does it take a lot of work to level the back of the truck with the front? It looks like I would only have to drop it about 2 inches. Would this affect my truck any as far as performance or not being as stable or anything like that?

Thanks

 

oh yeah, I have an 02 xlt single cab 4.6 V8 2wd

 

You should be able to lower the rear 2 inches with some lowering shackles. They should not change your ride or handling.

 

Thanks wandall, can you do that yourself?
How much do they cost?

 

You just buy replacement lowering shackles. I'm not sure of cost, but I beleive they are around $50- $75.

 

Correct there around $60. Anyone with a little mechanical knowledge can do it in about 30 minutes. All you have to do is replace you stock rear shackles which are at the back of the leaf spring and replace with the new ones. The lowering shackles are longer than your stock ones so it raises your leaf springs up and lowers the truck. I'll be honest with you a 2" rear shackle only actually lowers the truck about 1" to 1 1/4" regardless of what anyone tells you but your truck will sit much more level.

 

You know.......I understand you guys want your trucks to be as close to perfect as possible, but the factory engineers designed the trucks to sit high in the rear for a reason. I'm sure you all probably are aware of the reasoning behind it. So the truck does not ride nose high with a load in the bed. It's a truck for god's sake!
Quit messing with the suspension. I think the Ford engineers know a bit more about the suspension dynamics of these trucks than we do.

 

Yes, clearly if you tend to haul over 500 pounds of crap in your truck or tow anything on a regular basis you should not drop it. But if you don't have anything to tow, and don't tend to put too much in the back, I say drop it.

Yes, the Ford engineers know (more or less) what they're doing. But the back is farther up for added weight. If you have know added weight it would be better to drop the rear end. Weight is better distributed, puts more on the rear end and the tires won't squeal as much on turns. It handles a bit better, and theres not so much dead space in the wheel wells.

I did it, and I'm happy about it. Hell yeah.

 

thanks for all of the replies guys, i'm not sure what I am going to do yet

 

Why not raise the front 2 ¼” with AutoSpring’s leveling kit?
The 1 ½” kit gives you 2 ¼” of lift
ends up with the rear 1” higher than the front

 

He has an 02 F-150. THe Autospring kit is for the new 04's coilover shocks.