I'm looking for a 4" drop and would like to know how difficult it is to install the leaf spring hangers on my '99 f150? I have read something about cutting rivets in order to remove the stock hangers. Will I need a C-section? Any info on this part of the suspension installation would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks,
Rob

 

To install rear drop hangers you have to cut the riverts that hold the stock units in place. This can be done w/a plasma cutter, die grinder, or air chisel. No, you will not need a C section. A C section will give you way more that 4" of drop. By the way, the consensus is that removing the stock hangers is not fun. Hope this helps

 

BLAQ_XLT,

I just lowered my STX 5 inches in the rear with shackles and hangers. The hangers I bought were from Western Chassis and they had 2 different holes for either 4 or 5 inches when combined with the 2 inch shackles. Even with lowering it 5 inches, I don't need a C section cutout.

Now for the good part. Removing the hangers were a pain in the a$$. Not too dificult, but a lot of work. Their were 4 rivets on each hanger. I drilled them first, then used the air chisel to cut them off. At this point the hanger still didn't want to turn loose of the frame, so I grinded spots where the rivets were down to the hangers, and then had to tap it with a hammer to get it to turn loose. After this I chiseled and grinded the remainder of the rivets down to the frame and then knocked them out of the holes in the frame with a punch and hammer. Getting the rivets out was the hardest part, they were a little stubborn. I would recommend having someone to help you with this. I had someone holding the punch on the rivets with vice grips to hold the punch, while I banged at it with a substantial small sledge hammer. There is kind of limited space under there, so it is difficult to get enough force behind the hammer, so had to bang on each one several times before it finally came out. Once they were out though, It was a breeze to install the new ones.

All in all, it took pretty much all day to lower it. Worked from about 9 AM to 10 PM with several breaks. I used Eibach 3 inch coil springs up front. The front only took about 3 hours for both sides, so the majority of the work was the rear. I also replaced all 4 shocks.

Two thinks to keep in mind is that lowering will change you pinion angle between your rear end and your drive shaft, so you need to use 6 degree pinion shims (they look like wedges) between the axle and the leaf springs to restore the correct pinion angel. And, you also need to replace the upper A arm bolts with a caster/camber adjustable bolt and shim so that the front can be aligned.

Good luck, it was definitely worth it, my all white truck looks great lowered. The Bell Tech kit that is sold here at F150 online is a good kit also, but the kit I ordered was from Sportruck Direct out of Truckin' magazine which included Western Chassis shackles and hangers, Eibach coil springs, Doestch Tech shocks, the 6 degree pinion shims, the caster/camber adjustment kit and new front and rear poly bump stops. The whole kit was $550 from them.


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Chris Thomas
1998 F-150XLT Flareside STX Sport Package, 4.6L Auto 3.55 Oxford White/Gray interior, Factory Anti-theft system
Picture: http://216.147.104.171/Y2K/members/ChrisT/christ1a.jpg
Homepage: Chris & Brandi's Universe
Mods: A.R.E. Decklid/Oxford White with gray fabric liner, K&N filter with Airbox Mod (removed silencer), Lowered 3" front/5" rear, Tinted Windows, GTS sloted taillight covers (painted Oxford white to match), Removed STX stickers
Audio: Kenwood Truck speakers with 10" woofers, Rockford Fosgate and Alpine Amps, Ford 10 disk CD changer
Future Mods: 20" rims and tires, True duals with Supertrap tunable mufflers, Superchip, Supercharger, Jacobs Ignition, and whatever else I can think of!!!

 

Thank you for the very informative and honest reply Chris. I think I may go with the Western chassis setup that you chose, a complete drop kit with everything that I will need for $550. Sounds pretty good to me. I just hope that those pesky hanger rivets will not turn this into a 3 or 4 day project form hell. Nice looking truck you have there. What kind of 20" wheels do you have picked out?


thanks,
Rob

 

BLAQ_XLT,

It's not too bad. Like I said it is a lot of work, but you should still be able to do it in a full day. If you have any other questions, just let me know.

Haven't decided on the rims yet. I am leaning towards Budnik Arrowhead billet wheels or KMC Venom chrome wheels which both come in 20" sizes to fit my truck, but at about 4 grand for wheels and tires, that will have to wait a little while.


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Chris Thomas
1998 F-150XLT Flareside STX Sport Package, 4.6L Auto 3.55 Oxford White/Gray interior, Factory Anti-theft system
Picture: http://216.147.104.171/Y2K/members/ChrisT/christ1a.jpg
Homepage: Chris & Brandi's Universe
Mods: A.R.E. Decklid/Oxford White with gray fabric liner, K&N filter with Airbox Mod (removed silencer), Lowered 3" front/5" rear, Tinted Windows, GTS sloted taillight covers (painted Oxford white to match), Removed STX stickers
Audio: Kenwood Truck speakers with 10" woofers, Rockford Fosgate and Alpine Amps, Ford 10 disk CD changer
Future Mods: 20" rims and tires, True duals with Supertrap tunable mufflers, Superchip, Supercharger, Jacobs Ignition, and whatever else I can think of!!!