn't be in any of the shop manuals either.
in any event, the suspension you showed is a load leveling suspension. as you can see it still uses leaf springs, the air bags are there only in the event that the bed is heavily loaded. it would be difficult to add this system to a Lightning because you'd also have to encorporate the air compressor, the ride height sensors, the air lines, the module to control the whole thing, the frame and axle brackets to mount the airbags, etc. and even if you did that, all it would allow you to do is carry very heavy loads in your truck, it wouldn't allow you to "drop" the truck for appearance reasons.
at first I thought it might be from a Navigator, but they use much larger control arms and no leaf spring, also the frame is different. it's also possible that this was only used on the Super Duty trucks.
if I remember correctly 1999 was the last year that you could get a F150 Super Duty or heavy duty suspension or whatever they called it while still maintaining the F150 style body. I believe that after 99 all of the heavy duty stuff went to the larger F250-550 body and chassis.
just my .02 worth of input.
good luck.
later,
chris
Last edited by superfords; Aug 10, 2004 at 08:03 PM.
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From: RogersAr
That diagram is for a Blackwood.It uses the leaf spring for placement of the axle and the traction bar is to prevent axle wrap up.and natrually the air bag controls ride height.pretty nice set up.[I had to drop one 4 inchs int he back]was a pita but afterwards it still did not have any wheel hop.and rode like factory still.Stan
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From: Richmond, VA, USA
Originally posted by Ruslow
That diagram is for a Blackwood.
That diagram is for a Blackwood.
how ironic, I work at a Lincoln dealer now, and that one didn't even cross my mind.hell, in 8 months I've only seen 1 of them come into the shop!
good eye Stan.
later,
chris
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From: Kihei, HI (most of the time)
So this is the Blackwood suspension. Now all I need to do is find one. There is so much aftermarket equipment for airbag systems that I would not hesitate to install a small compressor and tank just to support the rear suspension -IF- it will give a better ride with better traction.
The manual I found the illustration in is titled as "1999.5 F-150 Lightning/Thunderbolt supplement". It is a Ford publication, with a dark blue cover and about a half inch thick. It is arranged in groups starting out with identfication codes and ending with wiring diagrams - all in one book. As far as I can tell, it is virtually all Lighning related, with a complete section on things like blower removal, intercooler service, etc. It was published in January 1999 by Ford Technical support Operations and is listed as PG-344.
The manual I found the illustration in is titled as "1999.5 F-150 Lightning/Thunderbolt supplement". It is a Ford publication, with a dark blue cover and about a half inch thick. It is arranged in groups starting out with identfication codes and ending with wiring diagrams - all in one book. As far as I can tell, it is virtually all Lighning related, with a complete section on things like blower removal, intercooler service, etc. It was published in January 1999 by Ford Technical support Operations and is listed as PG-344.
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From: Kihei, HI (most of the time)
Ah, the mysteries of posting.... B-man did a great job of posting the picture in his post. I then took a shot of the manual and added it to my gallery and all of a sudden the manual picture is now what shows up in B-man's post. Well, now you know what the book looks like and I'm even more boggled by the image posting process. I'll get it yet. I've hijacked my own thread!