Step 1 of 1000 done! Sorry for the panicked msg, TXST8tj, a neighbor of mine just happens to be a Ford Certified mechanic! Thankfully he bailed me out just when I thought it was all going wrong.

Word to the wise, if the forecast calls for a hint of rain...postpone.

Before:


After:

 

Huff.....what kit did you use for leveling? Are those stock rims and tires? If so, what are the sizes? Any plans to do more upgrades?



Kevin.

 

Looks great, Huff! Glad to hear you got your problems worked out! lol... thats kinda funny about your neighbor

 

Kevin, it's the autospring leveling kit, on OEM wheels with Goodyear 275/65/18. Followed the instructions from page 1 of this topic. The mechanic down the street said my brake light/bed light is leaking, he could see the condensation inside it. I had been totally oblivious to it, so I'm off to get that fixed soon.

As to future upgrades, definately some Nitto Terra Grapplers 35's or just shy of 35, some back spacing. Then or maybe before the tires, Flowmaster Dual exhaust. Bedliner is already done....so I guess step 2 out of 1000 is done.

 

Huff...2" or 2.5"??



Kevin.

 

I just did the hellbent steel leveling kit on my truck yesterday 2.5in.

 

Doh...sorry. I ordered the 2.5, it measured less than that, but overall it did raise the truck almost 3 inches.

 

Huff...I'm glad it all worked out in the end. It's darn near painfully easy once you do one side all the way through.
I just installed a 6" kit on a Dodge this weekend. That makes the F-150 spacer install seem like a dream.

 

Has anyone else had problems getting the nut off the upper ball joint?

 

I have on one or two trucks I've worked on. I generally just heat up the nut with a propane torch and it breaks/melts the red thread locker enough to back the nut off.
It also helps to spray it down with PB Blaster.

 

With a 2.5" leveling kit could I run 35" Nitto Mud Grapplers? If not i will throw 33" Mud Grapplers on

 

I used the hell bent steel 2.5 on my o4 screw. That is what the girl on the phone suggested. It almost seems as the front is higher (than the rear) now although they measure the same with a tape, so I gues I will just do something to the back now. I didn't get a picture of before because it was snowing and I had the truck in the garage for a few days for the snow to melt off first so I wasn't working in a puddle. I actually put the kit on dec 30th, I wasn't a member of the forum until today, but I did read this before I decided I could do this myself. If I hadn't found this thread I probably never would have attempted doing this myself. While I had it apart the upper ball joint on the left had about 3/4 in. of play (probably my fault by not changing warped rotors) so I changed both upper control arms, lower ball joints, and outer tie-rod ends. On jan 1st I got 285/70/17 Firestone Destination A/T and a alignment. Overall I'm happy with the results. Thanks for doing this thread.

Sorry for the long first post I'll post a pict soon

 

With the help of this write-up, I did mine last week. Big thanks to all the info on here! I wanted to make a couple of notes for people who are reading this...

1. On the tools, I actually bought a 30mm socket before my install. I had to go back to the store because it would not fit. The bolt was 1-1/16 and the nut was 30mm (Good work, UAW...appreciate that!) So a 30mm deep socket would have worked but I didn't have it. No biggie...but if you're gonna do this and your F150 is your only vehicle, check that before you get started.

2. If you've read this entire thread, you've no doubt seen that each one of these trucks looks different with it's ket installed. I took pictures of the truck along the way to share with you guys/gals so you can see how the different steps affect the truck.

Pre-everything...just sitting in my yard:


Post-level, but pre-alignment. I thought it looked like I was launching at the drag strip:


Post-level, post alignment, pre-tires. Notice how the front settled down a bit:


Then I got my 285/65/20 BFG AT's on...LOVE IT!


There are a couple more pics in my gallery! Thanks again!

 

Ok guys i need some assistance...i just installed an AS 2.5 level kit on my 04 screw. It looks great but i am having some issues with a grinding sound coming from my front passenger side. It sounds like a metal on metal grinding. It seems to go away when i let off the gas and when i hit the gas it starts again. The sound is not really affected much by turning or compression of the shocks( going in and out of the driveway or potholes) but it sounds terrable. I thought it could have been the brake rotor touching the backing plate but that does not seem to be the case. Im running 22" wheels...not sure if that could have anything to do with it. I tried to get an alignment this morning and the shop couldent do it with the big wheels. I asked them what they thought the grinding could be and the guy told me it could be a "spark knock"? this makes no sence to me and i dont really believe him. He also said there was really no fix to it...but this was some loser kid at a moble station. I took the wheel back off and started looking around and i cant find anything that seems to be rubbing. Im at a loss...could it be CVjoints or any ideas, again it only seems to make the noise when im on the gas at any speed and it sounds kinda nasty. im gonna go look around some more but ill check back to see if anyone is on here to help at the moment ! thanks

 

installed another AS 2.5" spacer on a forum member's Lariat 4x4

thanks again Ronnie!