they said that installing a 2" leveling kit on my 06 FX4 would not quickly wear out the ball joints. They said I would need 2" longer shocks. Also I have read that you do not need a spring compressor to install the leveling kit and they said you do. Maybe they ment for the shocks. Thoughts????

 

1)It does put ur cv's at more of an angle but nothin to worry about. Havent heard anything about balljoints wearin out fast with just spacer kit
2)You WILL NOT need longer shocks(coilover suspension up front)
3)Some kits you need coil spring compressor some dont.

Hope that helps

 

1. Spacers do create a lot of non-desirable angles. They put more stress on the CV angles and tie rod ends. This is coming from someone who had one and with 20,000 miles on my 2004 F-150 my ball joints were ruined.
2. No you don't need longer shocks, this is probally why you shouldn't listen to anything that shop tells you. .
3. 3. Just as Trooks2001 said, some kits you need them and some kits you do not.

 

I agree.

 

hey thump- with all this talk of leveling issues, i've been thinking- i may be totally wrong in what im thinking- hence the post...
what size tire did you run [the majority of your 20k miles] with your leveling kit on?
ok, lets say you put on a 2.5" kit, and stick with a 31-32 tire'' your cv angles, upper control arm drop to odd angles due to the kit- correct? BUT if you concurrently put on a larger tire, say a 35" you are also raising the relative center point of the wheel, and therefore, you are lessening the angle of the cv's, and upper arm... if this is the case, that would 'help' explain why some people have no problems with their joints?

2.5" Autospring running 31" stockers lets the upper arm drop roughly 3"...but if you had a 2.5" AS, and also put on 35" tires, thats4" of growth, 2" top/bottom, so my overall upper arm drop is now only 1" which is significantly closer to the stock setting

does that make any sense? J

 

I was running 33x13s but Im not really sure what you are saying makes sense, maybe someone else can chime in on this. I don't think it'd matter the size tire you are running, its still going to be the same angle.

 

the angle of your control arms are purely subject to the height of your coilover (plus spacer). your arms are NEVER going to change angular orientations purely because you changed tire size.

an upper control arm with an autospring 2 or 2.5 inch will always be at X degrees, regardless of tire size: a 35, 33, stock, and rubber band will ALWAYS hold the arm at the same angle

the centering point of the tire/rim will always be the middle of the hub.

and yes a (2-2.5) levelling kit well reduce the life of your upper balljoint. but not to a point that should cause you to lose any sleep

 

okay- imagine looking head on at your truck -stock- now, you add the spacer to the top of the coil, and what changes- the upper control arm lifts and the angle increases because its anchored to the wheel and the the coil system
so instead of the upper control arm sitting like this -- its like this /
but if you added a larger tire, the center of the wheel actually raises...which is the other pivot point of the upper arm...so if you added a spacer, plus larger tires, your upper arm angle gets closer to -- again

i may have to do a photoshop diagram- but ive got to go my only class of the week--wood shop.

 

lol

dude

ok go find a car, an SUV, and a truck in a parking lot. look at the tire. point at the middle of the tire, its the hub. is it the same in the car, SUV, and truck? yes

yes the coilover changes the angle of hte arm. the height of hte coilover (compressed, un compressed, lifted and compressed) is the ONLY thing that chances the arm angle.

doesnt matter what kind or size tire you have on there, the size of hte tire is not going to change the arm angle. if you can prove me wrong i will paypal you 5 dollars.

 

Paypal You 5 bucks

 

Well, if I decided to go with the leveling spacer and the ball joints do wear out in a year or so...how much would it cost to purchase new ball joints and install them. I believe I could do it myself, if it doesn't require special tools.

I've heard they wear them out fast and I've hear they don't.

 

I am replacing my left upper control arm on my 04' F150 2wd. I have had a Daystar poly leveling kit on it since new. It now has 45K + on it. I run a 285/60/18 tire and do virtually no off-roading.

The part that I do not understand is that by increasing my 2wd by 2", I am at stock 4wd hieght. The angles should be the same as a stock 4wd. Why has mine failed?? Is the 4wd upper arm joint stronger? I am wondering if I should replace mine with a 4wd arm.

 

I has approx. 35000 kms on mine and had to replace both upper control arms. It is a pita to change the control arms because you have to remove the strut assembly to remove the bolts for the control arms. DON"T put a spacer.!!!! You WILL be changing your ball joints very quickly.

 

Thats odd. I have been running 6" Fabtech plus 2.5 " spacer for a year with no problems(knock on wood)

 

With my lift I had to take apart the strut when I installed it anyway so I am familiar with that. I am wondering if there is anything weird with the top two bolts re-assembly process. The reason that I am asking is I can get a OEM Ford upper arm for $70 and realignment for $50. My local stealership wants $460 to replace one and align it. I feel like there must be something that I am missing for them to charge $320 labor.

Any insight???