By the way Pat, who makes that brush guard on the front of your truck? Do they make one for a 2001?

 

The gap guards are extra. I think they run about 75.00 for the 97-03 models. You do not have to replace the shocks since it is a "body lift". A body lift has nothing to do with the suspension.

 

The lift kit does not require new shocks.

 

the gap guards are extra and ordered seperate

you don't need new shocks with a body lift. since you are lifting the BODY, you aren't touching the suspension therefore new shocks aren't needed. you might wanna upgrade shocks to help control the larger tires you are gonna install, but like I said it's not needed

 

I have a 2.5'' leveling kit also.

They are 34.6'', 315/70R17 Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ Radial.

 

It's a Westin Ultimate Bullbar and yes they make it for your truck.

http://www.westinautomotive.com/phot...FDBB308WPR.jpg

 

I was talking to my father today who is a mechanic at a local garage. He tried to talk me out of the body lift I want to do - too late I've decided I can't look at my truck anymore with stock setup. He says that larger/wider tires make it hard to do an alignment or keep it aligned. From experience what are your opinions. Also another mechanic at the garage said he did a 3" body lift on an '02 Ford and said it was a nightmare to do. He had to remove seats, carpet, etc. I'm looking at the Performance Accessories 3" lift kit and would like some detailed info on how the installation went for those of you who used this kit. I will be putting a list of mods that I plan to do on here soon for general comments or alternative suggestions from all of you since everyone here is much more experienced at this than I am. I have learned a lot over the last few day from this forum and I appreciate the help.

 

I am running 20" wheels and 36" swampers, my steering wheel is dead on.

 

I did algnments for years, larger tires don't make an alignment any harder to perform than stock, the larger tires will have a different effect on handleing and braking, there is no question about that, but you'll still be able to algin the truck no problem. he must not have much experience with lifted trucks.....????

and the lift isn't hard to do at all, many of the guys in here have done body lifts on their trucks themselves, including myself. I have mechanical experience so that might have helped, but ANY competant mechanic should be able to do a body lift no problem. it took me about 10 hours to do mine all by myself.

 

I agree. Installing the lift is not that hard, it's just time consuming, tedious work. I installed mine and one on a friends Expy.
As for the larger tires and wheels, anytime you install a taller, wider, heavier tire on a vehicle you increase wear and tear. But with a body lift you won't be going too large. Maybe 35x12.50's? It's not like you are installing 44's.

 

Do these kit, bump up the front tow hooks as well or do those remain in the stock location? Because Im running a grill guard right now and would like to keep it but if it doesnt work with a body lift, it doesnt work.

 

The tow hooks are connected to the frame, so they will stay where they are.

 

I dont know the kind of grill guard you have, but look at my truck.I have a Westin Ultimate Bullbar, it just sit 3 inch lower, but still look good on the truck.Actually i prefer the look now then before the body lift.

Picture is on post number 6 in this thread or take a look at my gallery.
https://www.f150online.com/galleries...437&anum=14707

 

Thats what made me ask the question, but the thing is the area of the grill guard that covers the headlights would look kinda stupid if it wasn't actually covering the lights

 

Murray,

My 2 cents. Body lifts aren't that hard to install, they are just time consuming. There is a lot of little things that need to be addressed, but nothing really difficult. The hardest part of the job for most people is removing the bed bolts. If you have access to an air compressor though, it's not that bad.

You will have to remove the back seat, peel up the carpet, extend the steering column, alter the fan shroud and many other things, but don't let this discourage you. I've installed 2 BL, one on a 2000 Scab and the other on a 2003 Screw. The allignment is no big deal and you do not need new shocks either. There are some shortcuts you can take that will save you time, but you plan on devoting an entire weekend to it, especially if you haven't done one before and depending on your mechanical ability.

Also, in my gallery, I snapped about 20-25 pics of the entire install process with descriptions and captions, should check it out to get an idea of what you are instore for. The first one took me and 2 friends about 18 hours (and that was with new schocks), the second time around we had it down to about 10 hours (again, with new shocks). If you run into any problems, just post them in this forum, everyone on here is very good about getting back to you right away.

Good Luck