I have a new complete front and rear King Shock kit coming in tomorroo, Friday for my new Mark LT, and was wondering if anyone has installed this kit yet, and if so: how long did it take you, any special tools needed (coil spring compressor, etc..), did your truck require an alignment afterwards, and how did the truck feel, drive, and handle afterwards?
I realize this is alot of questions, but I appreciate any installation tips, or experiences anyone can offer with this kit. Thanks in advance!!

 

you got the new King Shock kit specifically for our trucks? the complete bolt on one for the front and rear???

 

Sweet! The rear should be simple. The front will require a heavy duty coilspring compressor to remove the coils springs and replace them. You might want to remove the front coilovers, take them to a shop with a heavy duty coil spring compressor (shops that do a lot of strut replacements on cars will have one) and have them remove the springs and install them on the new coilover shocks.

 

I put the King kit on my truck this week, just take the old shocks off and bolt in the new ones and your done the hardest part is running the reservoir and line threw the top mount in the frame.

 

Got the complete kit delivered on Friday, and had them all installed a few hours later. Not a very difficult job at all. Backs were simple, remove stock bolts, remove stock shocks, and replace with the Kings.
Fronts took a bit more time. The hardest part was getting the reservoirs through the top of the spring mounts and bolting the brackets to the frame. One major complaint is that King labels the shocks "left and right side". What is left? Facing the truck head on, or sitting in the truck? King labeled the reservoir brackets "driver and passenger", which should've been done with each shock. I spent an hour installing the wrong shock on the wrong side. Also, my truck didn't come with the "stock tow hooks" and hardware, which you need to mount the reservoirs. I had to find some nuts and bolts to use in their place. I also was forced to remove the front bumper in order to install these nuts and bolts in the frame holes where the stock tow hooks are supposed to be. This took longer than installing the shocks. Lastly, I have to call King on Monday, as my truck is sitting perfect. Nice and level. However my upper A-arms are on such a steep angle I believe the ball joints and boots will not hold up long. The angle is very extreme. The ride quality is excellent. Very close to being as smooth as stock. My only major complaint is that I have alot of "banging" as if the shocks are loose up front. Every bump I ride over, especially slowly, makes alot of noise from both the driver and passenger side. I checked all the bolts to make sure everything was tight, to no avail. I'm thinking the noise may be comming from the ball joints being on such an extreme angle. I believe I may need to bring my truck in for an alignment as the truck was a bit all over the road. It felt like I had installed large tires without a steering stabilizer. All in all, if I can get the bugs worked out of this kit, I'll be very happy with the shocks. I have to say as far as quality, the Kings "fit and finish" is second to none. I truely wasn't expecting to see such a quality product when I opened the box's. The shocks are very, very nice, and from a side view, BOTH the fronts and rear's standout, BIG TIME. You can see the blue shocks easily.
If anyone has any suggestions or ideas as to what might be causing the noise, or what to do about the extreme upper A-arm angle, please let me know. I will update everyone after I speak with King on Monday. I also took alot of pic's of the entire install if anyone wants to see them, I will try and post them. Thanks!!!

 

Post up some pics!

Let us know if you get the other issues worked out...
For the noise, what kind of lines do the resevoirs have going to them? Maybe the lines are rubbing on something.

 

I have had kings on my past two trucks and the clunking noise is common. It has to do with two things the first is the lower mount on the kings is a solid rod end mount instead of the rubber bushings that are on the stock shocks. The second is that the kings are actually topping out (reaching full extension)and there is not a thick rubber bump stop inside of them to absorb the internal impact,this combined whith the rod ends creates a very solid clunk sound at full extension of the shocks. As far as the ball joint angle goes I was concerned with it and the steep angle of the cv's. I called Ford and was told that any angle that the stock suspension could achieve would not damage any components and by stock they said stock control arms and stock mounting points. I did have to get an alignment, the toe was out on my truck but once put within spec the truck drives great.

 

I will post some pic's tomorrow, Monday when I get to work. It was too late Friday night after the install, and it poured rain both Saturday and Sunday all day. I am so happy with the truck's stance. It is exactly what I was looking for. With the truck level, and lifted slightly, it really gives it a "tough look". I haven't decided whether I'll swap out tires yet. I have the 20" Pirrelli Scorpion's that came as an option on this truck, and I think they look very nice. I wish they were chrome and an inch or two wider so I may consider new wheels and tires after I get some wear out of these.
JR: thanks for the information. I'm still a bit perplexed though about the noise. Here's why: I have this noise while driving over very small bumps as in coming off a street and pulling in a driveway, and I know the suspension is definitely NOT anywhere near being fully extended. As for the solid mounts on the lower shock mounts, I would only think you would experience noise if the hole in the shock mount was larger than the bolt, and thus "bounced" up and down. I don't believe this is the case. As for the angle; are you saying the extreme angle is OK? I was going to take the truck in for an alignment tomorrow, however if I need to swap out to a larger knuckle, or new ball joints with a spacer, I would hold off and get the alignment after installing these parts. I am going to call King in the morning to see what they say. I will post their response afterwards. As for lifts, I have had my share. Here's a few pic's of my Superduty with a custom four link set up and about 20" of lift.

 

There is some slop in the lower bushings - they will make noise. Our racer bangs and clanks so much that you would swear we forgot to tighten half the bolts on the suspension.

 

Would 285/65/R18 BFG All terrains look too small with this lift?