Lift on the Cheap or Worth the Money or Not?
 

I had some free time and was dreaming about pulling my F-150 out of storage in a few months when I get home and what I might do to it now that I have some "extra" cash.

So I was looking at eBay and found this. Spring Tech - ADJUSTABLE 1-3" FRONT TORSION KEYS , 1.75 " REAR SHACKLE $169.90
https://www.f150online.com/galleries...060-161025.jpg

Which got me looking around and to this.

Tuff Country - Ford 1997-03 F150 4x4 truck - 4" EZ-Ride suspension lift kit $1,569.95 w/shocks (You need offset rims with this so stock rims won't work, an extra cost)
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So here is where I'm at. The eBay kit looks like if I add a leaf to my rear for another $80-100. Then I'll have a 3 inch lift for under $350. (including the alighnment)

But if I go with the Tuff Country it will be over $1600.

So I'm wondering what everyone else thinks about the Spring Tech system.

I'm not sure that an extra inch is worth the extra money. But I'm open to other opinions.

Heck I'd love to save the money and spend it at Troyer, damb would my truck be smokin' hot them.

So what does everyone else think?

Doug

Your best value is a body lift. I'd stay away from the torsion bar keys. I'd recommend a body lift or save up for a full suspension lift.

Just crank ur t-bars in the front for free then add a body lift for about 200$ then you would have about 5 inches of lift completly level for 200$ if u do the installation on the body lift urself!

I suppose I should mention that part of why I'm thinking about this is to improve ground clearance of the frame.

As I plow in the winter and have smacked the front cross member on a few curbs. It really sucks when the plow lifts you over the curb and then you get hung up trying to back up.

Also my keys are already cranked to level the truck. I guess I'm a lucky one, my truck sits on the high end of the "normal range."

Wandell
Do you have a specific reason why you'd stay away from the torque bar keys?

And does anyone have any negative thoughs on using the shackle to possition the rear spring farther from the frame.

Putting too much preload on your torsion bars will limit the amount of down travel your suspension has, which hurts your ride quality. It also puts your CV joints at a severe angle which causes premature wear. Since you use a snow plow, I think a better option for you would be to install torsion bars from a F-250 Light Duty/7700 lb. truck. The stiffer bars will support the weight of the plow better.

Wandell has a great idea about installing the torsion bars from a light duty F-250. They may be hard to find though, as those trucks were only made for about 2-3 years. May have to check the dealer for those.

If you spend the $1400 for that Tuff Country lift, you might as well go for a full on 6" lift like the Fabtech, etc lifts. They arent much more expensive than that for the kits themselves.

I believe the F-250 Light Duty/7700 lb. trucks were made from 97-03. Any Ford dealer should be able to order the the torsion bars, or you can buy them online at www.fordpartsonline.com.