Hey yall,

I'm kinda new so i dont know if any of this stuff has been covered way back in the past or not. I have a 97 single cab short bed 2wd f-150 and wanted to lift it slightly, mainly for mudding, hunting, and all around appearence and capabilities. right know i'm strongly leaning towards about a 3" spindle kit, but have a few questions. first: most kits come with 2" blocks in the rear but i've heard bad things about lift blocks and axle wrap (wich i don't quite understand what it is) so i've been thinking about an add-a-leaf in the rear instead, about the same lift and better payload. Also what about traction bars, what exactly are they and are they worth the money? Secondly: if i lift it with a spindle kit will i need to replace the shocks, the reason i'm wanting to lift it this way is because it is not that expensive, so any feedback you guys can give me would be appreciated. Thanks!!

P.S. if anyone has done these similar things then pictures would be great!!!

 

I would do the spindle lift and AAL. You dont need trac bars with that small of a lift. Go ahead and do new shocks all the way around.

 

If you use tall lift blocks, you can have problems with axle wrap because they increase leverage on the rear axle. You should have no problems with a 2 inch lift block. That's what all stock 4x4's come with.

 

thanks guys, i like the idea of the add-a-leafs, but it's good to know that the 2" blocks would not be a problem. two more questions, what kind of brand should i look for in a spindle kit, i don't want to spend alot, and where is a good place to look, i have seen several on ebay. also, what kind/brand of shocks should i get and where should i get them, again i've seen several on ebay, i was also wondering if they will have to be longer to compensate for the lift?

thanks

 

Anything but AIM/Chasis Tech should be fine. I hear a lot of Doestch spindles are sold on EBay and they have a good reputation. As for shocks, any quality (Rancho, Edlebrock, Pro Comp, Bistien, etc) OEM spec replacement shock will work fine with lift spindles.

 

x2, but I think you might need longer shocks on the back with the blocks. Front ones are fine stock length, but when I did my spindle lift, there was quite a bit of difference between the extended lenght shock and the stock shocks for the back. I would think stock length shocks would limit the axle travel in the back quite a bit.

There are tons of spindles lifts out there, and as Wandell said, about any brand will work. Ive heard to stay away from AIM as well. The thing is that I have a Rough Country kit, which Ive heard is made by AIM, and its holding up fine. It gets the **** beat out of it too. Ramping the truck, haulin butt across rough fields/old section lines, smashing the front wheels into stuff trying to get over them, even the bottomless potholes that I hit at least 30 of each day. So far its held up good for the 1 year Ive had it on, we'll see how it works out over time though. I would probably go with a different kit if I were to do it again though. Id probably go for the Doestch kit on ebay. Nice kit, plus its cheap.

Install is pretty easy.

There are pics of mine with a 3 inch spindle lift and 265/75/16 tires in my gallery.

 

I have basically the same truck as you do, so what size shocks should i get? should i just measure the stock ones and add about 3", or do they come in specific sizes?

 

Im not sure of the exact size, the ones I have are ones that came with the kit and I never measured the difference between them and the stock length ones. Sorry I cant help you with that.

 

Since adding the blocks would raise the rear to the same as a 4x4 model I'd think that you could use the shocks called out for the 4x4