I just got my 3 inch body lift and now I'm looking for a cheap way to level it out. I heard I could use coil spacers on the front, but the only ones I can find are 1.75 inches. Isn't the front 2.5 inches below the back? So that won't even it out. I've also seen 2" front coils, but I heard they destroy the ride. I am just wondering if anyone has used coil spacers and has any opinions on them. Are they durable? How is the ride affected? Are there any that will completely level out the front?

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1997 Ford F-150
4.2 L V-6
DynoMax catback exhaust
K&N Air Filter
Window Tint
Pioneer 7000R CD player
2 Rockford Fosgate DVC HX2 10's
Rockford Fosgate 500a Amp
Lund bug shield
Vent Shade Vent Visors
GTS headlight blackouts
Bedliner
Chrome Toolbox
3" Body Lift
305/70R16 ProComp Muds
16x10 Eagle 589
Custom Key racing stripes down both sides thanx to some a**hole in the HS Parking lot.
http://members.xoom.com/znooz/

[This message has been edited by Mav07 (edited 01-10-2001).]

 

Since noone else has replied yet, I'll take a stab. First off, I'm not sure how others measure their trucks, but measuring from the ground to the highest point on the outer fenderwell, the front of my truck is around 1.75" lower than the back. Since I'm sure every truck is different you'd have to measure yours to see exactly what you need.

But I don't think it's quite as simple as that and I don't know if I'm going to be able to explain why I think this very well. First the mathmatical reasoning. If the coils were situated on a straight axle then 1.75" spacer would equal 1.75" lift, but that's not the case. The springs are situated about halfway down the lower A arm(correct term?) So at that there will be a 1.75" difference in length. Now the end of the arm attached to the spindle and tire can't move and if we discount extra compression of the spring due to being in a smaller space then the other side of the arm has to raise giving us our lift. And(heres the math) through the magic of similar triangles the amount of lift will be greater than the previous 1.75" It will be closer to 3" I think. I believe this is what JDm experienced. I decided a quick picture might help illustrate. This is of course not to scale.



As you can see if the smaller inner triangles end(below the coil) goes from 1" to 2.75" inches the corresponding end of the larger triangle has to scale to 4.8" which is ~3" higher at that point.

For another real world example I'll return to my truck. Just messing around I decided to see if I could make any difference on my truck just by installing those little 1/2" twist in coil spring stabilizers. Now given there is already a gap beteen the coils, the stabilizer only really gave somewhere around 0.4" of length difference at the coil spring. The front end of my truck was lifted 0.7" though. Further supporting this idea.

I have a set of cheapo spacers from JCWhitney I plan to put on my truck. Overall they are 1.5" inches tall,but they have a grove for the spring to set in, so taking that into considertation they equate to a 1.25" spacer. I'm fully expecting 2" of lift from them on the front. That will put my front slightly higher than my back. Plan to put some sort of full length add a leaf on the back. Hopefully ending up with the back about an inch taller than the front, so that when I hitch up a small fifth wheel camper I plan to own later, it will still sit close to level then.

Well there's my take on the whole coil spring spacer idea. Would like to hear other opinions...

 

Wow Tiron. Great explanation. Thats alot of info you have there! Thanx alot. Do you have any preference between the coil spacers or front coils? Assuming I just wanted to level out the front with coil spacers without messing with the rear, what size coil spacers would I need to get? New shocks needed also? Any opinions would help.

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1997 Ford F-150
4.2 L V-6
DynoMax catback exhaust
K&N Air Filter
Window Tint
Pioneer 7000R CD player
2 Rockford Fosgate DVC HX2 10's
Rockford Fosgate 500a Amp
Lund bug shield
Vent Shade Vent Visors
GTS headlight blackouts
Bedliner
Chrome Toolbox
3" Body Lift
305/70R16 ProComp Muds
16x10 Eagle 589
Custom Key racing stripes down both sides thanx to some a**hole in the HS Parking lot.
http://members.xoom.com/znooz/

 

Well I've yet to do either so I can't really give an answer, but I'll be glad to offer more conjecture and opinion. It seems to me that the spacer would offer the better ride. Both are going to change the ride somewhat by changing the amount of downward suspension travel and angle of the lower A arm, but with the spacer your spring rate will not change like it will with stiffer front coils(at least not as much). Of course the jury is still out as to whether cheapo spacers are good for the long run. From just looking through magazine and web pages it seems that good spacers are thought of as a viable lift option in the 4x4 community for a small lift. Also from what I've read here and other places I don't think you'll need new shocks for just a couple inches if you don't plan on doing any serious offroading.

Again, this is all just what I think based on what I've read and observed. You can get alot more info by using the search function and looking for coil spacer if you haven't already...

 

Okay time for an update since I've had my spacers on for a couple days now. First off, it seems like my mathmatical estimations were pretty close. I got right at 2" of lift from a 1.25" spacer(spacer described in more detail above). Ride is virtually unchanged. Only problem is I'm topping out my shocks. The reason I'd said I didn't think shocks were necessary is from what I'd read on this board. After doing this, I started noticing a clunk when hitting a pothole or anything similar that would cause downward travel of the suspension. Figured it was the shock topping out, hoped it wasn't upper A-arm overextending and hitting something or the like. Decided to mark my shock tonight and jack the front end of the truck up to see how much travel I have. Well, I don't know if I have shorter shocks on my '97 flairside than some other folks have, but I have less than 1" of downward travel before the shock is fully extended. That definately explains my problem. So new shocks are in order, and 265/75R16s soon...

 

How do you get these coil spacers in? Can you jack the truck up enough or do you have to start taking things apart? I have a supercrew and the front could use a small lift to make the truck level.

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2001 Silver XLT 2x4 SCREW 5.4L 3.55LS Tow Package & Cab Steps

Mods: K&N Filter, LoRider by Raider Fiberglass Tonneau

Tow: 31FT. Glendette Deluxe Camper Trailer

recent memory: 1998 F150 XLT SC 4.6l

 

Oh yeah, I left out the best part, getting the stupid things in there. You have to get a coil spring compressor. No way around, it is absolutly necessary. Go to you local Autozone and they should have a loaner. You basically have to buy it, but you get all of your money back when you return it. If you don't have an Autozone, maybe your local autoparts store has the same sort of program. Anyway $50 up front which you get back. You need the one that goes inside the spring and has what looks like hooks on it. Drop the shock, insert the compressor and get ready to have a sore shoulder and arm the next morning if you don't have air tools. I don't. I had to jack up on the lower A-arm and compress the spring as much as possible with the weight of the truck and then tighten the spring compressor, doing this made the spring compressor much easier to turn. After compressing the spring, let down the jack to let the suspension hang there and twist, turn, shove, etc the spacer into the space. It will probably be a tight fit still. Jack the arm back up and seat the spring into what ever grove your spacer might have and uncompress the spring. Replace shock, repeat on other side. It was alot of muscle work and busted knuckles, not to mention the tool I got already had been slightly rounded off by the previous user. So a bit a trouble a few hours of work.

The only other thing that hasn't been mentioned in this thread is the possible alignment issues. By changing the angle the lower A-arm sits you are slightly changing your camber adjustments, inducing a bit a positive camber. In theory this could cause tire wear on the outside edge of your tires. To correct this you would have to buy camber adjustment bolts($30-$40) and then have the front end aligned. I obviously havn't had my spacer on long enough to see if this will be a problem or not, but don't actually forsee it to be. The truck tracks straight and drives good, there isn't any real visable camber difference after the install. I know that little differences can make big problems later, but I'm going to give it a little time before biting the alignment bullit for now...

 

Tiron, you're a genius! You should be working at Ford, you would help us out a lot more than anyone else can.
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1999 super cab
white with tan bottom
automatic
4.6L v8
WAAG grillguard
2 KC daylighters
vampire remote start combo alarm
steelhorse nerf bars
Husky chrome toolbox
2 10" Cerwin Vega subs
pyramid 800w amp
4 pioneer 3 way 6x8's
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wants: 2 chamber flowmaster dual exhaust
fender flares
american racing atlas
2" fabtech suspension leveling kit

 

Do you half to get the camber adjustment bolts or can the alignment shop provide them for you when they align your pickup.

Ben

 

Another way to put in coil spacers or to install new coils is: 1) put the truck's frame on jack stands up off the ground. Then take a jack and jack up the lower control arm just about until the truck comes off the jack strands. Then take off wheels, brakes, and spindle, then with just the uper and lower control arms attached, slowly lower the jack untill the power control arm goes down enough to fully release the tension of the coil spring. Then remove by hand or add spacer and reinstall in reverse order.