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Just thought I would post a picture of my lowered 5.0. DJM 3" lowering control arms with Bilstein 5100's up front and a BellTech 4" drop kit in the rear with 5100's from a front application for a Toyota, Nissan, Bronco. They are slightly softer, 3" shorter than the F-150 shock but really improved the ride. The harsh hit over square edged bumps is just about gone. Yet the handling while pulling trailers is not effected. The truck is parked on a flatter portion of my driveway for this picture. The camera is level.
The downhill is loading the front a bit but when I set the trailer on the WD hitch it flatters out slightly. I am still kicking around whether to drop the rear more or raise the front 1/2 to 1” by moving the spring perch snap rings up. If I find some 18” factory wheels for the right price I will put a 70 series tire on them and then definitely raise the front end up since the tires will refilll the wheel wells for a nice look. The rim search has currently got me on hold as far as resetting ride height.
Just thought I would post a picture of my lowered 5.0. DJM 3" lowering control arms with Bilstein 5100's up front and a BellTech 4" drop kit in the rear with 5100's from a front application for a Toyota, Nissan, Bronco. They are slightly softer, 3" shorter than the F-150 shock but really improved the ride. The harsh hit over square edged bumps is just about gone. Yet the handling while pulling trailers is not effected. The truck is parked on a flatter portion of my driveway for this picture. The camera is level.
That is a BellTech 6447. Make sure you order extra shims. I ended up with 5 degrees for a 1.5 degree down final driveshaft angle. I also had to build new locating pins / leaf spring bolts for locating the diff. Anything over 3 degrees of shim and the bolt heads will not protrude enough to locate the flip kit bracket which holds the angle. The bolts can be built from an Allen head cap screw. I don’t remember if it was 3/8” or 7/16” but I saw an old one yesterday on my welding bench. If you need the info I will get it for you. Once you get the cap screw you will need to turn down the head diameter a bit. A file and drill is accurate enough if that is what you have and then when you fit the new bolt/pin you may have to shorten the head to keep it from contacting the axle tube.
The reason I went 4” in the rear is so I could continue to use the truck as a truck. At 5” the rear axle is almost touching the bumpstops and any load in the bed makes it touch.
That is a BellTech 6447. Make sure you order extra shims. I ended up with 5 degrees for a 1.5 degree down final driveshaft angle. I also had to build new locating pins / leaf spring bolts for locating the diff. Anything over 3 degrees of shim and the bolt heads will not protrude enough to locate the flip kit bracket which holds the angle. The bolts can be built from an Allen head cap screw. I don’t remember if it was 3/8” or 7/16” but I saw an old one yesterday on my welding bench. If you need the info I will get it for you. Once you get the cap screw you will need to turn down the head diameter a bit. A file and drill is accurate enough if that is what you have and then when you fit the new bolt/pin you may have to shorten the head to keep it from contacting the axle tube.
The reason I went 4” in the rear is so I could continue to use the truck as a truck. At 5” the rear axle is almost touching the bumpstops and any load in the bed makes it touch.
Thanks. What part number is the rear shocks you used, lol. Should have been clearer.
33-186542. You will need to build your own steel bushing for the mounting bolts if I remember correctly since these are OE replacements for Toyota, Bronco, Nissan and a couple of other imported trucks.
Mystic,
It is better than stock. The front is DJM 3" drop lower arms with the Bilstien 5100 set at stock ride height. 3" drop with a stock spring rate so if I go up a land on the perch it gets a little harsher than I like. It has a factory front ride but the trick is in the rear. I also had 2 additional lowering lands cut into the shock body in case I wanted to go lower. Now on to the rear. The rear is the 6447 BellTech flip kit for a 4" drop. 5" rear drop puts you too close to the bumpstops when empty and on them with weight in the bed. I still wanted to be able to use it as a truck. The magic happens with the Bilsteins referenced earlier. With the slightly flatter mounted angle the shock automatically gets a little softer but the valving is just slightly different than an F-150 Bilstein replacement. On the highway it is like you are driving on glass and the harsh single wheel hit that Ford's are known for is reduced by a good 80%. I have a small travel trailer that I pull when I go out of town, I hate hotels, and the suspension works beautifully. I talked with the right people on the shocks and together with my background in the industry we came up with a great combination.
Mystic,
It is better than stock. The front is DJM 3" drop lower arms with the Bilstien 5100 set at stock ride height. 3" drop with a stock spring rate so if I go up a land on the perch it gets a little harsher than I like. It has a factory front ride but the trick is in the rear. I also had 2 additional lowering lands cut into the shock body in case I wanted to go lower. Now on to the rear. The rear is the 6447 BellTech flip kit for a 4" drop. 5" rear drop puts you too close to the bumpstops when empty and on them with weight in the bed. I still wanted to be able to use it as a truck. The magic happens with the Bilsteins referenced earlier. With the slightly flatter mounted angle the shock automatically gets a little softer but the valving is just slightly different than an F-150 Bilstein replacement. On the highway it is like you are driving on glass and the harsh single wheel hit that Ford's are known for is reduced by a good 80%. I have a small travel trailer that I pull when I go out of town, I hate hotels, and the suspension works beautifully. I talked with the right people on the shocks and together with my background in the industry we came up with a great combination.
This is exactly how I want mine to sit and drive. Why did you go with the 5100 instead of the 4600?
Adjustability. You can never have too many options and I even machined two snap ring lands below the factory ride height land in case I wanted to go lower. The draw back to using the DJM arms is they use the early style lower mount. Because of this you have to press out the crossbar and cut the bushing out of the front shock. I’ve done similar repairs and mods before so getting after the bushing with an air hammer did not bother me. The trick is to cut the inner sleeve out, saw through the bushing in two places so it can collapse and then collapse the outer bushing sleeve. This keeps you from marring the shock ring that the DJM bushing will then install in to.
06-23-2018, 07:38 PM
